On the morning of the 21st, Aeros was up at dawn. He couldn't sleep at night now, due to extreme jitters and the thoughts that Adrian wouldn't meet him. He had finished off an entire bottle of wine in three days of slow drinking, and he hadn't been worth a rat's tail at work all week. McKinnon had told him to stay home today and relax, regain some color to his face.
So now, Aeros sat slumped over in the bathtub, up to his chest in scalding hot water. A bottle of wine sat on the floor to his left, along with a pack of cigarettes. He was sulking and knew it, without even having a good reason, but he didn't care at the moment. He needed to feel sorry for himself before he could get angry at himself, and getting angry meant getting back to normal. He missed normal.
There was a loud, insistent knock on the door, and Aeros groaned to himself. What now? He got out of the tub and slipped on a thick robe, and headed downstairs as he tied it closed. He turned left and went through the spacious living room to the front door, and when he opened it he prepared himself to say something mean about disturbances. Instead, cruelty melted away as he saw Andromeda, standing on the front step soaking wet and shivering. He'd forgotten about the rain.
"Let me in, you oaf," Andie said, her teeth chattering.
Aeros stepped aside and she ducked in, and hung her coat up in the closet to the right of the door. She set a duffel bag down beside the door as well and kicked off her dripping leather boots. Andie looked at Aeros and brushed her wet hair out of her face, and the look on her face was a mixed one of gratitude and anger. "Thanks," she said quietly.
"I'll get you something dry to wear, alright? Be back in a second." Aeros dashed upstairs quickly and pulled the plug in the bathtub to drain the water, and then went quickly to his room. He changed into sweatpants and blue t-shirt, and grabbed a lightweight sweater and plaid boxers for Andie. It was what she normally wore whenever she was here, so he figured this time would be no different.
He went back downstairs to where Andie was poking at the fireplace, trying to light it with matches. "Oh, for pete's sake," she said, getting out her wand and creating a large fire in the hearth. She grinned at Aeros and shrugged. "I've lost my patience again." Aeros smiled and handed the dry clothes to Andie, who went upstairs to change in the bathroom. She came back, tugging her hair into a ponytail, and plopped down on the couch by the fireplace. "I'm staying here tonight, I have you know. Helga was in one of those moods again."
"You should really get your own place, Andie." Aeros said, frowning. "You can't live out of a traveling bag for the rest of your life."
"I haven't seen everything I've wanted to, Aeros. I can't afford to have a house and house payments and never spend any time in it." Andie sighed, visibly giving in to the weariness she felt from 3 days of traveling. "You're probably right..I'll get a place, when I'm ready to take care of one. Besides, I'm happy with what I do. I'd rather live with only the clothes on my back and a few galleons, instead of having what everyone else asks for."
Aeros nodded slowly, understanding what Andie was saying. She was living for the moment, unlike her sister and brother, who had already settled down with their lives. Though, Aeros didn't feel fulfilled by his life. He felt empty.
"You better sleep, little bro. You look like shit." Andie grinned at him. "I'll be out before you get up. I need to be in Diagon Alley early in the morning."
"Alright." Aeros said, smiling also. "Thanks." He got up and went upstairs.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Aeros couldn't sleep a wink that night, and kept tossing and turning in bed. He got up several times before dawn to look out his window, to check the sky for any sign of an owl flying towards his house. He heard Andie leave at 5:45 in the morning, and he soon left his room to shower and get dressed.
He paced around the house for two hours, looking for something to do that might calm his nerves, before finally giving up and heading downstairs to his meditation room. The door to it was just beside the stairs, and could only be opened by his touch. The door was highly ornate and made of various shades of blue and red and yellow, with silver tones designs scattered everywhere. He knelt down and ran his finger over the spot to open the door, and waited patiently as it slowly swung forward to allow him to step inside.
The room was painted black, and the carpet was of the darkest grey material he could find. There were no curtains on the one window that was in there- instead, it was painted black as well. A small torch was anchored to each wall and lit with green flames, and each flame would spark every once in a while. A small table in the corner of the room had incense on it, which had all lit up when the door opened.
Aeros sat in the center of the room with his hands on his knees and closed his eyes. He mentally prepped himself for the following days of work and possible travel, and the 24th in particular. He had to be prepared incase Adrian didn't show up at Diagon.
Aeros slept that night, a deep dreamless sleep, though at the edges of his mind were the worries of love and loss.