Page 14 of Something Forever

“I’m not,” I protest weakly, but he just clicks his tongue and turns away from me, shaking his head. “It’s my flatmate. We got into a row,” I admit.

“Can you talk normal? Like, what the fuck are you saying?”

Darius has a running joke that he can’t understand me because of my accent. Though, come to think of it, I’m not sure how much he’s actually joking.

I chuckle at that. “My roommate and I got into an argument.”

“What did you do?”

“Why do you assume I did something?” I shoot back, and he just raises his eyebrows at me as if to say seriously?

“I was kind of a dick to her. She didn’t really deserve it, to be fair. She just hit a nerve.”

Darius shrugs. “Just apologize. Bring her flowers or some shit.”

“Amazing advice, Darius. You should be a therapist.” I wipe down a glass and replace it on the rack. He grumbles in response. “Nah, you’re right. I’ll apologize. Flowers I didn’t think of. Could be a nice touch,” I say. “Maybe she’ll get over it by the time I get home.”

“Yeah, cause chicks just love to get over things.”

I roll my eyes at Darius. “I swear, you’re more of a prick than I am sometimes.”

“Proud of it, too.”

“How’s your brother?” I ask him. Darius’ younger brother, Jackson, is a super smart kid, but lately he’s been skipping school. Apparently, Jackson wanted to go to college, but his dad told him he should just get his GED and work at the sanitation department with him. Darius has tried to convince him to finish his classes and apply for a few programs, but he’s been hard to get through to.

“He’s alright,” Darius replies. “But he still doesn’t listen to me. Just thinks I’m his dumb big brother. Maybe…”

“What?” I pry.

“Maybe you could try to talk to him? You went to college, right?”

“Yeah, I did,” I reply, trying not to think about Luke. Hating that every memory of my schooling is tainted by his absence.

“He won’t listen to me, but maybe he’d listen to you. If I bring him round next shift, can you try and talk to him?”

“Sure thing,” I tell Darius, but my mind is still elsewhere.

Why can’t I seem to shake off my stupid row with Whitney? It’s not even that big of a deal. I’ll do what Darius suggested — buy the girl some flowers and call it a day. Like I told her, we aren’t friends, we’re roommates, and that’ll be that. Maybe it’s because I’ve got nothing else to think about. My life is so empty these days, my little spat with my roommate is the first interesting thing that’s happened to me in weeks. Well, I guess getting the room in the first place was a nice change of pace from slumming it in student housing, being taunted by the thoughts of what could have been. I swear if I had to spend another minute seeing folks cramming for exams like their lives depended on it, I was gonna lose my head.

Worse than that were hearing the bloody parties. Remembering all the late nights Luke and I had together, crashing frat ragers and drinking their beer until we stumbled to some bar in the Village, trying to find girls to talk to. More often than not, Luke would be the charmer and I’d strike out, leaving me to stumble back to our place while he stayed the night with his new friend. It’s not that I can’t get women, but whenever I stood next to Luke, it was obvious which of us was the better man.

He’d always been better than me, and this argument with Whitney just proves that.

On my way home from the bar, I pick up a bouquet of flowers from the bodega and bring them back to the apartment. As I ascend the stairs to my new place, I brainstorm what my apology note should say.

Thanks for letting me stay with you. Apologies.

I got you these flowers. Sorry I was a dick.

Sorry I told you to fuck off. Here’s some roses.

Shaking my head, I turn the key in the lock, thankful that she didn’t change them in my absence. I half-expected to come home and find myself homeless, but nothing in the apartment has changed.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I slip it out, my dad’s name flashing across the screen. I’ve been dodging his calls for a bit, so I figure I should answer.

I pick up. “Hey.”

“Liam! How you doin’?”

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