Bittersweet Chaos

I wake up to feeling a kiss on my forehead, causing me to stir awake. I open my eyes slowly, adjusting the light, to find Liam giving me a kiss before leaving for work. I wrap my arms around his neck, bringing him close to me  before letting him go and watching him leave. I lay awake in bed for a little while after he leaves, eventually mustering the energy to get up and start my day.

I finally crawl out of bed and make my way to the kitchen. I grab my mug and insert my coffee pod into the machine and press the button, enjoying the smell of fresh brewed coffee as it fills the air and the apartment. Once finished brewing, I grab my cup and head to the desk in the spare bedroom, powering on my laptop. I sip my coffee as my laptop powers up, enjoying every sip as it hits my tongue.

I spend the next couple hours getting introduced to my online class and completing the first few assignments, wanting to get a head start on the assignments. I have never been one of those people who procrastinate and wait until the last minute. Just thinking about procrastinating and then rushing to complete an assignment gives me anxiety.  I'm just about finished working on the one assignment when I hear my phone vibrate against the table. I pick it up and see it's from Shawn. I unlock the screen and open the text, reading it. Relief floods though me as I read that his dad's shop has a tire in stock for my car. Shawn even volunteers to come change to tire for me.

I quickly change and wait for Shawn to come over. As soon as I see Shawn pull into the apartment parking lot and get out of his car, I run towards him and throw my arms around him. "Shawn you have no idea how much you are saving me right now. I owe you, big time. Seriously, just tell me what I can do to repay you." I smile at him.

"I'll keep that in mind. When I think of something I will let you know." He returns my smile as he faces me.

I watch as he changes my tire, trying to remember everything he does in case I need to do this in the future. It doesn't take as long as I expected, Shawn finishing quickly.

"So you ready to face Professor Dickhead again?" He asks me while wiping his hands on his jeans, raising his eyebrows. I tilt my head back and groan loudly at the thought.

"Ughh. No. He was such a dick. I don't know how I can tolerate a whole semester with him." Shawn laughs at my response.

"Yeah. I don't how either of us will survive. Hopefully he lightens up or else it's going to be a very long semester."

I debate about telling Shawn about the Julian I encountered at the bar, the nice and considerate one. The one who helped me close the bar. The one who helped bandage my hand. But I decide against it, wanting to keep this side of Julian to myself.

I invite Shawn up to the apartment and we spend time going through the syllabus, setting a schedule where we get together for study dates but to also exchange notes. In the past I have found that having a study buddy helps with succeeding in the class. Also, it's nice to make my first friend since moving up here.

I quickly pay Shawn and see him out, again thanking him for everything he has done for me. I spend the next few hours straightening the apartment until it's time to get ready for my shift at work. I make quick work of curling my hair, fluffing it when I am done. I give my eyelash's one more swipe of mascara, making my gray eyes stand out more. Of course Liam isn't here by the time I leave. It's become more and more common for Liam to stay late at the often, most days I don't even see him before going to work.

As I drive to work I notice how much smoother my car is, that one tire making a world of difference. I wonder if Julian will show back up, and if he does what would he say? What would I say? I can't decide if I want him to show up tonight or not. I can't explain it, but part of me wants to seem him even though the other half of me doesn't.