C3

The next morning came too soon for both of us. As usual, my alarm woke me up with a shrill sound that echoed throughout the house. I sat straight up in bed and rubbed my eyes sleepily as I reached for the phone beside me on the nightstand to silence it. The room was still pitch-black outside, which meant it had to be close to seven o'clock by now, even though it looked more like three in the afternoon. It had taken longer than expected to fall asleep last night after all.

I pulled the blanket higher over my shoulders as I stretched, yawning loudly. Even though I'd managed to get almost eight hours of sleep, I knew I'd feel tired during the day anyway. Last night's events had worn me out physically and emotionally, and I needed time alone to recover from them.