BLACK

Episode 28: Day One Hundred and Eleven

You woke up slowly feeling nowhere near refreshed. You just felt cold and miserable. It was mid-December and you couldn't remember hating the cold as much as you did right now. There was no heater in the building obviously, but you were lucky to be in building at all. You pulled the blankets tighter around you hoping to keep your body heat captured underneath it.

"Aj?" Gabriel called out. You moaned out an unintelligible response, "Kit says he needs you downstairs right now."

"Kit can..." You had begun a snarky reply, but it collapsed in on itself as you began to fall asleep again. Gabriel crossed towards you and shook your shoulder startling you, "I'm awake."

"Come on, he said it's important." Gabriel replied. It was then you noticed his strange tone. You sat up with the blanket wrapped around your shoulders and groggy eyes. Gabriel was sitting on the edge of your bed. He looked uncomfortable. His skin was paler than usual. Gabriel's bright eyes looked tired and almost in pain.

You reached out and felt his forehead, "You look sick."

"Well you don't exactly look like a million bucks with that morning hair."

"You feel a little warm." You mumbled as your mind started to wake up, "How do you feel, Gabe?"

"Awesome, Dr. Drools-on-the-pillow." Gabriel said and quickly pulled out of your reach. It made you suspicious more than anything, "Now come on, Kit told me to get you downstairs."

You rose and grabbed your clothes to change in the bathroom. Before leaving the small room with only a cot and a dresser though you sneered at Gabriel, "I don't drool."

"Your soaking wet pillow says otherwise."

It only took you about twenty minutes to get ready. You wore your usual jeans and boots, but currently had a pair of black leggings on underneath the jeans. On your torso was a long sleeve black shirt with a button up white shirt over that. As you headed toward the door you realized Wynn was still asleep and it looked like Gabriel had joined her again. For the last month, Gabriel had shared the room with Wynn while Kit took the couch. He said he didn't mind at all, but you had your suspicions about that too. You grabbed your police jacket off a coat rack and pulled it on.

The hallway was colder than the apartment and a part of you wanted to go straight back to your bed, but you managed to push onwards. You walked down the stairs to the lobby where you spotted Kit waiting for you by the front doors. He looked way to happy. Kit wore a thick long sleeve shirt under a winter coat. He had on dark jeans and boots of his own. Over his hair was a red beanie and around his neck was a matching scarf.

Kit grinned at the sight of you, "Morning, sweetie."

"Someone best be dying for you to get me up this early, Kit." You replied. The nickname didn't mean anything specific, it was just what he had begun to call you out of the blue. "I bet nobody but us are up right now."

"Don't be so sure about that." He replied and pulled you toward him, "It's snowing outside."

"It's Georgia! I thought it wasn't supposed to snow here."

"You don't sound so excited." He chuckled.

You scoffed, "Snowing means its freezing."

Kit ignored your protests and pulled off his scarf. He lightly tied the scarf around your own neck for extra warmth. Then he pulled his beanie off and pulled it over your own hair. His dark brown hair was messier than usual, but it didn't seem like he cared at all, "Don't be a stick in the mud."