I stayed up until dawn and woke up recharged after seven in the evening. Hugo's clothes were already disposed off, hers were washed. The place was dazzling clean. Dinner occupied the counter.
I heard silver's barks from the backyard and realized I woke up to his noise. I found my mute friend with silver playing discus. I coughed and got the desired attention from the two.
My phone vibrated, I read 'I have already eaten. Please help yourself.' It was his text. He gave me an apologetic smile and went back to his room with his companion. I was not expecting this response from him. 'Maybe he is afraid of facing strangers?' I wondered. Before touching the meal I went to look for Hugo who was resting in my guest room.
I knocked the door twice. No response. I went in anyways. He was dead asleep. I sighed and decided to bring him food after I am done in case he gets wakes up hungry in the middle of the night.
"Zeno..?" I heard him murmur my name. And quickly went to his side. "Yes I'm here. Hungry? How are you feeling? Are you hurting?" I launched questions at him worriedly in one breath. "Easy..easy..chick." he said slowly quietly in between long breaths stroking my hair with his Left hand while his injured one was held by me.
Despite the pain he managed to give me a reassuring grin. I huffed. "Don't act strong in front of me." I pinched his cheek, he hissed. "It hurts here though." He pointed at the place where she pinched him. "Shut up! Tell me how did you end up like this?" His smile dropped. "Not telling." He got up and started to leave. "So that's what I get after all this." This was the emotional blackmailing game. And he hated it. "How about a free pass to all the shops for a month." He was talking about the beach and I knew the bribing game he played which I hated the most. "You already gave me a years free pass to me. Try something new or tell me the problem otherwise our friendship is over." I crossed my arms over my chest, lips curled upwards and eyebrows pinched together. He exhaled noisely, lips pursed and massaged his temple as he let out a frustrated groan.
It was silent for a moment. But I dismissed the tension in the room. "Fine! You just woke up. Have something. The food is getting cold. Come down if can walk fine." I knew this talk was never going to happen so I didn't pushed it further.
"I thought we would go to my bar or something. Generally you get too tired to cook something after treating me then falling asleep." He stood in the doorway as I exited the room and closed it before following me.
"Well, the routine has changed." I proudly announced after listening to his not so good compliment. He just hummed confused.
He eyes bulged out in surprise and mouth hung open. "Fuck! You ordered it right. There's no way your hands were capable of preparing a whole cusine?" His reaction made my day. I shook my head in response, I was partly proud of my boy. Yeah, my table was never filled with food until my he took over the kitchen. "I didn't cooked it. Someone else did." I made clear as he praised the food.
"Who?" He asked, his brows furrowed. I knew it was coming.
"A tenent." I shrugged saying as a matter of fact but I knew I lied, I just wanted the conversation done because telling him the truth will be another big drama.
"Since when you were in desperate need of money zeno? Tell me." He has found a loophole and I'm on the verge of admitting everything to him myself with just one more push.
I grew quiet.
"Who is he?" He cut to the chase and I shifted. He was smart, I had accepted that long ago. I couldn't hide anything from him. He had stopped eating and so did I. He grew protective of me since the day I first treated him and the worry was visible in his features right now.
"Zenovia?" He repeated and my gaze lifted up to meet his. He was searching something in them. "I don't know. All I know is that someone attempted to brutally kill him which made him temporarily mute. Curing him is all I could think of." I exhaled.
Hugo just arrives on the crucial point in my life, always. Last time he showed up on my doorstep was with his left side of the lower abdomen bleeding, in one look I knew he was stabbed. That time I was going through my initial divorced period. His friendship had always been my support since then.
The one responsible to cause him a fatal wound had been
"enimies"
"Everytime?"
"It's normal in my line of work."
"Why don't you let the cops interfere? If handling a beach property grants you with deadly enimies then why the hell other businessmen are still alive? Wait. Are you hiding something?"
"You doubting me?"
"I don't know anymore Hugo. You drive me nuts."
This is how our last argument took place, there was never proper end to it. We generally end up drinking and passing out before the dawn falls.
He knows my past. Ever since childhood my first attempt while confronting someone was to keep myself closed off. Revealing my chaos to someone else wasn't going to change the reality.
But Hugo had a foreign aura around him. He was somewhat skilled in making others spill the beans. But that didn't scared me because he was soft with his approach. Maybe businessmen harbour this type of quality in their line of work.
My stupid response was followed by an uncomfortable silence. "I'm nearing 30 Hugo. I am capable of handling my life." I broke the silence by clearly igniting a fight between us.
"Exactly! And you're letting a wounded mute stranger reside in your house out of pity!? You make me doubt your cunning nature, Zenovia."
"That's not it!" I slammed the table with my hand as I stood up. That's not it. That's definitely not it.
I tried to slide this topic by starting a fight but he didn't took the bait infact I'm defeated, something I didn't planned.
"No? Then why are you getting all hyped up?" His smug smile was onn as if he just proved his point. But he was taking me all wrong, I couldn't explain it because then I'd be telling him every single detail just like he wants me to.
Friendship is the deadliest commitment.
