The Cracks in the Labyrinth

Chapter 15

Brightness woke him.

That, or the rumble of distant thunder, Adam thought, realizing the sound of rain beating against the window couldn't have roused him. Whatever it was, my head will split open if I don't take a Tempra soon.

Reaching over to turn off the bedside table light, he remembered he hadn't bought one yet. Or a bed, for that matter. The only thing close to furniture in his bedroom was a mattress on the floor surrounded by boxes still unpacked after the move.

What time is it?

Just as he'd reached for a lamp that wasn't there, he squinted at his naked wrist, looking for a watch he didn't have.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" Evi asked him.

Adam saw the circles under his girlfriend's eyes and frowned.

"Wait, you haven't gone to bed?"

"We don't have a bed."

"You're hilarious... for a raccoon."

"That's ten points from Gryffinfuck."

"Huh?" He sagged into his mattress, and one arm flung over his face. "I swear you are getting weirder by the minute."

"It's from Harry Potter, silly."

"Evi, I told you. I'm not going to the movies to watch that crap. It looks so bad."

"Your breath is bad." She closed her brand new IBM ThinkPad and put it away. "And yes. You're coming with me."

"First, the scholarship, now this. What else will you make me do?"

"That's it. You complain too much. No sex for you."

"Hey! You woke me up, and instead of an apology, I got a threat."

Evi headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she stood at the sink brushing, she said, "I think you were having a nightmare, anyway."

Still fumbling about for his cellphone to see what time it was, he rubbed his tired eyes.

"Really? Can't remember." He checked under his pillow and clicked his tongue. Nothing. "Come on!"

"What?" Evi took a gulp of mouthwash, rinsed, and spat while letting the faucet water run.

"My phone," shouted Adam, his temper spiraling. "Shit!"

"Wow. That sleep therapy is paying off. You are all rainbows and sunshine."

"That Rafael guy is a sham."

"He came highly recommended," she said, cuddling next to him. "But I agree with you."

"That's a first."

"You don't need a hippie quack doctor to control it."

It? His head was throbbing with pain now. Why can't she ever say it out loud?

"Evi, we are not having this conversation again."

"Just saying that if you set your mind to it..."

Adam turned to his side. He didn't want her wrapped around his chest anymore. Sometimes I think my love for the bottle is the only inheritance my father left me. He closed his eyes, trying to forget his headache. Can't she understand this is a disease? You don't control a fever; you cure it.

"Could you please turn the light off?"

"Don't get mad." She paused. "The thing is, no one should mess with your brain."