Chapter 57: There’s That Weird Déjà vu Feeling
Financial transactions do not qualify as relational consent.
He read that line twice. Then he set the phone face-down on the passenger seat and started the engine.
That sounded dumb, honestly. But the more he thought about it, the more the logic checked out.
Rose had registered because she’d chosen to keep him in her life. Fake-boyfriend or not, that had been her choice. Apparently, the cashback system valued that more than a monetary based relationship. Weird. But at least it was consistent.
He picked up his phone.
He thought about texting Jenna. Opened the thread, stared at it. Typed something that began with "Hey, so." Deleted it. Tried again with something that started even worse. Deleted that too.
He wasn’t sure what he’d say anyway. He’d already tried once, and showing up with no plan while already tired was never a good idea.
He still had about fifty hours on the clock. There was no reason to force anything right now. He could figure out what to do when his brain wasn’t running on fumes.
He closed the app and pulled out of the lot.
===
Nothing happened on the drive back. No traffic worth cursing at, no sudden thoughts, no reason to slow down. By the time he realized he’d made it home, he was already pulling into his lot.
He sat in the car for a moment after the engine died. This had to be the longest weekend he’d ever had. And it wasn’t even over yet.
5:34 P.M
Damn. Feels like I’ve been up all night.
He glanced up out of habit before he could stop himself.
Apartment 201. Rose’s lights were on, visible through the curtains, warm against the early evening sky.
Maybe he should stop by. The thought lasted all of four seconds before he killed it. He wanted a shower, a hot meal and a warm bed to drain his tension away.
Rose could wait until he had his head back together. If she actually needed him, she knew where to find him.
He got out, locked the car, and headed in.
The shower and meal ideas disappeared from his priorities somewhere between the stairs and the front door.
He made it to the bedroom with his shoes already off, trousers somewhere in the hallway, and shirt somewhere between the hallway and the door.
By the time he hit the mattress he was down to his boxers. The shower and meal idea gone in a blink.
For a moment it was perfect. The tension that had been sitting across his shoulders since morning finally had somewhere to go, the mattress gave under his weight, and his eyes closed with a reasonable expectation that sleep was about four seconds away.
It wasn’t.
He shifted. Tried his side. Tried his back. Tried his side again.
He was tired. He knew that part already. His body had spent the entire day reminding him of it. So why the hell wasn’t he asleep?
"Fuck."
He said it at the ceiling, pushed himself up, and stared at nothing in particular.
His mind wasn’t at anything if particular. If anything, His mind was quiet for once, which somehow made the fact that he was still awake even more annoying.
His stomach chose that moment to make itself loudly known, revealing his hunger.
He looked down.
No way. I just ate. He frowned at his stomach. This is way past Luffy energy at this point.
Complaining wasn’t going to make the hunger disappear. Apparently, this was one of the perks of having that half-assed skill. Now he got to deal with it.
He dragged a hand through his hair, pushed himself off the mattress, and went to find something to eat.
The omelette came together faster than he expected. Eggs, pepper, whatever cheese was left in the fridge. Nothing complicated, which suited him just fine. He didn’t have the energy to think about dinner.
He carried the plate and a glass of juice to the couch, dropped down, and turned on the TV.
One Piece was already playing from wherever he’d stopped last time. He didn’t bother figuring out the exact episode. He just let it run for a while before doing what he always did and jumping back to 1071.
The food was good. Better than an eight-minute omelette had any business being. He was about halfway through, his eyes glancing between the tv and the food when his phone buzzed on the cushion beside him.
He left it.
It buzzed again.
Then twice more in quick succession, which meant either something had actually happened or Drew was involved.
He picked it up.
Three messages from the group chat. All from Drew. As expected.
He tapped on it.
Drew: I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT WORKED
Drew: she actually said yes. Marianne said yes. i don’t know what happened but she did!
Drew: someone tell me this is real
Jenna’s reply came in while Adrian was still reading.
Jenna: it’s real. she has low standards. congratulations.
Drew: can you not ruin this for me
Jenna: I’m celebrating with you, Drew. through light mockery.
Adrian smiled at Jenna’s comment. He set his fork down and typed.
Adrian: Damn. Drew’s actually got game.
Drew: THANK YOU. finally. someone normal in this chat
Jenna replied Adrian almost immediately.
Jenna: Game? Everyone knows Drew’s a simp. I honestly wonder what she sees in him.
Drew fired back almost instantly, and a laugh slipped out of Adrian before he could stop it.
He put the phone down long enough to finish most of what was on his plate, came back to find several messages and tags on him.
He scrolled through them. Mostly Drew losing his mind over Marianne.
Adrian set the phone on the cushion and looked back at the TV. Luffy was doing something structurally impossible to a sea king. The food was mostly gone, and the apartment had finally gone quiet. No messages demanding his attention. No plans. Nothing he had to deal with right now.
Adrian leaned back into the couch and let himself enjoy the quiet. Then, his phone buzzed.
Fuck.
He reached for it without looking first, expecting a stray Drew message.
Rose: Are you home? We need to talk.
He read it once. Read it again.
We need to talk. Something about those four words made the back of his neck prickle. Had something happened during her gig or was he just overreacting?
He drew a slow breath. It’s probably the later. He turned it back over.
Adrian: Yeah. What’s up?
The typing indicator appeared. Disappeared. Came back. Disappeared again.
He watched it appear and disappear twice more before her reply came through.
Rose: I’m coming up now.