Chapter 2.

"Hey! Open the door, Cash! I know you're in there!"

The pounding at the door just kept coming. One after another. The hollow blows against the wood kept growing louder and louder until I wasn't sure if it was a person at my door or a whole army. 

I chanced a glance at the time on the upper right corner of my laptop screen:

12:07PM

Right on time.

"I told you last night I'd be stopping by today to pick up the finished manuscript, didn't I? I even texted and sent you an email early this morning just to remind you. Again! So you can't tell me you forgot or some other excuse that I'm sure you're concocting right now as I speak. Now open up!"

A smirk curved the corner of my lips. 

He never deviated from the script.

In as innocent and pleasant a voice as I could muster I called out to the person assaulting my door. "Who is it?"

Just as I imagined it would, the pounding at the door stopped for all of five seconds, the time it took to gather himself no doubt before the rapid-fire blows fell upon the door once more. Only this time they were louder and faster.

"Argh! Cash, open the door!! This isn’t funny!"

I snickered but made no move to do what he asked. Instead, I forced myself to focus back on the screen in front of me.

My fingers flew over the keyboard making words appear just as quickly on the screen of my laptop. My back ached and I was pretty sure I was about two minutes away from keeling over but I couldn't stop just yet. I just had to get these last few things in and then I'd be set.

The person at my door had other plans though.

"Cash!!!"

Any other day I would've thrown something at the door, maybe even lunged for it to shut the idiot up but today my attention was elsewhere and the only response I could muster was a faint, "Uh... yeah, okay... in a minute..."

Sure, I'd open the door. Not right now but soon. I just had to get a few more words out... maybe a few more paragraphs too... should I add another chapter? No, it was fine the way it was... yeah... I was pretty sure. Wait, what time was it? No, forget that, what day was it? Had I slept? Hmm... I don't remember.

"Cash! Please don't do this to me. Not today! I already told my boss that I'd have the manuscript ready for him. He's already on my case as it is because we've had to extend your deadline five times already, all because of you!" The voice at my door practically on the verge of tears as he whined. 

It was annoying but also funny as hell. 

"Argh, why is it always such a big issue with you?! Why can't you just be like my other clients!?!?!?!"

Nag, nag, nag- that's all he ever did. Didn't it get exhausting? 

Or rather, didn't his hand hurt from all that pounding? He was like a damn human jackhammer. 

Wasn't he tired? I mean, I knew I was and I was just sitting down!

Despite immersing myself back in my writing, I could still hear the faint sound of footsteps that stopped right outside my door followed by the familiar sound of mom's voice, pleasantly chipper today- more so than usual.

"Oh! Hi there, Nico. I didn't know you were dropping by today. How've you been?"

The pounding at my door stopped. I could practically see Nico turning scarlet red at being caught in such an “unbecoming position”, his words, not mine. Again, I had to suppress the urge to snicker at his expense.

"Uh, Mrs. Huxley, hello!" He cleared his voice, making a sad attempt to compose himself despite the damage to his image already done. Like it mattered at this point.

I mean, mom had seen him scale a wall just to get to me one time. Compared to that, I'd say being caught waging war on a door was the least of his worries. 

"I uh, I’ve been better. I did let a certain someone know I'd be coming today but, well, you know." 

Mom snickered.

"Anyway, how have you been ma'am? Also, can please open this door? Please."

Despite the thick fog of exhaustion already clouding my head, I couldn't help but chuckle when the doorknob behind me jiggled once more.

Mom echoed my chuckle and I could imagine her shaking her head in amusement at Nico's predicament. "My, it really is locked, huh? And you said “please” twice, Nico. Things sound pretty dire. Deadline's up?"

Nico sighed wearily. "You have no idea."

Another soft laugh rippled behind the door followed by mom's promise to find the spare key.

"Thanks, Mrs. Huxley."

The moment mom's footsteps were out of earshot, the heavy pounding at the door started up again. I think he even went as far as to press his face close to the slit between the door and the frame because I could suddenly hear his voice grow louder.

"Cash!” He hissed. “Just wait till I'm inside. You won't get away with it this time!"

Yadda, yadda, yadda- ugh... so sleepy... 

But just a few more words to go now and then... 

Then nap-time. 

Yay...

Eventually, the steady clack of the keys as I continued to type overtook every other sound- Nico, the pounding at my door, and the empty threats were all swept away amidst the soft steady sound of keys being tapped and the thick wave of exhaustion already washing over me. My eyes burned behind the thick lenses of my glasses and every time I blinked it took longer and longer to pry them back open. My mouth was dry and tasted like sandpaper. 

But I was almost finished. 

Almost there... 

Just one more thing-

"Annnnd... done!"

No sooner had I saved the file into the cute little Link-shaped flash drive I used for such things that the sound of Nico bursting into the room pierced through the fog in my head. 

Huffing and panting for breath, he sounded like he'd just run a marathon. 

I giggled. I never giggled. 

God, I was exhausted.

Despite the thick waves of quiet rage throbbing behind me, it was funny that this was the best he could muster. Even after I took my sweet time in shifting the chair around to finally face him, Nico's blazing red face and eyes were simply adorable to me. 

I mean, he was a mess! 

His hair was completely disheveled as if he'd run his hands through it hundreds of times... maybe even pulled at it too from the way it stuck out. The charcoal grey suit he wore was rumpled, his tie askew and slightly undone. There was a smartphone in one of his hands while the other went straight to his face, his thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose tightly. 

I would've liked to say it was a shock to see him look so unkempt and wild, but then that would make me a liar. And if there was one thing I took pride in, it was my inability to lie.

If anything, Nico looking so crazed was actually the norm for me. For some reason, whenever he came over, he always looked like he'd just gotten out of bed only to find he was running two hours late for work.

It was funny.

"Finally!" He hissed through clenched teeth. "Do you have any idea how long I've been out there?! Thirty. Minutes!" He ran a hand through his hair as he started to pace. "I mean, I try. I really do Cash. I try to give you the benefit of the doubt, and trust that for once you'll be responsible enough to have your work ready on the day of your deadline, but no! Little miss procrastinator here would rather spend another sleepless night toiling away at the keyboard and slowly watch me lose ten years of my life every time!” He grimaced, his nose suddenly crinkling as he sucked in a breath. “Ugh, would it kill you to open a window in here? How the hell can you even see, much less breathe in this musty pigsty?"

I blinked. Pigsty, where? It looked perfectly fine to me. If anything, it was the light coming in from the open door behind him that was the problem. It was far too bright. 

I grimaced as I pulled off my glasses and rubbed at my throbbing eyes. Was it too much to ask to turn off that light?

As Nico marched towards me, every step mindful of the heaps of clothes and books strewn all over the floor, I could see the frown lines between his brows grow deeper and deeper. Oh, he was angry all right, maybe even more so than usual. 

Oh, well.

I watched him struggle as he twisted and hopped over all the objects lying unseen in the dark until he stopped a few inches away from me. Tilting my head up to look at him while trying my very best to keep my eyes open, I offered him what I hoped was a decent smile.

"Hey, Nico. How's it going, man?"

Those bright green eyes of his lit up like a blazing firework on the fourth of July as his cheeks flushed an even darker shade of red. 

"Really, Cash, another all-nighter? I can't believe you'd do this to me. I mean, it was you who called me. Remember? You told me last night the manuscript was finished. And you told me it was okay to show up today to pick it up. But when I get here, I find no hide or tail from you! Do you have any idea how long I waited for someone to finally open the front door? One. Hour! I was lucky your dad showed up right when he did or I would've resorted to climbing the nearest window to find you.” He seethed. “Oh, but wait, there's more! As if that weren't bad enough, when I'm finally inside, I find that you've locked yourself away in your room. You don't answer my calls, my texts- not even the knocks at your door, which I'm pretty sure fractured my hand. And what do you mean, 'how's it going'- how exactly does it look like it's going, Cash?! I'm not here for a damn picnic!"

The smile tugging at my lips began to lose its strength. I could feel it slipping as my head bobbed up and down like one of those bulldog bobblehead toys.

Any other time, I might've sympathized with him but not today. Right now I was too busy just trying to stay awake. Nico could be so... exhausting at times. It was just too hard not to nod off when he started on one of his rants.

I yawned, blinking back the tears that filled my eyes. 

"Don't think I'm letting you off the hook this time. I'm gonna make sure you don't get any more extensions, no matter how much you beg or ignore me. No more playing the cat-and-mouse game! I'm done, you hear me, Cash?"

My neck felt like putty, just bouncing back and forth like a pendulum. My eyes were bleary and unfocused. My limbs were weightless and rubbery. While my brain felt like it'd been wrapped up in a soft sherpa-lined blanket- so cozy and warm. I'm pretty sure this is what it felt like to be drunk- all loopy and sluggish and innately happy. But then again, I didn't drink, so who was I to say?

Well, my job was done. Now, time for sleep.

"Hey, hey! Don't fall asleep on me! First, give me the manuscript, then you can keel over for the next week or so, I don't care!" 

With the impatience of a hyped-up two-year-old, Nico snapped his fingers at me, the sound jolting me away from the sweet pull of slumber. If I hadn't been on the verge of passing out, I would've beat the crap out of him for even daring to do such a thing. But because I was too tired to give a fuck, I only blinked and smiled again.

"Sure, sure. Don't... get… your panties... in a bunch."

"Ugh, come on Cash, where is it? Just give it to me and I'll be out of your hair. You don't even have to tell me, just point! Just please... please tell me you have it."

Oh, Nico... always such a worrywart. 

Such a pain in the ass~

I smiled drowsily as a thought came to mind. "Hey, have I told you... you look good today? Always nice to see some color in those cheeks of yours. You always look so pale and gaunt... like a skeleton or a ghost!" I burst out laughing at the thought of Nico walking around like one of those skeleton decorations on Halloween. It was true though- Nico did have some really milky pale skin...

"Ha ha ha, very funny. Who's fault do you think it is that I hardly have any time to sleep or eat anyway?" He shook his head. "But what about you? Did you get any sleep last night... or the night before for that matter?"

Frowning as I thought back to the last couple of days, I realized that I actually couldn't remember the last time I slept. Looking at Nico I shook my head and shrugged. "Um... I don't... really know."

Nico sighed, running yet another hand through his dark hair, mussing it up even more, which elicited another giggle from me. 

Someone punch me.

"See, this is exactly why I give you enough time in advance to finish your work. I mean, you do know, right? That you get way more leeway on your deadline than anyone else. And yet somehow, you still manage to leave it all to the last minute! Seriously, I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Cash."

I shrugged cocking my head to the side as I gazed up at him through heavy-lidded eyes. "I don't know either. Just suck it up, I guess."

He sighed. 

As he hovered over me, I noticed that his face looked less severe and angry than it had when he first burst into my room. There was still a slight hint of a frown furrowing his brows, the vibrant green of his eyes swirling with worry and resignation but it wasn't anger or frustration anymore, it was something softer now, almost like concern.

Then the corners of his lips lifted into the smile I knew all too well and I knew it was done. He'd once again surrendered to his fate.

With a snort, he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, I guess... until I find another cash cow of a writer who actually turns her work in on time."

My head lolled to the other side, leaning into my shoulder for support. I raised a brow at him and grinned. "Good luck with that."

As he looked at me, his eyes glowing brightly despite the faint darkness around us, I could see his lips parting as if to say something else. Then his arm moved, his hand reaching to close the distance between us.

"Cash, I-"

A soft chuckle somewhere off to the side stopped him dead in his tracks. His arm quickly retracted and fell back to his side. As if nothing had happened, Nico turned to face my mom, taking great care to avoid my gaze as he made his way to the door.

Even sleep-deprived as I was, I knew something was amiss. 

Weird, right?

"Come on Cash, don't torture him anymore. He really might just take you up on that offer, you know."

I glanced at Nico and smirked when he finally met my gaze. He raised a brow and shrugged. Whatever he'd been about to say and do just a few seconds ago was now completely forgotten in the wake of the sudden interruption.

"Hey, mom." I jerked my head up in greeting, too tired to try to figure out what exactly Nico was thinking.

Nina Huxley smiled sweetly just before she reached for the light switch beside her, instantly flooding the room with bright light, nearly burning my eyes right out of my skull.  

I hated when she did that! 

When I chanced a peek at her through slitted eyes, a set of warm honey-colored eyes stared back at me.

"Tired, hon'?"  Those eyes of hers glinted with amusement as she reached out and tousled my hair.

"I was." I scowled, gathering the thick unruly hair trailing down my back into a loose bun at the nape of my neck. Now all I felt was pissed.

"Hmm, well, sorry about that kid, but Nico and I just don't happen to share your amazing ability to see in the dark. So then how's about you give me the flash drive so Nico can go on his way, and you can go ahead and take a nice long nap? A little sleep will help with those dark circles around your eyes."

I might've argued. Might've even jerked Nico's chain a little longer but, well... a nap did sound really nice.

With an over-exaggerated huff, I reached for the little Link figure sticking out of my laptop and pulled it off before placing it into mom's outstretched hand. 

"There we go. Good girl." She ruffled my hair before quickly turning her attention back to Nico. "Here you are Nico, I'm sure the finished manuscript is all in there. I do hope you can forgive Cash, you know she doesn't really mean to give you all these headaches. She's just tired is all."

Nico gave an incredulous snort. He practically rolled his eyes in disbelief before quickly gathering himself with a cough. "No- um, yeah, it- it's fine. I completely understand. It's hard meeting a three-month deadline, especially when said deadline has already been extended a handful of times. No worries." Nico made sure to glance at me when he said that, his gaze completely pleasant as he threw me under the bus with a sickeningly sweet smile. "I have you to thank today again, Mrs. Huxley. You have no idea

how much troub- I mean, time you've saved me.."

Mom chuckled modestly. "Oh, come now, I'm sure you would've gotten it from her too without me."

Again, Nico gave me an incredulous look. "Uh, yeah... sure... eventually. Maybe... who's to say, right, Cash?"

I yawned. Nico's lips pursed into a thin line. 

"Well, the important thing is I have it now. So if you'll excuse me, I have to get this down to the office. The sooner, the better given how long we've been waiting for it."  He chuckled weakly. "Anyway, I’ll see you later."

He made his way to the door, with ease this time now that he could see all the potential hazards lying in his way, before stopping just at the door. With his hand on the door frame, he turned to look at me with that weird look he sometimes gave me whenever he was about to leave. It was one I couldn't really decipher and to be quite honest didn't really care to dwell on any more than necessary. Especially when all I wanted to do was sink my head into a soft pillow.

Nico cleared his throat, the sound loud enough to pull me back from the sweet vision of myself curled up in bed. I blinked blearily as I cocked my head to the side, brows raised in expectation. His cheeks flushed. "So, uh, I'll be in touch, okay? For the next deadline and stuff..." His neck was red, and so were his ears as he shuffled from one foot to the other. And with that, he left, leaving me slightly weirded out by his once again strange behavior. 

With him gone, I finally let loose a series of yawns, before reaching out and touching a hand to my mother's. Not in a sign of affection or anything like that but as a signal to tell her to get a move on too.

"Okay, mom. Please don't forget to turn off the light on your way out."

Instead of retorting back with some snarky comment mom merely smiled and pat the top of my head. She knew better than to ask anything of me the morning of a deadline. It would be like trying to talk to a zombie. 

Useless and quite dangerous.

"Alright, alright. Should I bring you some lunch later? Dinner?"

I turned back to close the laptop before stretching out all the kinks and knots in my back and arms, sighing in pleasure at the relief it brought.

"No. I'm good, thanks." 

Mom nodded before heading out, her hand reaching for the switch that plunged the room into darkness once more. Just as the door shut, her voice was sweet and gentle as she whispered behind her.

"Sleep tight, you have a big day tomorrow."

Nodding absently in the general direction of her voice, I got to my feet and unsteadily made my way to the king-sized bed in the center of the room, where I plopped face-first upon the mountain of pillows and tangled sheets. 

"Ahhh. Sweet relief!"

I would make it my mission to get at least twelve hours of sleep this time, hopefully, longer if the universe could cut me some slack.

But just before I finally succumbed to the deep pull of Mr. Sandman, a single thought managed to pierce through and followed me into dreamland-

Wait.... what big day?