'I'll see you later yeah?' Ryan said as he pulled his car in my drive way.

'Tomorrow. Your place. Practice.' I said as I grabbed my backpack from his backseat and got out.

'I'll be waiting.' Ryan yelled from behind me while I simply shook my head and unlocked my door to enter in the house. 'Hey! I could use a good-bye kiss you know!'

I'll pass.' I waved without turning around as I opened the door.

'Tomorrow,' Ryan said. 'I won't let you.'

I shook my head and closed the door behind with a somersault of my stomach. Entering in the empty house vacated my all good feelings. I sighed and wondered why it always has to be empty? Why my home is not actually a home? Maybe, this house was never meant to be home.

I walked in the kitchen as saw Ian's post-it note on the fridge.

Gonna be late.
Enjoy Ian's deluxe pasta.

But this time, I wanted Ian, instead of his deluxe pasta.

I entered my room and after freshen up, jumped on my bed and slept. I was too tired from the long journey.

My mobile phone's ring tone woke me up and I found myself blindly searching for it to either throw it out of the window or shoot it down but I found it and picked up the phone.

'Hello?'

'Jane?' Some unknown voice said.

'Yeah?' I was still talking in my sleepy, raspy voice.

'Ian's wasted here. Might you pick him up?'

I instantly got up as I confirmed. Ian? Ian Margot?' I removed the phone from my ear to check the time. It was 3:30 am.

'I guess yeah.' The caller himself was drunk, but sober enough to be responsible to send his friends home safely. 'I'll send you the location okay.' And then, he cut the call.

I hastily threw the covers away and got ready to go downstairs.

I skidded to a halt as Mom was just entering in the house. 'Where are you going?'

'To get Ian.' I grabbed my car's keys.

'What happened to him now?' She sounded pissed off. She too smelled alcohol and depicting from her tone, I figured she had some too.

'Nothing.'

'You are bad at driving.' Mom stopped me and I turned around hoping mom would say that she'll herself go get his good son who had never drunk in his whole life but now he's laying wasted somewhere for a reason I was not aware of —and then I'll say that I'll be okay that I'll get him but she'll insist and then we'll both go together and have some good talk in the car but instead she said,

'Let him stay there wasted. He won't drink again once he'll have to come back home with that hangover.'

I stared at her, trying to understand the meaning behind her sentence but there was no alternative meaning. She only meant, "do not go. I don't want him here". 'It's Ian we're talking about.'My shoulder brushed hers as I made it into the garage.

I took a deep breath as I sat in the car and turned on the ignition.

I shook my head to clear off all the bad thoughts off my mind as I put the address into the GPS and followed the directions to find my lost brother.

***

I was exhausted as I sat in my car after my shift, at Joe's ended.

Now that the ropes of cases have been cut down from Joe's, I had been called back to work from five on to eight pm with Sarah.

I was tired and my heart throbbed. Rubbing my eyes and pushing my bangs off my face, I called Ian.

He picked up at my third try. 'Hey.' He was totally sleeping.

'Hi.' I said. 'How are you feeling? I left some Advil at your nightstand if your headache doesn't go away.'

'Yeah, I had taken some. Thanks.'

'Yeah,' I said. 'I was thinking we could talk about you.'

'Yeah that. Look, this hangover is killing my head right now. I'll call you later ok.'

'Ok.' And he hung up.

***

I drove to Ryan's who's dimpled smile lifted off all my tiredness as I practically fell in his arms. 'Looks like my little Âme is tired.' He chuckled as he ruffled my hair.

'I am.'

'Come in.' He dragged me in and helped me sit on the couch. 'Hungry?'

'Starving.' I answered.

'Beef burger?' He asked.

'Two.' I said as I laid down on the couch.

After I had an amazing beef burger cooked my Ryan dripping in sauces, I felt alive and then, we started practicing.

This time, the very first thing I did, was to help him breathe through his diaphragm instead of his chest. I asked him to lay in the floor and placed books on his stomach telling him to lift up the books. I didn't want Harrison to come in Ryan's success again.

It took us one hour until he finally perfected it. It was something I must had him to practice in the very beginning but he wasn't bothered by it. In the next thirty minutes, we selected the best songs that he'd sing and then cut in down to two and then Ryan was confused among which he'd sing the very first time and which one should be left as a back up.

Just as we were done with the selection, I went into his bathroom that smelled freshly of flowers thanks to the air freshener.

I washed my face with cold water to shoo away the sleep and checked my phone for Ian but he didn't respond. I knew he was sleeping.

I entered in the room again and sat on the couch where Ryan had set the mic in front f him that was gifted by Noah and he began playing the song on his guitar. He played it twice and in those soft notes of guitar, sleep was knocking at my eyelids that were droopy as they watched Ryan play the guitar with his headphones on.

I squirmed on the couch and watched Ryan playing the song. He looked up, seeing a sleepy Jane, he smiled sweetly at me and took off his headphones. 'Tough day?' He asked.

I nodded. 'How's your grandma?'

'Fine. Not fine. Okay. Better.' He said. 'The stages of her health.'

'She's not really recovering is she?' I asked.

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. 'No, and I want her to be. She means the world to me, you know. After my parents, I just have my grandparents.' Ryan said as he ran his hand through his hair, 'I'm fighting in this competition for her. If she'll leave ... ' he gulped down his fear.

'I'm here for you.' I placed my hand on his.

'I know.' He said. 'So now that you are too sleepy to help me practice, why not we watch my audition?'

I smiled. 'Bring it on.'

He didn't only brought his laptop, but a blanket and draped it over my body and on his and sat with me with our shoulders touching. He clicked the video that had a thumbnail of Ryan sitting on the stool and singing with his eyes closed.

He played the video and for no reason, I braced myself. 'Have you watched it before?'

'Nope.' He popped the 'p'. 'I wanted a company.'

'Okay.' And then, there was Harrison asking for the next contestant and then the camera was on Ryan who entered the stage and then the crowd cheered.

Watching the video was like I relived that day again.

The day where I was so nervous as if it was me who was going for the competition. But it was Ryan, and I felt his nervousness. And I felt it again and again. I was so happy when Ryan's acceptance led to camera been focused on audience' faces and people were really happy. It surprised me when I saw that Ryan's and mine hug was filmed with a slow motion with a background song of Photograph by Ed Sheeran.

My head was on Ryan's shoulder as he scrolled down in the comments that were pretty good, specially the new ones as he had set them like these.

There was one:

the fuck man, he's so freaking good and handsome. Can someone ask him for me to marry me?
———

I smiled at the comment as my eyes kept on reading more.

OH MY GOD!he's already a star! I'm telling you he is. Believe me or not, he is.

————
he's handsome.
He's hot
He sings
He has black hair
My single ugly ass is going to cry in the corner for such a beauty.

————

DID JUST HARRISON REJECTED HIM?!

—————

please sweet baby Jesus, let him win and I'll start eating onions.
Amen

—————
Why he hugging dat bich?

————

Okay, now I officially hate Harrison. 🖕

————
That blue top girl was so caked. Ryan must've gotten some on his shirt too 😂😂😂

—————

He's so awesome.
————

Hug meeeeee instead of herrrrrrr

————
I wonder how he'd look without that shirt or pants or naked...

'Okay, you know what,' Ryan turned off the laptop and put him on his side. ' let's do something else.'

I laughed as I noticed Ryan's red ears. 'What? How else you think people would comment?'

'Not like this, I feel... weird.'

Me too.

'I need to go now,' I draped off the blanket. 'I need to check up on Ian.'

'Is he okay?'

'Yeah ... he's acting kinda off lately and I don't know why. I'm sure something is wrong nd he never hides things from me but ...'

He placed his hand over mine. 'Do you want me to help you with anything?'

I look up at him and smiled. 'I will be fine. I'd be going now.'

'I'll drop you.'

'I have my car, Ryan. I'm not a child.'

He looked down on his feet. 'Still ... Okay. Bye.'

I bid him farewell and set off to my house.

I hanged the keys back on the key stand once I entered  and ran up to my room. Closing the door behind, I simply fell on the bed face-down.

My hands tapped the space on the bed to find my phone to message Ryan I'm fine but they landed on some paper instead. I furrowed as I lifted my head up and saw an envelope laying on my pillow. I opened it.

Janelle Margot

December 19,2018
Mr.James O'Leary
Manager
Joe's cafe
6042 Main Street

Dear Mr O'Leary,

Please accept this letter as my notice that I will be resigning from here at Joe's cafe two days from today.

Thank you for the support and opportunities you have provided me here over the course of last three months. It was surely a big step for me to take it but now, it's time for me to divert my attention to some of other matters that I have been putting aside.

Your team had crafted the climate where I never felt like working and I enjoyed every bit of it whole heartedly.

Thank you for the experiences I collected from here. There's no doubt I'll miss you all.

Sincerely,

Janelle Margot.

'What the hell is this?' I asked myself.

'Your resignation letter that you will be delivering tomorrow or I won't mind completing this task on your behalf.' Mom's voice made me turn around.

'Why are you doing this?' I asked her bluntly. I was furious at her for taking a decision I never wanted her to take.

'This afternoon, one of my client identified you as my daughter working in a cafe.'

'So?'

'So?' Mom took a step forward I could still smell faint alcohol from her. 'I didn't like it. You are the daughter of Elowen Margot. One in top fifteen designers of America.  What would people think that the daughter of Elowen Margot works. You don't need to work. It's destroys my reputation. So I want you to go and submit it by tomorrow.' I noticed whenever she used her name, there was a linger of pride in her tone and a lifting up of her chest.

'And what if I don't?' I folded my hands over my chest.

'Then I'll do it my way and will make sure that you get no job in the future.' Mom said.

'Are you threatening me?' I asked her unbelievably.

'Yes. Now let it be submitted by tomorrow.' As she was to turn away to leave the room, Ian came and said,

'She won't.'

'What did you just say?' Mom took a dangerous step towards Ian who didn't even budge from his place.

'I said she won't be resigning. She likes working there and she won't resign.' Ian straightened himself to use his height to intimidate mom. Wait, Ian was using this trick?

'Don't come in my way Ian. It won't be good.' Mom hissed.

'Actually, you came in our ways,' he pointed at both of us. 'It was perfect before you decided to ruin us.'

'Mind your language.'

'I can't, ' Ian shrugged. 'Words slip.'

'You'll pay for this.' She left the room with this and might it be my mistake but I saw Ian mouthing,

'Bitch.' As mom went away.

Nope, he was not Ian.

***

Hey Afarthers. Vote, comment, and follow.

I'm too tired to write the A/n. See? I can't even spell them . Mind my mistakes please. I'll edit them soon.

So, I'll see ya later.

Love 💕, huz