[263] Sarah's morning

Sarah woke up at 9am. The room was chilly and dim, lit only by the filtered light of an overcast morning. She rubbed her eyes, trying to blink away the dull fog in her head.

Something about the way the silence pressed in made her feel uneasy.

She opened her phone, looking for a text from that guy she met last night.

“Had a great time :) Lmk when ur free again.”

She stared at the message, not sure how to feel.

“Meh, it was ok I guess”, she thought, not quite as good as she hoped.

She typed:

“Yeah me too :) maybe later this week?”

But the words felt hollow. She deleted the message.

She set the phone down and rolled onto her back. The silence was still there.

A faint hum came from the fridge in the kitchen, filling the edge of the quiet, but it didn’t help.

She tried to replay the night. Drinks. Partying. Tame Impala’s The Less I Know The Better was echoing at 100db.

His name — was it Ryan? Or Riley? Something with an R.

They talked about movies. She remembered that. And his hands - he had nice hands. Confident, but not grabby.

Her phone buzzed again.

“U up? Lol”

Sarah let out a soft sigh.

Her lil sis, Amanda. Could she be even MORE annoying?

“Where ya go last night? Can I borrow ur jean jacket? The cute one?”

She rolled her eyes and tossed the phone beside her on the bed. Amanda always had radar for when she wasn’t in the mood.