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Bone Diggers - Chapter Forty Seven

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Andreah wasn't sure how long she slept, but by the light that had snuck its way past her curtains, she guessed it was afternoon. Oversleeping wasn't her biggest surprise. No, that could be explained by overdoing it last night, and not setting an alarm clock. It was a fact that Owen was still in bed, lying with an arm over his eyes.

Andreah called his name, and his arm moved back, fingers lingering over his eyes before he turned to look over. The slow ease suggested he'd been awake, or near enough. She simply stared for a second longer until Owen elegantly broke the silence. "What?"

She shook her head, burying her nose into the pillow. Her eyes flickered back up a second later. "Hi."

"Hey," Owen grinned. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." Andreah sat up as if to test her statement. When that went well, she swung her feet over the bed. Seeming pleased, she glanced over to Owen again. "Thank you, again."

Owen propped himself on up his elbows. "Not a problem. Don't give me too much credit, I didn't do all that much. You seemed to have it once we got you home."

Andreah's face tightened around her nose, reminiscent of a rabbit. She wasn't sure why he was downplaying things, or if he really didn't feel troubled. "Well, anyways. I'm going to take a shower. I don't think I'll be fully human until I do."

"Wait," Owen called. "What happened last night?"

She swayed on her feet as if she didn't understand the question fully. "I overdid it. Thought that was painfully obvious."

Owen waited. Giving her time to confess more details she didn't want to give. The silence stretched out to an impolite length. "Right. I'm just glad you feel better."

Andreah went off to the bathroom. By the time Owen got up, he could hear the shower running. He glanced at the door and the line of light from under it. Why were some drug users annoyingly boastful about what they took while others skipped over it entirely?

Another curiosity was how plain her bedroom was. It was awfully simple compared to the mess of her living room. The fanciest thing about it was a swoop chair with her jacket from last night over the back. He didn't want to be nosy, but not knowing what drug she was using was dangerous if a situation like this came up again. He picked the jacket up and checked the various pockets. There were two in front, one across the bust, and in another, tucked inside, his fingers caught something plastic.

He pulled out a tiny zip lock bag with several pastel pills, and placed the jacket back down to get a closer look. Ecstasy. Now that connected the dots of her party behavior.

The door creaked, and Owen tucked his hands behind him. Andreah stood at the bathroom doorway, dry, and wearing nothing but a towel.

"Did you want to take a shower with me?" she asked.

His surprise shifted into a sly smile. "I'm going to pass. I was told that sort of nonsense past 12 only meant one thing."

"I meant AM," Andreah laughed.

"Plus, did you forget there's that reunion panel today?

"Oh shit," Andreah said, as glanced across the room to the alarm clock. "I'll hurry. Then we can swing by your place if you want to change before heading to fnVR."

They got to the office a little late, but it didn't matter because a large enough buffer was built into the schedule. Owen was going through the footage that was cut for time or content to prepare. He didn't want to accidentally reference a scene or tell an inside joke that, to the audience who didn't watch live, didn't exist. His feet were up on the desk, blocking a bottom corner of the screen.