Novels2Search
Harbingers; War
1.12 - Here we fucking go again. I mean, good morning.

1.12 - Here we fucking go again. I mean, good morning.

Ourias' apartment was small.

His suitcase was sitting on the floor next to the door, his shoes tossed to the side haphazardly.

His jacket was tossed across the back of the couch in the living room.

His bedroom door was open, his shirt hanging over the top of the door.

Ourias himself lay face down in his bed, with one leg hanging off the bed and still wearing his jeans. He used one of his arms as a pillow, and his phone sat near his head on the bed, not plugged in.

When Ourias woke up, he didn't move, but rather stared ahead. He closed his eyes again, only momentarily, just to sigh, before rolling over in bed and opening his eyes again.

His hands rested against his stomach as he watched the ceiling fan. He mindlessly reached around him until he found his phone, lifting it up above his face.

It didn't turn on, and Ourias dropped it onto his chest with another sigh. He looked around the room quietly before eventually sitting up on the edge of the bed.

Ourias watched his phone clatter to the ground and puffed out a breath. He slipped out of bed to pick up the phone before walking out of the bedroom.

His first stop was the kitchen.

Ourias plugged his phone in at the counter before directing his attention to a cabinet. He pulled out a box of coffee pods, and flipped it over with a frown when it was empty. He tossed it into the trashcan next to the sink without glancing over, grabbing the next box.

He took a mug from the cabinet as well, and started the coffee machine.

As he put the mug under the machine, he squinted at the clock on the microwave. He sighed (for the third time, now), and left the kitchen while stretching his arms up above his head.

The bathroom was next. Ourias brushed his teeth and stared up at a spider on the ceiling as he gargled mouthwash. He used his toothbrush cup and the edge of the toothpaste tube to collect the spider, all while balancing between the toilet seat and the sink counter.

He released the spider out onto the balcony railing before going back inside.

Ourias grabbed his suitcase next, bringing it to his room and tossing it onto the bed. The clothes in his suitcase joined a pile already next to the closet. He set his bag of toiletries aside and grabbed a plastic bag.

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He plopped down on the bed before dumping the bag up and sorting through everything inside.

A handful of smooth river stones went to a jar of other little rocks next to a quartz cluster and a hag stone on a floating shelf.

A little baggie of petals and leaves was taken and arranged on an altar on his windowsill in the kitchen.

Another glass bottle was added to a collection sitting on a bookshelf in the living room.

Ourias collected the last few items back into the bag, setting it aside.

He went back to the kitchen, picking up his coffee. He sipped from the mug as he pulled out a coaster inscribed with runes. He set his coffee down on the coaster and walked out of the kitchen. A notification lit up his phone, joining the many that were already there.

Ourias showered, shaved, and loaded an armful of clothes into the washing machine with a towel over his head. Drying his hair with one hand, he walked back to the kitchen and grabbed his phone.

Steam still rose from his coffee mug.

Ourias skimmed through the notifications on his phone, blocking a few numbers as he hopped onto the counter. His towel fell down to his shoulders as he picked up his coffee and opened his texts.

He deleted most of them, pausing on Erin's message: "Heard you got back from your trip. Call me when you get up in the morning."

Ourias didn't even get a chance to text her back before a phone call went through, Erin's face covering the screen. Ourias fumbled his phone, nearly dropping it.

Ourias stared at the phone for a moment before answering it and putting it on speaker phone. "Hey, Erin..."

"Good morning."

"Yeah... I was just about to send you a text."

"I know. I saw the little bubble."

"Don't you have work?"

"I do. But I can spare a minute." Erin was quiet for a moment. "How are you doing?"

Ourias set down his coffee again, tracing the rim of the mug. "As good as I can, I guess."

"Are you sure you're okay being there by yourself? You're free to stay with Jackie. Or I can tell him to stay there with you if you prefer to stay there."

"It's okay." Ourias shrugged. "My uncle changed my locks and they put up cameras and everything, so..." Ourias shrugged again. "It's okay."

Erin was quiet over the phone for a moment. "We're all here for you. You know that, right?"

Ourias smiled weakly, his voice quiet. "Yeah, I know."

"Ourias."

"...Yeah?"

There was another pause over the phone. "...Don't forget to eat breakfast."

"I am-"

"Coffee is not breakfast."

Ourias glanced at the mug, grimacing. "...Okay."

"Good." Erin said. "Look, I gotta head back to work, but you'd better know that I'm gonna give you the biggest hug when I get back."

Ourias laughed quietly. "Yeah, okay. Don't get in trouble. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah. We'll talk later." Erin's laugh sounded distorted through the phone. "Have a good day, Ourias."

"You, too."

Ourias slowly lowered his phone back to the counter, drumming his fingers against the edge of the counter. He sighed(for the last time in this scene, I swear), and got up again.

He opened his fridge, resting his head on the top of the door as he looked inside.

It was empty, aside from a plastic container. He picked it up, his face scrunching at the contents inside.

He needed to go grocery shopping.

He threw away the plastic container along with the old leftovers.