I woke up groggier than ever before feeling emptiness in the bed. My body ached immensely and I sighed remembering what had happened the night before. I forced myself to get up disregarding the pain I felt shoot through my sore body. My wrists were almost purple from penny's hands.
"Ow" I whimpered as I touched them gently. I tightened my robe around me before heading to the kitchen. To my surprise I saw Penny rummaging through the cupboards looking for what seemed like something to eat.
"There no children or live flesh in there" I joked as penny snapped his head towards my direction.
"Why do you eat so many different things and yet there's nothing good" he said closing the cabinet door in defeat.
"Well I wasn't able to go grocery shopping yesterday because I was interrupted" I said rather irritated as penny looked down at me clearly unamused at my comment.
"Sorry" I said quickly after.
"I woke up grumpy" I said opening the fridge, sighing at the emptiness of it.
"I'm gonna head to the grocery store, do you want anything?" I asked as I began to head towards my bedroom to shower. I didn't receive a response which I guess meant he didn't want anything.
"I'll be back" I said rather dully as I closed the door behind me. I had left pennywise sitting on the couch watching cartoons to distract him. He seemed to like them.
I continued to add food to my cart, wincing at the pain in my wrists once in a while. I finally had made it to the snack aisle which was always my favorite. My hands instinctively reached out for the Oreos. My all time comfort food and I was in a huge need of comfort.
I neatly placed all the groceries in my trunk before slamming it shut. I sat in the drivers seat sighing in exhaustion. I looked at myself in the rear view mirror shocked at the tired face that stared back. I looked sad.
I unlocked the door holding the 7 bags of groceries in my hands. I was dying at this point but I refused to ask Penny for help. I didn't wanna be around him. I was shocked to see him still sitting on the couch, his eyes fixated on the tv. He giggled at a joke spongebob had made and I almost smiled at Penny's goofiness. Almost.
With a huge huff, I dropped all the grocery bags onto the kitchen floor. I closed my eyes for a second feeling overwhelmed. I felt like a soccer mom at this point.
"You're back" Penny said looking at me from the couch.
"Mhm" I said without making eye contact as I began to put the groceries away. Penny stayed silent for a while just watching me.
"Are you mad at me?" He asked in a child like voice. I didn't respond and continued to fill the fridge with newly bought food.
"Are you mad at me?" He asked again growing a little irritated.
"Tired is all" I answered rather shortly before he became upset. After I finished putting all the food away I decided to treat myself to Oreos. I had been looking forward to them the whole ride home.
I poured a glass of milk and took the box of cookies out of the pantry. My mood lightened up a bit as I daydreamed about the savory treats. Penny was abnormally quiet and I hadn't turned to look at him so I wouldn't be surprised if he had left by now. I felt a bit bad for being in a sour mood with him, but my body was in pain and he seemed to not really care. He acted as if nothing ever happened. If he wanted to continue being around me, he had to learn basic human compassion skills, at least for me. My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of bells ringing, letting me know he was still here. I turned to look at him and faintly smiled from my seat.
"Hi" he said with a cheesy grin causing my smile to widen. He took this as a green light, as he immediately hopped off the couch and made his way to me. He scooped me up from the seat and hugged me tightly. I wrapped my legs and arms around him, taking in his sweet scent. He still smelled like hot chocolate, reminding me of how sweet he could be towards me sometimes. I nuzzled my face into his neck as I felt his warmth radiating off of him. The day had been rather cold and it felt good to feel warm skin against mine. It felt good to feel him against me.
"I'm sorry" he said with the lisp still prominent in his voice.
"Stop" I said as I looked up to meet his eyes.
"It's the way you were created, it's not your fault" I said caressing his cheek. I then began to wonder why, when and where he was created but something told me it was a subject I shouldn't touch. My human mind was probably to incompetent to understand it anyways. I also loved this mysterious vibe I picked up from him. Not knowing who or what he was or where he came from was all the more intriguing. He looked at me with the same dull eyes he always had, they never quite matched the smile he always carried on his face. They were complete polar opposites but seemed to fit perfectly. Just like he and I were. Complete opposites but fit perfectly.
He softly put me down onto my seat as he stared at my choice of snacks.
"What's that" he asked curiously as I stuffed an Oreo in my mouth.
"Oreos" I simply said before taking a big chug of milk.
"Wanna try?" I offered as she shook his head aggressively.
"No" he said looking at the cookie with disgust.
"Oh cmon pleaseeee for me? For your doll?" I asked with puppy eyes. He frowned in hesitation.
"Okay just one" he said as I clapped my hands in excitement. He took a seat next to me as he stared intently as I dunk the cookie in the milk quickly before guiding it towards his mouth. I could tell he was trying his best not to gag or make any kind of unhappy facial expression as to not offend me. The soaked cookie lingered at the front his mouth for a second before he reluctantly opened it just barely enough to take a small bite.
"Mmmmm yummy" I said trying to convince him they were good as a mother would do to a child who was eating vegetables for the first time.
He gave me a tight smile, letting me know he wasn't very pleased.
"You barely tried it!" I huffed in defense at his criticism.
"One more bite" I said with a pout forming on my lips before he could object. Without saying anything he took the cookie from my slim fingers, shoving the whole thing in his mouth.
"They're my favorite" I said as I watched him chew softly. I saw him smile a bit before it disappeared just as fast as it appeared.
"You like them!" I said clapping my hands happily.
"I knew you'd like them!" I giggled as I hopped out of my seat and did a stupid little victory dance. Penny watched me in amusement as I hopped from one foot to another in excitement.
*ding* my phone rang in my purse. My head snapped towards the noise as I remembered my late assignment. I bolted towards my purse as I dug for my phone in the heaps of chewing gum, receipts and loose change. I really needed to clean out my purse. I quickly opened the text message reading it mentally as to not raise questions for Penny.
"Hey Lola, this is professor Larring. Just wanted to send you a quick reminder that today is the last day you can turn in your already late assignment! You're going to need to turn it in order to pass the class! I hope you get the chance to stop by. -Larring
"Shit" I groaned as I quickly began to gather my things to head out. I quickly rinsed my glass of milk in the sink and put away the Oreos, not even bothering to ask if Penny was done eating. I quickly printed out my assignment and grabbed my keys before walking out the door.
"I'll be back don't worry" I said as I turned to look at Penny one last time. He looked so confused and flabbergasted at my sudden rush. He looked back down at the table where the cookies and cup of milk once where as if they were going to magically reappear. I didn't give it a second thought and rushed out the door.
"I'm so sorry, life has been hectic lately" I apologized as I handed my professor the written assignment needed to pass the class. He looked up at me with a disapproving look before sighing as he took the paper out my hands gently.
"I'll input it today, you should be able to see your updated grade by the afternoon" he said with a tight smile. I smiled back and nodded politely as I began to walk away.
"Has everything been okay lately?" He asked making me turn on my heel to face him.
"Yes why?" I asked sweetly almost suspiciously
"Just wondering, usually when students take this long to turn in past due assignments, it's due to some bad circumstances going on in their personal life" he said
"I'm here if you ever need to talk" he continued.
"Right" I said as I smiled, spinning on my heels and walking out the door.
I fondled with my keys trying to find the correct one to open the main door to my apartment. After a minute or two, I slowly opened the door entering my warm apartment that smelled way to much like hot cocoa. My eyes widened at the site of a fussy penny looking angrily into the cup of milk he had seemed to pour himself. He looked up at me immediately with the same fussy expression on his face.
"Wha-" I began to say before his deep voice spoke.
"They won't stay" he said as I looked down at the tall glass of milk he had sitting in front of him. He seemed very upset. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to what he was fussing about. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing as I noticed that at the bottom of the glass, there was a pile of soaked mushy cookies. He had dipped them in the milk for too long and they had fallen apart.
"Oh no" I said trying not to trigger him. He looked at the cup trying to dig his fingers in the milk as an attempt to scoop out the cookies.
"Penny no!" I scolded as he continued to play with his food. He looked up at me angrily as I walked over to him. I grabbed a cookie from the box and dipped it lightly into the milk for a couple of seconds before handing it to him.
"You're only supposed to leave the cookie in there for a couple seconds not drown it" I said holding back a giggle as he began to look irritated.
"No" he said pushing the cookie away from his face, obviously done with the treats. I shrugged as I popped it into my mouth, not wanting it to go to waste. I poured the touched milk into the sink, not wanting to drink it after penny's hands had been fondling with it.
"I have to go" he said as he stood up. I looked back to see him as I saddened a bit.
"Whyyyy" I asked as if I didn't know the answer to the same question I asked every time he had to leave.
"You know why darling" he said in a warning voice. He really had no patience.
"Pleaseee you take forever and sometimes I don't see you for days" I whined, refusing to give up.
"I have to feed" he said in a deep voice. I frowned at my failed attempts to make him stay.
"But-" I began to say
You're too stubborn my dear" Penny said.
"Too stubborn for your own liking" he scolded gently. I turned my head to put the cup away and when I turned back, he was gone. I placed my hands under my chin as I leaned onto the sink, sighing in defeat. I mentally wished I'd see him soon, he could be gone for weeks for all I knew.
I turned around to pick up the rest of the mess when my heart suddenly jolted as I saw what Penny had left me.
A single red balloon floating neatly above the table.