My heart felt like it was breaking all over again. Ever since we met Elliot and his family at the Korean restaurant, coupled with the way he had treated me, everything had gotten worse. I hadn't slept that night and I doubted I would ever be able to sleep again because every time I closed my eyes, I ended up seeing him looking heartbroken and cold. It haunted me.
"Luke?" I heard Daniel call out to me followed by a light knocking on my door. "Buddy, are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"
I rolled onto my back with my pillow clutched in my hands then groaned loudly into it.
"Come on, please talk to me," Daniel called out again. "If you don't want to talk about it, then how about watching a movie with hot chocolate. I'll even run to the supermarket and get those marshmallows that you love so much."
"I'm okay," I called back. I didn't want to worry him much more than he already was. He had moved back home again and I knew it was because he was worried about me and that was also one of the ways to get mum to stop being so worried about me. I was so sick and tired of making everyone around me worry so much about me, I was more than capable of taking care of myself and I didn't need anyone to treat me like a baby. "You can go back home Dan, I'm okay. I just want to lie down before I catch up with all my school work."
"Then can you at least open the door so that I can be sure that you really are okay?"
"Why?"
"Then I won't leave and I'll sit right here until you open the door."
I groaned as I tossed the pillow at the wall and rolled myself out of the bed. I yanked the door open and found Daniel sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and a bag of crisps in his hands. "There, I'm fine. Now go back to your house and stop worrying so much about me. I can take care of myself a lot more, you know."
Daniel looked at me through his eyelashes and a mouthful of crisps. "Movie?" but the words sounded like something else.
"Go to your own house and stop roaming around here eating all our food," I said with a sigh. I didn't want to talk but what he was doing was making it harder to keep a straight face. "You finished all the Oreo snacks and now I have nothing."
Daniel stood up and wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve. "Then let's go to the supermarket before they close and grab whatever you want. I'll pay." He flashed me his black Amex card which made me roll my eyes. "I can afford it."
"No need to rub it in, if dad hadn't gone with you to the states you wouldn't even have it." I walked back into my room and grabbed my Converse. "I can pick whatever I want, right?"
"Sure, but that doesn't mean you should make me broke. I'm still getting used to running my own business and everything."
"No backsies, you said I can pick whatever I wanted and I plan on making sure you regret telling me that." I finished lacing the shoes up, grabbed my phone and closed the door behind me. "Aren't you going to change?" I looked him up and down and he was in fuzzy slippers and his pyjamas.
"What? I'm comfortable and that's all that matters." He turned around for me to see just how comfortable he truly was and I had to admit, those clothes really did look comfortable and inviting now that I saw them better. "I'm driving."
I huffed, I had intended on driving but whatever. As long as I got my snacks, I didn't care who drove. We headed downstairs where Daniel grabbed his car keys from the bowl next to the front door and then locked the door behind.
I walked over to the car and waited for him to unlock it before I got in and made myself comfortable. This was way better than staying in my room alone and feeling my heart break so much that it actually hurt. This way, I could have snacks fill the void that was now present.
Daniel started the car and before I knew it, we were on the driveway and on our way to the supermarket not too far away from home.
******
"Dude, that's a lot of things," Daniel whined as he looked at all the things I had in the cart. "I know I said you can get whatever you wanted but this is just being cruel on purpose.
I stuck out my tongue at him. "Sorry not sorry, you brought this on yourself." I added the boxes of Oreo biscuits and cereal in the cart. I loved all things Oreo.
"Fine, but mum is going to have to reimburse me for this," he said as he pushed the cart around while I continued to pick out what I wanted. "This is just cruel, are you trying to make your only brother go bankrupt?"
I shrugged as I tossed in the bags of crisps along with some chocolate and marshmallows. "You're still going to make the hot chocolate right?" I turned around, my hands holding an energy drink. "Not the modern kind but the classic one using whole dark chocolate."
Daniel threw me a dirty look and I smiled sheepishly. "Seriously? You still want me to make hot chocolate for you after making me broke. This is going to hurt my finances." He ran his fingers through his hair, tousling it and giving him a serious bedhead look.
"I can pay for the rest you know," I said. "I do get an allowance and upkeep for all the groceries but since you finished all the ones I bought, I figured you would buy them." I shrugged. I didn't mind having to pay for the rest and it wasn't like I was that cruel by letting him go bankrupt when his company was still looking for its next seeding investment.
He waved me off. "Don't worry, I can manage." Then he turned to me with a Cheshire smile. "You actually bought that? I can never be broke. My company is actually very well and I can afford this and more."
I narrowed my eyes at him but that just made his smile widen. "Have you seen my house? I bought all that stuff without dad or mum's help which didn't sit well with dad because he still thought I had made a bad choice by dropping out of college."
"I know, and you never let me come over."
"That's because you always want to come over when dad is around and I don't need his negative energy in my house.
I laughed at that. Dad had a way of making even the happiest moments into a lecture or worse still, he would spend the entire time giving you this weird look and sighing so much that it annoyed all those around him but he wouldn't say anything. "Sometimes he makes me feel bad about telling mum any exciting news because he will give me that look of his and I know I've said something he doesn't agree with."
"Exactly why I had to leave and stop depending on him, because he would still have me under his fist and I don't need that in my life anymore." Daniel said, looking straight forward with a blank expression.
"Lucky you."
He wrapped an arm around me, "If you ever need somewhere to stay after dad kicks you out, you always have a room at my place and I mean it."
I smiled and then pried his arm from around my shoulder. "Ice cream, that's the last thing we need."
Daniel chuckled and I began rushing to the frozen isle but in the process of turning the corner, I ended up running into someone and lost my footing. I felt myself fall but then a strong hand gripped onto my elbow at the last second, keeping me from falling onto my butt and embarrassing myself. The person helped me back to my feet and I froze once I realised just how it was and who he was with.