Wings [BANG CHAN FF] ✔️

13. Some secrets were revealed...

February in Australia was nearing its end. 

From the day Christopher exited his room and decided to start anew, he and Abby worked together at the beach bar. And he didn't give up on music: there were nights, mainly on the weekends, where he'd perform, singing and playing some of the famous and most requested songs. But there were also nights when he would lay awake until sunrise, thinking.

Ever since the day he first encountered that old lady and she gave him her address, he has been thinking about her, but ever since he saw her again on the street and Abby reacted by shouting at her, thoughts about meeting the old woman became more frequent.

The beginning of March in Australia was the beginning of colder weather - the autumn was about to start. And with the colder weather, the tourists went away and the beach bars slowly closed, leaving both Chris and Abby without a job.

It has been a week since they lost their jobs and, for Christopher, it was one of those sleepless nights. He was lying on his back, his arm holding Abby's naked body under the covers, with her head resting on his bare chest. Looking down at the girl, Chris let out another sigh. And that's all he has been doing for the whole night - holding her close, thinking, and sighing. With the weak sunrise, he decided to get out of the bed too. He slid his arm under Abby, kissed her lightly on the head, and stood up from the bed.

Chris put on some warm clothes and exited the apartment to go on his regular morning run, a habit he developed years ago but renewed after his "lockdown". Tightening the shoelaces on his runner shoes and zipping up the jacket, Chris hurried down the stairs, exited the building, and ran on the sidewalk by the shore. Cold morning wind blew from the ocean right into his face as he ran down the lonely street. He had some money in his pockets so Chris stopped by the convenience store to buy two boxed lunches, the menu item he and Abby had been consuming for days now in order to save the little bit of money they have left. 

On his way to the cashier's desk, Chris passed the aisle with beverages and, after a moment of hesitation, grabbed two cans of beer. Moving into that building, Chris but especially Abby started consuming alcohol more. First, it was only on Fridays when the parties around the building were held. Then on Saturdays too but now they would have a can of bear every night. Christopher was hesitant to take them off the shelf, wanting to erase alcohol from his life even though they were using it to relax, not to get wildly drunk.

However, he gulped and put the cans along with the boxed lunches on the counter, not wanting to meet the young cashier's eyes. Behind the counter stood a young Korean girl, around 19 years of age, her wide smile with braces showing. Christopher's gaze fell on her nametag.

"Hannah..." Chris muttered to himself quietly.

"Is that all, sir?" the girl behind the counter said, scanning and packing Christopher's groceries. 

Her natural Australian accent would always grab his attention when he was at the grocery store. Hannah would always greet and chat with customers so naturally and kindly that Christopher often admired her social skills.

"Yes, that's all," he answered, pushing a small smile to reply to Hannah's gentle smile.

Chris paid for the food and drinks and exited the store, speed-walking back to the apartment building to make breakfast before Abby woke up. And the smell of fried bacon and eggs sneaked into the bedroom and woke up pretty fast.

Abby with her brunette hair in a mess and wearing Christopher's oversized t-shirt, came out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes and mumbling something. Noticing her, Chris stopped washing the dishes and came to her, hugging her and kissing the top of her head.

"Good morning, sleepy-head," he whispered, delivering another kiss to her head.

Abby mumbled and nuzzled into his shoulder, still not wide awake, "What are you doing up so early?" she asked, hugging the male closer and absorbing his body heat.