Chapter 9

We walked in silence on the way back home. Not a single word was said. Jason was ahead of me, his head down in shame. As we entered the flat, we went up the stairs. He was taking two steps at a time. He stopped once we reached the top. He turned quickly around to face me. I could see he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t find the words to speak. When he eventually spoke, he said, “I want to thank you for today, and I promise you that I will pay you back every penny.”

“Jason, it wasn’t about the money. I did it for your family. Your dad, mum, Tina,” I took a deep breath. “I did it for all of you. It was the least I could do after what your family did for me.” I pause for a moment. “Hey, look, I’m going to my room for a while. I’m knackered.” I left him standing there as I staggered to my room, totally exhausted. “Try not to get yourself in any trouble while I have a little rest!” I yelled.

I filled up the bath and soaked in hot water for a good half-hour. Once finished and dressed, I headed for the kitchen; I needed to eat before I call mum, as I did not have anything to eat all day. When I went to the kitchen and living room, Jason wasn’t there. Going past his bedroom, I could hear the sound of the TV. I raised my hand to knock on the door to see if he was hungry. I soon changed my mind after what happened the day before with the lasagne.

I couldn’t be bothered to cook anything, so I threw some porridge in the microwave to simmer. I stared at the contents once it was ready in the bowl. “Great. Porridge on Christmas Day,” I muttered. I picked up the tin of hot chocolate, sprinkling some brown powder on top of the porridge, my meal for Christmas Day. “It’s an improvement, at least with some chocolate sprinkled on top.” I smiled at the thought.

Sitting crossed-legged on the bed, with the bowl in my lap, I fired up the MacBook. Turning on the FaceTime app, I dialled mum. It connected at once as if she was waiting beside the device, ready to press the connect button.

“Hi mum, Merry Christmas,” I cheerfully said. I was trying to keep a happy face, even though I was homesick.

“Merry Christmas, Michael.”

Frank was at the pub with his friends. We had the chance to talk for a while. I asked her a couple of times to tell me what was on her mind, but she insisted she would speak to me when she came down on New Year’s Eve. I changed the subject to the happy memories we had when I was young. Within minutes we were joking and laughing as if we didn’t have any problems. Then mum heard some noise behind her. Frank was back. The smile on her face disappeared.

“I have to go, son. We’ll speak tomorrow.” She blew me a kiss before shutting down her device.

I watched my reflection on the glossy screen of the laptop while my eyes became moist. Slamming the screen down to close the MacBook, I pushed it to the edge of the bed. I curled my body into a ball on top of the bed covers, ignoring everything around me, even when Jason knocked on the door. He gave up after a few minutes. I lay there, oblivious to the world.

Knock, knock, knock. “Michael, can you hear me.” It was Jason’s voice again.

I opened my eyes as I felt a shiver go through my spine. Grabbing the side of the bed cover, I threw it over my body. I turned to face the window. It was dark outside; it was night. I must have fallen asleep. I forgot what day it was for a moment. Checking the time on my smartphone, it was past six in the evening.

Knock, Knock. “Michael.”

Jason was starting to annoy me. I rubbed my eyes to wake up fully. “What is it now, Jason!” I screamed.

“Can you open the door, please? I need you for something. It will only take a minute, please,” he begged.

Jumping out of bed, I threw on my bathrobe. “It better be important!” I screamed. There was no one in the hallway when I opened the door. “What the fuck!” Now I was pissed off. I marched past his bedroom. The door was ajar, but no one was inside. I could hear some noise coming from the kitchen, but the food’s aroma attracted me towards the dining room. On entering the room, I took a step back. The dining table was full of plates, with a variety of dishes. Jason was standing beside the table.

“I overslept. What time did your mum and dad come back?” I asked enthusiastically.

He slowly shook his head. “They’re still in London.” he grinned.

I gestured my hand towards the food on the table. “What about all this?” I asked.

“I did have the best teachers, mum, dad and George, for who I owe a big apology, next time I see them.”

“Yes, you owe them that,” I agreed.

“Hey, Michael. I am sorry for getting you involved in my problems today. Regarding the money you paid today. Give me some time. I’ll pay...”

I stopped him in mid-sentence. “Let’s make a deal. You don’t mention that money again, and your parents don’t find out about what happened this morning.”

He stood there like a statue, just staring at me.