Fictionlet
The sound of rushing water brought Brigid slowly but persistently back to the land of the living; the room was dim except for a vague yellow light from under a nearby door, and the bright red LED “6:47 AM” that was poking her in the eyes. She blinked and pushed herself up onto an elbow, to discover that she was in a room she barely recognized, clad only in a blanket and her socks. The rushing water was now identifiable as the sound of a shower coming from the vaguely-yellow room.
My socks? she thought, and the evening came back to her. Oh yeah. Cole’s place. Okay. Why the hell am I awake at six in the morning? She gathered the blanket around her shoulders and curled into a tight ball, but sleep evaded her.
Within a minute or two the shower was turned off and miscellaneous bumps and shuffling sounds consistent with somebody drying off sounded through the wall; then the bathroom door was thrown wide, and Brigid’s skull was assaulted by a vicious, vaguely-yellow light. “Mmmrph!” she said, and curled up tighter.
“Hey,” said the silhouette of Cole, spiky hair going in every direction. He crossed past the foot of the bed and started rummaging around in his closet.
“It’s early,” said Brigid.
“Got class,” said Cole.
If I had class, would I be in this bed wearing nothing but my socks? Brigid thought. “Huh?” was what she actually said.
“Tae Kwon Do,” Cole said. “Belt test today. Gotta get there early and set up. You want breakfast?” Brigid blinked; he was already wearing sweats and a T-shirt that read “Leaping Tiger Martial Arts.”
“Ermph,” Brigid replied.
“Well, if you do, there’s cereal. Lock the door if you go, ‘kay?” He leaned over and kissed the side of her head. “Later,” he said, and walked out of the room, carrying a pair of sneakers.
“You hopeless romantic you,” Brigid murmured as she heard the front door close.
-The Gneech
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