A door slammed shut and the coat was thrown over the couch, the fridge door opened and Alexander grabbed a can of beer. The cabinet door opened and a bag of potato chips was fetched. Sitting down, a crisp noise rang out as a beer can was opened. It was Christmas and he had just gotten back from work. The snow painted the dark city streets white and sparkled like glittering diamonds, a faint sound of jazz music was heard in the background as the tv was broadcasting the latest news. Taking a sip of the beer and tilting his head back he sighed in exhaustion, today's shift had been rough. Over 12 hours had been spent in front of that desk reviewing and writing articles for Emma. Glancing around the room he looked at the Christmas tree standing in the corner, lonely with a single star atop it while the gifts supposedly under it were none existent. Flashbacks played in his head as he was reminded of the joyful moments of his childhood, in front of that fireplace with a loving mother and father overlooking him as he opened the mountain of presents.
"I miss you guys." Next to the tv was a photograph of a young boy standing next to a middle-aged man and a beautiful woman.
Almost 5 years have passed now since Alexander's parents were killed in a burglary, forcing him to move to Stockholm. With the last gulp, the beer can was emptied and put down on the table in front of him. Reaching his hand into the bag he took a potato chip and ate it. While munching on the chips he started thinking about the shopping list for Monday morning and what he needed to stock up the fridge with. "I need to buy more juice and vegetables, hmm I have enough alcohol for a few more days so that's no issue but this was my last bag of snacks, so that needs restocking." A ding was heard as he looked down at his phone, a notification from Axel displayed on the lock screen. Rubbing his oily hand on the cough he grabbed his phone and looked at the message asking him if he wanted to hang out. Tapping started as he started writing excuses on how he was busy and didn't have time to hang, but after writing a paragraph a faint smile on his lips appeared. He erased it leaving a simple "Ok see you at the bar in 20 min?" Putting his phone back in the jeans pocket a thought arose in his mind that maybe this Christmas wouldn't be so boring after all. Grabbing his coat he stepped outside the door giving this dull apartment one last look before closing the door and heading down towards the bar. Cheers and drunk screams rang out in his ears as he stepped into this little corner bar.
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"Hey, Alexander over here!"
A muscular man with a familiar face sat at the end of the bar with 2 large glasses of beer in front of him. It was Axel of course with his happy smile and straight blond hair. Time passed as more empty glasses started appearing next to the two men. After chatting with Axel for a few hours it was time to head home. Stepping outside the bar a few snowflakes landed on his nose before instantly melting and running down his face. He started walking, almost tripping a few times but somehow he made his way home opening the door, and stepped inside his tiny apartment. Crashing down on the bed he felt the soft and comfortable embrace of the pillows, right before drifting away to dreamland he remembered that he actually had work tomorrow.
"Fuck I almost forgot!"
Setting the alarm on his phone he put the charger in it and right after he fell asleep with a faint smile on his lips. With a single thought on his mind.
This Christmas wasn't so bad after all.