Two Heartbeats on One Page

Chapter 24

Even though Jordan was good at writing budgets, he absolutely hated it. Especially when he ended up behind no matter how he allocated his funds.

As it stood, going back to work on Thursday meant by the time the payment was due at the end of the following week, he'd be about $900 behind. Just over three whole paychecks with nothing taken out for expenses. He had a week to make it appear somehow.

It was Tuesday morning. Jordan had heard from Darcey briefly last night for the ten minutes he was awake between naps, but nothing since. He was probably sleeping. This illness had knocked all the strength and energy out of him. Jordan's was getting better, seemingly just a 72-hour bug, which meant he could go back to work when CounterCulture opened back up again. It was only 6:00 a.m. Under normal circumstances, Darcey would have been up, but with his illness, Jordan had no idea. So he was waiting for Darcey to call him when he woke up, like he'd said he would.

Jordan had pared down to the absolute essentials. Rent. Electric. He was willing to live off of what was in his nearly empty fridge until his payment was taken care of. His bus pass was good for the next two weeks. His internet bill was coming up, but if he had to disconnect it again, he would. His phone was due a week and a half after his down payment, but by then he'd have it taken care of and wouldn't have to worry.

Even with all of that, he was $900 short. He shuffled things around, attempted to pare down even more, pocket change and dollar bills, but he couldn't find it anywhere.

He was fucked.

He groaned and dropped his head to the table a little too hard and he hissed through his teeth at the sudden pain. That was why he started to tear up, he told himself. But he was lying.

The phone rang. Jordan's shoulders stiffened and his breath caught, but this time, finally, he didn't jump. He didn't lift his head. He groped out for the phone and brought it to his ear with a quiet, choked, "H'lo?"

"Are you okay?" It was Darcey, but his voice was gravelly, even deeper than usual but with a slight squeak in the middle.

"Yeah," Jordan mumbled. "I just... I accidentally hit my head. Give me a second."

"Are you all right?" Darcey's voice was tense now, worried. "Was it bad?"

"No, I'm fine," he said. "Do you feel up to coming over?"

"No. I'm in really bad shape. If you want to come over here, we can hang out for a while, but I'm not up to driving or dealing with the bus."

"Okay," Jordan said. "I'd like that, if that's okay with everyone?"

"You mean my mom?" Darcey chuckled. "She likes you, Jordan. She hasn't stopped talking about how thoughtful she thinks you are."

"It looks like I've got her fooled, then," Jordan chuckled.

"Oh, shut up," Darcey laughed. Jordan grinned. He looked back at the spreadsheet on his laptop, the bills and lists scattered all over the table, and sighed.

"You know, can I come over now? Or is that too early? Do you need some more time to wake up?"

"Well, it takes about forty minutes on the bus, so that should give me plenty of time to get myself together. As best I can." He laughed and Jordan's smile softened.

"Okay," he said. "What's your actual address? That way maybe I can figure out a quicker bus route."

He penned it down as Darcey rattled it off, and after a few more minutes of small talk, they hung up. After he figured out his bus route, Jordan dug his backpack out of this closet and slid his laptop and bills inside. Maybe Darcey could put some fresh eyes on it and find something he'd missed.