don't get me wrong () prodigal son SLOW UPDATES

Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty Three:

"My arm is asleep." A voice complained, more loud the second time. "Hey, Theo, I can't feel my arm."

Theodora peeled her eyes open, blinking slowly as she sat up. She was on the couch, Malcolm slouched into the cushions underneath her. "Huh?"

"You've been sleeping on my arm. It's now asleep."

"Oh." Her mouth formed a line, she rubbed her eyes and flopped to the other side of the couch. He sat up, stretching out his arms. "Sorry."

He shrugged, shaking his head. "Are you alright?"

"Ya—"

His eyebrows narrowed, "I know you're lying."

"Than why bother asking?"

Malcolm snorted, "Are you gonna tell me what he said to you."

"It wasn't important. Just trying to get into my head."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Did you sleep?" She asked, changing the subject. "At all?"

He shook his head, the bags under his eyes darker than before.

Theodora pulled herself off of the couch, glancing at the clock. "It's almost noon, I'm sure we should've been with Gil and the others way before now. I'm gonna go shower and get ready, I can meet you at the precinct if you want to go back to your place and clean up."

He stood up, adjusting his suit. He brought his sleeve up to his nose and sniffed, "Smells ok. I'm ready."

She glared at him, "I'll meet you there, Mal."

Malcolm rolled his eyes, "Okay. Okay. Fine, I'll leave. I thought I was good company, but..."

"You are. The best."

Another eye roll as he approached the front door, "See you there."

He swung the door open and slipped through, closing it gently. Theodora walked over and flipped the lock, immediately heading to the bathroom where she switched the faucet of the tub on and felt her hand under the stream of water until it warmed.

It took only ten minutes for her to her shower, and five minutes to get dressed. She wore a long black sleeved shirt with a black overall dress she found hanging in her closet. Theodora braided her wet hair in two on either side, tying them off and flipping them over her shoulders. Theodora dragged a chair from the kitchen to the bathroom and sat down crossed legged, staring in the mirror. Laying out her makeup she grabbed her foundation and squeezed some onto her hand, grabbing a beauty blender, applying it to her face.

Ten minutes later she watched herself, her makeup completed. She finished it off with a dark red lip, giving herself a smile in the mirror.

"Today's gonna be fine." She told herself, slowly getting up. "It's gonna be fun. You're fine, you're cool. You are cooool."

With a nod she wandered out, collecting her wallet, keys and phone. She clicked all the lights off and slipped out the door, locking it before making her way down the hallway and the stairs. It was more on the cold side, but it felt nice on Theodora's face. She breathed it in, glad she wasn't in her stuffy overly hot apartment.

Why she hadn't kicked Malcolm out last night, she didn't know. Instead she cried on his shoulder until she passed out, rambling words that didn't make sense. And he had listened, holding her tighter the louder she sobbed. Theodora was surprised he stayed, letting her sleep against him all night. As usual, he said he hadn't slept. The bags under his eyes were growing deeper, his sanity crumbling away with every all nighter.