Anathema | KLANCE

SIX: Blood, Sweat, and Tears

The odor of drying paint was the first thing that woke Lance from his short nap, but only enough to have a general grasp of the things occurring around him. Sleep inertia was coursing its way throughout his whole body, from the cluster headache to the cotton-like feeling in his mouth, and all the way down to the sick feeling dispersing in his abdomen.

A flick to the forehead made his crusty eyes peel wide open, flinching in pain. "What?" An agitated tone croaked in his pronunciation, making the hazy figure raise their eyebrows in shock.

"Is that the right way to greet your sister?"

Adriana's voice bounced inside his head, triggering a few pounds to his head. "Ah, it's too early for this... is there any ibuprofen in here?"

"Headache?"

"Mhmmm..."

"I'll be right back with two tablets, stay here," the soft pitter-patters of the heels of her feet was somewhat soothing to Lance, who focused his eyes on the phone blowing up with messages next to him. The blinding white light was enough to irritate him enough to rub his eyes until they unblurred, shakily swiping open one of the notifications on the home screen.

Rolo's selfie was the first message he opened, the clock on Snapchat stating that it was seven twenty-three in the morning, which was positioned right on top of the bottle of vodka in his hand.

The cluster headache in his head pounded even more furiously, thinking about the nasty hangover he had last month from that devilish drink.

"Take your pills, you heathen."

A bottle of water was placed next to Lance's cold feet, followed by two tablets being plopped into his dry, cracking palms. Nodding to gesture at his appreciation, Lance tossed the two pills into his mouth, and taking a massive gulp of water, swishing the water around to coat his insanely-parched throat. Adriana positioned herself back down onto the carpet, eyes focusing on the recently-painted cardstock next to the suffering boy.

After grunting out a prolonged sigh of satisfaction, Lance leaned back on the mattress next to his sister, eyes planted on Rolo's contact information. "I kind of feel like doing something fun today, but I don't know what. And it's still early in the morning."

"How about you go to a friend's house? I'll take care of things here." There was a miniscule lift in the corners of her lips, initiating eye contact with him. "Your neighbor's back, I was able to meet him for a few seconds."

Lance's heart leapt at the thought of his neighbor, but confusion also dispersed across his brain like a virus of its own unique nature, simultaneously releasing dopamine and embedding poison into him. "Keith? Why is he back?"

"Flight got delayed due to poor weather... speaking of, I think his flight is at ten?"

"Ten?"

Bobbing her head a few times, Adriana slid down the mattress a bit, extending out her legs to achieve a more-comfortable seat. "Yep. But don't worry," a sly, mischievous dilation occurred in her pupils, followed by an emphasizing wink. "I've been asleep this whole time, and know nothing."

Goosebumps sprouted across both of his arms, legs shooting up and balancing his weight perfectly.

"I gotta go."

"Mhmmmm..."

Adriana rolled herself over to the opposite side of the window Lance squirmed out of, peeking up at the window of his neighbor's house. A few lights were turned on, which was suitable enough as a reason to go visit. His bare feet felt gross against the dewy, mushy grass, but he continued his run nonetheless, leaping over the fence that divided the two properties from another.