Reach Out to Me

|Chapter 9|

 Elías ran down the six flights of stairs out of the apartment. He couldn't imagine being anywhere near London's apartment any longer. The thought of what he witnessed was beyond his imagination.

Outside, his feet flew across the pavement. People looked at him weirdly, but he didn't care. It felt liberating to run, knowing that with each step he took, he was farther away from her apartment.

Elías ran until he reached his favorite coffee spot half of a mile away where he stopped to take a breath. His lungs burned and his chest slightly ached from running after so long. Not to mention his back which still throbbed with pain from falling so harshly on the floor.

His hands shook as he reached for the door, barely clasping onto the metal handle properly.

"Shit," he murmured. His tremors always got worse with his anxiety. Medication helped, but situations like this always managed to aggravate his symptoms.

Inside, he breathed in the calming aroma of coffee beans. It filled his lungs and created a sense of calm within him. At the counter, his shaking hands almost dropped the credit card as he was pulling it out of his phone case. The cashier looked at him strangely before accepting the card.

He took a seat near the window overlooking the street. The heat from the hot chocolate warmed his hands and reduced the shakings. Closing his eyes, Elías tried to clear his mind, focusing instead on the sounds around him.

A man and woman were discussing something in hushed tones in the booth behind him. The cashier's sharp voice was heard over the din of the other conversations around him. A little kid begged his mom to let him get another cookie.

Elías opened his eyes, staring out at the evening sky. Hints of the night had started to creep in. Bright streaks of orange and pink were being consumed by the dark blue that was inhabiting the sky.

He realized for the first time that he needed a place to stay. There was no way he was going back to the apartment. Minjoon's place was the first that came to mind.

He dialled Minjoon's number. The first time he called, Minjoon didn't pick up. The second time, Minjoon responded.

"Yeah?" Minjoon said, his voice groggy from sleep.

"Can you pick me up?" He regretted waking Minjoon up. But it was also eight in the evening.

"Sure," Minjoon sounded more alert now. There was some rustling in the background. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I'll explain later."

"Alright. Where should I pick you up from?"

"I'll text you the address."

"Okay, be there soon."

Another hot chocolate later, Elías spotted Minjoon on his motorcycle in the parking lot. Minjoon waved over to him when he saw Elías walk out of the cafe.

"Hey," Minjoon said, handing Elías a helmet.

Elías put on the helmet and sat behind Minjoon as the motorcycle sputtered to life. The motorcycle weaved between cars, causing Elías to lean into Minjoon as he drove. He would never admit it, but Elías always found it comforting when he rode with Minjoon on his motorcycle.

They pulled to a stop near a giant dark brown apartment building, much like Elías's. Elías took off his helmet and carefully took a step off the motorcycle.

"So..." said Minjoon as he took his helmet off. "What got you dying to stay at la basa de Minjoon?"

Elías shook his head, a grin spreading across his face. "I told you so many times, Minjoon. It's la casa, not la basa."

"You know me, I always forget," replied Minjoon, slinging an arm around Elías as they entered the building. They rounded a corner to a row of apartment doors. Minjoon stopped near the end of the hallway and opened the door from a huge ring of keys.

"Mi casa es su casa," said Minjoon with a flourish as he opened the door, beckoning Elías inside.

"Look at you. Got another phrase down." Elías took off his shoes near the entrance and laid down on the sofa in front of the TV.

"Spanish Duolingo has been going great. See, I'm already on level 3," said Minjoon excitedly, showing Elías his progress on his phone.

"I don't see how you stand that thing."

"Just because Korean is trash on Duolingo doesn't mean that the rest of them are too. That shit was terrible." Minjoon shook his head.

"The one time I try to learn some Korean for you, it doesn't work out. I think it's a sign from above," said Elías, pointing upwards.

"Hey, there are other ways to learn," said Minjoon, slowly getting up.

"I already told you no," Elias groaned.

"Na pi ttam nunmul. Nae majimak chumeul....," sang Minjoon in a falsetto, swaying his hips and jutting his arms in all directions.

"It's torture to see that," said Elías, getting up. He tried to push Minjoon's arms down, but Minjoon just used his arm in another awkward dance move to push him away.

At this point, Minjoon had started to play Blood Sweat Tears on his phone too. It blasted out from his phone, echoing through the living room.

"So this is what you do when I'm not here," said a voice, breaking through the middle of the second chorus. Elías turned behind him to see Ava leaning against the doorway. She was dressed in a pair of Minjoon's sweatpants and his UIC t-shirt.

Minjoon stopped abruptly for a second when he saw who it was before he started dancing towards Ava more passionately. His dance moves were cleaner now and more precise.

Elías chuckled. Minjoon dancing to impress a girl was even funnier than him dancing alone.

Ava laughed, her shoulders shaking with barely concealed mirth. She dropped to the floor and started dancing to the beat of the music, her long hair whipping in a circle. Her dancing wasn't much better than Minjoon's. It looked more like they were trying to summon a demon. They made a perfect pair.

His eyes brimmed with tears of mirth and the smile tugging his lips broke into a full on grin. Minjoon beckoned him over.

Elías stood up, swiping his hands over his face and pushing his shoulders back as the music picked up in the tempo. He walked towards the small group, dancing as he went. They looked like a trio of horrible backup dancers. None of them were coordinated with the music, much less each other. But surrounded with music and friends, it felt like euphoria to Elías.