I'm Just Curious

Chapter Twenty-Five: Foreboding

He left. There was no explanation to what the hell happened upstairs and I guess I’d have to respect that he left it as is. We all have our demons but I think I would have comforted him better if he spoke about it. Ugh, people need to start awarding boyfriends for the things we put up with. Fabien isn’t any better than a girl. Pinching the ridge of my nose, I inhale deeply before exhaling. The air in my house was cold from the rains and all the hair on my body – except for my head of course – began to rise. The fact that I was in my boxers only gave me no reason to complain so I turned around and began my slow ascent back to my room.

Erika was woken up by Fabien’s scream so I guess we took our morning routine from that point. That was the earliest she got to school and that was the earliest I cleaned my house. It was an awkward situation for us all so the activities had become more appealing instead of the usual drag we had in the morning. I lay back down on my bed and covered myself before shivering and relaxing. Sneaking in a few more minutes of sleep was my plan but I craved something more. I tried to ignore it but tossed and turned as a result of it.

“Ugh,” I muttered before covering my head. “You better be the death of me.”

I got up and got dressed, grabbing my phone and car keys as I raced downstairs. My jacket zipper was broken but I didn’t care. It was too late to go back inside to get another one and I wasn’t going to be outside for much long. I jumped in to the car and turned on the aircon after igniting the engine. I wished I could have slept in.

...

“Can I have the bacon and cheese burger without the chips and water?”

The waitress nodded and took my menu before heading off in to the building. I wished it was hunger that brought me out here but no, it wasn’t. I ran out of cigarettes and had to get another pack. It would be easier to quit yeah? Well, smoking was the only thing that didn’t have a problem with me so I indulged when the craving called. A perfect union I guess.

I sat outside on the patio of the cafe to smoke without any complaint. The inside was packed with people due to the weather so outside was pretty peaceful. There were only a few people on tables around me and majority of them were young couples who had no responsibilities as yet. Sucking on the bud of my cigarette until the end burnt in an amber glow, I inspected the others around me. Each of them seemed aloof to the troubles of life. The girls chatted and laughed loudly as the guys humoured them and entertained everyone with the “last Friday night misadventures”. On another table, there was a woman with a bunch of small kids, probably celebrating a birthday or something. I blew out the smoke and clouded my own vision before a new person came in view.

A blonde guy walked to the table right in front of mine and sat with his back faced to me. I didn’t see his face or anything but by the way he sat hunched over with his head lowered, I could tell that he had a heavy load on his shoulders. He shivered before he placed his phone on his ear with a sigh. A minute went by which made me wonder if he was going to actually resolve whatever he had on his mind. My curiosity had been peaked. Unfortunately my concentration was broken by the ringing of my phone. I picked it from my pocket and answered.

“Hello?” I answered before I took another inhale of my cigarette.

“Uh... Hi,” a frown possessed my face before I lifted my gaze up to the guy in front of me. “Uh... Is this Fabien?”

What weird luck. The guy in front of me was talking to me. He sat upright with his shoulders raised. Why was he so tense?

“No but are you alright?”

It was his turn to look around. He looked left then right then straight ahead.

“Try behind you,” I decided to help.