Parfait

23: Neapolitan

Alex is the first to be dropped off. He gets out of the car and blows us kisses as he walks backwards to his house, which, in a corny fashion, we return. Kal is next and he's nowhere near as cheerful as Alex. Olivia asks me what might be wrong with him and I fake ignorance, which only makes me wonder how I'll react when Alex tells me about the text Sofia sent him.

"Liv, wait, Kal forgot his earbuds here."

She hits the brake and the car stops abruptly. "Oh, go give them to him. He needs them to shut Christopher out."

I nod, get out of the car and take big steps to his door. When I knock, his mum opens for me and I almost laugh at the surprised look on her face.

I show her the earbuds. "Kal left them in the car."

She nods. "Did something happen? He stormed to his room and didn't say anything," she says, looking in my eyes as if the answer is written there.

"We're all tired is all," I tell her. "Can I give them to him?"

She steps to the side. "Of course, go ahead, sweetie."

I knock at Kal's door and all I hear is a "leave me alone". I try again, and I shout at him that I have his earbuds with me. I hear shuffling before he opens up.

My first instinct when I see him is to hug him, which I don't. His eyes are wet and his lips are already trembling. I take his hand in mine and out the earbuds in his palm, and then I cover them with his fingers.

"Thank you," he mumbles.

I feel like my chest is going to burst, either from my own guilt or Kal's dread.

"Kal...I can stay with you. You know...Until Alex..."

He shakes his head. "No, you already did more than enough." He gulps. "And I-I can't thank you enough for that. I d-don't know what I would have done if I was alone in this."

I punch his shoulder lightly, a gesture that conveys I'm much calmer than how I really feel. "You're going to be friends again in no time. Until then, know you can talk to me about anything."

Before I can turn on my heel and leave, Kal wraps his arms around me and collapses on me, holding on as if he's scared he'll fall on the floor if he doesn't. My nostrils are filled with the familiar cucumber-coconut scent as I try supporting his tall frame, patting his back. I don't push him right away, instead, I hold him a little closer and let him hold me, too. I give him a small smile as I leave, which he half-heartedly returns.

I get back in Olivia's car and she asks me what took me so long, and so I blame Kal's mum for chatting me up. Two minutes later I'm in my house, sitting at the steps and playing with Lucky as my parents keep on asking me about the concert, even though they saw the little clip I posted on Instagram.

Yeah, I let my parents follow me. It wasn't my choice, though. They bribed me, and when it didn't work they threatened me.

It is kind of sweet how they listen when I tell them everything about the previous night, even though I'm pretty sure they don't even know which band I'm talking about or who Patrick is. My attention isn't fully on them, however. My eyes keep shifting at my phone because I know Alex will call in a few minutes, asking me to come over.