It’s dark inside his apartment. Kevin turns on the kitchen light, scorching my eyes. I wander over to the sofa and lie down for a moment. The room keeps spinning, making me want to throw up.
Kevin hands me a glass of water. I don’t know how thirsty I am until I finish the last drop and he brings me another glass. Kevin sets it on the coffee table and sits on the edge of the sofa. “Do you need me to take you home?” he asks.
“No, I’m fine,” I groan. The last thing I want is my parents making a fuss of this. I’m already embarrassed enoughto have Kevin caring for me. The feeling of dizziness sets in again. “I just need to lie down and close my eyes for a second.”
Kevin lays a blanket over me and refills my water. He leaves a light on in the kitchen before he disappears into his bedroom.
I roll on my side, pulling the blanket over my head, letting the rest of the world slowly drift away.
It’s still dark out when I wakeup again. For a second, I have no memory of what happened, where I am. My throat is dry as I reach for the glass of water. It’s still too dark to see anything. A single dot of blue light blinks beneath a television. My vision is blurry as I push myself up and look around the apartment. I remember the last time I was here. Jasmine and I came to watch Korean dramas and we ate Chinese food on the floor. It feels wrong being here without her now that they’ve broken up.
What time is it? I should probably get out of here. I rise from the sofa, ignoring the pounding headache. The walls keep moving around me. I’m trying to leave quietly but I accidently knock something off the coffee table. Kevin must have heard it, because he comes out of his room as I’m putting on my shoes. There’s just enough light to make out his silhouette in the living room.
“Are you leaving?”
“I have to go,” I say.
“Let me drive you.”
“No, that’s okay.”
“Wait—”
But I’ve already turned the knob and left through the door. I’m nearly tripping down the stairwell as Kevin follows behind, calling after me. But I don’t answer him. I hurry out of the building, breathing in the cold air. Which way am I going again? A second later, the door swings back open as Kevin appears behind me.
“Eric, hold on,” he says. “Let me drive you home.”
“I’m not going home.”
“Where are you going, then?”
Why can’t he just take the hint? I turn to face him. “You don’t have to keep following me.”
“I just want to make sure—”
“I can take care of myself. Stop worrying about me. We’re not even family.”
I instantly regret these words. But I don’t want to think about this right now. I turn away and make a run for it. Kevin tries to catch up to me. But I turn another corner and disappear down the road.
The streets are dark and empty. I don’t know what time it is or where I’m going. I just cross my arms as I keep walking. I can hardly make out what’s in front of me. As I’m wandering around, my phone goes off in my pocket. I squint at the screen.Why is Jasmine calling me?I thought she was too busy to talk to me anymore. I bet Kevin called her after I ran off.She probably knows what I said to him. I don’t want to pick up and have to explain myself right now. But the other part of me misses hearing her voice. So I answer the phone.
“Hello?”
“Eric.” Her voice is calm in my ear. “Where are you?”
I look around. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? Are you by yourself right now?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know the way back home?”
“I don’t want to go home.”
“What’s going on?”
I don’t answer this.
