“An unfamiliar ceiling.”

I woke up and immediately cringed. Really, Anna, really? I mean, I had been awake for the last ten minutes and just didn’t want to get out of bed, but still. A short breath escaped me.

To be honest, my heart was still pounding. Everything that had happened yesterday, from the moment I was about to head to work, and then those people… ending up here in this house…

It was hard to accept. It was hard to breathe. Feeling the lump still stuck in my throat, I slapped my cheeks and pushed myself up. Put on a smile; that was what I did best.

The door opened, and as soon as I walked out, the smell of tobacco mixed with a strange sandalwood aroma hit me. The sound of a vacuum cleaner whistled, softened by a lo-fi rendition of Ghibli music. There, cleaning the room in a white shirt, was Abel.

His hair was tied back, and he seemed to have some kind of face mask on. Even the tattoo running from his shoulder down to his arm peeked out from spots on the thin fabric.

“Oh!” Abel tapped the cigarette on the ashtray next to him and nodded at me. “Morning,” he said.

“Morning…” I answered. Honestly, I was a little stumped. What was I supposed to say?

“How are—” Abel pursed his lips and paused for a second. “Coffee?”

“No, no, it’s alright, I will—”

“Tsk. Why are you being shy?” Abel took a last drag from his cigarette and stubbed it out. His eyes scanned around the room very quickly. It was something I had a feeling he always did, but now these small actions were much clearer.

He was… not an ordinary student. These small actions of his were far more noticeable now.

Abel walked to the counter at the other end of the room. A dining table was set up right there, a large living room and kitchen combination. I could only look around the room while he was busy. So awkward—

“Can you finish vacuuming?” He asked suddenly. “Just the living room is left.”

“S-sure! I’ll do it.”

“Thanks. Three sugar cubes?”

“One will do… thank you.”

“One it is.”

Could this guy read minds? Gosh.

***

Abel made me sit at the dining table as he cleaned some utensils. The smell of cigarettes was now completely replaced by the slight aroma of bread from the toaster.

I sipped the warm coffee. It was good. We had both missed school today.

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The pounding in my heart disappeared every few seconds and then came right back. Thoughts of what in hell I was supposed to do now came and struck my head like lightning, and as if I couldn’t handle all that pressure, they would disappear every few moments only to return. A stifling wave that ebbed and flowed.

Was I supposed to say something? I had to say something. Abel was a quiet person anyway. He had helped me so much.

“T-thank you…” I managed to squeeze those words out.

Abel looked at me, a soft smile on his lips, and nodded. With his hair pulled back, his eyes seemed to hold a lot more emotion, or maybe I had just gotten close enough to see it?

“For helping me,” I continued. “Who knows what would have happened… Thank you so much, Abel.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said calmly and turned back to the dishes.

Silence took over us again. The toaster finally clicked. Abel quickly served the toast onto two plates, brought some butter and jam, and placed them on the table before sitting down as well.

“Alright, there is no point in dragging this out,” Abel sighed. He looked tired of being so careful around me. I preferred it like this too. “To start with, I know you have nowhere to go now.”

My breath hitched. “Did you go to my home?”

Abel nodded. He finished spreading butter on two slices and pushed them toward me.

“Like I said yesterday, as long as you don’t go into my room, you can stay here in this house.”

“But, your family…?”

Abel’s eyes shifted to the side. “They aren’t in the picture right now. I live alone, due to some circumstances.”

He was helping me a lot; Abel was also my friend. And after yesterday, there was no one I would trust more. My mind raced, and some thoughts came in, intrusive thoughts about what if he betrayed me, but for some reason, I felt as if I would accept that at this point. I was too tired, and really, that was just disrespectful to the only person who did help.

“Money…” I muttered. “I’ll pay you rent—”

“I’d rather you stabilize yourself than take money from you,” Abel said. “If you plan to move out, then that cash would help even more.”

“But, I can’t impose on you like this—”

“I get that. So let’s just say I am buying your silence.”

My eyes widened at those words. I looked up at Abel to see him with a small smirk.

Really, what the hell? Even though his expressions were subtle, he looked very different from the Abel I knew in school. Right as I thought that, Abel suddenly pulled the hair tie out and let his hair fall down. His bangs messily covered his forehead, making him look similar to the quiet boy in class.

“It’s not about my appearance, but my actions. It’s best if you think of me as a simple student with some eccentricities.”

“And I guess… You don’t want me to ask anything? About all that you did yesterday…?”

Abel nodded.

“I’ll be honest,” I continued. “I am a little scared and confused, but you are not just my friend but also the only person who saved me. I trust you and won’t do anything to harm you.”

He nodded again. Then he grabbed his hair and tied it up once more.

“That’s basically it. You ignore things you must ignore and don’t enter my room. In return, you can stay here as long as you like. Deal?”

“Deal,” I said.

Abel and I both picked up the toast now slathered with jam and bit into it together.

And just like that, we started living together, I guess.

Abel and I then discussed what had happened yesterday. I wasn’t allowed to ask questions, but he asked me for details of what had happened from my side. When we finished talking, I realized something.

“What happened?” Abel asked.

“I-I… need to go back home one more time.”

Abel’s eyes widened. He tensed slightly. “What do you need to go there for?”

“My documents… and clothes and stuff…”

Abel’s face hardened like stone. He seemed strongly against the idea.

“Nothing will happen. I doubt my parents even remember anything from yesterday; they were out of their wits—”

“No… I mean, can’t you buy new things?”

“Those… get expensive. And I still need my documents. I’ll go alone, don’t worry.”

Abel looked to the side. “You’re right. Nothing will happen. Let’s go together.”

“But.”

“It’ll be safer. Since we took today off, it would be better to use it to smooth things over for this new living arrangement.”

“Right.”

The two of us took another bite.

“That bike by the way… can we ride on that again?”

“Hah… sure.”