"Oi Elliott, where's Charles?" a deep voice boomed in the distance. I trembled slightly, but plunged back just as quickly in my slumber.
"Why would I know?"
"I don't know, he isn't in his office."
"I'm right here you tosspots, now shut your mouths for the love of god." A whisper, right above my head.
I stirred slightly, the rumbling voices disturbing the sweet peace of deep sleep. Someone caressed my hair. I was feeling perfectly warm, surrounded by a soft cloud. I stopped moving. I was too comfortable to wake up.
"Who are you calling tosspot? I won't shut my mouth if I don't-"
"Shut the fuck up Dane, you'll wake her up." Dane was cut by the lower voice of Elliott.
There was a moment of silence. Someone caught their feet on the corner of the coffee table. A string of half whispered profanities. A quiet reprimand, before some calm again.
"What-". Another moment of silence, some shuffling. "What are you doing Charles? And Jesper- why are you even here?"
"I had things to discuss with Charles." Another voice, cold.
Dane turned silent, too stunned to speak. I didn't know him much, but I could imagine his expression right now, his brows pinched together in confusion.
"Well, if that isn't a sight to see. Never thought I'd find you like this one day, the neat Charles King working on a couch. Aren't you afraid your shirt might get wrinkled?" That was Elliott, a mocking tinge to his voice.
"Shut up-"
The heaviness of my semi-unconscious state was disturbed by a heavy cough making its way up my throat, shaking my entire body. Everything turned silent except for my breathing. Charles petted my hair, adjusted my blanket. I was feeling so tired that I let myself be submerged by another wave of drowsiness without opening my eyes.
"What was that?" Dane, I think, asked. He was noticeably making an effort to speak lower, though his deep voice made it harder.
"Is she sick?"
"Yeah, I think she caught a cold or something. I gave her a pill for her headache before she fell asleep, but she still has some temperature."
"A cold in the middle of July?"
"If she's tired, she will be more vulnerable to things like that."
"How can she be tired? She barely left her bedroom."
"I don't think she sleeps at all. I ran into her at five thirty this morning."
"She was up extra early yesterday too", whispered Jesper.
Charle's hand in my hair was better than any kind of lullaby. The soft clicking sounds of his keyboard had stopped, but I enjoyed being surrounded by the humming of voices. It felt homey. I felt safe.
"But why wouldn't she sleep?"
Charle's hand moved from my hair to my face, where he lightly traced my cheekbone. His fingers were warm against my skin.
"She did go through a lot." He whispered. "There ought to be some kind of aftershock."
The silence that settled was heavier this time. There was a clicking sound, like a cup against a table.
"Did you notice that she drinks so much Earl Grey?" cut amusingly Jesper's voice. I'd never heard his tone sound so carefree.
Some chuckles.
YOU ARE READING
Mess of a life
Teen FictionCamille had it all. A blooming high-school life, a mostly great family, big dreams. That was before her parents and two sisters were killed in a car crash, as they were going to pick her up. What was supposed to be a normal high-school day ended up...
