Red Shoes, Black Coffee (Red & Black #2)

9 | Spontaneous decisions

Ada

"Coffee?" Colin's brows shoot up his forehead as he stares down at me. "You want coffee now?"

I nod, crossing my arms over my chest most tightly. I keep my eyes glued to the ground. This way I don't see the red-and-blue police lights flashing everywhere.

I don't need to remember that they're here for me. That it was my dorm room that has been broken into and robbed.

"But... we just had some." Colin looks confused.

I raise my gaze and lock it with his. "You don't have to go with me."

"The hell I don't have to." he looks offended. "I'll go with you anywhere you wish. Just... Why the coffee house?"

I shrug. I honestly don't know. I blame it on the fact that I'm so over my day and have nowhere to sleep because the crime scene aka my dorm room is still being investigated. Derra can crash over at her boyfriend's but I have nowhere to go. Julie Ann already has a roommate in her own dorm room and she's probably long asleep by now. Levi doesn't know yet and I don't want to worry him. Besides, he's a guy. I can't sleep in his dorm. The same goes for Colin. I don't think there any any free girls' dorm rooms left, considering there's a certain amount of students coming to study at Julliard every year and that accommodation places are limited. The dean asked me whether I had somewhere to crash for tonight and for some reason, I told him yes. I blame it on shock. Or the fact I'm still secretly hoping that Colin is going to let me sleep in his car. Otherwise, I don't have a bed to sleep in tonight and I know I'm going to need a lot of caffeine to survive it.

The other reason behind why Caffair was the first thing on my mind when Colin asked me where I plan to go now is harder to admit, even to myself. Especially to myself. It's just... in moments like this one, I feel so terribly small and alone in a place as big as the New York City. Caffair... It's what connects me with my old life back in Ann Arbor. The interior of the coffee house is very similar and it feels like the closest thing to home I have now. Crazy, I know, but I have a feeling that crazy is going to be the one word to describe my life after today. And right now, I can as well stop giving a damn and provide myself with some caffeine.

"Do you think Caffair will still be open?" I ask.

Colin's doubtful expression contrasts with his words when he says: "We can go check."

Ten minutes later, Colin's parking his car on the curb in front of Caffair. I don't need to get out to know I'm late, but I do it anyway. When I go around the car and approach the door, I spot a figure leaning against the building, smoking a cigarette. The thick smoke hits my nostrils and I scrunch up my nose, disgusted. I've always hated the smell of cigarette smoke and was never able to understand why on earth somebody would be willing to inhale this thing willingly.

The person lets out another cloud when I close in. The red end of the cigarette flashes in the darkness as they bring it back to their lips.

I'm aware of Colin's footsteps nearing me when I open my mouth to ask: "It's no longer open, is it?"

The person shifts, looking down at me. The street is dark and the nearby street lamp doesn't work so I don't know if it's a guy or a girl. For all I know, it can as well be a serial killer ready to gut me here and now, but I'm so tired I don't give a damn.

"Ada -" Colin's voice is cut off by the other person speaking.

"I just closed up." A girl. Her voice is deep and raspy, but definitely female. She releases one more cloud of white smoke before speaking again. "But if it's very urgent, I can always get back in and get you a bagel or two."