Problems

|| Chapter 2 ||

Chapter 2 - Go Ask Charlemagne

TW: nightmares, alcohol, unhealthy eating habits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Water sloshed everywhere. The storm howled overhead, thunder crashing down around his ears. Rain lashed at him, waves pulled at him as he clung to his rock. He tried to keep his mouth shut, but the water was inescapable. Salt stung the cuts on his arms and legs, and he let out a small whimper. Suddenly, a giant wave smashed him against the rock, causing Alexander to loose his grip. He thrashed in the water, trying to find his rock again.

But it was no use. It was gone, and he couldn't see anything. It was blacker than squid ink at a new moon. His lungs burned for air until he couldn't take it. He opened his mouth, sucking for air, only to be met with water. He choked, sinking farther down, down, down...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alexander bolted upright, gasping. He felt nauseous, like he always did after having a nightmare.

He sat there for a few minutes, gulping air, before quietly climbing of bed and grabbing his laptop, getting back into bed. He sat with his back against the wall and turned his brightness all the way down so that John wouldn't wake up.

God, if John found out...

Alex shook the thought out of his head and started typing, every so often looking up to make sure his roommate was asleep.

He fell into his zone. He blocked everything out and just wrote.

After a few hours, it felt like he could breath easier. His mind felt clearer. He shut down his laptop and walked into the bathroom, turning on the light.

"Hey, Charlie, can I borrow your sink?" Alex whispered to the turtle.

The turtle didn't respond.

Alex grabbed his heavy-duty sleeping meds he had been prescribed for when he had nightmares and downed one with a glass of water.

Alex lightlystroked Charlemagne's shell before turning off the lights and climbing back into bed. He fell asleep a few minutes later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alex? Alex, wake up."

Alexander sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Wha-"

John was smirking at him. "Dude, you overslept, like, by four hours."

That woke him up.

"WHAT!"

He scrambled out of bed, frantically looking for the clock. "John, what time is it?"

"Um-" John squinted at his watch. "It's like 10 am. Why?"

Alex was about to kick down the door when a thought flashed in his mind.

"Wait." Alex sat back down on his bed. "It's Tuesday, right?"

John nodded, then frowned. "Yeah, why?" He asked.

Alex say down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Our classes don't start until Monday. In two weeks..."

"Yeah, so? Alex, I'm not following you." John chuckled, and started to pull his hair back into a ponytail.

"Why did you say I overslept if our classes don't start until then?" Alex said, accusatory confusion in his voice.

"Oh." John said, and laughed sheepishly. "Whoops. I meant you overslept breakfast."

Alex sighed, then rubbed his face again. There was no point of going back to bed now. And anyways, he had work to do. He slid off of his bed and grabbed his laptop off of his desk.