The Unknown Road

32 - Tessa

TO SAY I SLEPT badly was an understatement.

What didn't help all night was that I could hear Matt snoring peacefully, as if he hadn't done anything wrong. I'd been tossing and turning so much that I think I may have got an hour's sleep. And even that's being optimistic. Matt's cheerful, consistent snoring had done nothing to help me get any sleep, nor were his continued snores helping my current mood.

About an hour ago I'd heard someone get up in the room next door so I decide to get up as well, stop delaying the inevitable. I was awake anyway and may as well get up.

I'm about to throw a pillow at Matt, just to stop his snoring, but a loud knock sounds, followed by Mark's head appearing round the door. As I sit up, I drop the pillow and curse Mark for his poor timing.

"Morning kids," he says quietly. "Lo's cooking bacon." I smile at his pet name for her.

My eyes are already stinging with tiredness as I swing my legs over the bed, but the delicious smell of bacon creeping through the door is too enticing to pass up. I quickly shuffle out of bed and walk with purpose into the kitchen. 

"Hey sweetie," Mum calls over the sounds of sizzling. "Sleep okay?"

I shake my head, being honest. "Not really. But not because of the bed."

I shrug and she nods. She knows I'm the sort of person who has to fix problems, and the problem of Matt hating my new predicament is one of the biggest problems I've ever had.

"He'll come around," she comforts me, putting an arm around me as I stand next her resting my head on her shoulder. "He will," she says again more reassuringly when she sees me roll my eyes.

"I know," I say, seeing him emerge out of the bedroom.

He hasn't put a shirt on and his long hair is up in a bun but it's somehow still sticking up in different directions. To add to my annoyance, he's wearing the grin of someone who'd got their full eight hours.

"Ugh," I scoff, rolling my eyes again. Mum sees and tuts but I don't care.

I move away from Mum when he comes around the kitchen island and takes a piece of bacon out of the pan. I go and sit with Mark, who is packing up a few bags in the living area.

"You alright?" I know he can only be asking to be polite because he can probably see from my face that I'm clearly not okay.

I just shrug and give him a meek smile. Mark seems nice enough so far, but I don't really know him enough to start complaining about my brother. He's no doubt heard about us from Mum. Although I bet he's only heard the good things, and so far we'd come up and just argued. Not a great first impression.

When Matt starts laughing at something, I decide I've had enough. I get up and storm off into our bedroom to get changed, and to try Archie again. It was still early, so he's probably still asleep, but even the sound of his voice on his voicemail would help me calm  down right now.

Once I'm changed, I dial his number, and just when I think it's going to go to voicemail it clicks through, bringing a smile to my face.

"Hello?" I ask quietly after there isn't actually a response. He sleeps with his phone charging on his other pillow so he may have just rolled over on it.

"Hey... lo?" His raspy voice sounds incredibly adorable when he's half asleep. His voice is low and barely recognisable but it's shifting my mood from hostile to tolerable in a matter of seconds.

"Hey baby," I croon.

"Oh hey," I hear him move, making a strange noise as he stretches. "I miss you," he says, trying to disguise a yawn. I giggle and clutch my chest at how his thoughts mirror my own. I miss him too. I miss him so much, and I don't even care how pathetic that sounds.