The Caffeine Fix

CHAPTER 11

Tyla wasn't able to think straight or do much. The effect of the hangover made her feel all over the place. She held her head in one hand and got up from the bed to get some relief. Nancy was still crying with her head buried between her thighs. Tyla wasn't able to figure out what it was that Matt did that turned this happy-go-lucky girl into an overflowing waterfall. She started to feel overwhelmed and angry. She was angry at herself for introducing them without giving it a better thought. 

"I am going to kick Matt's ass….." She grabbed her phone lying on the bed.

"Oh, no, no. Wait!" Nancy screamed.

"What?! Why?! He made you cry!" Tyla was flushed with anger. At that moment, she forgot all of the feelings she ever felt for Matt.

"Tyla, I know you are my friend but this is a fight between us. And on a stupid issue. Let it go, will you?"

"Okay…..you know what? I am not letting this go. I know you. You cannot cry waterfalls over a stupid issue. And what exactly is this stupid issue anyway?"

Nancy didn't reply but her phone buzzed with continuous texting sounds. Before Tyla could figure anything out, Nancy wiped the tears from her face and a bright smile, as bright as the sun after a rainy day, appeared on her face.

"Look, it's him…..he's apologizing." She smiled like a goofy teenager.

"Damn Nancy, are you guys crazy? This is not teenage love."

"Oh, sorry, Tyla. I told you, it really wasn't that big of an issue."

"Yeah, tell that to your swollen face in the mirror." Tyla held her head in her hands as she laid on the bed again.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Nancy rushed to open it and it was a delivery man with a bouquet of various coloured roses and a little box with a beautiful, shiny locket inside and a "sorry" note. It was obvious that it was a gift from Matt. Tyla sat on the bed to get a better look.

"Awww, he didn't have to. Look Tyla, it's beautiful, isn't it?" She tried the locket on herself while gazing at herself in the mirror.

"Wow….I have never seen him do such gestures for any girl before."

"Haha, really?" Nancy blushed at herself holding the flower-shaped locket in her hands lovingly.

She took the locket off and placed it gently in Tyla's hands.

"Oh, damn, that's pretty." Tyla sort of wished that she could get one from someone but quickly dismissed the thought.

She examined the locket gazing at her reflection in it. 

However, she didn't exactly feel good about it. What was the issue that caused Nancy to cry for hours about and Matt sending gifts to apologize for? Nancy was sensitive and emotional but certainly not so quick to break down over small issues. Or had she fallen for Matt? Oh no, but did Matt feel the same way too?

"Um….Nancy…..so, uh, like…." Tyla couldn't understand how to approach the subject.

"Yeah, Tyla?"

"Are you in love?" She decided that there was no point in beating around the bush and asked directly.

There was a long silence.

"No." Nancy replied blankly.

"What?" Tyla was surprised as all of Nancy's behaviors and actions indicated otherwise.

"I mean, I don't know Tyla. Gosh, I love being with Matt, but I feel it's too soon to call it "love"."

"Really? You do act like a lovestruck puppy whenever talking about him. Or talking to him. Or being with him. Or, well you get it."

"Uhm, yeah because like I said, gosh I love being with him! But, love him, I don't know about that."

"I guess that's good for you. I mean, not that I am saying that he's not a good guy, but……"

"I get it. I mean, I suppose I am not expecting anything from him, with the long distance and stuff but……well."

"Nevermind. Let's not talk about that."

There was a lot of rush in the cafe, typical of a Sunday. 

"Okay, so how are you feeling?" Dan came up to Tyla with a beaming face.

"Wow, you're unusually beaming. I guess I am okay."

"Oh, I do feel great. I did text you in the morning, but you didn't reply."

"Ahh, didn't really have the time to go over the phone. I had some pending work, also my roommate got this gift from h-"

"Oh, wait, did you say something about having dreams with her?"

Tyla was alarmed. She suddenly recalled everything that they talked about, including her embarrassing confession of having dreams about Matt.

"Oh, shut up Dan. No I did not say anything about having dreams with anyone."

"Whoa, you so did."

"Hah, how about I talk loudly about you having erotic dreams about Lena Forster?"

"Damn, did I say that out loud? I thought I was saying that in my mind, or like an aside, you know? Which only I could hear? And here I was, happy to have known some secrets from you."

"Wait really, is that what has made you so beaming today?"

"Oh yeah, the thought of confronting you with that did."

Dan smiled warmly. Tyla couldn't help but smile back. Suddenly, the obnoxiously catty voice of Carla fell on their ears.

"Wow Tyla, you didn't tell us Patrick James stopped by to say "hi" again." There was a smell of strong perfume all around her which was somewhere between soothing and nauseating.

"Uh, who told you? Dan?" She looked at a Dan with a confused look to which Dan shook his head in the negative, looking as confused.

"Ah, I see you haven't been aware of the news. Read this." She placed her phone in Tyla's hands.

"Patrick James was spotted at Breeze Cafe on Saturday at midnight. However, sources have confirmed that this isn't his first visit. What is the reason behind this sudden surge of interest in an otherwise lonely and not so popular cafe? Is it the coffee or……"

"Oh my gosh, no." Tyla returned the phone to Carla.

"What the hell, it's not a lonely and not-so-popular cafe, what kind of an amateur site is this?" Alexa jumped into the conversation.

"That's not even the point, Alexa." Carla rolled her eyes in mild annoyance. "But anyway, this news popped up on Saturday evening and since then, Breeze cafe has been trending. Like, really trending. See all these posts and hashtags. And this crowd." Carla pointed towards the crowd of customers and all of them got back to serving customers coffee.