Crossed Lines

Mina

By the time I reached the house, the chill in the night air had fully settled into my skin. My keys jingled in my trembling hand as I unlocked the door, the ache in my shoulders a reminder of the hours spent hunched over my laptop. I just thank the lord that my house is only thirty minutes away from campus.

The house was quiet. It always was these days. The kind of quiet that made every creak of the floorboards and every groan of the old heating system feel deafening.

I flicked on the light and shut the door behind me, shrugging off my coat. The scent of Korean food coming from the kitchen throws me off. For a moment, I let myself linger in that memory—her humming in the kitchen, her voice calling me down for dinner. Shit, am I going crazy?

However, that was quickly replaced by the weight pressing on my chest. The mortgage notice sat on the corner of the coffee table, a constant reminder of my reality. Since my mom passed, I was left with the remaining bills to pay off the house. From my thesis paper, finishing up senior projects, and working as a waitress on the weekends, this was my most exhausting year yet.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't even notice Eli until he spoke.

"Finally," he said, his voice startling me.

"Holy shit!" My hand flew to my chest. Eli comes out from the kitchen, holding a takeout bag.  "Eli, the fuck you doing here?" 

I'm not entirely surprised since this isn't the first time he's shown up unannounced. This is what happens when my mom gives him the spare key.

"Wow, is that my thanks for bringing you food?" he teased. "I'm saving you from starving," he said, showing off the takeout bag like a trophy. "You owe me, by the way. I was standing there for thirty minutes, listening to Sunhee ranting on how hard you work, that you should enjoy your college life, and how I should be taking care of you more."

I chuckle, already imaging how she is. My mom and I always went to K-Bop Grill at least once a week, so we've gotten to know Sunhee a lot. She's basically seen me grow up for the past fifteen years.

"Not that she's wrong, but I was worried you were gonna get here before I do."

"Eli, do you know what time it is?" I open my phone to see its twenty minutes past midnight.

"Late," he said with a shrug, sitting down on the floor, placing the food on the coffee table. "And I know you didn't eat dinner, so hurry up and sit down."

I crossed my arms. "I don't need you to—"

"Let me guess," he interrupted, holding up a finger. "You were going to say you don't need me to feed you because you were planning to eat that sad excuse for dinner you call ramen, and yes, ramen is good but you shouldn't make that your only meal."

My mouth opened, then shut.

"Thought so," he said smugly, patting the spot next to him. "Sit. Eat. Admit I'm the best."

He opens the containers, revealing kimchi fried rice for me and kalbi with rice for Eli. The smell lures me in and my initial hostility caves in. 

"Fine, but I'm not admitting that." I sit next to him on the floor, grabbing the spoon and chopsticks. "Thanks Eli, you didn't have to." I shove down my first bite, stopping myself from moaning at the taste.

He swallows his spoonful, leaning back against the couch. "You know, you should really start listening to me more often. I'm basically your life coach at this point."

"Oh yeah? What's your advice for managing crippling stress and a mortgage I can barely afford?"

He blinked, caught off guard for a second, then said, "Step one: eat. Step two: sleep. Step three: ask your way-too-handsome best friend for help before you let it eat you alive."

I rolled my eyes, but his expression had softened, and I could tell he wasn't entirely joking.

"You're not alone, Mina," he said, his voice quieter now. "You've got me, okay? And Charlotte. And Hannah. Hell, even my whole family."

I didn't respond right away, busying myself with another bite of rice. "You're annoyingly good at this whole supportive thing," I mumbled.

"Years of practice," he said lightly. "You're a lot of work, Park."

I swatted at him with my chopsticks, and he laughed, dodging.

We ate in companionable silence after that, the warmth of the food and Eli's presence easing some of the tension that had been building all day.

"So," he said finally, breaking the quiet. "How's the studying going? Feel ready for midterms?"

I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "Don't remind me. I finished my assignment tonight, but I've still got three papers to finish, and every time I think I'm caught up, I find something else I forgot to do."

"Sounds brutal," he said, sympathy flickering in his eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, Coach is on me 24/7 about Saturday's game. I barely have time to sleep."

"Yeah, but at least you don't have to write essays," I pointed out.

"True," he admitted. "But I'd trade you an essay for running drills at 6 a.m. any day."

"Deal," I said, laughing.

Eli glanced at me, that the same soft expression on his face. "You know, you're kind of amazing."

I blinked, caught off guard. "What? Where did that come from? And only 'kind of'?"

He chuckles, "I'm serious. You're juggling all this stuff—classes, work, everything—and you're still standing. That's impressive."

I felt a blush creeping up my neck and quickly focused on my food. "You're giving me way too much credit. I'm a mess half the time."

"Yeah, but you're my mess," he said, grinning again.

I threw a napkin at him, but I couldn't help smiling.

As the clock ticked closer to one, Eli eventually packed up the empty boxes and stood, stretching. "Alright, I should head out. Coach will kill me if I'm late tomorrow."

"Thanks for this," I said, walking him to the door. "Seriously."

"Anytime," he said, ruffling my hair like he always do. "Get some sleep," he said at the door, grinning. "You'll need your strength to keep up with my awesomeness tomorrow."

I groaned. "You're exhausting."

"You love it," he called over his shoulder as he headed down the steps.

In the quietness of my house, the lingering warmth of Eli's presence made the space feel less empty. For the first time in a while, I felt like I could breathe.