Crawling In The Dark

[Shannon]

I was sleeping comfortably in my room, the darkness surrounding me in the first couple of hours of the day. Most sane people weren't awake at this time of the night. I was comfortably wrapped in my heavy black comforter, sleeping in a pair of old jeans and shirtless. I was oblivious to the fact that outside my apartment, my brother had just parked his car next to mine. I had given him the key to my apartment a long time ago, just in case he needed it. He grabbed his backpack from the back seat of his car and made his way up the front steps in the dark. He was by no means quiet as he made his way in, not that it woke me. He sat his backpack down by the front door and walked down the hall, toward the open door to my room. He leaned one shoulder against the door frame, contemplating a way to wake me up.

[Izzy Morris]

I pulled the pillow from under my head onto my face. I wanted to disregard the presence of Jase so much that I might consider selling my soul if it meant I would become immune to him. After some time of struggling with the notice I threw the covers back and marched out only to see him near Shannon’s door. “Oh look what the cat dragged in, ate, spit back up and dropped by Shannon’s door. Look could you be a little louder I don’t think the folks in the next county can hear you yet.” The venom shooting from my eyes was surely enough to kill a small rodent of sorts.

[Shannon]

Jase

I crossed my arms across my chest. "What's the matter princess? Not happy to see me?" I looked in on my sleeping brother again. "You're telling me to be quiet. Are you trying to wake girly boy up?" I grinned crookedly, remembering the nickname I had devised for Shannon years ago. My expression became more serious. "How's he been?" He hadn't told me much in our phone calls or letters. He seemed to be bottling all his emotions.

[Izzy Morris]

I felt as if I was going to jump up and take a bite out of his throat for calling me princess and Shannon girly boy, but then he jumped to a more serious note so I dropped the thought for now. “Well as far as I can tell he’s fine…but seeing as you’re here now that’s subject to change.” I continued to scowl at him relentlessly. Sure he brought Shannon to America and was with him at home when things got really bad, but the rest of the time he was a pain, which gave me warrant in my own eyes to very strongly dislike him. “If you would like to check in you may do so at the front desk. I’ll ask that you hold your breath till I decide to get around to figuring out your place here while Shannon finishes sleeping.”

[Shannon]

Jase

I straightened up from the wall and put my hands in my pockets. "I can't be all that bad. He doesn't seem to have a problem with it." I tilted my head in Shannon's direction. I had a soft spot for my younger brother. There were very few people I trusted, but he was one of them. "You may want to get back to sleeping yourself. You seem to be a bit grumpy." I glanced at Shannon again. He hadn't moved the entire time we were here, suggesting that he was not waking up anytime soon.

[Izzy Morris]

I had nothing more to say to him at the moment. So I shoved off to my room where I grabbed a pillow, a blanket and my cell phone. When I emerged once more I facetiously smiled at him. “I’m going to finish sleeping at a friend’s house. You can tell Shannon when he wakes up that I went to Iris’s.” While I was talking to Jase I was sending out a text to Iris’s Brother Dawn asking if he would come get me. If not I was going to walk in the snow to get there.

[Shannon]

Jase

I sighed and shook my head. I wasn't here to see her anyway. I was here for my brother and if she wanted to throw a hissy fit about it then she could do that on her own time. I walked over to the edge of his bed and sat on the floor, leaning my back against the bed. Moonlight shone through the window enough that I could get some writing done on my plans. From what I remembered, Shannon would be awake in an hour or so. I didn't plan to tell him anything. If she had a message she could tell him herself. I was not pulling favors for someone that inhospitable.

[Izzy Morris]

I waited by the door with no response from the other end of my message. After some time I found myself on the floor. I had slid down the edge of the door and had no ambition to move. The floor was sort of cold at the base of the door, as was to be expected in the winter so I pulled my blanket around myself and in no time had fallen back asleep.

When my eyes opened up once more I assumed it to be a good amount of time later. It was now much brighter then it had been when I fell back asleep. I looked to the phone that was still clutched in my hand. I hadn’t received a return message, a mystery to be solved later.

I still really didn’t want to get up but the chill was becoming more of a pain the longer I waited. Finally I drew up enough energy to slump my way into the living room where I flopped onto the couch not really bothering to worry about my pillow or blanket. I was feeling to sluggish just yet to make food or get dressed so I simply laid there, waiting for my ambition to come about.