Midnight Smiles

#Chapter1

---Long time no see-01

It has been quite a long time since the last time Jake Caley had a good night sleep. Hell, even a good nap had become a myth to him. Every day found this young man already awake, with wide open bloodshot eyes, for he never actually fell asleep.

As one more night came and went just like that, Jake sighed in his heart and closed his eyes.

Today it’s her anniversary…

Those four words tired him even more than the long sleepless nights. Jake didn’t want to get up, didn’t want to lie down. He didn’t want to stay awake anymore, nor did he want to sleep. Hell no, sleeping was out of question. Still, with a headache that seemed to split his head open, Jake closed his eyes. His brows were furrowed and the corners of his mouth were lowered in a frown that never left his face whenever he was alone in the quietness of his room.

The turquoise-colored eyes burned as if begging for sleep even if it lasted as long as a wink. Yet Jake refused to sleep. However, he knew for sure that today… today won’t be a good day.

Sure enough, Jeremy, his friend… his only friend, knocked on the door. Without even waiting for an answer, he walked inside the dark room with a tray filled with food. Jeremy placed the tray on the desk that was currently used as sleeping space by dear Jake and walked to the window to push open the curtains. The moment the sunlight entered the room, a miserable, almost animalistic groan came from Jake.

/"What the fuck?!! Turn it off. Turn it off!!! I’m blind!/"

Jeremy rolled his eyes, but today he didn’t dare upset Jake. /"Stop being such a whiny bitch. Eat your breakfast./"

Jake opened his eyes and glanced at the tray right in front of his nose. The rich smell of orange juice, toast and scrambled eggs assaulted his nostrils the moment the tray was placed on the desk. Yet it failed to arouse any desire to eat. Even worse, after Jake saw the food in front of him, he felt even less like eating.

/"I want coffee./"

/"You have to eat something first./"

/"I want coffee./" Jake repeated like the three-year-old baby he was.

/"You’re going to destroy your stomach like that!/" Jeremy was getting irritated, his /"daddy/" side coming out. Even though Jake was twenty years old and logically speaking he should be able to take care of himself, ever since then Jeremy had taken under his care this three-year-old baby in the body of a grown-ass man, feeding and taking care of him just like he did with his own daughter. The sad part of all this was that both of them, Jake and Jeremy, were the same age.

/"I still want coffee though./" Jake closed his eyes, and as if his body had suddenly turned into a mass of slime, he slowly fell on the floor and lied down there as if he was dead.

Jeremy rolled his eyes one more time and walked out of the room. As the door closed, Jake wondered either, he went to get his cute little Leah ready for kindergarten or to make him his coffee. Probably the former.

Coming to the realization that the coffee wasn’t going to make itself, Jake sighed once more and finally stood up. His tired, lazily opened eyes looked around the room for his headphones, completely ignoring the miserable state the room was. Just the sight of it could scare anyone out of it. Even Jake. He didn’t like the horrible mess his room was, but he just couldn’t bring himself to clean it. He just simply couldn’t.

There were all sorts of things all over the place. The carpet was almost hidden under the pile of clothes and books and endless sheets of papers, scattered all over the floor. And that bit of it that was actually visible was unfortunately dyed with the paint Jake accidentally spilled and sprinkled while painting last night. If his father coincidentally walked inside, Jake knew for sure he would be in big trouble.

The bed, that was there more like a decoration or at most being used like the desk that had stolen its job, had on top of it tangled sheets and books and the laptop that looked like it had been through hell by the way Jake kept throwing it carelessly in any possible corner of the room. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise even if the laptop was found in the bathroom. Actually… the bathroom was the place where it was most frequently found, for Jake Caley, who had become a well-known writer, loved to find inspiration in his bathtub while fully clothed and looking like the epitome of depression.

Finally, finding the headphones behind some half-finished paintings that were leaned against the wall, Jake plugged them in his phone and walked out of his room only after the music started to play.

Since the headache seemed to be worse than usual today, Jake didn’t dare to listen to the usually angsty music with singers screaming and roaring their guts out, loud enough to burst his eardrums. Instead, he listened to some waltz music.

Maybe it is because of the lack of sleep or maybe because Jake was just like that, he started to hum along with the music, dancing waltz while walking through the hall and down the stairs.

When Aiden, his younger brother, walked out of his room to only be met with this sight, he didn’t know how to feel for this idiot of a brother was dancing waltz… he wasn’t even dancing the male’s part. He had taken the female’s position.

Seeing this, Aiden snorted and didn’t want to see such abnormal behavior anymore. He ignored Jake and walked to the bathroom.

Still humming, Jake walked into the kitchen, but by the time he reached the coffee machine, all power suddenly evaporated in thin air, the sweet music of waltz suddenly sounded sad, and it felt like it was licking the wounds in his soul. Not even bothering to make the coffee anymore, Jake simply sat on the counter, arms folded, and his chin resting on top of them as he stared at the coffee machine unblinkingly.