Chapter Text
The darkness of her apartment welcomed her once again as she entered through the door after a long day of working. Exhaustion could be felt deep in her bones as Evgenia carelessly took off her shoes, making her way to the switches to brighten up her living space.
Evgenia is someone who's already used to silence and loneliness when the Sun sets, and the moon takes its place.
It is a luxury to her by the end of the day since her body demands rest, but not before she fills her stomach with something resembling a meal. Ah, not to be forgotten: a shower and her nightly skincare routine. With a groan, Evgenia plopped herself down on the couch, covering her eyes with her elbow to shield them from the bright lights she now regrets turning on while regretting all of her life decisions.
After what felt like hours, she finally stood up from her comfortable position and made her way towards her kitchen. Opening the fridge, she scanned its contents with her lips pursed in thought. Admittedly, nothing caught her attention at all. There are a few fresh ingredients from her last grocery run, some leftovers, and a few snacks she had mindlessly grabbed.
After a moment of contemplation, Evgenia took out the frozen pelmeni she had made yesterday, since she's not in the mood to make anything, and mere snacks won't satiate her hunger. Without a thought, she slid the plate into the microwave, her fingers dancing across the buttons before the plate started spinning inside. Now came the waiting game, an absolute joy for the exhausted woman.
Bored out of her mind, Evgenia decided to take a shower, a hot one preferably, because she needed it and because she deserved it after a day of hard work.
It didn't take long, and as she stepped back into the kitchen, her plate of pelmeni was already warm. She could always reheat it, sure. But Evgenia decided against it and just went through them while scrolling through her phone, watching new feeds she had missed throughout the day.
Most of them were posts from her friends, some were edits from her fans. Nothing out of the ordinary. That was, until Evgenia came across a new post from Alina Zagitova.
It was a picture from her recent birthday celebration; her apartment was filled with flowers, balloons, decorations, and the centerpiece of it all, Alina, with a toothy grin plastered on her face. The same toothy grin that used to belong to Evgenia only. A realization then came to Evgenia's mind.
It has been a long time since Alina messaged her, be it a simple hello or just Alina asking Evgenia if they could ever meet. The pelmeni in her mouth now tasted bland, and she no longer had the appetite to stomach any more of it for reasons unknown. Evgenia turned off her phone and put her plate aside. She decided to go to bed because it is obvious that she's currently out of her mind if she had the energy to think about Alina of all people. Skincare routine be damned.
Sleep avoided Evgenia like a mischievous fox as she turned left and right restlessly until she finally gave up and stared at the ceiling of her bedroom blankly. "Stupid Alina..." Evgenia groaned before she let out a muffled scream into the pillow she had been hugging. Yes, the reason sleep has been avoiding her throughout the night is none other than Alina Ilnazovna Zagitova, the bane of her existence since the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
"Damn you for showing up on my page..." She muttered petulantly as she reached for her charging phone and opened the app once more to stare at Alina's recent post once again. It was torturous for Evgenia, but she could not stop scrolling through Alina's account. The younger woman has been doing well. So well, even without Evgenia. And that, that unsettled Evgenia's heart.
It's stupid.
Evgenia knows.
After all, she was the one who cut contact and ties with Alina. And it was Alina who kept trying to reach out to her after Evgenia returned to Russia, but Evgenia kept her distance even after Alina curated an ice show, invited Evgenia so they could be together. Just for Evgenia to distance herself even more. She had been insistent; she had been stubborn until Alina finally gave up.
So why can't she sleep tonight after looking at Alina's smile through a simple photo?
She kept staring into the picture until her vision got blurry and her eyes started getting droopy bit by bit. Even then, Evgenia still tried to keep her eyes open, which was funny, seeing that she had just cursed Alina out for keeping her awake.
How ironic it is that a picture of the said girl is the one thing that is lulling her to sleep.
The alarm on her phone blared. breaking the peaceful silence of the morning, forcing Evgenia to wake up, although it was the weekend. She mindlessly patted her hand around the bed, searching for her phone until it bumped into the device. Evgenia picked the phone up, looked at the screen with her eyes squinted as she tapped the 'Turn Off' button, just to be met with the same picture of Alina she was staring at last night.
She closed her eyes in defeat and exasperation, tossing her phone onto her bed with a sigh. It was bad enough to sleep because of her picture, but to start her day by looking at Alina's picture is another thing. "I hate you..." Evgenia muttered to herself, no trace of real anger or venom in her voice at all.
That's just her trying to convince herself. Sure, if it were a few years ago, then maybe Evgenia would believe herself. But now, now they are adults and have already moved on. Well, Evgenia would like to think both of them have moved on, but that feels like wishful thinking even now.
'Hate' is too strong a word now. Indifference? Maybe, but not quite.
What they have now is complicated, if they even have anything at all between them now. Urgh, why is she thinking about this the first thing in the morning? Evgenia rubbed her face, a sigh escaping her lips, dreading to start her day, although she is thankful that she doesn't have any schedule for today and tomorrow. Though now, that damn picture of Alina is burned on her eyelids, making Evgenia see it every time she closes her eyes.
So much for moving on and putting distance.
What a terrible way to start the day...