Mixed Feelings of Elation

The cell phone vibrated on Neon's bedside table, moving as it did so. Neon groaned. She wasn't ready to return to the world of the waking yet. Though she didn't do much the night before, she was still exhausted. After the interview, she went straight home and scribbled down the song that she had playing in her head, the one that had been begging for release since before Alex slept over. Her friends had offered to go out but she declined. She was too tired to do that. She fell asleep almost directly after she had written the lyrics.

Neon grabbed the cell phone and pressed the green call button without checking the caller id. She didn't care who was calling her; they were about to get a piece of her mind for calling her so early in the morning.

"Hello?" Neon grumbled.

"Hey, Neon," Alex's voice floated through her speakers.

He wasn't happy nor excited. He sounded almost depressed, dejected. Neon couldn't find a reason why. Last night, she had denied his offer to give her a ride but he couldn't still be upset about that.

He seemed to understand when she said she was too tired.

"Hey, Alex. Why are you calling?" Neon asked.

Pain was seeping into her being as she became more conscious of her surroundings. It pounded though her body, just as it had the day before. But she was prepared this time. She grabbed the bottle of pain reliever from the table at the side of her bed, tipped three into her mouth, and swallowed.

"We were supposed to meet today," Alex said.

She knew that. She still wasn't mentally prepared to face him. Being woken up earlier than necessary was doing nothing to help that.

"That's not till noon," Neon replied.

"Neon, it's three in the afternoon right now."

"What?"

Neon looked at her side table where the alarm clock sat. The numbers on her clock blared "3:00PM" in the neon green numbers that continued to give her a head ache as of late.

She missed her meeting with Alex. No wonder he sounded so sad. He should have been angry but his emotions never did what Neon expected them to.

"It's three, Neon. I waited three hours for you to show up. I ordered you coffee but its cold now. You probably don't want it," Alex said.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to stand you up. I just woke up."

"If you didn't want to meet, you could have told me."

"I do want to meet. I've just been so exhausted lately. Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," Alex mumbled.

"Do you want to meet now? We can get a late lunch or early dinner."

"I don't have time for the rest of the day."

"Oh."

Neon didn't want to come off hurt by that but she was. She couldn't believe she missed this meeting. She had gone to sleep filled with giddy excitement to meet Alex. Sure, she had been nervous. It had been her prominent feeling about their meeting but she was excited to talk with him.

"Tomorrow," Alex said.

"What?"

"Let's try again tomorrow. Same time, same place. Show up this time. If you don't, I'm showing up at your house to wake you up."

"Are you going to break into my house?" Neon asked.

"If you tell me where you keep your spare key, I won't have to."

Neon paused. Telling Alex where her spare key was felt like big deal. It was the ultimate in trust. Her friends knew where it was because she trusted them. She never moved its hiding spot once Arpeggio moved out because she trusted her sister.

"It's under the potted plant in the front," Neon said.

She felt she could trust Alex. He wasn't going to come in her house and kill her. At least, she didn't think he would.

"That's not a very original hiding place," Alex critiqued.

"Where else would I keep it?"

"I don't know. When I come over, I'll find a better spot."

"Hey, who said I wasn't going to wake up tomorrow?"

"You've been exhausted for the past week. I get the feeling you won't be waking up."

"Well, I'll prove you wrong."

"You always do."

Someone on the other end yelled. The words didn't reach Neon's ears.

"Okay, I'll be there in a second," Alex said to the person.

"You need to go?" Neon asked.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow," Alex said.

"Alright. Bye, Alex."

"Bye, Neon."

The call ended; Neon tossed her phone back on the side table. She realized just how full her bladder was. She felt like she was about to bust. That was expected; she had been sleeping for a long time. And she planned on going back to sleep as soon as she could.

Neon pushed the mass amounts of blankets and sheets off of her body, slipped out of bed, and padded to the bathroom. She slipped her underwear down her barely existent thighs, sitting on the toilet and releasing her beyond full bladder. The release almost hurt her stomach, almost made her realize how empty she was. She cleaned herself, flushed to the porcelain creature that once helped fuel her mild vomiting obsession, and moved to slide her panties back into place. The sight of red in her rubber duck print panties made her pause.

What the hell was that?

Neon let her panties slid in the opposite direction, allowing them to fall to the floor and picking them up in one hand. She held the crotch closer to her face to inspect the red spotting.

Was that blood?

There was no way she could be bleeding. She wasn't hurt in that area, she knew that for sure. It wasn't menstrual related, as she didn't have a period. She couldn't find a reason for it.

It existed, she knew that. She could see the red spots in the crotch on her panties. She was certain it was blood. There couldn't be red dye coming from her crotch. That was impossible.

Neon shook her head. If there was blood in her underwear again the next day, she would go to the doctor. Maybe this would explain her backaches and frequent headaches. Till the next morning, she wouldn't worry about it. If it was something to do with her insides being hurt, it wasn't likely to continue into the morning.

For now, she would change into a fresh pair of panties and go back to sleep. She had to see Alex tomorrow; this problem would have to rest in the back burner of her mind.

She just needed to remember to set an alarm this time. She wasn't missing her meeting with Alex again. It hurt enough to miss this one. Though, Alex did promise to show up at her house if she didn't show up at coffee shop. That was comforting. And he seemed to be understanding of her situation after he had been assured she hadn't stood him up.

His sweetness was only making her feelings for him become more prominent. He had been increasingly nice to her. It was only now that she was taking notice of it. It was odd; with how submissive he had been around her, she had thought he would have been the same when they had sex.

He was definitely anything but submissive in that setting.

Neon sighed. She was tired. It was time to stop thinking about Alex and go to sleep.

Though she didn't entirely doubt she would fall asleep thinking of him.