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My eyes are still burning when I wake up.

I don't have time to dwell on what happened last night.

I barely have the energy to think about it.

I need to get up and get ready for work.

I sit up and find my phone, shutting off the six AM alarm.

I don't fight the yawn as I try to wake up fully.

I only fell asleep four hours ago so today is going to be tough.

Sounds from downstairs filter through my closed door and I groan.

My family is already awake, no doubt giving my younger brother whatever he wants for breakfast. He starts high school this year, a feat that was surprising because his grades are less than stellar.

He is the epitome of an extrovert, the one that has all the friends and plans on coasting through school with his budding football career.

He's great at football, which makes it even worse because it goes to his head.

I took the quieter route. I had a small group of friends in school, including Amir.

He was, still is, one of my closest friends.

We were planning on going to school together after taking the semester off, but then I started getting medical bills and he got his acceptance letter.

We still text every day and he asks for updates on the coffee shop.

Austin has said we have room in the budget to let him come back and work over the breaks if he'd like. I don’t think he’s planning on coming back here though. I don’t blame him, either.

"… I think she likes me," I hear Andy saying as I walk into the kitchen.

People say that they can tell we are siblings, but I don't see it.

Where I have short, dirty blonde hair and green eyes, he got the genes from our mom's side of the family.

He has dark hair and blue eyes, definitely built like a football player even though he's a freshman.

I'm not short, but I definitely don't have the build like him.

"Hey, Ty." Mom says, barely sparing me a glance over her cup of coffee.

She goes back to listening to Andy while I make myself a bowl of cereal.

I had my own place this time last year. Well, Amir and I did.

When he moved onto campus, I couldn't afford the rent on my own and I had to ask my parents to let me move back in.

I don't hate it here, but I loved my freedom.

Delving into the lifestyle that Austin and Orion introduced me to has been nice.

Even if last night did end with Mark breaking up with me.

We only dated for two months and of those months, I had to sit out three meetups with our friend group and got sick after we slept together.

That was when I was able to actually get myself excited enough to have sex.

Right after we slept together, I got really shaky and cold and then vomited all over his bathroom floor.

The breakup wasn't a fight. He didn't make me feel bad. He wasn’t equipped to handle me not feeling well all the time.

I don't blame him. It seems like every little thing sets me off lately.

Sometimes I get physically sick, others it's just me feeling overly tired and needing to slow down.

I haven't been able to pinpoint what sets it off, but I go back to the doctor next week for another checkup.

I'm on three medications, have been for months, and we're checking to see if it's doing anything for me. I don't feel like it is, honestly.

I finish making a bowl of cereal and sit at the table with my mom and brother. My dad is already at work, doing an early six am to three. He's done that shift for as long as I can remember. He'd be the one at home when we got off the bus after school.

I pull the three pills out of the pocket of my jeans and toss them back with a glass of water.

"Look at the pill popper," Andy says sarcastically as I set the glass back down. I glare at him and he just laughs. "When did you come home last night? I didn't hear you."

"It was late," I say. I'll be twenty-one in May, so I don't have much of a curfew and I have my own key to the house.

"What, no sleepover with that guy?"

"We broke up, actually." I don't look up from my cereal bowl. "So thanks for that."

"Damn," Andy whispers under his breath.

"Language, Andy," Mom admonishes my brother. I crack a small smile at his weak apology. "Are you okay, Tyler?"

“I’ll be fine,” I say. I take a bite of cereal to keep from having to expand on that answer.

I will be fine, but I don’t know what I’m going to do as far as telling the others today.

I’m sure they’ll notice that I’m down, but then again they might just chalk it up to me being my usual, tired self.

I have at least an hour to think of what I’m going to say.

“Are you going to be home after work tonight?” Mom asks. “I’m making tacos for dinner.”

“I should be,” I say before taking another bite. “I’ll text you and let you know for sure.”

I finish up the bowl of cereal and head back upstairs to get dressed for work.

I’m happy that Austin took over the coffee shop and immediately got rid of the uniforms. We’re still supposed to wear the right shoes per law, but we can wear whatever clothes we want.

I decide on my faded green shirt today. It’s soft and worn out just enough where it’s perfect.

My brother is already gone for his morning practice when I come back downstairs. I take them slowly, feeling like I’m getting lightheaded just from walking. I fill up my water bottle and say bye to my mom before heading out.

Our neighborhood is in the suburbs. It’s nothing special; the houses all look the same with two steps leading to a porch that spans half the front of the house.

Door to the left, big window to the right.

All of the lawns are cut, if not a bit dry from the summer heat.

A few houses have bushes, shrubs, or some have flowerbeds.

I miss my apartment sometimes, in the heart of the city.

We were walking distance from anything we wanted.

Especially the late night cravings for something salty.

The drive to the coffee shop isn’t anything special.

There’s a bit of traffic, but I still arrive with plenty of time before I need to clock in.

I plan on making myself a drink. I need something if I’m going to shake this feeling in my bones.

I don’t need any extra attention on me today, co-workers and customers alike asking me if I’m feeling okay.

The bell above the door chimes when I walk in. Austin and Orion are already here, chatting next to the espresso machine with a cup each in their hands.

“Morning, Ty,” Orion says with a smile. “Ready for a new week?”

I shrug my shoulders, tilting my head to silently say I’m heading to the back to put my stuff away.

Austin outfitted half of the storage closet to a staff area.

It’s not big enough for a table or anything, but there is a mini fridge where we can keep any drinks or food we bring in or make.

I hang my jacket up too. It’s plenty warm outside in the July heat, but I can’t shake this weird feeling.

Wearing my jacket, or anything with a little extra weight usually helps.

It just has to be emotions from last night.

“Everything okay?” Austin asks me when I come back. I can see they already have the drip coffees brewed and we made sure everything was stocked and ready to go Friday before we left.

I decide to rip the bandaid off. “Mark and I ended things last night.”

“What?” Both of them ask at the same time. It surprises me and I want to laugh, but I just don’t have the energy to do so. I step around them and grab a to-go coffee cup.

“Yeah, it was kind of mutual. I mean, I liked him, but I get why he ended things. He wasn’t prepared for all my medical issues.”

“How is that going?” Orion asks. I breathe in the coffee aroma. My head swims a little and I lean against the counter and close my eyes for a moment. “Ty? You don’t look too–”

Everything goes black before I can hear the end of his sentence.

When I open my eyes again, I’m lying down. It takes me a second to get my bearings, but the lights are dim in this room. It’s not the coffee shop. There’s a beeping noise somewhere around me, too. I blink slowly, still feeling a little groggy, but much better than this morning.

I move my hand to rub at my eyes, but there are wires and… an IV? I drop my hand back down and really take in the rest of the room.

I’m in a hospital room. It’s white, bland, with machines scattered around.

There’s one on either side of the bed I’m lying in and one across the room.

There’s a TV mounted to the wall opposite me, a large window with a stiff couch under it to my right.

The door to the hallway is to the left and I’m pretty sure it’s a bathroom for the final door.

I don’t remember how I got here.

There’s the little button thing laying next to me and I grab it, pressing the red top once. I hear a buzzer outside and wait for someone to come in.

The last person I expect to see walk through the door is Brandt. He’s smiling, rubbing his hands together with the sanitizer, no doubt. I’ve known him for over a year now, talking to him for five minutes at a time once or twice a week. He’s wearing black scrubs, which almost look tailored on him.

“Hey, Tyler. How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” I say. I try to sit up, but Brandt lays a hand on my shoulder.

“You’re going to be best friends with this bed for a couple more hours at least,” he says. I watch him as he looks at the machines and then jots down a few things before turning back to me.

“Seriously, how are you feeling?” Brandt stands next to the bed, his eyes looking me up and down. “Headaches? Cold chills, anything?”