Crash (gxg) (profxstudent)

Prologue

Ellie's POV

I didn't want to let go of my apartment even if it meant getting a roommate. It was already big enough for two but I just like my space and with my parents, money was never an issue.

Chloe was the only one eligible candidate that answered the roommate ad I put up on the internet a few months ago. She was really funny when we talked on the phone and I thought I would really grow fond of her company, which I did eventually.

She was desperate enough to take whatever she could put her hands on, she would go on to tell me later. She had to move out of her ex-boyfriend's house. 

"That asshole accused me of cheating", She spat, on the phone, a bit tipsy after a night out. "I mean, yes I did! But it's only because he couldn't make me co-."

"Okay, okay! Too much information!" I interrupted, holding back laughter. "I get it. I don't judge." 

I'm not a fan of the cheating thing but I kind of get it?  Straight men can't seem to do anyth-

"Are you coming back soon?" She asked me, her tone almost sad. "I would really like it if you show me how to use the oven. I tried to bake using the microwave but it was a disaster. I swear I put the timer on the ten-minute mark but it went on for way more than that."

"Chloe, we already talked about it, remember? I'm coming back tomorrow." I say, oblivious at the fact that she doesn't seem to remember anything.

"Wait, tomorrow??" She almost screams. "Oh right! Fucking hell."

"And here I thought you would be really happy to finally meet me." I say sarcastically. "You've been living alone in my apartment for almost two months, you know that right?"

"Well, it's not that!" She objects. "It's that..."

"Oh, come on! Spit it out! Did you break something? Do you have someone else living there with you?" I ask, feeling uneasy. I don't know her that well but she wouldn't do that, right?

Right??

"No, no, no!! It's just that my mother is in town and I kind of...." Her voice as low as it can be on the phone. "I kind of suggested that she comes over to have dinner with me." Before I could say anything, she adds. "I've been feeling very lonely... since the breakup. I'm really sorry! I l must've had the dates mixed or- ."

"I don't mind company." I interrupt her, meaning every word I said. "I don't mind."
I feel a small pinch in my heart. The past few months were the hardest months I've ever had in my life. My parents' death still feels like some sort of nightmare. Their absence is palpable and is currently strangling me to the point of not being able to breathe well. I missed them.

The last family dinner I attended was a few months before their passing. My sister was there.
And we fought over silly things. The most idiotic things. I think it started because my mom was slightly touching my elbow when she sat down and didn't want to move it away. She knew I hated to be touched like that and still got mad when I told her. 

"Earth to Ellie..." Chloe brings me back from my thoughts. "My sister might come as well with her best friend. Would that be a problem?"

"No, no, not at all. The more, the merrier." I chuckle a bit at her question. "It would've been nice to be informed though."
"I'm really sorry, I thought you wouldn't be home..." Her voice fades away to the background, letting my thoughts erupt like a geyser. 

Home, what a heavy word.

"Anyway, I really need to go. Please don't cook anything before I arrive tomorrow." I say before trying to hang up.
"Wait, wait, wait Ellie. You know you're going to have dinner with us, right? I didn't say it explicitly but you're not going to sit in your room or go out and wait for us to finish up. You know that right?"

"Sure, yeah..." I almost whisper.

"Good ! Also, my mom will be cooking at Lena's and come over with the food, so don't worry about a thing!"

"That's a bit reassuring. Good night Chloe." I say before hanging up the phone, without waiting for her answer.

I kind of win the lottery of roommates. Chloe's been nothing but nice to me, from the moment she answered the ad. 
At first, I thought that she was just trying to get to me to have a roof over her head. But the past two months have showed me that that was just her being genuine and I appreciated that to the point of her making it to being one of the few people I've had full-on conversations with, this past year.

As my eyes feel heavier, my phone screen breaks the dimness of my room.

Jackie O
I really could use your help with this code. It  won't work!!

Jack was one of best friends. He's a computer science major in another college and he's a freelance coder. I work with him from time to time, to earn a bit money. And even though, he doesn't like to admit it, I get him out of trouble most times. He doesn't do well with maths whereas I do.
We met in high school.
He was flamboyantly gay, when I was closeted and helped me through my coming out by setting me up with the worst dates ever seen in the history of dating. He would always tell me to go, to experience, not listening to me when I tell him that I can't experience with such dates.
He's also my music guru. You know, that friend that sends you playlists with a hundred songs with no skips. He has albums for every mood. Even Hunger!
He's been very helpful, after my parents' death. He offered me a job with the company he was about to open, which I accepted since I needed to earn money on my own now. And, because it's coding, he allowed me to work from home and even gain commissions from the help he gets with his own work. 

Me
UGHH Jack, I'm in bed.

Jackie O
It would only take a minute... Please? It's really urgent!

Me
Just send it and shut up! But you owe me okay?

Jackie O
ANYTHING!! Thank you!

He proceeds to send me the work and I muster up the courage in me to get out of bed and  Being familiar with what he usually does, I spot the mistake immediately. It was a calculus issue.

Me
It's n-1, not n,  you idiot!

Jackie O
It works!! Thank you Ellie! I really do owe you one!
I spend this whole morning working out the issue.
I feel soo stupid now! I must be tired !!

Feeling overwhelmed and mostly tired, I put my phone on my bedside table.
I was still at my parents' house. I couldn't bring myself to leave since their funeral. My sister stayed with me for three months before going back to her life. We never got along very well. But I'm her older sister and I needed to take care of her. That's why I took a gap year. Even though my parents had money, it was mainly because of their income so I had to work because I wasn't going to let my sister do that. My parents wouldn't have liked that.
But I also knew I needed therapy, soon after their passing. So the past year consisted basically of working and going to therapy. But tomorrow I had to go back to my apartment, a week before my first last day of college. I was supposed to graduate a few months ago.  It isn't ideal, but it is what it is.

Soon enough, my eyelids, heavy and exhausted, cover my eyeballs and I feel myself drift into a not so peaceful sleep.
I know I wasn't going to have any dreams.

***