"You better hurry, I have to head to work really soon." Drew Torres warned his brother Adam Torres over the phone.
"No problem." Adam said, unconcerned. "I'll be there in a bit!"
Drew had been living at the two-bedroom loft for about a month now. His mom was still in the process of trying to reel him back into the nest whereas his brother didn't care whether he lived at home or elsewhere. Either way it had its ups and downs but ultimately Adam only wanted what was best for his brother and convinced himself that Drew was old enough to know what was good for him after making countless mistakes to later on learn from.
This would be the first time Adam had visited Drew at his new place. When Drew gave him directions, Adam felt like the way had been familiar – as if he took those exact directions before, remembering all of the street names he wrote down. Shrugging it off, Adam grabbed his backpack full of his schoolwork and some comics and nearly bolted out of their mother's house, heading over the Drew's newfound solitude.
As Adam walked the streets he slowly grew a little more uneasy about the path he was on. The surrounding stores, the road and the other scenery were just all too familiar. As he rounded the corner only steps away from seeing his brother he came to an abrupt halt, his heart pounding out of his chest, slowly making its way into the pit of his stomach.
He swallowed the lump in his throat as he mustered up as much courage as he could find to give him an extra boost to take those last few steps into the building. He climbed up the stairs and made his way to the exact door, staring at the numbers that marked that particular living quarter. Going over the numbers nearly a thousand times, Adam wanted to puke realizing who's place it originally was. He knew Drew had a roommate, but never in a million years would he think that someday his brother would be living with his ex girlfriend.
Adam did his best to shake off his nerves, praying that Fiona wasn't home as he brought his fist to the door. Pounding on it a few times, Drew swiftly opened the door, genuinely smiling brightly as he saw his brother. "Hey man!" He said in the most sincere, excited tone, pulling his brother into a one-arm chokehold and giving him a quick noogie before releasing him. He shut the door as Adam took a few more steps inside, carefully examining the loft for any trace of evidence to indicate whether or not Fiona was home.
"So this is it!" Drew stated proudly, walking to Adam's side. "Nice huh? It was great when I got here and it's even better now that I am here. Everything was perfect except it wasn't to clean but once me and the roomie tidied up with mom's cleaning methods it turned out perfect. I know that television I got brought it over the top though. It's 3D! Now when I'm not working and you're not in school we can-"
"What the hell Drew!" Adam exclaimed, throwing a hateful look at his brother.
"Whoa dude," Drew calmly reasoned, "you can use it here just as much as you would've had I brought it to mom's. You can hang here anytime. The roomie-"
"That's the problem!" Adam pressed. "Your 'roomie' is my problem, not the sick television set."
"How do you-?"
"Fiona, Fiona Coyne! Remember, we had that stupid spat between us over her during the community service mom signed us up for. Remember how she finally gave me a shot then tore me down in less than half a second?" Adam inhaled sharply. "We didn't end on good terms, Drew."
Drew's face dropped, shaking his head vigorously. "Man I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Had I known I would've been more sensitive about the situation but there's nothing I can do now." He sighed, sliding his hand into his hair then brought his wrist up, looking at his watch. "Look I have to head to work, they need me a little earlier than usual. Fiona's not home and she shouldn't be home for a while. You can chill here and we'll catch up when I get off."
Adam was hesitant, looking around the loft slowly, taking in everything. He wanted to spend time with his brother, he could play pretend as if he also had left his mom's place, he could get to watch his shows and play video games on the 3D set. He shrugged slightly before nodding his head at Drew. "Alright, I'll hang here until you get back. Once you get off though hurry back."
Drew nodded, a smile taking over his face. "Cool, I'll see you when I'm done." He pulled Adam him, giving him a quick, tight squeeze. "See you later, have fun. And if you get really bored or tired just hang in my room." With that, Drew disappeared out the front door.