In My Lover's Mind

Thoughtless

Sleep. Warm, deep, and dreamless. Time didn't exist in this place, nothing did. No thoughts, no sights, no sounds.

Actually, as my mind formed some semblance of consciousness, I did notice a sound. A pattering sound. Rain? No, too rhythmic and heavy for rain. A voice seemed to rise above the sound, but it was faint. What was it saying?

The pattering sound and the voice seemed to become louder with every second. What was going on? I could barely make out what the voice was saying. I strained to listen.

Ms. Walton!

Ms. Walton? Me? It was calling for me? From where? The sound and voice became even louder.

Ms. Walton!

There it was again. That voice sounded familiar. Wait. Mr. Weston? Where was he? I couldn't see. All I saw was darkness.

The pattering grew louder and louder. Then, suddenly, it stopped. A loud thud. The world began to shake violently. An earthquake? The voice was so loud now. Where was he?

Ms. Walton! Ms. Walton!

My eyes flew open. I gasped and sat up quickly. I looked around in a panic. What? Where was I? What was happening?

It was at that moment that I noticed Mr. Weston. His hands were still firmly gripping my shoulders. Wait, had he been shaking me? I had the strangest sense of déjà vu about all this. I glanced at my fully opened door. I guess that was the thud I heard. My eyes moved back to him. He smiled as I blinked at him slowly.

"Good, you're finally awake! You sleep like the dead," he complained, shaking his head. "Did you know it rained?"

"Umm, yeah, uh..." The sentences wouldn't form in my confused, sleep-fogged brain.

"Well, I didn't!" He grumbled. "The wasted opportunity! The drama I could have captured with that kind of environment. The emotion. All gone!"

My brain suddenly clicked on. And it wasn't amused. I glared at him and crossed my arms.

"Arthur, did you really just wake me out of a dead sleep to complain about the fact that you missed the rain?"

He looked at the ground sheepishly. He half-shrugged and cleared his throat.

"Umm, well, not just for that reason," he muttered. "We have work to do too."

Of course. Work. What else could it be?

I heard the clock chime in the hall. Wait. Five?! Either I'd slept all damn day or it was still first thing in the morning! No wonder my eyes didn't hurt when I first opened them. There was no light yet!

"Arthur, what in the world are you doing up at this ungodly hour?!" I asked, bewildered.

"Honestly, no clue," he said, deep in thought. "The alarm woke me up. Funny thing though, I don't even remember having an alarm, let alone setting it. I guess I wanted to get a head start on work."

Henry. He must have set that alarm Victor told me about. Maybe I did have to get rid of that thing.

Arthur didn't even seem to notice me anymore. He was lost in thought about this mystery alarm. Come to think of it, why was he here? Victor mentioned he was the one who usually showed up when there was an alarm. Then again, I guess he technically said he was "more likely" to show up. It wasn't a guarantee. Nothing ever was with Mr. Weston.

I couldn't tell if I was disappointed by this or not. One thing was for sure though. Victor probably wouldn't have woken me up at the crack of dawn!