Rain pattered noisily against the windows of the small apartment, waking the red wolf from what had already been a restless sleep. Green eyes stared tiredly at the window before glancing at the clock on his nightstand. 2:30. Sighing, Gadget pushed his blanket off of his legs and sat up, grabbing his glasses and pushing them onto his face. Getting out of bed, the young Mobian slowly stretches, grumbling as his stiff muscles protested the action.
Exiting his bedroom, the red wolf sleeping shuffled his way down the small hall and through the living room, stopping only when he finally made it to his kitchen. Flipping the light switch on in the kitchen, he makes quick work of starting his coffee pot, more than sure that he won't be getting back to sleep anytime soon. Tiredly watching the coffee brew, Gadget felt his ears press flat to his head as he pours himself a cup, shuffling towards his couch before flipping the television on and plopping down.
Hours passed like this, with Gadget sitting on the couch, the cup of coffee going cold on his table. Pressing his cheek against the arm of the couch, the wolf stares out the window, his throat thick with emotion. He knew that today was going to be a bad day, that's why he had tried to sleep through it. But true to form, sleep avoided him, teasing him with something he couldn't have. At least in his dreams, he could see her.
Finally deciding to face the inevitable, Gadget sat up, pulling his cellphone out and dialing that all too familiar number. Tapping his fingers against his knee, he turns to press his face to the couch, waiting for the dial tone.
Too soon, that familiar, chipper voice played in his ear. "Hi there, this is Annabelle. Sorry, I can't make it to the phone right now, I'm probably pretty busy. Just leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can okay?"
Taking a slow and shaky breath, Gadget hugged his knees. "Hi, Mom. It's uh, good to hear you again. It's uhm...it's my third birthday without you...I think..I think you'd be pretty proud of me. I helped..Uhm. I helped save the world...finally met my hero! Sonic is..just as cool as you said he'd be!" laughing quietly, he rubs some of the tears out of his eyes. "Uhm. Turns out that Zero...Zero was...well I still haven't found him. I thought I did but I was wrong. Ahem. I really miss you, mom. It's hard without you...I thought that.."
"Message has exceeded time. Press the star sign to send or press 1 to delete"
With trembling hands, Gadget pulled his phone away, stifling a sob as he curled up on the couch, dropping his phone in his lap and letting his tears carry him to sleep. Maybe next year he'd have the courage to press send.