CHAPTER TWENTY - SIX

NICK WALKER ©

The last two days had felt strange. After what I saw in Enzo’s office, I had not seen him again. Only the female professor.

And Avery?

She had been acting strange too. For the past two days, she had been quieter than usual, and for some reason, it disturbed me.

I kept waiting for her to come around, but she did not. She spent more time talking to Mira and only made small talk and short replies with me.

Something felt off, and I hated that it got to me this much.

I started clearing my throat as we walked home after getting off the bus. She turned to look at me.

“Are you okay, Nick?” she asked, worry clear on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine actually,” I said and she let out a small sigh and kept walking.

I hurried to catch up with her and lightly bumped her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “You seem distant. Did I do something wrong?”

She stopped walking and turned to me. “Do you think you’ve done anything wrong, Nick Walker?”

I tried to think of what could have gone wrong between us and let out a slow sigh.

“I… I don’t think I’ve done anything… wrong,” I stammered.

She only nodded and started walking again.

“Come on, tell me what I did that’s bothering you,” I said as I walked beside her.

“Well, I'm curious to know what’s going on between you and the famous Professor,” she said.

I frowned at first, then my face slowly dropped.

“Enzo, you mean?” I asked and she let out a small sigh.

“He has your number now?” she asked and I turned to her.

Shit. I hadn’t told her yet.

But how did she even find out?

“Oh… I forgot to tell you,” I said and she only nodded, like she did not want to argue more with me.

“Well, he got my number from Shawn, my coworker. He texted me the day I collected the class assignment for him,” I explained.

“Okay,” she said in a flat voice and I let out a sigh.

“I’m serious,” I said.

“And Enzo and I just run into each other at the bar a lot. We mostly just talk. We got close because of that. Nothing more,” I added and she finally turned to look at me.

“Hmm. Then why does it feel like you want to be closer?” she asked and I frowned.

“What?” I asked and she only smiled.

“Come on, I’m hungry. Let’s get home fast,” she said. She gave a playful jump as she walked ahead.

What did she mean by I wanted to be closer?

I scoffed at her words and picked up my pace to catch up with her.

At least things were fine between us again.

A few minutes later, we got home. Avery rushed to the kitchen cabinet and started looking through it.

She was clearly searching for something to eat, moving from side to side and dancing in a dramatic way as she searched.

Mira walked out of the room and frowned at Avery.

“Oh, hi, Mira,” Avery said as she pulled out a pack of noodles.

“What’s with her?” Mira asked as she walked over to me.

“Well… isn’t it great that she’s in a good mood?” I asked and Mira gave me a confused look.

“And when is she ever not in a good mood?” she asked and I chuckled at her words.

“Everyone wants noodles, right?” she asked and Mira leaned in a bit.

“Did she win the lotto?” Mira asked and I shrugged.

Mira leaned in even closer, in excitement.

“Or did she finally get into a relationship?” she asked.

I pushed her forehead back with my finger.

“Wait till she comes. You can ask her while you eat,” I said.

Mira shook her head and gave a nervous smile.

“I’d better not,” she said and I chuckled.

Avery set the pot down on the small table. We all sat on the wooden floor and started to eat.

I couldn’t help but wonder why Avery had so much energy after I settled with her.

∆∆

~ FIVE STAR CLUB AND BAR ~

I finally saw Enzo today, but he was outside. He was smoking and was on a call. He sounded angry, but I could not hear what he was saying.

I wondered what had happened to him.

I went back to my station and served the people who came for drinks.

After a few minutes, Enzo finally came in. He hung his coat on a bar stool before sitting down.

I kept glancing at him every few minutes. He did not look angry anymore. He wasn’t even frowning.

He looked up and caught me staring.

“Get me vodka,” he said.

I nodded quickly and reached for the bottle, then polished a glass.

I set the glass in front of him and poured him half a glass. He sighed and drank it in one go.

“I haven’t fixed your computer yet,” I told him.

“Well, you had the chance to fix it that day, but you left,” he said and I paused.

My mind went back to the last time I was in his office.

Wait! Does he expect me to still go in and fix the computer after I walked in at the wrong time?

“That…” I started to say, but he cut me off.

“It’s fine. The IT already fixed it,” he said and I nodded slowly.

“Don’t tell me you expected me to still fix your computer after I walked in on… whatever that was,” I said.

He just looked at me. His head tilted a little, but he said nothing.

“You should even be glad I saw that instead of some other student who gossips. Your whole profession could’ve been ruined,” I said and he scoffed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, with a sharp voice.

People nearby started turning to look at us.

“Well…” I said, suddenly unsure.

What’s wrong with him? Why is he getting so angry?

“I just mean you should be glad it was me who saw it,” I added quickly. “If it were another student, the whole school would be talking about it.”

I looked at him and he just stared back at me.

“So what now? You want money to shut you up?” he asked and my chest tightened immediately.

“What?” I asked.

“What? Isn’t that what this is? Money. You’ve been nagging about it since I got here,” he said.

I clenched my hands. I tried to steady my breathing.

“Enzo?” Mr. Kyle’s voice cut in.

I quickly lowered my head.

“What’s going on here?” the manager asked as the tension between us grew.

“Ask the fvcker of an employee you hired,” Enzo said.

He grabbed his coat and pulled out a cigar before walking out.

Mr. Kyle sighed and followed him.

I didn’t even notice when a tear slipped down my face. I quickly wiped it away.

At that moment, I just wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole.