Methis Delis POV
After loads of tea and finally, though against my better judgement, some sleeping pills, I was able to fall back to sleep but this time I was sure to do it on my bed so I had all the comfort to prevent me from waking back up.
Luckily for me, daylight came in a flash. it was a big relief to finally have to leave the house and carry on with my life if that was going to stop me from overthinking about the past. By the way, it was just the past, not like there was anything I really valued from the past. They are just memories at the end of the day.
I started the morning with a cup of strong black coffee. I could only hope that there were no health hazards waiting for me at the end of the road. First there was me taking sleeping pills to help me fall asleep at night and then there was me just barely 6 hours later, taking black coffee to keep me awake. Surely I might just be walking on tight rope here.
I waited before the day had broken very well before I left the house. I was off to my breakfast café. I had bacon and hot chocolate. It was a boring breakfast. The food smelt nice but it was tasteless in my mouth and I soon lost my appetite. The only reason I forced myself was that I could not afford to start my day on an empty stomach.
I glanced at the door as I ate, hoping that Xander would just burst through the door and put my waring mind to ease with some of his jokes. I went back to my meal and glanced at the door again less than 30 seconds later.
Damn it, Xander! All you have to do now is walk through the door like you did the other day and we’d talk. But could I really blame him for not showing up today? He had his own problems and I could not expect him to be there for me at every single moment.
After breakfast, I went back home to freshen up and I was off to school.
***
“How has your work been going?” Sophia asked me. We were standing at the balcony where the science laboratory was.
“You know very well that’s not an actual job,” I corrected her. “It is more like journalism training before the real deal. They don’t even pay us.”
“Really?” Sophia looked at me. “Not even a change for your troubles?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
Sophia was in her lab coat which unsurprisingly had been stained by something. I do not recall there ever being a day where Sophia had come back from the lab and she was not stained in something. It has always been her style.
“I need to go now,” I announced.
“Where are you off to?” Sophia asked.
“I have to meet up with Xander. We still have work to do.”
Sophia gave me a levelling look and a smile crawled in the corner of her lips.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she replied. “Someone is knocking it off with my brother.”
“We are not knocking anything off, alright?”
“Alright, I hear you.” She winked at me and I rolled my eyes. “Look Methis, the guy is a playboy so don’t really take anything that serious.”
“I disagree,” I replied. “He is genuinely nice to me.”
“He is genuinely nice to a lot of girls.”
I laughed and shoved Sophia playfully. “Stop talking smack about Xander.”
I waved good bye as I left her to whatever laboratory thing she was doing. It was a Wednesday and we were usually free from work so all we had for the day was classes.
Xander was in the cafeteria when I met him. He had a coat on for the first time. He was at an empty table and this was one of the very few times I saw him alone. Usually, he was with his friends or surrounded by girls who just chatted away aimlessly.
“Hey, Methis!” he waved me over the moment he spotted me walk in. “Have a seat. Are you well?” he asked.
“Of course.” I took a seat just beside him. “Why the coat? Are you unwell?” I asked.
“Nah, I just decided to wear it today.”
“OK.”
We sat in silence for a while as we awaited the bell to go off for our next class. Xander bought us drinks as we waited and he retired to silence. I began to think of the year I had spent with the werewolves. I looked up at Xander and thought of what he would do if he knew the life I had lived in the past and just as if he was reading my mind, he asked.
“Methis?”
“Hmm?” I replied.
“Sophia once told me that there was a time you went missing for almost a year. What happened?”
I had prepared for this question before. A lot of people had asked it and I had my lie at a ready in case another person asked it.
“I fell terribly ill so I had to go for a treatment abroad.”
Xander stared at me before asking another question. “Why did you not tell anybody before you left?”
“It was an illness I did not want to talk about. I don’t know if you understand but there are stigma that comes with some certain conditions so I’d rather not let people know about it.”
“I’m sorry about that.” Xander places his hand on mine and we hold that position for quite some time.
I look away. Xander had been nice to me ever since we started working together. He was one of the only person who was able to calm me down, or make me feel better when I was having a shit day. But all I did was lie to him. I lied about what I was thinking about, I lied about where I was that year, I lied about everything. For that, I felt very bad.