14. The Change
Chapter fourteen
The Change
NOAH
Iawoke to the annoying sound of what could only be my alarm clock. The constant blaring was slowly driving me up a wall, each ‘beep’ drilling into my brain like a screw, causing me to realize that sleep would soon not be an option if I didn’t shut the fucking thing off.
This could only be hell.
Swiping my hand through the air to the left, I aimed to hit the damn thing, but to my disappointment, I came down hard on nothing but the bedside dresser. My cell was not there.
BEEEEP. BEEEEP. BEEEEP.
“Jesus...”
I knew for a fact that I didn’t even set the damn thing. I flipped over in bed, and without opening my eyes, fiddled around on the table opposite to the one that was empty. Perhaps, Damian got clever and placed the annoying little thing on the other side of me as a technique of confusion.
SLAM!
Empty.
BEEEEP. BEEEEP. BEEEEP.
I lurched up in bed, eyes still closed. Where the fuck was it?
When I opened them and took a few moments to look around, I was shocked to see my phone situated comfortably on the other side of the room.
What a bastard Damian was.
I hauled myself out of bed, slowly trudging across the floor to reach the loud devil. Reeling back, I slammed my fist down on the screen and to my overwhelming joy, the sound came to an abrupt halt, blanketing my room in that peaceful quiet I was so accustomed to.
Sighing, I sprinted back to bed, desperate to curl up underneath the warm covers once again, resuming my sleep.
Right as I was about to leap into the awaiting sanctuary of softness, the door to my room swung open, revealing a fully clothed Damian munching from a cereal bowl.
“Oh, good.” He smiled. “You’re awake.”
I thought about cursing him out for such a perky attitude, but all I could manage was to blink and a little, “Nghh.”
I leapt back into bed, reveling in the—
“Uh-unh,” Damian shook his finger. “You have to get up for school.”
—lack of quiet.
“Awaaaay...” I mumbled, placing my pillow over my head.
“Away, what?”
I thrusted a finger in the direction I hoped Damian was in. “YOU.”
For a moment, there was quiet. I felt myself slowly beginning to drift off back into sleep, back into that world where I could feel light without anything or anyone.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
No.
I threw my pillow to the side and cracked an eye open. Damian was standing at my bedside, filling his mouth with another spoonful of cereal.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
“What. Do. You. Waaaaant?” I roared, wishing that Damian would choke on his next bite.
Damian must have understood the hateful vibes because he seemed to chew more carefully. Swallowing, he ushered his head towards the bathroom. “You have to get ready for your first day. Go take a shower.”
“What time is it?” I asked, unable to believe that it was already tomorrow. Or today. Whatever day.
“Six forty-five.”
I snickered and pulled the covers back up over my head. “Yeah, okay—fuck off.”
CRUNCH.
I thrashed and sky rocketed back up. “STOP DOING THAT!”
Damian shrugged. “Doing what?”
CRUNCH.
My eye twitched. “THAT.”
He held out the bowl. “What? Do you want some?”
“I hate cereal.” I growled.
“Well, good. Mom is making eggs and sausage downstairs and it’s all for you.”
I thought about a huge breakfast all to myself and my stomach rumbled a response.
“See? You’re hungry. Get up and eat. Take a shower. Do something productive.”
I looked back to my covers.
“But you can’t go back to sleep.”
With a low growl and much effort, I pulled myself back out of my comfortable bed. I wrapped my body up in a light blue sheet, feeling cold without the warmth that the many blankets and pillows provided.
“Are you seriously making me do this?” I asked in a last minute attempt to get out of this mess.
Damian nodded sharply. “I’ve made up my mind.”