The Diary of Existing

TWENTY SIX

TWENTY SIX

I could barely sleep last night. And it wasn't just because of what Angel had told me, but it was because my back was killing me. The mattress in this bedroom is soft, it's comfortable, but comfort never really agrees with my back. Even when my mother bought me this comfortable Tempur mattress that cost her the price of a new phone. Instead of making me sleep like a baby at night it just kept giving me aches and aches every week.

I turned to look at the clock by the bedside table, it was 7 in the morning and I just wanted to go back to sleep but my back ache wasn't going to let me do that any time soon. So I decided to get up, take advantage of the fact that half of the house was still fast asleep. I grabbed the silk robe that Angel gave me, it was a navy blue one and it felt great against my skin. It was probably the best gift ever.

I walked down the stairs, it was still dark in the apartment. All the giant windows were covered in blackout curtains, the sun trying desperately to peek through the cracks. As I was walking down I could hear voices talking. Who was up? The voices were too deep to be Angel or Morgan. It was probably Henry and his dad, but it seemed to early, especially since Henry went to bed at 3 in the morning.

"Hello there." An unfamiliar man said. Henry turned around and nodded his head at me. He was talking to someone that wasn't his father. He looked about Henry's age, same height. He had an English accent unlike the rest of us.

"Alex, this is Wesley, my best friend and roommate." Henry said as he walked with the guy up to me. He put his hand out, and whipped out a smile.

"Hi, I'm Wesley Payne." He said and I just found myself staring at his hand. I smiled and awkwardly shook his hand.

"I'm Alex." was all I said. It felt pretty awkward, and I wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the back pain, or the lack of sleep.

"You're up early?" Henry questioned as he walked towards the kitchen counter. I simply walked past Wesley and sat on one of the stools, watching Henry pour three cups of coffee.

"I couldn't sleep. Why are you up?" I asked and he gestured at Wesley, he approached the counter and on the stool next to me. Henry handed us our mugs and we all took quiet sips of the coffee and just allowed the smell to envelope our noses.

"No one's here to cook yet, and I'm terrified I'll burn the house down. There's some places open up where you can buy something like a muffin or whatever." Henry said, looking at Wesley.

"You wanna come?" Wesley asked. I thought he was asking Henry but he was actually looking at me. It took me a couple of seconds to realize it, considering how silent they suddenly were. I almost spilled some of my coffee, it did drip off my mouth so I had to catch that.

"Um... Okay sure?" I said and Wesley just handed me a smile.

"You two go, I'll wait." Henry said and Wesley chuckled, calling him lazy. The two spat out jokes on one another before Wesley headed for the elevator with me. Before opening it he scanned me from head to toe before staring at me.

"Yes, I want to go out like this." I replied and got in the elevator as soon as it opened. I was wearing a navy blue silk robed that obviously looked like I had just gotten up from bed. My hair was still a mess and I was wearing nothing but the dark green nail polish on my toenails. Yes, barefoot.

"Aren't you going to feel cold?" He asked as he put his coat on. I just laughed and told him I was fine.

We walked for a couple of blocks and he kept looking at me. If I was being honest it was beginning to bother me a bit, especially since literally no one on the streets was giving a damn. Everyone was just walking past us either on their phones or just rushing to get to wherever they needed to be. We stopped by a small bakery near Henry's place. An old lady was managing the shop. It was surprisingly not as busy as I expected. I bent down and looked through what pastries she had to offer, and still, Wesley was staring at me.