Chapter 11: A Day Off (Or So He Thought)

Chapter 11: A Day Off (Or So He Thought)

Bright woke up around 11 AM, eyes barely open, staring blankly at the ceiling.

For a while, he didn't move. His body felt heavy, his brain sluggish, like he had been pulled out of a deep, dreamless sleep.

Had yesterday really happened?

The thought rolled around in his mind, slow and unwelcome.

Emily had kissed him.

Twice.

And somehow, that wasn't even the most shocking part.

Emily was that Emily. The little girl from the orphanage. The one he had shielded all those years ago.

He hadn't thought about the past in so long. It felt distant, like something that belonged to another life. After everything he had been through since then, he had barely even remembered that moment—until now.

Bright turned onto his side, pressing his face into the pillow.

His brain wasn't ready to deal with any of this.

He groaned and sat up, rubbing his face. First, he needed to take care of the essentials—bladder, shower, brushing his teeth. Maybe then he'd feel human enough to decide if he wanted to think about any of this.

After getting out of the shower, he grabbed his phone out of habit.

No missed calls. No messages.

That was… odd.

Emily usually had a habit of waking him up, either in person or by calling him so many times that his phone considered dying just to escape the abuse. It wasn't every day, but it was rare for her to let him sleep in without at least some kind of harassment.

Maybe she was giving him space after yesterday.

Or maybe she had something planned. Something worse.

Bright shuddered at the thought.

Whatever. He wasn't going to spend his day worrying about Emily's weirdness.

He tossed his phone onto the couch, grabbed his PlayStation controller, and turned on the TV.

A whole day of doing absolutely nothing sounded perfect.

For the first time in a while, he was going to relax.

Hours passed in a comfortable haze.

Bright was fully immersed in his game, fingers moving instinctively over the buttons as he dodged attacks, countered, and watched the screen flash with every perfectly timed move.

His stomach grumbled, breaking his focus. He sighed, stretching his arms over his head before dragging himself to the kitchen.

The fridge was almost empty. A few sad-looking leftovers, some milk that was probably still good, and a half-eaten chocolate bar that had been sitting there for weeks.

He grabbed instant ramen instead, filling a pot with water while mindlessly checking his phone.

Still nothing from Emily.

It wasn't like she had to text him. But after yesterday, he expected… something. Maybe some teasing, maybe a smug comment about how he was probably overthinking everything.

But there was nothing.

He hesitated, staring at the screen for a moment.

Should he text her first?

No. That felt like walking into a trap.

She'd show up eventually. She always did.

The ramen finished cooking, and he poured it into a bowl, grabbing a pair of chopsticks before heading back to the couch.

He wasn't going to worry about Emily.

Today was just a normal day.

And he was going to enjoy it.

For now.

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