It's not the sound of my alarm clock that wakes me up in the morning. Instead, it's the throbbing in my head from the fall. I roll over, and just for a minute, the room spins. That's probably not a good thing, I realize, and I briefly wonder if maybe I shouldn't have gone to sleep last night. I remember something about not sleeping when you have a concussion. Oh, well. Too late now. I was too tired not to sleep. And honestly, my bed is the warmest place in my apartment, so there was no way I wasn't spending the night under all my blankets.

Besides, I'm awake now, so I guess everything is okay. And even if I do have a concussion, it's not like I can afford to go to the doctor. And there's no way I can walk there.

I take three ibuprofen and a long, hot shower. And other than the occasional swaying dizziness, I'm feeling pretty normal again. I'm happy to have the day off. The original plan was to put up my Christmas tree, but since my head is still just a bit achy, I decide that might have to wait until later. I make a press of coffee instead, and spend the five minutes while it brews thinking about my neighbor.

What an asshole.

No, seriously. What a fucking asshole.

At least he helped me off the ground after he yelled at me for falling. Oh, and for being a crappy neighbor who doesn't shovel snow. Who does that? The yelling, not the shoveling. Maybe he's right. Maybe I should shovel the snow. But it feels like it's been snowing every day for a month. And honestly, when I get home from working every day, the last thing I want to do is spend any more time in the cold…shoveling.

The timer for my press goes off and I pour myself a cup, after which, I'll put on a coat and gloves and go outside to take care of the hateful snow. Which will hopefully appease the even more hateful neighbor. And I do just that, but when I open my front door, the sidewalk in front of my door is clean. Spotless, really. There's not a speck of snow anywhere.

Well, fuck him.

Fuck him for seeing me fall.

Fuck him for yelling at me.

And fuck him for shoveling the snow.

I walk inside and slam the door.

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Thank you for all the love for the first chapter! The response was wonderful, and I appreciate it so much!

Thanks to my prereaders - Jaime, Kourt, Laura and Raina. ILY guys SFM.

And Marvar is better than a warm bed on a cold winter's night. Thank you for everything.

See you all later today!

Reviews are love.

xo