Tristan

    "Tristan.." she called out and i looked at her in surprise, " if you don't have a place to stay for now, do you want to stay here for the meantime?"

   What? She's not serious.. right?

   She looked at me expectantly and I felt my appetite leave my body.

   "You are joking, right?" I asked her unsurely. She diverted her gaze from me and stared blankly at her plate. Shit.. she probably thinks I'm pitiful.. like I'm a burden.

   "Look.." I started and she quickly raised her head. "Thanks for covering for me in front of my aunt and you can keep the breakfast too. I'm.. I'm just-" I stuttered before sighing, "I don't need help, I'm not a charity case." I finally said before giving her a short wave.

   "I never said-" I closed the door behind me and quickly made my way to the elevator. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I answered the call.

   "Hey Cameron." I greeted and I heard a loud crash from the other end. "Dude are you okay?" I asked and Cameron hummed.

   "I mean yeah." He replied. "You are starting college by September right?" He asked and I gripped my phone.

    "Definitely." I replied, driving out of the parking lot. I stayed back a year after highschool because I knew fully well I wasn't ready for college. Heck I didn't have any idea what I wanted to study or be.

   "Cameron! You broke the lamp!" A voice yelled and Cameron sighed.

    "It wasn't on purpose!" He yelled back.

    "I'll talk to you later." I said driving into the parking lot of a cafe.

   "Alright dude. Come over soon for an exclusive tour by yours truly." He said and I nodded before realizing he couldn't see me.

   "Sure." I replied before hanging up. The door chimed as I walked inside the cafe. My cousin, Joey, had already started his shift there. There were few customers in the cafe and Joey just stood behind the counter tapping away on his phone. He had a cheeky smile on his face and I knew something was up.

    I approached the counter and he barely looked at me before clearing his throat.

   "Welcome to Fresh Dew cafe. Can I take your order?" He said in a monotone like a robot. When he realized I was the one, he scoffed and went back to his phone.

   "The customer service is always bad." I jokingly said and he nodded.

   "And it'll get worse." Joey said and I scoffed at him. He raised his index finger on his right hand and it was wrapped with a band-aid. "I slammed the back door against my finger and now, I can barely hold a cup with my right hand." He ended with a pout.

   "It must hurt." I said absentmindedly looking at the menu. "Can I get a cup of coffee, medium sized cream two sugar?" I requested and Joey gave me the stink eye.

    "You're evil." He said as he started on my order.

   "Who's the unlucky girl?" I asked him, referring to whoever make him smile cheekily. He gave me a look of innocence but I quickly saw through his facade. He rolled his eyes at me before staring at his phone again.

   "Who said it's a girl?" He mumbled and i looked at him in shock.

   "No way." I whispered and he shrugged.

    "If you are homophobic then..." He started but I cut him off.

    "Shut up. I'm just surprised." I replied and he gave me a big smile.

   "Does Aunt Charlie know about it?" I asked him and he shook his head.

    "I'll tell her later." He replied before giving me my coffee. "It's on the house." He winked before wiping the counter.

   "Eww I'm your cousin." I said teasing him and he widened his eyes.

    "Get out!" He yelled gaining the attention of the few customers there. "I hate you." He whispered and I nodded.

   "What are brothers for?" I said taking a sip of my coffee. Times like these make me forget my problems for a brief moment but eventually the memories come crashing down.

   My father had paid for my college fees without asking me. It was just a month before school resumed, few months after he kicked me out of the house. I had gone to the school and requested a shift in my resumption. I took the year off to understand where my life was headed and I had come to no conclusion yet. At this point, I was just going to go with the flow and see where I'll find myself.
****
A week later...

   It was raining heavily as I drove back to the bridge. The road was blurry and traffic was building up. My ringtone blared loudly and I parked my car on the side of the road.

   "Hey Aunt Charlie. I'll call you back when I get home." I told her and I heard a soft 'oh'

   "You are not home yet?" She asked but she didn't wait for me to respond before continuing. "You forgot your backpack in my house earlier." She said and I cursed silently. I decided to check the trunk of my car, maybe she's mistaking my bag for Joey's. I opened the door of my car and was met with the heavy rain. My umbrella was in the backseat so I leaned back to get it only to hear a crash. A car slammed into my opened car door, knocking it off its hinges. The car quickly stopped in front of mine and a lady ran out of the driver's side.

    "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry. " she kept apologising over and over again. I saw the 'L' sign hanging on the trunk of her car and I sighed.

   "It's -" I wanted to say it was fine but I looked at the damage again. There's no way I could sleep in a car with no door.

    "Tristan? Tristan??"

I heard a muffled voice call and I remembered aunt Charlie was still on the phone. I told the lady to give me a second and I picked my phone up.

   "Aunt Charlie, I'll call you later." I told her and was about to hang up.

   "Are you okay? What was that noise I heard?" She asked quickly.

   "It's nothing." I replied and she hummed.

   "I'm around your place so I'll drop your backpack with your friend or his cousin, okay?" She said before hanging up.

   My body froze, not because of the heavy rain. Aunt Charlie had to be kidding right?

  "I just called my insurance company. They are on their way to pick your car. I'm so sorry." The lady, who I momentarily forgot about, said and I nodded. She hailed a taxi and paid the driver. "Sorry for the inconvenience. Take the taxi home and my insurance company will contact you when they are done."

   Home? Where am I supposed to go now?

   I thanked her and carried my stuff into the taxi. I decided to go to the one address I knew.

  The taxi stopped in front of the apartment complex and the driver was kind enough to help me carry my stuff into the security post. My body was drenched in the heavy rain and I knew I was definitely going to catch a cold. My phone dinged and a message from aunt Charlie came in.  

"I gave it to Leah. She's such a sweet girl btw. I'm on my way home now. Goodnight sweetie :-)"

  The doors of the elevator opened and I walked to the familiar door and knocked. The door opened and Leah stood in front of me. Her dark curls were tied in a bun and in her hands was my bag.

   "Is.. is um-" I stuttered. She was my only hope now. I didn't want to bother Aunt Charlie and explain to her why I lied in the first place. She tilted her head slightly and looked at me curiously. The act was adorable but I shook the thought out of my head. I sighed and decided to go for it. "Is the offer still available?" Here goes nothing...

********
~Korisa