Staying Up
Turning on the TV, Mindy quickly turns off the lights in her bedroom. She then sits down on the bed, covering her legs with the silky blanket. She was about to watch the late night news when Mark opened up the door. He was in his pajamas: a white t-shirt with light gray sweatpants. She looks over at him.
"Hey, Mark."
"Are you going to be watching the news? Can I join you?"
"Sure," Mindy says, motioning with her hands to come over. Mark walks by the TV to the other side of the bed. As he sits down next to her, the news starts to play.
Mindy leans in to look at the TV, while Mark leans back, smiling.
"There has been another huge robbery down in the Square at the weapon shop. The police are now trying to find the suspects."
"Wow," Mark mutters. "People are just going insane, am I right?"
Mindy looks over at him for a moment then back at the TV. She smiles.
"Now, we have updates on the subway murder that happened some weeks ago. Travis, a squid who is running for Inkopolis mayor says he will be on our show next week to talk about the people who were murdered."
Mark rolls his eyes, yawning softly. Mindy continues to look at the TV.
"There is something to look into at this moment with this murder. Detectives are going to ask people questions around the whole city to take this criminal down."
"Why are they going to be asking questions? They should just-"
Mindy shushes him.
"But, we can only say, our hearts go out to the three squids that were murdered on the subway."
Mindy mutters to herself quietly so Mark can't hear her.
The TV cuts to a commercial.
"So, do you think some lunatic went around and shot them?" Mark asks her.
"Maybe, I don't know for sure. We need to keep watching it, then." Mindy looks at him. "Who knows? It may have been someone who was defending themselves."
"You're right, I shouldn't jump to conclusions," Mark says.
Mindy giggles softly, stretching her arms. Her tank top shows the outline of her ribs as she stretches.
"Have you been eating?"
"Yeah, but I'm alright. I don't have to eat a whole lot."
"Why?" Mark looks into her eyes.
"I have been using cigarettes for some time now. I think my body can handle what I'm doing to it, Mark. Don't get so worried."
The news comes back on. Mindy yawns softly, looking at the TV. Mark looks around her bedroom. Even with the lights off the room looks faded and dull.
"The weather for tomorrow is going to be cloudy with maybe some light rain in the morning."
"Sounds like a typical day in Inkopolis, nothing new," Mark comments.
"Yeah," Mindy spoke.
As the news ends, the intro to the NatOcto Show goes through the TV's speakers. Mindy smiles, still looking at the TV.
Mark looks at her. "You like this show, huh?"
"Of course."
"So have any of you heard about that killing that happened on the news tonight about the 'Three Subway Squids' as the news calls them?" A voice spoke.
Mark nods, smirking.
"Guess we better hide from the detectives if we didn't commit it!"
Mindy laughs, smiling. Mark chuckles, looking at the TV.
After a moment, Mindy gets up, turning off the TV.
"Best we get some sleep." Mark looks at her.
"I thought I told you that you were sleeping on my couch, right?" Mindy says, jokingly.
"You can trust me, right?" Mark says. "I will sleep facing away from you. I won't even touch you, alright?"
Mindy crosses her legs, standing near the TV.
What happens if I want you to touch me? Mindy thought, her face becoming heated. Her heart begins to race in her chest as the thought continues in her mind. She then sits down on the bed, picking up the blanket and covering half of herself with it. "I know I can trust you," the octoling stutters, turning her body away from Mark. "You're the only one I can trust."
"What about your friends?" Mark sits up, looking down at her.
Mindy turns over her body to look at him. "My friends are people I work with down at HaHa's. I got fired, remember? I don't even talk to them that much." She then pauses, wanting to move on with a different subject. "How do you feel about the detectives looking for the suspect like that?"
"They seem like a bunch of idiots," Mark told her. "You don't just go up to people and expect the killer to tell you, right?"
Mindy nods.
"The news is just a bunch of crazy people posting a story to the world."
"Yeah," Mindy says, groaning. She sits up. Her body is starting to feel sore. She wants to rest, but she wants to keep talking with him.
"Hey, Mindy. We should rest up, we can talk about this more in the morning."
"I don't wanna," she groaned, laying her head down on the pillow. "I wanna keep talking to you."
"I know, I feel the same way," Mark says, laying down next to her, fixing the blanket so it covers both of them.
Mindy smiles weakly, her eyes becoming slowly heavy.
"If you don't rest, you won't heal." Mark places a hand on her shoulder.
Mindy sighs softly, finally closing her eyes.
Thank you for caring about me, Mindy though, slowly starting to fall asleep.
