What Now?

Chapter 6: Gone

9:27 p.m. 

The Uber is going to take about an hour because of the heavy traffic going on tonight... God, why did I have to fuck everything up? I wanted her to not hate me anymore... not want her to hate me more than she knows. No... she hates Tom, not Mason. I'll just keep the name Mason for now... until I find out when exactly to tell her. 

I walk back into Cafe of the Century, hearing the chimes clack against the glass along with the sing song voice, "Welcome to Cafe of the Century!" I walk to the cashier to order another coffee, but this time, Caffè Americano. "Your total is $2.24 & your Americano will be up in about two minutes....?" She looks at me & recognizes me. "Oh, hello, sir! Back again for round two with your girl? Oh... wait." She looks around the cafe. "Where is she?"   "It doesn't matter." I rasp. "I like your voice. It's soothing to my ears. That bitch doesn't even know what quality is if she's not here with-"

"What?" I say with steel in my voice. She looks at me with the ugly face of hers. She's NOT Eve. She tries to talk, but only stutters come out. "That's right. Shut that fucking mouth of yours. You're worse than her. At least she's attractive & nice... unlike you." I huff & turn to leave her in shock. "B-but your Americano!" She shouts. "I don't need it." I holler back & exit the cafe.

Standing outside in the coldness surely contrasts against the warmth inside, but I don't feel like staying in there anymore... She made me lose interest in my Americano. Bitch doesn't even know who she's talking about... I think quietly as I aimlessly wander down the road. I don't care where I am, I just walk. After walking down some roads, I see her. 

"Hello again." I say & she turns around. She looks up at my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, Mason..." Her lovely voice spoke. I see her trembling a little bit & I immediately take off my leather jacket to warm her. As I put the jacket on her shoulders, she takes a breath in. "Have you been in Cafe of the Century this whole time?" I'm surprised she can still smell the coffee aroma... "Yeah... I was just waiting there, then I wanted to leave because you weren't there..." I pause. "Where were you going? Out at-" I take my wrist out to check my watch. "Out at 10:10 in the night?"   "Could ask you the same thing." She responds. "Waiting for my Uber that's stuck in some of the traffic... You need somewhere to stay?" She gives me a questionable look & I panic. 

"Uh, not that way, just like a sleepover kind of thing. Nothing else going on. We can just hang out or if you're tired, I can set up one of my bedrooms or if you're hungry, I could cook something up, since you only drank your latte..." I trail off & look at her expression carefully. I can tell she's really giving this a thought, the way her eyes close and her hand on her chin... She still thinks like that... I smile a bit & she responds with her answer. 

"Sure. Let's call it a sleepover then." She says as her warm breath swirls into the coldness. I'm ecstatic & I knew I was grinning like crazy.  A car honks & I see my Uber. I wave at him over Eve's head. "Let's go." I tell & I grab her wrist & takes her to the Uber. I let go to open the door to the warm car. "Lady's first." I say & she smiles at me as she gets into the car. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so I just sit in the front.

I tell the driver my address & we start driving. I couldn't stop looking at her through the side mirror. Her beauty still makes my jaw drop. God, if only I didn't treat her like shit... & that went on for about 15 minutes in my head. We arrive at my house & she didn't hesitate. "You live in a fucking villa?!" She says as she opens the door & steps out. I didn't respond to her question at first, because I was handing my driver the money with a $5 tip. 

"Is that bad...?" I question her as the driver pulls out from my driveway & she looks at me as if I took her money. "Hell no. I've always wanted to live in one or visit one because they're so pretty..." She says in a raised tone & looks at my house in awe. I look at her trembling hands as she rubs them, trying to keep warmth. The jacket isn't enough... "It's getting colder, let's go." I lead the way to the front door. As we approach it, I hear a slight gasp. "Wow..." I smile a bit as I pull my keys out from my right pocket to unlock the brown metal door before us. 

"It's not exciting, really... It's actually lonely..." I say, thinking about my parents. All the fighting, the screaming, then silence... Remembering that, makes me realize that I'm not that different... I turn the lock & open the door."What about your parents?" She questions as we enter the house. The familiar black & white furniture greets me as we go inside. The red, black & white paintings contrasts against my white couch. What do you want from me, huh? I question quietly as I bring her to the dining room.

 "It's prettier inside. What happened to your-" No. "Now, are you tired? Hungry? What?" I interrupt her before she finishes the question..  I love her, but the question she's going to ask is going to be too much for me. She doesn't push anymore so she responds, "I'm actually pretty thirsty, do you have any water?" She sits down on one of the white chairs in the dining room table. "Here, you can sit here..." I say as I pull out a bar stool out from underneath the counter top. "Oh. Okay." She responds. She sits down & I push the seat in a bit.

I see go into the kitchen to get a cup & a pitcher of water. I find a glass cup & set it down in front of her & I pour the water for her. She nods towards me & I watch her from the counter. She takes a couple of sips. God, what a beauty... "You need anything else?" I curiously ask. She stops drinking & puts the glass down with a clank. "A bedroom, if that's okay.. I kinda ran away from home & I don't want to go back there. Like, again, because I'm so done with everything. My parents, problems; everything."

She lowers her head as if she's ashamed of asking that question. Of course I'll let her stay... "Follow me." I say as I get up from the white chair, walking past her. We take a right, down a hallway, left, then we enter her bedroom... "Is it your bedroom?" Eve asks curiously. "No. It's now yours." God, it's still so messy... I forgot to clean it. I start picking up books & papers, placing them onto the white shelves along the wall. I can finally see the floor...

 "It's beautiful... Thank you, Mason. For helping me."  She says in a calm, sincere tone. "You can stay as long as you want. I can buy you new clothes, some stuff you need; basically anything. I won't mind the company." I grin & walk out of the bedroom. Shutting the door, I hear her sigh in tiredness. I hear the bed creak & leave the doorway. I go to the room across from hers & go to the table. I take a piece of paper & a pen & write a note down for her:

Eve, if you ever need anything, I'll be in the room down the hall; to the right of your bedroom. So, don't mind asking me for things. I'm always here to help you, don't worry.  ~Mason

I slip the paper underneath the door & go to the room down the hall. I close the door to my bedroom, looking at the black, gray, white things inside. My gray & black bed sitting against the wall with some band posters, pictures of me & my friends, along with a picture of my family. I jump on my bed, landing on my back. I look at the photos, wondering what I could've done.

Sylvia jumps onto my bed, looking at me with those blue eyes. "Hey, girl. How've you been?" I say as I pet her head. She mews in response & hops off the bed to hers. Sleepiness starts to settle in & I try not to yawn. 

"Night..."