[h2][center][color=orange]Archie[/color][/center][/h2][hr]

Archie's breath hitched when he opened the door- his worst fears realized. Here Natalie was, looking great per the usual, meanwhile he had barely eaten or cleaned in days. He looked like a mess.

"I've been trying to get in touch with you to make sure you were okay after that night. Clearly, you're not. Can I come in?" she asked, concern in her tone. Archie glanced behind him at his apartment and sighed. At this point, there was nothing that he could do to escape whatever verbal and metaphorical judgement was coming his way.

"I-" he began, automatically formulating an excuse in his mind as to why she most certainly could [i]not[/i] come in. "Yeah." he said, finally. Archie stepped backwards, pulling the door open to allow her entry. He hastily stepped away, moving into the main room to grab any articles of clothing that were left out and running them to his room in a half baked attempt at seeming at least somewhat cleanly. It wasn't [i]so bad[/i], he mused. The only thing that he wouldnt have time for would be the dirty dishes and that empty handle that he should really have thrown out days ago. Oh well, nothing he could do about that now.

Archie returned from tossing the dirty clothes into his room, out of sight out of mind, with a shirt on and shut the door. He turned around to face Natalie who was now standing in the living room, but stayed by his doorway. Seemingly unwilling to approach or come closer.

There was an awkward silence, then he spoke up. "Sorry for not calling. Phone has been dead. Put in on the charger today." he explained. It was a weak excuse and he knew it- essentially meaning he couldn't have been fucked to get out of bed to do a task as simple as charging his phone. But to him it didn't feel that way. He had no energy, no drive to even move. Getting out of bed alone felt like a monumental task that was so unattainable that he might as well not even try. It was soul crushing, in a way, even if it was over such a minute task. He hated himself for that. "But this- this isn't really about that night." he explained.

In his mind he liked to think he was depressed and alcoholic because he was a monster at sundown. It was easier to swallow and Archie, for the past few years had been doing nothing but running and taking the easy routes. It was only a natural progression for him to do it now. In reality it was the death of his son and the loss of his loved one that dragged him to this dark place and made him feel like a monster. Actually being one? That just solidified his own personal image. It was icing on the cake.

Archie sighed, walking over to the counter and past Natalie, grabbing the empty handle and depositing it in the garbage. He turned, grabbing the empty glass and running it under the sink in an effort to busy himself in some productive way. He knew he could only put it off for so long, and decided that it should be sooner rather than later. "I take it you'd like to talk about what happened?"
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[@Silver Carrot]