Accepted Hearts

Chapter 4 / Plans

Chapter Four
Plans

Nolan wouldn't usually use the word coward to describe himself, but in this moment, hiding in the bathroom, that seemed to be the only word that would suffice.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Devonte asked from the other side of the door. "It's been, like, twenty minutes."

"I'll be right out," he responded, before turning to look at himself in the mirror.

Pull yourself together.

He shook his head, then his hands, as if the movements would remove every feeling in his body that was telling him to panic.

This was ridiculous. He was being ridiculous. There was no reason to act like this, not a logical one at least.

After taking in a deep breath, Nolan gripped the doorknob and forced himself out of the room. A smile spread across his face—one that was friendly and warm, despite how withdrawn and cold he was feeling on the inside.

"Sorry about that, man," he said to his younger cousin. "Must've been something I ate."

Devonte grimaced, peeking into the bathroom. "Gross. You better have sprayed something."

Nolan nodded, though he didn't because there was no need to. "Is your dad still out there?"

"Nah, he..." Devonte's words trailed off, his eyes moving from the bathroom to observing his cousin. Nolan shifted under his gaze. "He left to work. It's just us, so what did you wanna talk about?'

A breath of relief left Nolan's lips, appreciating that his cousin took the hint and moved on. Devonte was never the brightest, not when it came to picking up on clues, but he caught this one and didn't question it.

"I actually need to ask you for a favor," Nolan started, hesitant to go any further. This was out of his comfort zone, the entire thing was. But he was determined to try. "It's nothing crazy, and if you say no I'll totally understand—"

"Bro, just ask," Devonte interrupted with a laugh. "As long as you don't need me for next Friday night, I'll say yes."

Nolan paused, thrown for a second at his words. Asking for help wasn't his strong suit, even if the person seemed willing to give it.

"I know you helped Liv get that job at Carring-Co a month ago, and I was wondering if you could, maybe, see if there's another position open?"

His palms grew sweaty as Devonte stood silent, seeming deep in thought. When he finally spoke, Nolan held his breath. Asking for favors slowly killed him on the inside. "Yeah, sure. But why? Don't you already have a job?"

"It's an internship with barely any pay. It's ending soon," Nolan quickly explained. "I need money, and I need it fast."

As Devonte's eyes widened, Nolan realized how his words sounded. "What the fuck did you do?"

Nolan rose a hand, attempting to calm his cousin down. "Relax. Nothing bad. I... I was thinking of moving out and I obviously need money if I'm going to—"

"Moving out of your house? Wasn't that the drunken idea you had?" Devonte cut in to ask, still sounding shocked. "Seriously, dude, what did you do?"

"Nothing," Nolan answered, voice growing harder. "I'm trying to do something now, and I can't if I don't get another job, fast."

Every paycheck he received went towards his car payments, and the rest—if any was actually leftover—was put into a savings account. Luckily for Nolan, he hadn't racked up any debt for school. His parents had set aside a college tuition fund years ago for him and his sister. Any other expenses were up to Nolan to figure out, and as someone who worked almost every chance he could from the age of sixteen, money was never his biggest issue.