Reap What You Sow 🌈

Chapter 13

Emilio was sitting in the corner of a snack bar. He'd gotten himself some fries, but his appetite was hard to find. The words he had spoken to Juan kept echoing through his head. Why the hell had he done that? He hated himself for it. There was no point in telling Juan; it would only cause problems with his girlfriend. He'd helped Juan to get over a broken heart once before and that was the last thing he wanted to do again. 

Not that he was sure that he would even get a chance to help Juan. Juan might have been the one taking the initiative, but Emilio was the one who should have stopped him. He hadn't been drunk. But like always, he'd been fucking selfish and now he had ruined his best friend's relationship. 

With a grunt, he rubbed his face. He had a hell of a headache. Where the hell should he go now? Juan was his only friend and he wouldn't want to see him anytime soon. He had no money to pay for a hotel, he was still waiting for his first paycheck.  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through the list of names to see if there was someone at whose place he could crash. There were some guys from high school he still talked to now and then, but none of them lived close to this town and he needed shelter for more than one night. He scrolled further down as he thought about the past weeks. He thought it was pathetic how few people he had spoken to since he was here. His thoughts wandered off to Rory, the only one with whom he'd felt a real connection. But that was based on what? Two hours talking? He bit his cheek. There was only one other possibility he could think of and he opened a chat with Alex. In her eyes, he'd had his punishment once she beat him up in the ring; the past two weeks they'd had a beer now and then after work. Maybe she would be okay with it.

— You still got that extra room? 

She'd told him about her roommate who served in the army and was away most of the time, but that she was too much attached to her privacy to sublet the place. 

He stuffed a few cold fries in his mouth while awaiting her answer. It didn't take long before the screen lit up. 

— Why? 

He bit his cheek, sighed and swallowed the shame. After all, she was his only chance. 

— I'm in a fight with Juan and I don't know where else to go. 

The moment he sent the text, he regretted it. It sounded so dependent, so... pathetic. He flinched. 

— Okay. But I'm in a terrible mood and I'm gonna get wasted. 

Alex in a terrible mood... Well, that wasn't exactly something he wanted to witness. But okay, if he had to, he'd accept a shiner to get a roof above his head. 

— Wanna get wasted together then? 

All he got in return, was a thumbs up. 

. . .

"Why you're in a fight with your friend?" Although Alex was sitting next to him on the couch, both their feet at the coffee table, her voice sounded far away. It was close to midnight and they were well on the way with their bottles of Jägermeister and Havana Club. They watched a few episodes of Top Gear and laughed about things nobody else would find funny, but neither of them cared. They were alone anyway. And Alex wasn't the worst when she was tipsy. 

Emilio dropped back his head and stared at the ceiling which was waving like the sea. "Since when are you a good listener?'

She chuckled. "I'm not. I just want to make fun of you but that's easier when I know what all the fuss is about."

He pouted his lips. "That's mean. I'm sure you're gonna laugh really loud."

She rolled her head aside and rested on his shoulder. "Then I'll tell you what happened to me today. I'm sure that's even worse."