Chapter 375

I walked into the common bathroom and flicked the light on. The mirror looked back at me, same tired eyes, same neutral face. I leaned over the sink and washed my face with cold water, letting it wake me up a little.

A few moments later, the door opened behind me.

Kim stepped inside and closed it. She exhaled, then crossed her arms as she leaned back against the wall. We looked at each other through the mirror for a few seconds. Neither of us said anything at first. That whole exchange with Tessa had sucked the air out of the apartment.

"You did the right thing, Evan," she said eventually.

"Yeah... maybe." I shut the tap and straightened. "I just hope Tessa sees it that way too. It feels like I shoved myself into her life without asking."

"You didn’t," Kim said simply.

I shrugged. "We’ll see, I guess."

As I stepped past her to leave, she caught my arm. Before I could say anything, she leaned in and kissed me. It was quick and soft, like she was grounding me more than anything else.

I smiled at her, then left the bathroom. Behind me, I heard the door lock.

I grabbed a cigarette from my pocket and headed for the balcony. I slid the glass door open, stepped outside, and lit it up. The rain was still falling, light and steady, tapping against the concrete and the metal railings. The small awning above kept me dry.

I exhaled smoke and stared out at the city lights.

My thoughts drifted back to Tessa. The way she froze. The way she snapped. The more I replayed it, the worse the idea felt. The stray cat she’d been feeding would have faded into memory in a few days. Instead, I might have turned it into something heavier. Something she hadn’t asked for.

The glass door slid open behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Nala step out. She closed the door and walked up beside me, resting her arms on the railing. She looked out over the city for a moment before turning her head toward me.

"There’s an anime convention tomorrow evening," she said. "Well, not a full one. ’Here I Am’ is having its finale today, so they’re doing a small celebration. It’s at a coffee shop nearby. Karach."

"Hmm." I nodded. "I’ll let Cora and Esme know. Thanks, Nala."

"Anytime." She smiled and kissed my cheek. "Dinner will be ready in a minute, so don’t be late. And don’t freeze to death out here."

"I’ll try," I said with a chuckle. "Hey. You liked the cat, right?"

"I love cats," she said easily. "I think it’ll be good for Tessa. She’s just... complicated. Jasmine probably understands her best."

"Yeah."

"She’ll talk her through it," Nala said. Then she shivered. "Okay, I’m freezing. I’m going back inside."

"Alright," I said. "I’ll call Cora and come in."

She nodded and left.

I pulled my phone out and dialed Cora. After a few beeps, she picked up.

"Hey, Cora," I said. "How are you?"

"I’m making dinner," she said, then sighed. "And... I’m sorry about the teddy bear."

"You can make it up to me tomorrow," I replied. "It’ll be in the evening. You and Esme are coming, right?"

"Coming where?"

"The anime thing I told you about. Cosplay event. ’Here I Am.’ You’ll need to dress accordingly."

"I don’t even know that show," she protested. "Evan, I don’t want to."

"You have to," I said calmly. "No backing out. Both of you are coming."

"Umm..."

"For me," I added. "Please?"

She hesitated, then sighed. "Okay... fine. I’ll look it up and see what I can do. Can you text me the location?"

"Yeah. It’s a coffee shop called Karach. I’ll send you everything."

"O-okay."

"Take care, Cora," I said. "And say hi to Esme for me."

"I will..." she said, then trailed off and hung up.

I smiled to myself, took one last drag, and stepped a little into the rain to stub the cigarette out in the ashtray near the sunbeds. I clapped my hands together once and headed back inside. Tomorrow evening. Karach. Cora and Esme. It sounded like a disaster waiting to happen, but at least it wouldn’t be boring.

I walked to the dining table and sat down.

Dinner was already laid out. It was more luxurious than usual. Grilled meat glazed with sauce, a bowl of steaming rice, sautéed vegetables, and a small dish of something creamy and rich on the side. The smell alone made my stomach tighten.

Jasmine and Tessa still weren’t there.

We took our seats. Kim glanced toward the hallway. "Should we wait... or?"

"It looks like they’ll take a while," I said. "Let’s eat."

They didn’t argue.

We started eating, the clink of cutlery filling the silence at first. The food was excellent. The meat was tender, the sauce sweet and savory at the same time.

"Can you pass the salt?" Kim asked.

I slid it across the table. "This is really good, Minne."

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Nala set her chopsticks down for a moment and sighed. "I swear, if I have one more meeting where everyone talks in circles and nobody decides anything, I’m going to lose my mind."

Kim snorted. "Let me guess. Three hours long?"

"Two and a half," Nala corrected. "And that’s only because I cut it short."

I glanced at her. "You cut a meeting short?"

"Yes," she said flatly. "I told them we were getting nowhere, that half of the points could be resolved by email, and that the rest needed actual data instead of vibes."

Kim laughed. "God, I wish I could’ve seen their faces."

"They looked offended," Nala said, picking her chopsticks back up. "Especially the consultant. You know the type. Expensive suit, fancy words, zero substance."

I chewed slowly. "Let me guess. He said something like ’We need to realign our vision’?"

"Exactly that," Nala replied, pointing at me with her chopsticks. "Those exact words."

Minne smiled faintly at her plate, listening more than speaking. She reached for her glass, then hesitated.

"Do you want more rice?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes, please."

I scooped some onto her plate and slid the bowl back to the center of the table.

Kim leaned back in her chair and rolled her shoulders. "At least you deal with meetings. I had to fix someone else’s mess again today."

"Oh?" Nala said. "What happened this time?"

"Inventory," Kim replied. "Someone logged a shipment twice. We thought we had double the stock, planned around it, and then, surprise, we didn’t."

"That’s bad," I said.

"Bad is one word for it," Kim said dryly. "I spent half my day explaining why numbers matter and why ’I thought it looked right’ is not a valid system."

Minne tilted her head slightly. "Did... did they apologize?"

Kim scoffed. "No. They said it was confusing software."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"

"Not even a little," Kim said. "It’s literally color-coded. I’m still a newbie in the company, and even I can do it without messing it up. Like... ugh. Some people, I swear."

Nala smiled into her glass. "People will blame anything except themselves."

"Always," Kim agreed. She took another bite, then added, "At least the food here makes up for it. This is really good."

Minne flushed a little. "I’m glad you like it."

"It’s rich," I said. "Did you change the recipe?"

"Yes," Minne said softly. "I added a little more cream and cooked it longer."

"Well, don’t stop," Kim said. "If this becomes the standard, I’m not complaining."

There was a small, comfortable laugh around the table.

I leaned back slightly, watching them talk. Nala mentioned an upcoming deadline. Kim complained about coffee prices going up again. Minne listened, occasionally nodding, occasionally adding a quiet comment.

Then, in the middle of our dinner, we heard a door open.

Every one of us glanced toward the hallway.

Tessa’s door opened, and a moment later she and Jasmine stepped into the living room.

Neither of them said anything.

They just pulled out chairs and sat down at the table, plates already set, and started eating like they’d been there the whole time. Forks clinked softly against porcelain. The rhythm of chewing filled the space where words probably should’ve been.

I kept eating too.

I cut into the meat slowly, took a bite, chewed longer than necessary. The food was still warm, rich, comforting—but the air had shifted. There was something tight in my chest, like I was bracing for a question I didn’t know how to answer yet. I swallowed, took a sip of water, then another bite. My jaw worked steadily, methodically, like if I focused hard enough on the act of eating, everything else would just... smooth itself out.

It didn’t.

Tessa leaned back in her chair and exhaled hard, rubbing both hands down her face like she was wiping off a mask she’d been wearing all day.

"Okay," she said finally. "I’m sorry, Evan."

I glanced at her. "I didn’t get the cat for you to be sorry," I said. "I got her for the opposite reason. For you to be happy."

Tessa clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Don’t make me feel like a jerk."

"I’m not."

"I’m already doing that on my own," she muttered, then looked at me properly. "I overreacted. I know you meant well. I just... panicked, I guess."

I nodded once. "Yeah. Hey. Thanks for apologizing."

She let out a small breath, shoulders dropping a little. "So... we need to change her name."

Kim raised an eyebrow. "Already?"

"We already have a troublemaker named Kim in this house," Tessa continued, smirking faintly. "Let’s hope the cat won’t run away like our Kim did."

"That’s a low blow," Kim said, exhaling through her nose, sarcasm sharp but not angry.

Jasmine snorted into her glass.

Tessa tapped her fork against her plate, thinking. "What about Mik?"

"Mik?" I repeated.

"Flip Kim," she said. "M-I-K. Mik."

I shrugged and glanced toward Minne. "What do you think?"

Minne smiled softly. "It’s cute."

"Well," I said, looking over at the cat bed near the couch where the black lump of fur was still very much asleep, "I guess her name’s Mik now."

The cat didn’t react. Not even an ear twitch.

I shook my head. "I swear, this one’s as lazy as Esme."

"Damn," Tessa said, pointing her fork across the table. "Look at Nala. Eating with chopsticks. Miss cool-gal over here."

Nala didn’t even look up. "You don’t know how to use them?"

"Fuck no, I don’t," Tessa replied immediately.

"Well," Nala said calmly, "Minne taught me."

Tessa blinked. "Really?"

Nala nodded. "Minne’s mom’s Japanese."

"I didn’t know that," Tessa said. "That’s actually really cool."

"Mm," Nala said. "Her name’s Hana."

"You gotta teach me too, Maid," Tessa said, turning to Minne with a grin. "I wanna look cool as well."

Minne smiled, a little brighter this time. "Of course. I can do that."

"Oh," Nala added after a bite, "speaking of teaching—Evan, you taught Amelia how to drive today, right? I saw you two from the window."

"Yep," I said. "She’s still very much a beginner, but she’s getting there."

"I’ve seen her on the bus a few times," Kim said. "Always wondered why she didn’t just buy a car. Her wage could easily allow it."

"Apparently," I said, "she doesn’t know how to drive."

"Huh," Nala murmured. "She always struck me as the type who’d have everything planned already."

She nodded once to herself and went back to eating.