Happy Endings

03. echo

"I've got the world on my shoulders, but I feel good all over."

☼

Kellin Quinn woke up the next morning pretty early. Way earlier than usual, that is. Sometimes he got mornings where he didn't need his alarm to go off and he just opened his eyes, completely drained from sleep, and nothing could send him back to oblivion again.

The first few months after saying goodbye to Ellie he couldn't seem to be able to sleep at all. Eventually, he got medication for it and managed to get some rest thanks to the pills. Later on, he was finally able to sleep on his own. Mostly. He still got nights where he woke up and that was it, though. Like right now.

So without any other option, he got out of bed and went on his morning routine, at 4 am.

His sock-covered feet dragged him to the bathroom and he frowned upon turning on the light. He looked at himself in the square mirror above the sink and stared at the redness surrounding his large blue-green eyes. It wasn't that unusual, but it still made him sigh. He traced his fingers over the shadowed skin under them, pulling the skin down and seeing more of his eyes. He was already thinking of all the tips he'd seen to get rid of the puffiness to avoid looking like a zombie during his day. He sighed again.

He went over his business and when he was done he put on some sweats and a random shirt, not exactly ready for the formality of the dress shirt, trousers, and tie just yet. He also put on his glasses, avoiding the contacts for a little longer too.

He made his way to the kitchen after that and decided to start on snack duties right away, saving some time until Penny woke up. He'd seen an online recipe for animal-shaped sandwiches a few days ago and he'd wanted to try making them for Penny's lunch ever since. He was taking this as a great opportunity. 

Before he took out the ingredients though, he grabbed a pair of spoons he usually kept in the fridge and put them over his eyes. Tip #1 for puffy eyes: something cold. He leaned against the counter and tried to practice those breathing exercises he was supposed to do all the time. He inhaled deeply for a few seconds and exhaled through his mouth. He repeated it until the spoons weren't cold anymore. He had to accept that the exercises did help though.

Kellin then set the coffee maker, put some bread on the toaster, and grabbed everything he needed to make Penny's lunchbox and also something for him to eat at lunch. He didn't want to go all day without eating again.

It was nearly 6:30 when he had everything done. He was proud of his little sandwiches and he took a picture to send to his friends. They were all probably still asleep but he knew when they saw the photo they'd all gush over the cuteness. They'd also tease him for being "such a dad" and all the things his friends liked to call him, but he didn't mind. He was a dad. And he couldn't wait to see how they'd act when they have children of their own. They'd probably be worse than him. That's a long time coming, though.

Once the clock hit 7 Kellin was already in his boring work clothes. He settled on a smart-looking cream shirt with black trousers and a dark blue tie with thin red, horizontal stripes. He'd put on his watch and contacts, applied some cologne on his neck, fixed his hair as best he could, and lastly put on his shoes.

When it was time to wake up his daughter he was surprised, but not really at all, when he opened the door to her purple paradise room and found her already up mindlessly playing with some of her dolls. 

Penny, upon seeing her dad, got up off the floor and ran to him jumping up and down with the peculiar energy only four-year-olds can have during the morning.