Phantom of the Apartment

Home Again

Jason froze, eyes wide as he stared at Rebecca. She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"You came back." His mouth had gone dry.

"Yeah. I did," Rebecca replied, swinging her legs so that she sat upright. "It's been a long two weeks."

"Yeah," Jason said dumbly. He'd spent all of it thinking of things he'd say if he had the chance, but now that he had it he was speechless. All the planned dialogue went out the window and he found himself searching the room for something to say, something to fill the empty air. "Do... uh, do you want me to warm up your coffee?"

"I'm fine, thanks." She sat quietly for a moment as though trying to formulate a sentence. He could see the anxiety he felt reflected on her face. At least I'm not the only one struggling. "Look, I know I said a lot of things when we last spoke, and I just wanted to say... well, I'm sorry."

Jason blinked. Didn't expect that one. A joke, a snide remark maybe, but an outright apology? "You're what?"

"I'm sorry, alright?" There was frustration in her voice, but it seemed more directed at herself than Jason. "I didn't mean it, any of it. I was just so caught up in the moment, the rage, the stress. I didn't mean to hurt you or Thomas. God, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I went way too far and I'm really, really sorry." She paused and then gave a nervous laugh. "That was harder than I thought it would be."

"Hey, I'm sorry too. I should've said something earlier. I was just scared, y'know? Scared of what would happen if you knew." He hesitated for just a moment before making his request again, crossing his fingers that it would be different this time around. "Can you forgive me?"

In response, Rebecca rose from her seat and hugged him. "Yeah," she whispered. "Yeah, I can. Can you forgive me?"

Jason nodded. "Of course."

After a moment, she spoke. "I missed you a lot. You and your stupid bunny slippers and grumpy mornings. Besides," she said, disconnecting from the hug, "no one makes coffee quite like you do."

Jason smiled. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," Rebecca said. "Still friends?"

"Definitely." It all felt surreal, almost too easy. He hadn't expected her to come back. But that was the thing about people, wasn't it? You never quite knew what they would do. All the same, a bit of suspicion curled in his stomach. "Well, I've got no choice but to make you some fresh coffee now, do I?" She began to protest but he cut her off. "No, trust me, it's no trouble." As Jason began to prepare, Rebecca sat down at the table where they had shared coffee so many times before. Everything seemed right. Well, almost everything. "So, not to look the gift horse in the mouth, but why did you come back?"

"Well, I'd thought over everything and realized I'd been stupid. Like, really stupid. I went to get some coffee at that old café before I came home. I wanted to get properly caffeinated and think things over a bit, figure out how I would apologize. Well, guess who I saw behind the counter."

Pieces clicked. Should you give me what I ask for, I will do you a good turn as well. "Was it Ronan?"

"Yeah! I didn't realize until he introduced himself, of course, but there he was. He made me some coffee and we wound up talking about what had happened. It was... pretty weird, actually. But about half way through the conversation, he told me I should come back here. I told him I was already planning on it and he smiled and said, 'In that case, I can give you this.' He handed me this little slip of paper with an address and phone number written on it."

Jason frowned. "Whose?"

"Well, he claims it's my mom's."

Jason's heart skipped. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah. He said he'd done some research and had managed to track her down. I'm not sure if I believe him or not."

"That's kind of terrifying. How did he know where to look?"

"Oh! Thanks for reminding me." Rebecca reached into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "You dropped this in the building. I guess you forgot to pick it up after the fighting ended. He might've read it over and found her name."

It was the letter.

Jason felt himself bristle slightly. Ronan had this and he didn't tell me? He sighed. "I can't believe he kept that," he said aloud. "He was just here yesterday for the weird gas stuff he asked us to collect, and he didn't even mention it!" He shook his head and laughed bitterly. "If I see him again, I'm gonna punch him in the face. No hesitation, no questions asked. Just a solid fist to the jaw." He acted it out in the air, causing Rebecca to burst out laughing.

"I'd like to see that."

"So, I take it you haven't tried the number?"

She grew somber. "Not yet. I'm not sure it's real, and, besides, what would I say? 'Hey, it's me, your child who died two years ago. I'm back from the grave. Can I have a hug?'"

Jason patted her on the shoulder. "You'll think of something."

She sighed. "I know. I--" A knock at the door interrupted her.

Jason slipped the letter into his pocket and cracked his knuckles. "Here comes my chance."

"You think it's Ronan?"

"Better safe than sorry."

It was not Ronan at the door, which was a disappointing realization for once. "It's just Thomas," he called back to Rebecca. "Pity, I was hoping to punch someone in the face."

Thomas smiled. "I'm glad that someone isn't me. Who's here?" Jason stepped to the side and Thomas froze when he saw Rebecca. "Oh."

Rebecca winced. "Hey, Thomas. Look, I came by to apologize."

Thomas folded his arms. "Let's hear it, then."

Rebecca took a slow breath. "I screwed up. Big time." Thomas snorted incredulously. "I know, I know. That doesn't even begin to cover it. But I'm really sorry. I hurt you, almost killed Jason, and I said a lot of things I didn't mean. You don't have to forgive me, I'd understand if you didn't, but I am sorry."

Thomas paused for a moment, then nodded. "You're forgiven, and it's forgotten."

Jason blinked in surprise, eyes moving between the two. "That's it?"

"Yeah, I believe her. Don't you?"

Jason smiled. "I do."

"Great!" Then Thomas sniffed the air dramatically. "Now, is that coffee I smell?" Jason laughed and led him to the table. He noticed that, despite what he had said about forgiving and forgetting, Thomas walked a little farther from Rebecca than he once had and hesitated slightly when she pulled out a chair for him. Jason knew that the trio of friends had been through a lot, and it would take time for things to return to business as usual. But he also knew that, with time, bruises would fade and scars would heal, leaving them to emerge stronger for having faced the world together. In the meantime, he felt more than happy to sit down and share a cup of coffee with the three people he cared about most in the world. Besides, everything felt a little more right now that they were all together again.

As he poured his friends' coffee and sat down beside them, he couldn't help but remember a day so very long ago when he'd walking into that very same kitchen and stared at its blank walls, trying to convince himself that the barren apartment was his new home. Now, he knew the truth. It hadn't been a home any more than an empty box was a birthday present. But over time, coffee scented mornings and tack-covered maps had transformed it from the husk it had once been into a place of warmth and belonging. Each horrible joke and harebrained plan had done more to fix the place than any new curtain or lampshade could have ever accomplished.

After all, it was the little things that made a house a home.