Suck It And See

15) Harder To Hide Than I Thought

15: Harder To Hide Than I Thought

"Oh, god."

The light groan followed by this whisper from Lolita aroused Alex to consciousness. Faint pop music cut out as quick as it had come. His hands were moved from warm skin to the sheets, much to his dismay. The covers shuffled as she sat up while the mattress beside him dipped.

Two fingers, the index and middle held together, pressed against the side of his neck just below his jaw. A slow exhale from Lo sounded, one filled with relief.

Her voice was still quiet, keeping the apparently sleeping man in mind. It seemed like she had been unable to help the words that the sigh formed into as she breathed out.
"Oh, thank god."

There was more movement beside him as her fingers left his pulse and her looming form left him on the bed.

Alex wanted to indicate that he was indeed awake but his brain was too exhausted to send any signals to move any part of his body. So he lay there, eyes still closed as he briefly revelled in the sounds of his girlfriend getting ready, softly cursing under her breath as she did so.

***

He felt himself pulled from his deeply relaxed state - or indeed, his nap - due to the hushed conversation he could hear from the other end of the room. Again, his knackered vessel still chose to play dead.

"What the hell was wrong with him? I heard you shout at him last night."

"Don't, okay? Just don't. I don't want to talk about it."

"But you're clearly upset about it, Lo. What did he do?"

"Look, he was just being bit of a dick. Just... drop it, alright?"

"... He didn't hurt you, did he? 'Cause I swear to god, if he did, I-"

"Look, I can't be late. Just promise me you'll look after him until I get back, okay? ... Okay?"

"... Fine. But you know you can talk to me, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. ... Thanks, Corey. Y'know, he'll probably just sleep anyway."

"So you're just going to leave him here?"

"Yeah. We- we need to talk. And, well, I think he'll need someone around today." Another light sigh. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Hey. Don't rush it. Forget about him for the time being. Focus on yourself. You'll be great, I know it."

"Thanks." There was a shuffling sound. If Alex's brain had been functioning, he'd realise it sounded like a hug.

Alas, his mind was not. All he could think about was what he could not fathom: why was she leaving?

And when he heard the heavy front door close, all Alex could wish was that she'd come back.

***

The third time awakening was not a charm.

Alex awoke to something on his face. A weight pressed onto his chest, then neck before it pushed down on his cheeks. Heavy - as well as tickling - it teetered on his face. Something pressed into his eye socket before moving back to his cheekbone. After a confused grunt of pain, he grimaced before opening his eyes to discover his disturbance.

Another pair of eyes stared back at him.

Yelping, he knocked the creature off him. It landed on the bed beside his shoulder with a thump. Softness prickled at his neck.

A sidewards Humbug gave an indignant miaow before his paw outstretched to jab Alex's jaw. It stayed there on his chin, squishy and weird. The cat mewled again, near his ear. Insistent, the feline alarm clock worked wonders as Alex was forced to get up.