Chapter 6: With the Help of a Friend

The waitress was a beautiful young lady, with short, dark purple hair, round big black eyes, pale skin, and an average body, dressed in tight jeans and a crimson t-shirt. Teo was not the one to go out and hit on girls, and especially not the kind to order a date instead of coffee with some stupid corny line. Sonia, on the other hand, seemed completely into the girl and paid little to no attention to her friend.

“I swear if I was born a woman you’d focus more on me,” he complained.

“Darling, if you were a woman half of your current problems wouldn’t even exist.” she shot back at him with her eyes still pierced on Amanda and her weird-looking neck tattoo.

“I thought you were in a relationship.”

“I am. Does that mean that I am not allowed to admire?” she questioned with a silly shocked expression all over her face.

“No, for god’s sake, please,” he motioned his hand towards Amanda, “by all means. Admire.”

“Is there anything you need?” Teo’s blush burnt his entire face as the said girl approached them.

“No. Nothing at all. Forgive my friend, he is going through a lot.” Sonia explained and put on her most enchanting smile. The other party made sure to return one as well.

“Well, then, maybe he could use another cup of our strongest cold brew.”

“That would be so kind of you.” the woman pulled some of her hair back from her ear and leaned closer to Amanda.

“I’ll be right back!” she replied and walked away with eager feet. Sonia’s attention was now entirely on Teo, who was speechless.

“What?”

“You...you actually flirted with her!” he exclaimed.

“Shouldn’t I? You get a free cup of coffee and I-”

“And you’ve got something to tell me, don’t you?” Teo’s intuition was never wrong, or at least most of the time. He sure knew when his friends were troubled but he could have never guessed Carla’s unfaithfulness.

“Not now, ok?” she said in a low tone and shifted from her seat a little as if something there was irritating her.

“What did she do this time?”

Sonia’s face turned red, ready to explode and bring mayhem. In the meantime, Amanda returned, placed the cold brew in front of Teo, and then walked away intimidated by Sonia’s rage. 

“We are together two years now, and I’ve never, not even once, looked at another. Never.”

“So much for admiring, huh?” Teo commented but immediately shut his mouth with a deep sip of his drink as soon as Sonia’s enraged look crashed him.

“Sorry. I really am. You asked me to go out for coffee and discuss your problems, not mine. Geesh, what’s wrong with me, huh?” She began laughing but he could tell; shadows had gulped the spark in her eyes.

“Blah blah, my parents are coming this Friday, probably I’ll tell them all about the divorce, end of the story,” he smiled like a kid and waved his hand, “your turn now.”

“We had this huge fight”. Sonia averted her eyes, losing herself to her thoughts; the kind that not even Teo – her closest friend – could read. “One thing led to another and we decided to stop seeing each other for a while.”

“Something like a break, then?”

She nodded. “Yes. But I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. Should I start looking around for alternatives? Should I stay still and wait for her?” she groaned and threw her head into her hands, letting out a muffled scream. “I am so lost.”

He knew this feeling. He had been through it lately and for a long time blamed himself instead of her or the circumstances, or at least some internet surfer guy. There was nothing he could do to take the pain away and ease the doubt. Only her partner had that ability, but from what he was being told, Tess was nearly gone. Most of the time people were asking for a break like that, they already had an alternative but they were unsure whether it was worth ruining their existing relationship. But should he tell her that?

No. Instead, Teo dragged his chair closer to hers and pulled her in an embrace. “Do you love her?”

“Yeah...I think,” she spoke in between sobs, and with a deep inhale she pushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes were all watery and red, her nose as well.

“You are a total mess,” he jokingly commented and wiped away her tears. “You’ve been together for two years now, right?” she nodded. “Then you should already know if you love her or not. Perhaps,” he paused averting his look, “perhaps it was not meant to be. Take a look at my case; I loved her for thirteen years and still do, but Carla only loved me for not even half of those.” Teo rubbed her back, calming her down, and handed her a few napkins to blow her nose on. “Do you want my advice? Don’t cheat. Because if this is nothing but a crisis and it passes, then guilt will torture you. You will end up confessing and it will be over for sure. On the other hand, if you want an alternative,” he sighed, “it is right over there and she hasn’t stopped from staring at us – you – the entire time you’ve been crying.”

Sonia looked towards the bar and Amanda quickly looked away.

“Tess is going through some hard times at work. They won’t let her take a breath and two weeks ago she even had an accident.” she raised her hand and pointed at her wrist. “It got bruised so bad that she could sleep from the pain. I insisted on going to a doctor and checking it, but she refused. Her excuse was that once she goes to someone, they will force her to take a few days off and her boss won’t have it. So, she kept on working like a freaking slave, doing overtime and coming home exhausted. She would take a bath, grab a bite and fall dead on the bed. Did I say anything? No. I respected her decision even if I knew pretty damn well that she was hurting herself.” A pause. Clearly, she needed some time to gather her thoughts. It was crazy what was happening. They both ended up wounded by those they loved or at least had strong feelings for. There was no way he was going to ask for her help.

“Aaah, for freak’s sake.” Teo shook his head and started laughing. Sonia blinked a couple of times, struggling to understand what was going on. “I’m just laughing at our sorry asses. Please continue…” he explained and the girl, while swirling the straw in her glass, exhaled.

“Last night was the last drop, you know? She called me while crying, telling me how she can’t keep on doing this and that she passed her limits. She was dizzy, almost fell from exhaustion and her hand wasn’t doing well either. I lost it. I mean, I couldn’t just stand like this and listen. When she came back home I insisted on taking her to a hospital; to see a doctor and give her a week off to rest her hand and her body. She refused and just lost every bit of patience! She yelled again and again that I’m in no place to decide for her life and whether she goes or not it’s her own business.” she rubbed her forehead. Memories of that fight were too painful and it was all over her face, the hurt that tortured her. “When I woke up the next morning, she had left. Simply as that. She left a note – a note at this day and age – saying that she seriously needed some time off. I mean,” she chuckled, “she couldn’t bring herself to ask her boss for some days off or got to a freaking doctor for her well-being, but it was so damn easy to walk away from our relationship.”

“Guess, it didn’t offer her as much-” Teo froze as he realized the words that so bluntly were spat out of his mouth. “I’m sorry, I meant that-”

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“No. You are right. Apparently, the relationship was more of a burden to her. Kind of sucks to accept it.”

Amanda approached them, with a POS in one hand. The conversation came to a halt. “Sorry for intruding like this, but my shift is almost over, so If you could pay me.”

“Of course.” Sonia pulled out her purse but Teo stopped her and gave the waitress his debit card.

“It was my idea to come all this way here. I pay today.” He winked at her and took the receipt from Amanda who thanked him with a low voice and walked away before stopping. The girl turned and looked at Sonia.

“I don’t usually do that, but, are you free tonight?”

Teo raised his eyebrows and a grin was carved on his lips.

“Um, sure,” she replied while blushing.

“Great!” Amanda got excited and didn’t even hold back from showing it. “I’ve written my number on the back of the receipt. I was kind of hoping you’d say yes,” she admitted and licked her lips, “Call me when you get yourself off work.” And with that, she left.

“Someone’s got a date…” Teo innocently teased her, sipping the last few drops of his coffee.

“It will be a nice change. It’s not like I’m going to cheat on her.” she took a deep breath ”You know I don’t do that.”

“You are a bit like me, Sonia. By the time you meet Amanda, you will be drowning in guilt. You will also start overthinking; was this a good idea? Is she going to be here too, see me with another woman and assume that I’m having a good time without her? And what if she finds out?”

Teo looked at a shocked Sonia, who was almost ready to burst into tears.

“Gosh. Look at you. . . Come on,” he stood up picking up his jacket, “go home, freshen up and get ready for your date. Have a shower, pick up a nice outfit, call the girl, and for once let yourself free.”

“And you? We didn’t even get to discuss your problem.” She said as she stood up and straightened her beige coat.

“Didn’t we?” he questioned and then laughed softly. “You helped me loads by agreeing to this coffee. As for the rest,” Teo looked a little away from her and pressed his lips together before shrugging, “I will figure them out. I need to be an adult about this, instead of sitting around and crying for whatever is coming.”

“The divorce did mature you!” Sonia commented with fake enthusiasm in her voice, which quickly turned into sarcasm. She giggled from the bottom of her heart – for the first time this evening.

“At least I make someone laugh.” He joked and checked his phone. “Damn it. I need to go. The supermarket won’t be open for too long. See you tomorrow at work, right?” Sonia nodded and with a kiss on his cheek, she left, waving goodbye.

Teo took the shortest route to his local store. It wasn’t the biggest one, but it was indeed the one closest to his house. He put his thoughts in one place and he even shorted some of them out; groceries, remaining chores, and parents’ visit. If he was lucky enough, he’d manage to buy some instant dinner and a few ingredients for the next day's lunch. Then again, didn’t he need to have a full fridge for when they’d arrive? He stopped and rubbed his chin, losing himself more and more into thinking. Of course, he had a couple of days till Friday and Thursdays were usually those days he’d spend a good amount of money on groceries. Yes, he could go then.

Bump!

Teo’s bum met the ground a bit more aggressively than he expected. He gasped and pulled his body up as fast as he could to take a good look at the force that threw him down. But first, he had to check his every pocket, making sure that nothing was stolen.

“Teo?” that was one familiar voice. The man stood up, dusting off himself and rubbing a bit discretely his backside. “I am so so so so sorry! I swear, it is all my fault! Really!” his gaze moved to the guy in front of him. Brownish hair with a few strands colored lilac, big round eyes dipped in brown honey, and a baby blue tank top wait…

“Nick? What the hell?” Why did he have to bump into him?

“Sorry. I was too focused on my game!” Teo raised an eyebrow. “It's good ol’ Volemon Go! The new update is so sweeeeet~” he spoke with genuine enthusiasm, while Teo could feel a small vein throbbing painfully on his forehead.

“Aren’t you too old for Volemon, anyways?”

“Aren’t you too young for a failed marriage?” Nick shot back with a grin on his face and his attention entirely on the damn device.

“Tch, just, leave ok? No hard feelings for the damn fall. I didn’t even break anything so…”

“Still feeling bad.” he raised one hand while the other placed his phone in his pants pocket. “Where are you heading anyways?”

Teo didn’t reply right away. Instead, he pondered whether he should tell Nick or come up with a lie and leave. Nuh, he already felt bad for reacting the way he did that morning. He wasn’t a guy who could ditch another with lies. Unfortunately for him, he was an honest and decent guy.

“Do you know “Mike’s”? It's a few blocks away from our building. I was thinking of going there and grabbing something to eat.”

Nick stepped to the side.“Lead the way then!”

Yeah, he was a nice guy, who despite his conflicts and demons, he could never say no to some people. Especially kids who were most likely to hurt themselves by not paying attention when walking.

“Yesh! Gottcha!” Nick for example. “Wait, it says that one legendary is hiding around here.” Then again, he had never tried Volemon hunting before.

Maybe it was ‘bout damn time.

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