Thursday

They woke up in each other’s arms. It was the happiest Ayan could remember being in, well, forever. Junna was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, then she looked at him with those deep brown eyes of hers that pulled him in like a warm meadow in the Spring.

She frowned, “What time is it?”

Ayan craned his neck to glance at his alarm clock, “Four-thirty. Guess we slept in today.”

“Mmm, I need to stop by my place and get changed before I go in and deal with those window guys. Then I’m gonna visit Soren later at the hospital.”

Ayan nodded, “Do you want some breakfast?”

“How about some coffee?” Junna suggested with a smile.

“Coming right up,” Ayan said, starting to get out of bed before Junna grabbed him and planted a kiss on his lips. He took a moment to melt into the kiss and the warmth of her body, as he counted his lucky stars to be here right now.

I freaking told you!

Ayan grinned as Junna pulled back from the kiss and smiled at him.

“I have to tell you something,” she said.

“What is it?” Ayan asked.

“I did an interview for that job in France. They sent me an email yesterday. They want to meet with me in person on Monday for a second interview. I hadn’t responded yet, but I’m going to tell them that I’m not interested.”

“Oh,” said Ayan, definitely not expecting that to be the topic that came out of her mouth. He frowned, “Why would you tell them you’re not interested?”

“I don’t want to leave you,” Junna said. “I know that if I end up getting it, and I’m all the way over there, I’ll just want to be back here with you and the cafe.”

“But you’ll be with Sasha, and you’ll be making more money than you’ve ever had in your life. Plus, you’ll be free of the US, which let’s face it, is pretty fucked up right now.”

Junna sat up, scowling, “You think I should go?”

“I think you shouldn’t throw away the opportunity of a lifetime on me,” said Ayan.

Why are you being an idiot right now?

“I wouldn’t be throwing it away,” Junna pointed out. “I would be with you. That’s…that’s what I’ve wanted for years now. I just never had the guts to act on it until last night. I think it was the combination of all the insanity yesterday that finally snapped me out of my shell and said take what I want. And what I want, is you.”

“Junna-”

Stop fucking this up!

“I’m going to go get that coffee,” Junna said sharply, throwing the covers back and hurrying away to the kitchen. Ayan grinding the palms of his hands into his eyes as he cursed himself for once again messing things up. He got up, quickly dressed, and headed into the kitchen, where Junna was staring absently at the coffee maker, standing there in just her t’shirt and underwear.

“I want nothing more than to be with you,” Ayan said quietly. “Every single day, you light up my world. When I see your face, I know that I can make it through anything that comes my way. That said, I could never forgive myself if I was the cause of you missing one of the greatest opportunities of your life. I think you should go to France, and just meet with them. See what the country is like. You would be fighting to protect the environment. That has been your passion since you were a child. I promise that whatever happens, I will be here. I will wait for you.”

Junna turned to him, and he could see tears in her eyes, “I’ll think about it. I have to get going.”

She headed past him, grabbing some of her clothes off of the floor by the couch, before getting dressed in his room. Ayan didn’t know what to say as she gave him a half smile and rushed out the door. He would see her at the cafe in a bit. He sat down on the couch, cursing the burning anxiety currently twisting his gut.

The parking lot of the cafe was an absolute mess. Trash had blown all over from the dumpster. Men were working on the window. Junna was already in there, tidying up the last of everything, when Ayan stepped in.

“Why don’t you go home and sleep, Boss. I got this,” Junna said, giving him a warmer smile now than she had when she’d left his apartment. She was being perfectly professional now that the window repairmen were there.

“Don’t call me that,” Ayan rolled his eyes as he grabbed his trash grabber from the storage closet and a couple of garbage bags. He desperately wanted to talk to her, but instead, he walked around the parking-lot, picking up all the litter he could find. The weather was way different from the day before. The sun was out, warming him as he picked up all the trash that had collected into the drainage grates. It was soothing work. There was no trace of blood from the accident left behind, nor a hint of any car parts left. It was almost like it never happened.

The men replacing the window seemed to be taking a while.

“I’ll stay here with them,” said Junna. “You go home, alright? Take a break for one freaking day. For me? Please?!”

“Best I can do is go visit Soren and his sister,” said Ayan, wishing she weren’t so quick to dismiss him.

Junna rolled her eyes, but smiled, “Fine! Go do that! And give him love from me. I hope Sakura is doing okay.”

“Hopefully they’ll let me in,” Ayan muttered. “Maybe you should go with-”

“Excuse me sir, we found this attached to that table over there. Is this yours?” one of the workers came over to Ayan, holding a tiny black item the size of a small button.

Ayan took the item, scowling as he looked closer at it, “What is it?”

“It’s a camera,” said the man. “If it’s not one of yours, then someone was watching you from somewhere outside of here. Probably streaming right now.”

Ayan looked up at Junna in horror. Her mouth was hanging open in shock.

“We’ve been bugged?” Ayan asked.

“It kinda looks that way. Especially with the angle it was placed at. I’ve seen these used to look up women’s skirts under the table, but this one was pointed directly at the checkout counter right there.”

Heartbeat rushing in his ears, Ayan’s mind flitted to all the people who could have done this, but one name returned over and over. Elijah. It had to be Elijah. It came from the very table he parked himself at on a daily basis.

“Jesus,” Junna breathed, “is it still transmitting?”

“I took the liberty of turning it off,” said the man. “I can show you how to turn it back on. The tech can be pretty cheap, but this one looks to be on the higher end. I only know about it because cameras are a hobby of mine, otherwise I wouldn’t have realized what it even was. It blended in so well with the leg of the table. It’s been painted brown, by hand.”

“He’s been watching us, even when he’s not here,” Ayan gasped.

“We don’t know for sure that it’s Elijah. It could be some pervert customer, filming women like he said…not that that would be better-”

“It’s him,” Ayan said. A terrifying thought occurred to him, “I bet it isn’t even the only one here.”

“I’m happy to do a search for you,” said the man. “On my lunch break. Maybe pay me in a gift card or something. I’ve heard stellar things about the food here.”

“That’s very kind of you,” said Ayan, “But I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“Please, it’s my pleasure. I would love to keep the cameras after if you don’t have to use them for evidence or anything. Like I said, it’s a hobby of mine, and these ones cost a mint.”

“Ayan, let him do it. He’ll find them better than we ever could. He actually knows what he’s looking for. You go check in with Soren, and we’ll sort through this crazy mess, okay?”

“I can’t just leave now,” said Ayan.

“Yes you can, and you will. As your manager, I’m ordering you to leave, Boss.”

“Don’t call me that,” Ayan muttered, feeling now like he was floating as he turned the camera back over to the man.

“Hey, leave us a good review for the window work, will ya?” the man asked.

“Of course,” Ayan nodded, feeling suddenly itchy with anxiety.

“Go, it’s okay. We’ve got this,” said Junna. “Besides, he’s probably watching you right now. Don’t give him the pleasure.”

“And if I leave, he’ll be watching you. How is that better?” asked Ayan.

“Don’t worry, I can look after myself. Besides, I’m not the one he’s obsessed with.”

“We don’t know that. We don’t know anything about him,” said Ayan.

It took several more exasperated prompts from Junna, but Ayan finally relented, and headed out to visit Soren in the hospital. When he got there, he was relieved and touched to find that Soren had put him on the approved visitors list.

His mind was racing with everything that had happened in the past few days as he grabbed a card and some chocolates at the gift shop. As he was about to leave the shop, he saw an adorable little polar bear stuffed animal, and purchased that for Sakura. He vaguely recalled Soren mentioning how Sakura was hyper-focused on polar bears.

He made his way up to Soren’s floor, and with the help of the kind nurses at the desk, soon found his room. Soren was sitting up in bed, staring at the television with a dazed look in his eye. When he saw Ayan enter, his face broke into a grin.

“Hey, you came!” Soren greeted.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” said Ayan somberly. “Something came up at the cafe and…well, I’m sorry again. I should have visited sooner.”

“I’m just glad you visited,” said Soren. “My parents couldn’t be bothered. They flew to Hawaii on Tuesday for a wedding. My mom claimed they couldn’t get out of it since they’d already spent a bunch of money and shit. She said they’ll be back in a few days. They didn’t even bother to call back and ask how Sakura’s doing. I could tell they were already drunk.”

“Are you serious?” Ayan asked in dismay.

“As a heart attack,” Soren shrugged. “I only stayed overnight because they wanted someone to observe me for a concussion, and since my parents wouldn’t do it, fuck it. They can have the hospital bill.”

“How is Sakura?” Ayan asked, sitting down when Ayan gestured to the chair next to him.

“She woke up last night. They ran scans and everything, and they seem hopeful that there wasn’t any lasting brain damage. They’re keeping her for a few more days and running a few more tests, I guess. I’m going home tonight with my friend, Avery, since they said I’m good to go, minus my busted leg. They’re giving me Tylenol. If I don’t move at all, it sorta works for the pain.”

Ayan felt as though someone was squeezing his heart. He thought about his tiny apartment that barely fit his little bed, and didn’t even have a couch. Thought about offering to rent a hotel room for Soren to stay in to be closer to the hospital.

“Listen, I know you’re thinking about how you can help me right now, but you’ve helped enough. You saved my sister’s life. You literally brought her back from the dead. I can handle this next bit, and I really appreciate you looking out for me, but you also need to look out for you. You’re like a literal saint, Boss. If I have to add anymore to your plate, it’s going to make me feel that much worse. So in the interest of helping me out, please just let me figure this out on my own. I am an adult now.”

“Barely,” Ayan muttered, “and don’t call me Boss.”

“I say all this because, sorry, you look like shit. You have these big bags under your eyes like you haven’t slept in weeks. You have the world on your shoulders, and it’s going to kill you. And then what? You can’t help anyone if you’re dead.”

He wasn’t exactly tired from having the world on his shoulders. He was exhausted after a long intimate night with Junna, but Soren didn’t need to know that.

“Did you plan all this out before I even got here?” Ayan asked.

“Kinda. My phone got destroyed in the flash flood, so I’ve been bored as hell. Lot of time to think.”

“Your parents won’t even have someone stay with you at home?” Ayan asked.

Soren scoffed and gestured to his cast, “Even if they were home right now, my dad would just yell at me to grab my crutches and get him a beer from the fridge. I’m not even exaggerating. There are so many people from their church they could have asked, and they didn’t even bother. I think they didn’t want to be embarrassed about not being home to look like the great parents they pretend to be.”

“Let me just get you a hotel-”

“Ayan, I told you. I’m staying with Avery tonight. It’ll be fine. We’re gonna smoke weed and play videogames. He is letting me stay in the guest bedroom. I promise it’s all good.”

Ayan almost said something about Soren being too young to smoke weed, but he thought better of it. He pulled out the bag of gifts he had gotten downstairs.

“Here’s some chocolate for when you inevitably get the munchies. And I got your sister a polar bear. I seem to recall you saying she was a big fan of them. When you see her next, could you give her this for me?”

Soren smiled as he took the gifts, and Ayan thought he saw the shimmer of tears in his eyes.

“Thank you, again, for everything you’ve done,” said Soren.

“Don’t mention it,” said Ayan. “Would you like to be alone, or…”

“God no! I’m bored out of my mind, and Avery isn’t coming for three more hours. Do you want to watch a movie on TV or something?”

Ayan laughed, “Sure. That sounds fun.”

“After that though, you go home and rest. Let go of whatever is causing you all of this anxiety.”

“You are wise beyond your years, kid,” said Ayan, grinning as Soren flipped through the television channels, until they settled on watching Twister on TNT with its numerous commercial interruptions.

We used to love this movie.

Ayan’s pocket buzzed, and he pulled out his phone to a text message from Junna. He must have had a strange look on his face, because Soren immediately asked him what was wrong.

“They found cameras planted in the cafe,” said Ayan. “Six of them so far. Junna contacted the police and made a statement. We think-”

“Elijah!” Soren blurted.

Ayan stared at his phone, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him.

“I knew he was creepy, but Jesus…do you think he bugged anywhere else? Could he have gotten into your home?”

“I don’t know,” said Ayan. “I hope not.”

“What a psycho,” said Soren. “He tried to come here to visit, and I told them absolutely not. I know he helped out yesterday and stuff, but he still gives me the creeps. Something is off. And now…”

“We aren’t 100% sure it was him,” said Ayan. “We haven’t proven that yet.”

“You will,” said Soren. “I guarantee it. Hey, maybe you should stay in a hotel tonight. Just in case. That dude is unhinged.”

“I’m…I’m sure it’s fine,” said Ayan, though he was having second thoughts himself about going home. What if he got there and found cameras after all? What if he didn’t find all of them?

What if you find him there?

“Please, just be careful. Talk to the police about this nut-job,” Soren said.

“I have my doubts about the police doing anything,” said Ayan, who had been harassed numerous times in the past by cops, mostly for existing peacefully as a brown man. The officers had commended him the day before for saving Sakura, but they had also been short with him when he had shown them that the camera hadn’t picked up a license plate on the car that hit Soren and Sakura, and they had also asked questions about how long he had lived in the states. Junna had taken over the conversation then and later expressed that she was worried they were going to contact some ICE agents to whisk him away in a van to places unknown.

As much good as Ayan tried to do, he had to admit that the world around him was a shitty heaving mess of distrust, racism, cruelty, misogyny, and general unrest. Day after day, he tried to make the best of it, and day after day he was brought down again and again by forces he couldn’t control.

“Please be careful,” begged Soren.

“I will be,” Ayan insisted, not sure if he believed himself.

At that moment, a nurse entered to check on Soren’s vitals. Ayan felt bad about leaving, but he wanted to get back to the cafe and get a handle on the situation before heading home.

“Soren, I’m going to head out. Take care, okay? And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. Do you have my number?”

Soren shook his head no, “Almost all of my numbers were saved in my phone.”

Ayan asked the nurse for pen and paper so that he could write his number down and give it to Soren.

“Anything at all,” Ayan insisted. “Do you want me to pick up a prepaid phone for you?”

“Avery said he’s going to give me one of his old phones and we’ll just have to buy a card for it, which we can do online. I’ll be okay. Thank you, Ayan.”

Ayan nodded, gave Soren a sorry smile, then headed out to his car. He was just starting his car when he got another text from Junna.

“I know you’re going to want to come to the cafe, but I’ve got it all handled here. Police have searched the place. Window is all set. The cops want to stop by your place to do a quick search if you’re comfortable with that, and take your statement. I’m sending you their direct number. Go home, give your statement, get some rest, and come back nice and refreshed so we can finish cleaning this place up and reopen. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Tomorrow? She didn’t want to see him again tonight? Ayan yearned to kiss her again, to hold her close make her feel safe. Or, perhaps he wanted her to make him feel safe. Either way, he was unsettled by the finality of her statement, and wondered if he had damaged their new relationship somehow by insisting she still go to France.

He wasn’t exactly excited at the prospect of a bunch of police searching his apartment. He didn’t have anything to hide, as far as he knew, but the invasion of privacy was still unwelcome. Still, they might be better at finding any hidden cameras than he would be. And if Elijah was watching his place, at least he would be made aware of the police presence, and possibly get the hint.

If it was Elijah. A small part of him had to wonder if it was someone else. Maybe an ICE agent or someone equally sinister had planted them around the cafe in hopes of catching some of his staff slipping up. Ayan and the majority of his staff were minorities, and a couple of them, Ayan included, had not been born in the United States, though they were all legal citizens of the US. That didn’t seem to matter these days.

Ayan made his way home, acutely aware of every car and every person on the road up and down his block. He didn’t see Elijah. It occurred to him that he had never bothered to learn what Elijah drove, though he had had to chance to check when he was going over the surveillance tapes with the officers. He made a mental note to check that out tomorrow, so he would have a heads up in that department. Personal vehicles had never been of much interest to him. He just tended to rely on whatever got him from point A to point B, and assumed others did the same.

He reached his apartment, breath a little heavy as he climbed to the second floor. For a brief moment, he wondered if he should call the cops now and ask them to check inside his apartment. Then he thought about Mrs. Sanchez, and how she had admitted to him about her nearly expired Visa, and how she was fearful of going in to immigration because ICE had been grabbing people there. He thought about the Yamada family down the hallway, the father on a greencard, the children born in the country. He imagined ICE agents coming in and ripping them away.

He thought of the cops turning him in. He wasn’t born in the country, though he was a legal resident. Somehow, it didn’t seem to matter with the color of his skin. Not these days, anyway.

No. He wasn’t going to have the police come to his apartment. Junna would understand. He would search it out himself. It was small enough, it should be easy. So, Ayan did just that. An hour later, after he had gone top to bottom three separate times, and finally convinced himself that nothing was amiss, he sat down at his computer desk with a sigh.

There was nothing. No sign of Elijah or anyone else anywhere. Ayan looked at the number that Junna had sent, but decided against giving the statement. Instead, he created a document and wrote down everything that he remembered happening that week in the file in case he needed to come back to it later. Every strange interaction he’d had, with Elijah or anyone else. Everything he remembered about the car accident. Everything.

When he was done, he went online, immediately searching up his usual websites. Email. Orders for the week. Schedule. Everything he did automatically by habit.

He was about to close out when he realized something. He had not yet bothered to search up Elijah. Junna kept forgetting to do it, not that it was her job to do so, and until yesterday, he had only had a first name. When the police had been talking to everyone at the cafe, he heard Elijah say that his last name was Edwards.

So Ayan searched him up.

There were a number of Elijah Edwards online, and he began to wonder if any of them were him, until he saw an avatar with a cross on it. Ayan clicked on the profile, and sure enough, he saw a grinning familiar face looking out from the man’s Instagram page. There was an ambulance in the background. Ayan knew exactly when and where that picture was taken, even though he hadn’t seen Elijah take it. The caption read, “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

Ayan swallowed against the strange lump in his throat at the post.

There was a picture of Elijah at the soup kitchen with Charlie and May grinning behind him. Another biblical caption, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

How…condescending.

The next picture he saw was the dove he had created in the cappuccino, with the caption “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”

He’s insane.

“You certainly had your moments,” Ayan muttered.

Elijah was a religious nut.

That was all.

Ayan attempted to comfort himself with the thought.

Then why does he terrify you?

“Shush,” Ayan hissed.

Ayan scrolled and scrolled in fascination, until he found an old picture of Elijah standing next to another tall man that looked an awful lot like him. Checking the tags in the picture, Ayan found the man’s name to be Noah.

Noah Edwards.

Ayan googled the name, and immediately happened upon an article about a pastor who had been arrested for molesting children. Presumably, Elijah’s father had been a pastor and a pedophile. He had taken his own life before his trial. He was preceded in death many years before by his wife, Elijah’s mother.

Elijah’s disdain for his father suddenly made a lot more sense, as did his wealth. That particular pastor’s church had been incredibly popular, with a great number of followers. Ayan vaguely remembered seeing something about it in the news when the story broke. It had been six years ago.

It also explained why Elijah was so extremely religious. Mental illness and creepy behavior appeared to run in the family.

Ayan decided that he had what he needed. He would talk to the cops tomorrow, at the cafe. Show them everything he had seen so far. They would clear all of this up and have a little chat with Elijah.

Everything would be fine.