Fall Away

“Ellie!”

“Huh?” I looked up to see Diana glaring at me. “Sorry, what?”

“Can you start making the sandwich? Or the drink? Or something?”

I nodded, secretly groaning to myself. I forced my hands to move as I began to make a person’s sandwich. It was easier than trying to remember how to make all the specialty drinks.

I placed the meal on a plate, and set it on the counter. “Club sandwich with no tomatoes,” I announced. A woman came and took the plate, and I turned to make the next meal on the list. My body felt heavy, and my eyes kept threatening to close. My movements were robotic – reach, place, reach, place, deliver. I didn’t let myself stop, for fear that Diana would yell at me again.

“Roast beef sandwich with extra cheese,” I called, waiting for the person to come claim their meal.

“Long night?”

I jumped as I heard the voice right next to me ear. I looked around to see Soren lounging there, grinning at me. “Why would you say that?”

He laughed. “You’re dead on your feet, Ellie. It’s somewhat obvious.”

I shrugged, but my shoulders felt heavy so it turned into a half-shrug.

“What were you doing? Something fun?”

I knew he was teasing, but I still felt the urge to defend myself. “Studying, actually.”

“Aww, Ellie,” he sighed. “You need to get out more. Have some fun. Live a little.”

“I think we’ve had this conversation before,” I groaned. “Is this your sandwich?”

He shook his head at the same moment a man came to take the plate from me. I turned my back on Soren and continued my work.

“We have. But that doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind.”

I shook my head as I grabbed a handful of onions and scattered them onto the sandwich. “I wasn’t saying it did.”

“Then why-”

“I was trying to make a point,” I snapped. “That’s all.”

I stuck the last piece of bread on top and placed the plate on the counter.

“Point taken,” he assured me, the grin still on his face. “I was just thinking that you should do something fun.”

“Soren, I’m running on about two hours of sleep. Is there something important you want to tell me, or are you just here to hassle me?”

“Hassle?” He shook his head. “I would never hassle you, Ellie. I’m just making conversation.”

“Well, in that case I need to focus on work. Make conversation with me tomorrow when I’m working. I may actually pay attention.”

“I have a better idea.”

I didn’t think I liked the glint in his eyes. “What?” I asked warily.

“How about we talk outside of your work? Then you won’t have to worry about any distractions.”

I quickly shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Oh, come on. You promised me a coffee date.”

“It wasn’t a date,” I corrected. “And it wasn’t coffee, either.”

“My bad. You promised you’d “grab a drink” with me. Right?”

I reluctantly nodded. That was about what he’d said, yes. That didn’t mean I was planning on fulfilling that promise.

“You were fine with it then. So what’s the big deal?”

I paused. What was the problem? Hadn’t I just spent a good fifteen minutes convincing Danny that it was okay for me to do that? “You’re right,” I sighed. “It would be fun.”

“Great. So how about-”

“But I have to work.”

Soren paused for a moment, then adjusted his sentence. “So when's your night off?”

“Friday,” I admitted.

“Perfect. I’ll have to check with Kirian, but I’m pretty sure that’ll be-”

“Wait wait wait,” I protested. “What does he have to do with any of this?”

Soren gave me a bit of a ‘duh’ look. “Well, he does live at the house with me.”

“I didn’t agree to go to your house!”

“Well, not exactly. But where else would we go?”

I groaned, resting my head in my hands. Maybe I was just out of it, but it seemed like this conversation had gotten way out of control. “I don’t know, Soren. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be at your house.”

“Well then-”

“Look,” I interrupted. “I really can’t think right now. Chances are, I’m not going to agree with anything you say. So how about we talk about this tomorrow?”

He laughed, surprising me. “I’m sorry. I forgot about your two hours of sleep.”

I nodded, and covered my mouth as I let out a huge yawn.

“Yeah, we can talk about it later,” he agreed. “But we are gonna do something, okay?”

I nodded. At this point, I just wanted to go back into my sandwich-making zone where I didn’t have to sleep, and could somewhat pretend I was sleeping.

“Cool. Then I’ll see you later.”

With that, he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed out the door, leaving me staring after him, wondering what exactly had just happened.