Sharon sat at her desk and threw a glance at the clock. It was 2 a.m., and she was still working on her assignment for class the next morning, despite making enough time for it. The amount of schoolwork she received every week was overwhelming, and she felt like she was on a race against time to finish everything on time.
She put her glasses down and rubbed her eyes as she threw a glance at Sullivan, who had gone to sleep two hours earlier. It seemed to Sharon that Sullivan had a better system of arranging her time because her roommate somehow managed to finish all her schoolwork hours before Sharon did and had the time to party every night. Sharon had to give up several hours of sleep every night to keep up with her program. She knew it was unfair to compare her program with Sullivan's degree. Sharon was supposed to earn her degree by the end of the year, while Sullivan still had two more years of school left and a more relaxed schedule.
Sharon found solace in the fact that winter break was right around the corner, and Andy would be coming for a visit. She was excited to see him and quite starved for him. Despite Sullivan's constant teasing about phone sex, Sharon and Andy did not engage in any of that. They even refrained from sexting, although they sometimes made sexual innuendos when they spoke on the phone.
Even though at the beginning of the semester, Sharon hoped that they'd be able to call each other every day, she found that they were both too busy to have a daily call. Major Crimes caught a series of high-profile cases recently, and Andy barely had enough time to text her more than once a day. Because he knew that she often studied at night, he sometimes texted her late, but they couldn't call each other because Sharon was always afraid to wake Sullivan up. The halls had terrible reception, so Sharon had to leave the building entirely when she wanted to have a midnight call with Andy. Once it became colder outside, the midnight calls became increasingly scarce. Sharon tried to remember how long it had been since they last spoke and figured it had been almost a month.
It was almost 4 a.m. when Sharon finished her assignment, crawled into bed, exhausted, and immediately fell asleep.
When she opened her eyes and glanced at her clock, she realized that she was about to be late for her first class of the day. She threw on the first clothes she found, shoved her assignment into her backpack, and left the dorm. She popped a gum in her mouth to mask her morning breath and promised herself to use the break between her first and second classes to go and brush her teeth.
Sharon was glad that none of her lecturers gave homework that day and decided to turn in early, only to be woken by the ringing of her phone. Half asleep, she picked up the call.
"Babe? You sound like you're sick or something," Andy said.
Now that he mentioned it, Sharon was feeling soreness forming in the back of her throat. "No, it's nothing. I was asleep."
"So, I hate to make this call…" Andy started. "But I have some unfortunate news."
"What happened?" Sharon was now fully awake.
"It's Provenza," Andy said. "He had a car accident."
"Is he okay?" Sharon was fond of the grumpy lieutenant who succeeded her.
"He's gonna be fine, but he broke his arms and one leg, and he can't work," Andy said.
"I'm so sorry to hear that. I'll give him a call," Sharon replied.
"So, the thing is that he won't be able to command the team for a few weeks, which means that I am the next in line to lead Major Crimes," Andy said.
"You need help?" Sharon teased him.
"I mean, some tips will be helpful, but that's not why I'm calling." He paused for a minute, and Sharon realized what was happening.
"You're not coming to San Francisco for the holidays," she said.
"Chief Mason said he needs all hands on deck, including me." The frustration in Andy's voice was apparent. "I'm so sorry, babe. I was really looking forward to this vacation."
Sharon's heart sank in her chest.
"I thought maybe you could come to LA instead. That way, you'll be able to spend some time with Rainie and Ember."
"Hold on, let me check the flights," Sharon said and opened her laptop. "The prices will probably be crazy, but maybe I can find something."
Sharon groaned after nearly fifteen minutes of searches with different airlines. "Andy, the lowest price I'm finding is over two thousand dollars."
"Crap," Andy sighed. "What if you drive?"
"I don't have my car here," Sharon said.
"You can rent one," Andy said.
"Andy, it's a ten-hour drive, and frankly, I am exhausted by all the homework, and I'm gonna be even more exhausted in three days when exams start. I'm scared to drive this way. I forgot to brush my teeth this morning and was late for class."
"You're never late anywhere," Andy said.
"I know, which is why it's so annoying," Sharon groaned.
"Okay, so what are we going to do?" Andy asked.
"I guess I'll stay here, and you'll stay in LA, and we'll try to call each other on Christmas Eve if you're not working."
"This is screwed up, Sharon," Andy sighed.
"I know, but life happens. We'll move your visit to spring break and hope for the best," Sharon said.
"I hope you know how much I love you and how upset I am that we can't be together on Christmas."
"Me too," Sharon's voice was barely above a whisper.
"I love you so much, babe."
"I love you too," Sharon said, and they hung up the call.
Sharon dropped her weight back into her pillow and stared at the ceiling. This was one of her worst days in San Francisco so far.
"Hey, you're asleep already?" Sullivan walked into the room.
"I was," Sharon replied.
"What's wrong?" Sullivan noticed Sharon's mood.
"Andy isn't coming for Christmas," Sharon replied.
"Oh, crap. Are you guys splitting up or something?" Sullivan asked.
Sharon was used to her roommate's tactless tendencies. "No, he's just stuck in LA, and there aren't any affordable flights back to LA, so we'll be staying where we are and hoping for better luck on spring break."
"That sucks," Sullivan said. "I guess you could spend Christmas with my family. I take the bus home, so it's affordable."
"Thanks, Sullivan, but I think I'll just stay here and recuperate from the stress of this semester," Sharon said.
"Well, would it help you feel better if we decorated our dorm for the holidays?" Sullivan suggested.
"Yes, but not tonight. I'm exhausted, and I'm pretty sure I'm coming down with the flu or something, so I want to sleep."
"No worries, we'll do it tomorrow or the next day, whenever you're up to it," Sullivan promised. "I suppose I can't interest you in a party tonight, can I?"
"No, but you go, have fun, and don't drink too much," Sharon replied.
Sullivan nodded. Sharon knew that her roommate felt bad for her and was trying to help. After all, Sharon spoke a lot about how much she missed her family, and not getting to see them over the holiday was nothing short of devastating to her. Sharon appreciated Sullivan's attempt at cheering her up but knew that the only thing that would help her would be getting some much-needed sleep. Luckily, her fatigue was so great that she fell asleep the moment she closed her eyes.
-TBC-
