Arik had been so lost in his thoughts of the long list of things that needed to be done that he had forgotten his door was open. Blinking out of his haze, he lifted his head off the bed to look at Stefan. His eyes trailing over him a moment, before Arik sat up on his elbows. "I'm doing fine," he lied, looking away from the striking figure Stefan posed in the doorway. Arik really did need that time off Claudia had spoken of, and he had promised the two a night out with him. One more thing to the list of things to do.
"Is there something I can help you with? Or if you intend to stare, at the very least, would you mind stepping into the room and closing the door." The words were harsher then he had meant them, but his voice held a note of exhaustion and not anger. Shaking his head at himself, he pushed himself to a seated position. "I'm sorry... please come in."
The room was relatively dark since he had forgotten to turn on the light, the only true light coming from the hallway. He rested his arms on his legs, slumped half over. The muscles of his arms flexed as his hands fidgeted with thought. "Truly, I'm doing fine. It's nothing I haven't been through before."