Heartbreak hotel

Chapter 4

A few days after his nightmare, Soren had been in the kitchen. He had decided to spend the day binge-watching Girl from Nowhere, and for that, he needed snacks, so he was preparing some coffee and popcorn. And because it was still early, everyone was either asleep or at work, and he could watch on the big screen in the lounge room with little to no interruptions.

When Soren first saw the kitchen, he thought it was something out of a movie; the dark green and dark wood made the entire space seem fancier than anything he had ever known. The elevated dining space, parallel to the kitchen, features floor-to-ceiling windows that let in natural light, and the June sun high in the sky provides additional illumination.

But he knew he had to figure something out. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life watching television. He didn’t want to disappoint Ash or Sebastian, and if he could somehow kill people by watching TV, well, then there would be no problem, but since he couldn’t, he had to figure something out. Would they hate him for not continuing with the family tradition? He didn’t think they would; they didn’t seem like the type of people to do that, but he knew first-hand how quickly people could change if things didn’t go their way.

He hadn’t expected Scar to come into the kitchen in a black T-shirt and joggers. Everything in Soren’s bones was telling him to run and get away from the man as far as possible; he could feel his heart thudding away in his chest, his palms getting clammy around the container holding the sugar. He wasn’t sure why he was home. Scar should have been at work with his wife, Olivia. He tensed, trying to stay as far away from the man as possible, making his coffee and popcorn as fast as possible and getting to his room.

Soren would not feel comfortable sitting in the living room if he were home. Scar drowned a glass of water, grabbed the kettle, and added more water to it before turning it back on. He raised his hand and stared at Soren. Soren stared at the man blankly, holding onto the sugar for his life.

Scar frowned a little. “Can I have the sugar?”

Soren’s eyes widened, and he nodded quickly before handing the glass container over. When the microwave beeped, signaling the popcorn had finished, Soren didn't move. Scar was near the machine and was too scared to go near him.

“Are you going to be watching something?” Scar asked as he added a concerning amount of sugar into his mug.

Soren jumped a little, realising the man had asked him a question, and he nodded slowly, “Yeah,” he responded, wincing a little when he heard the c***k in his voice. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m going to watch Girl from Nowhere.”

Recognition danced across Scar’s face. “Liv has watched that. She loves it. Said Nanno was an interesting character, probably one of her favourites.”

Soren didn’t respond; he just nodded. When he looked down, he realised Scar had been making two mugs of coffee.

The man handed the popcorn over to him when he realised Soren most likely wouldn’t get it. He left his coffee abandoned in the kitchen and instead tried casually walking out, saying a quick goodbye, but then he beelined it. He ran past Olivia, who frowned at him. He heard her ask what he had done to him, but Scar’s response was too quiet, and he was too far away to listen.

Soren ran to his room and saw Silas climbing into his bedroom through the window. The ridiculous scene of watching someone as tall and bulky as Silas trying to climb in through the window made him laugh, and the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins seemed to dissipate as he crashed onto the bed. “I have a door,” he said, a little out of breath,

“I know,” Silas responded, but said nothing else.

Silas sat beside Soren on the bed and took some sweet popcorn. “So, what happened to you?”

“I saw Scar in the kitchen,” he muttered, staring at his reflection on the black TV screen. “I froze, panicked and then ran away. My coffee,” he whined.

“And?” he pressed.

Soren sighed, running a hand through his hair. “And I still haven’t found what to specialise in, when everyone else has. What if I disappoint Ash and Sebastian?” he whispered, wringing his hands in front of him. Would they kick him out if they realised he was too broken to find a specialty?

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Silas said, shrugging. “Uncle Sebastian wouldn’t force you into anything, and I think Uncle Ash would be glad to keep you away from everything.”

Soren swallowed the lump in his throat and wrung his hands before him as he sighed. “What if I burden them?”

“You’re not burdening anyone.”

“But you can-”

“I was basically a child soldier,” Silas deadpanned, interrupting him. “We are not the same. Don’t worry; you will find your routine, and even if you don’t, no one will hate you for it.”

Soren nodded slowly. Life wasn’t like it was four years ago, and they wouldn’t hate him for this. They didn’t seem like the type of people to do so. He would be okay, he hoped.

~*~