I'm Crossing The Ocean || Mullette

Chapter Twenty-Six: Summer Blues

|Third Person|

Summer is almost half over and Lafayette has spent most of his time in his room or at work. After moping around in his room for the last few days of school and the first week or so of summer he figured getting a job would at least give him an excuse to leave the house. He was actually a little exciting to prepare for the day Mrs. Morel drove him into town and let him drop off resumes at local businesses.

He had poured over the listings for jobs for a week before going to apply- picking the ones he was most likely to get. Of course he'd only be getting paid minimum wage, but that would be more than enough if he worked every shift he could and was really good about saving. He'd probably have at least a few thousand euros by the time school started again.

Hercules had even been kind enough to help him with his resume over Skype, though his translation was a little off. It was still nice for Lafayette to have that time with him. A few hours where Hercules wasn't upset about taking a break, and Lafayette didn't have to feel weird- like he was keeping a secret about what happened with Erica. The two had been split up when it actually happened, so it wasn't exactly like he was cheating on Hercules. He just felt all wrong about the entire situation- not being with Hercules, not telling him, not knowing what was ok while they were on this "break". And, even though Lafayette had sort of initiated this, he wasn't entirely certain what the rules were.

He still missed Hercules like crazy and he was sure that they hadn't broken up for good. It was just a matter of how long. He was still in love with him, that was for sure, but he would be lying if he said he didn't feel just a little sad that he wasn't able to talk into the late hours of the night every evening with Hercules. And he would definitely be lying if he said he wasn't jealous every time he saw a photo of his estranged boyfriend out with his old friends having a fun time at the lake or the bowling alley or the movies. Doing normal summer activities while Lafayette was lonely and cooped up in his foster home with no one but a two year old to hang out with and a job to go out to.

So, Lafayette took every chance he got to call Hercules. He called when he needed help with his resume- even if it was already nearly perfect- and again when he got hired as a busboy at a diner just a few blocks over from where he was living. He saved up every story about rude customers and the odd things his manager said just so he'd have a little more to talk about every time he got a chance to Skype Hercules.

The more he thought about Hercules the more anxious he got. Both for him to be here and also wondering endlessly what he should say about Erica. He spent most of his free time these days worrying about Hercules anyway. He'd thought this break would be better for him and his anxiety, but so far it was only making things worse, and they were barely a month in. He had no idea how he'd make it through the summer.

It's two fridays before Hercules' visit when Mr. Morel knocks on his door as he had every evening since Lafayette had come to live with him. He asks the same thing he does everytime, and Lafayette has to suppress a sigh from his position curled up in the middle of his bed that he usually adapts to wallow in his bouts of worrying.

"Dinner's ready, Lafayette," he calls. "Do you want to join us?"

Lafayette can hear the hopefulness in his foster parent's voice. It's rare that he joins the family for dinner. Breakfast is usually an apple or a granola bar that he eats quickly on his way to work or skips altogether on the weekends. Lafayette eats whatever is left over in the kitchen for lunch, and when he doesn't join for dinner he sneaks downstairs later at night and finds something to hold him over till the morning.

"Sure," Lafayette sighs, groaning a little as he forces himself up. He can already imagine the victorious smile on Mr. Morel's face. He and his wife really had done their best to make Lafayette feel like part of the family and were incredibly generous whenever he needed something. He just wasn't in the right place to play house with strangers, no matter how nice they were. He missed his own family, and he missed his friends.