TWELVE

 It was barely 7am in the morning when Alexander left the hotel room, not bothering to wake up Joan who was still sleeping very soundly.

The entire night had passed by in a blur, the only thing remaining the same being his terrible headache and inability to sleep for more than ten minutes. Now morning, he felt crankier than usual and the only feasible way he could see out was getting a decent amount of his sleep in his bed in his own home.

Certain whatever madness suddenly took over Lana the previous night would have subsided, he returned home. He drove in and taking his things with him, he stepped out of the car, heading directly for the front door.

It was open when he gave it a push, the entire house quiet as he took his first step in. Sighing in slight relief, he took another step in, walking in further until he was completely past the living room and sure Lana wasn't anywhere around waiting for him to show up so she could perform whatever new tricks she had up her sleeves.

As he hoped, the living room was clear but oddly enough, the dining wasn't. It was busy. Not in a way that featured Lana directly but in a way that definitely featured her indirect intervention.

"Sir, you're back home," he was greeted with a bow from the cooks, followed by them gesturing at the full table. "Breakfast is ready."

"Breakfast?" He repeated, confused. "You made breakfast?"

Ever since he lived alone and hired the cooks, they had a couple of established rules none of them ever tried to break. And one of the rules was not bothering to make him breakfast on days whereby he spent his night out.

"Yes sir," she lowered her head as she replied. "Mrs Frane- your wife asked us to. She said you had a busy day yesterday so you'd be very hungry by the time you got back. That's why we prepared a full table."

"Oh, she did," he clearly wasn't free from her shenanigans. "I see."

"So, should I-"

"Throw it out," his tone was sharp as he cut the cook off. "Every single meal on this table should be disposed. And I'll take this as the first and the last time you'll take orders from anyone other than me regarding my already established rules."

"What? Oh- I- I'm so sorry, sir. I- I- I didn't mean to. I just thought I-"

Waving his hands to dismiss whatever she could still have to say, he shook his head and resumed walking, this time not stopping until he was back in his room. Slamming the door shut behind him, he fell onto his bed and with continuous groans, took off every piece of clothing had on him until he was completely naked.

He managed to drag himself into the shower and got freshened up, his headache still refusing to give him a break. With just his robe on him, he reached for his drawer and took out his pills bottle, sending several pills down his throat.

The relief didn't come instantly and even after he laid on his bed, eyes shut tightly for over ten minutes, he still couldn't get a wink of sleep, fueling his frustration. His groans became countless as he eventually got up, got dressed and prepared to leave the house again.

"Sir are you heading out?"

"Yes," he replied his guard, taking one of his car keys from him. "I'm going to work."

"On a weekend?"

"How's that any of your business?"

"I'm sorry," he immediately bowed his head. "It's just that your wife headed out early this morning too so i-"

"I didn't ask," he got into the car and shut him up with the sound of the car coming to life. Not a single word was uttered any longer, Alexander driving in silence all the way back to his office.

It was indeed a weekend, the whole building empty. It was just as hoped though and the moment he got to his office, he flipped his laptop open and quickly buried himself in unfinished work he had pending.

That did the trick as in less than an hour of working, fatigue finally crawled in. Giving in, he shut the laptop, moved over to the rather comfortable sofa and successfully shut his eyes for what felt like an eternity.

By the end time Alexander woke up, it was late already. The room was dark, the only lightening coming from the wall sockets he had turned on. It was silent too, finally mirroring his mind for the first time in a long while.

He stretched then rose to his feet, extremely glad he was able to get the rest he so desperately needed. He walked over to his desk, contemplating working some more but eventually dismissing the thought to finally head back home.

Following the normal speed limit, he got home in less than an hour and pulled over at the garage, reaching for his phone and wallet before he stepped out. Grabbing them, he looked around for anything else he could be forgetting and subconsciously, suddenly found himself staring at his wrist to check if he wasn't too late already.

 "What the hell am I doing right now?" He muttered to himself, immediately taking off his wristwatch to toss it into the back seat. "This is my house. I can come in whenever the hell I want."

Rolling his eyes at his ridiculousness, he slammed the door and stepped out, his strides confident as he approached the front door. It didn't take long for his steps to suddenly become slow though, his fingers hesitating for a second before he grab the door knob.

"Seriously, what the fuck, Alexander?"

He hissed then without any more hesitation, grabbed the door knob and gave it a shove. He paused, clicked his tongue then like he was being watched, took a careful step into the house, immediately almost blinded by the bright lights on.

Lana was in the living room but this time she wasn't by the entrance waiting for him, arms folded, entire aura a failed attempt at being intimidating. Instead, she was seated on the sofa, a blanket wrapped around her to hint at comfy pyjamas underneath and hair tied in a messy bun on her head. Her legs were crossed, feet covered in socks and she had a gigantic bowl of popcorn on her lap.

He slowly raised his brows as he looked at her, patiently waiting for her to notice his arrival. She was watching a movie, giggling and laughing at intervals as she continuously sent ridiculous portions of popcorn down her throat.

He remained in his position for almost a minute, now confused. She still wasn't acknowledging his presence- not even in the most annoying manner.

"Of course," he muttered to himself then resumed walking. "She was definitely drunk yesterday that's-"

"Oh, you're back!" Her oddly cheerful voice suddenly broke into his thoughts, Alexander immediately pausing his steps. Slowly, he turned to meet her gaze, a smile on her face as she waved at him. "Do you mind popcorn?"

"What?"

"Or do you want to watch this movie together?" She shoved the popcorn into her mouth since she didn't get a possible response. "It's really funny. I've been laughing for over thirty minted straight."

"What?"

"Suit yourself then," she shrugged then turned around, adjusting the blanket wrapped around her as she did. With her gaze fully plastered on the tv, she raised her hands then waved, fully aware he was still staring at her. "Good night then! Sweet dreams!"