The Story of Finneas - [COMPLETED]

8.

After Finneas left, days went by without me noticing so much of it. I lived like a robot, I go to work in the morning and immediately go home after work without doing anything else. I binge-watched Netflix by the time I got home. I spent a lot of time staring at my phone screen, waiting for Finneas' name to pop up. He did text me when he had arrived, but communication hasn't been really good these last few days.

I decided to make my second cup of coffee today. As I walked to the pantry, I saw Hans walking out of the elevator, whistling to himself. He saw me as well, and he approached me with a huge smile.

"Hey, Brooke! Going to the pantry?" He walked alongside me, just as cheerful as when I saw him last.

"Hello, Hans. Yup, I need a lot of coffee to function lately."

"Has anything interesting been going on?" He asked curiously.

I chuckled lightly. "Nah, it's nothing interesting. Anyway, can you help me get my cup?" I pointed to the cupboard on the wall, which is out of my reach. "Someone has been using this cup—which happens to be my favorite—and stores it in the one place that's out of my reach."

He took the cup easily and smiled as he gave it to me. I thanked him, and he replied, "No problem."

I waited for the machine to finish brewing my coffee. Hans was leaning on the refrigerator, holding his own cup with his phone on one hand. I tried to start a conversation, since I was afraid of awkward silences. "Is it just me or the coffee keeps getting worse every day?"

He lifted his head up and nodded quickly. "I thought I was the only one who feels like that! Oh hey, you know what, do you want to-"

He got cut off by a loud sound, and I realized that it was coming from my pocket. I took my phone out and Finneas popped up on the screen.

"I'm sorry, please excuse me for one second," I said to Hans, and he nodded, looking a little disappointed.

I picked up the phone and felt so happy to hear Finneas' smooth voice after not hearing it for some time.

"Hey, Brooke! How are you?" His voice sounded cheerful as usual, and it made me glad.

"Finneas! I'm fine, thanks. How's your dad doing?" Honestly, I was curious of his dad's condition so I can hopefully figure out when he's coming back here.

"He's getting better now, and that's wonderful. He did have a stroke, but it was just a light stroke. So he can still walk and do other stuff—slowly, of course, he moves way slower now—but basically nothing dangerous is happening to him."

"Really? I'm glad to hear that!" I couldn't help but smile happily.

"Yup. He kept asking me how it was there. I said there are a lot of hipsters in Oregon, but the people are nice and it rains a lot."

"Sounds like an accurate description of this place," I replied. "So are you going back soon, or?"

"I think so. I just have to make sure my dad's alright, and then I can leave him to my mom. Right now my mom's a little bit sick too from the flu, so I have to take care of both of them."

"You're such a good boy," I teased him, and he laughed.

When he was about to say something else, I heard a man's voice on the background, speaking with a thick southern accent. I couldn't really hear what he said.

"Sorry, that's my dad calling me. I have to go now, but I'll call you again later, okay?"

"Okay," I replied, feeling a little bit unsatisfied. I wanted to talk to him more.

He went silent for a few seconds, and then he said, "I've missed you, Brooke."

I really didn't expect him to say that, yet it made me feel ecstatic.

"I've missed you, too."

He hung up, and I could imagine him smiling to himself there. I put my phone back into my pocket and noticed that my coffee's ready. Hans was waiting besides the machine, and he didn't even hide the fact that he was staring at me.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him, feeling a little bit embarrassed.

He smiled and shook his head slowly. "Nothing. Here, your coffee's ready." He passed the cup to me.

"Thanks," I said, sipping the weird-tasting coffee. "Wait, what was it that you wanted to say?"

"I already forgot what I wanted to say, so it's okay." He waved his hand loosely, indicating that it wasn't something important.

"Oh, alright then. I'm gonna head back now. See you later, Hans!"

"See you!" He smirked and stroked his thick mustache.

I walked slowly to my desk, wanting to favor this delightful feeling for a while. I felt kinda silly for being happy just by hearing Finneas' voice, but it was something that I really needed. I took one more sip of my coffee and smiled ear-to-ear once again.