{ one }

                                        

                                              
stray rays of late-morning sunshine infiltrate the edges of my vision. i roll over in my bed, pulling the corners of my blanket up to my chin. i hear my phone vibrate on the nightstand. ignore it. try to fall back asleep. 
a minute later, my phone buzzes again. 
and again. 
after the fourth annoying buzz, i stick my hand out of the warm blankets and snatch my phone, intending on setting it to do-not-disturb mode so that it'll quit bothering me. 
before i can do this however, a text from my best friend, georgia, catches my attention. 
georgie 💕: hey bree! i'll be at your apartment in five minutes and if you're still asleep i'll kill you 😊 
my heart punches me in the chest and i fling myself upright in bed, rapidly reading the other three texts. 
georgie 💕
hey bree! i'll be at your apartment in 
five minutes and if you're still asleep i'll 
kill you 😊 
bree?
the fact you're not answering is scaring me. 
you're done for. 
i scramble out of bed, stumbling over my sheets, which have decided to tangle themselves around my legs to slow me down. my heartrate is way too quick for this early in the morning. less than five minutes ago i was pleasantly dreaming in my warm bed. the cardiac arrest might kill me before georgia does! 
i yank a sweater from my closet and rifle through some drawers for a pair of jeans. as i gather my clothes together, i quickly respond to georgia's text, assuring her that i've been awake. nothing to worry about! 
i throw my clothes on in a hurry, and right as i'm finishing, i hear a knock on my front door. georgia's here. i jog over to the door and open it. 
"hey!" i say.
"hey—" 
before she can finish, i'm running back to the bathroom. 
"sorry!" i call from the sink. i spritz myself with some perfume, then grab a pair of earrings from a tray. "just finishing getting ready. lost track of time a little." my voice comes out breathy. 
georgia has made her way to the doorway of the bathroom and stands there with her arms crossed. "seriously, bree? you were sleeping when i texted you, weren't you?" her voice is accusatory. 
"who, me?" i say, acting surprised. i keep my eyes locked on the mirror, keeping my hands busy with a bottle of mascara. i glance over and see the unimpressed look on my friend's face. clearly she isn't buying it. 
"i'm sorry, georgia." i set down the mascara. "please forgive me? i don't know what happened. i think my alarm shut off or something." 
georgia picks up the mascara and hands it back to me. "just finish quickly. i'll be in the car." 
i want to say more, but i don't have time, so i finish with my makeup and then grab my phone. instead of putting my shoes on, i carry them in my arms and run out to her car in my socks. 
when i get into the car, she starts backing up before i've even put my seatbelt on. 
i turn to her and sigh. "i'm really, really sorry about that. i didn't mean to sleep in." 
she keeps her eyes locked on the road. i fumble with my shoelaces. "i've been stressing about this for weeks, bree. i did not need to be anxious about this, too. you're lucky i decided to leave early, because this definitely would have made us late."