Page 47 of Spoonful

With seven additional people, though, it was incredible how fast things happened. It no doubt helped that Jaylin didn't have a lot of stuff, but the entirety of his life was all boxed up by noon, stacked in neat piles, all ready to be carried down to Deepak’s waiting truck.

Pablo and Miguel ducked out for a bit while everyone took a break, and they returned carrying boxes of freshly prepared Mexican food. Everyone plopped down in various places on the floor to eat, and Jaylin took them all in, not quite able to believe this was his life.

Diego enthusiastically complimented everything before he got sucked into what seemed to be a discussion about quantum theory in relation to sugar crystals with Deepak and Aditi, as Carlos and Pablo did their best to follow along. Hiro, Camille, and Miguel had their heads bent together too, and Jaylin left them to it, not wanting to interrupt.

When Jaylin finished his food, he got up to throw his paper plate and stuff into a garbage bag, then went around with it to collect everyone else’s trash. The bag was full by the time he was finished, so he tied it off and set it next to the other garbage bags that needed to be taken outside to the dumpster. It was so weird to see three full bags of stuff waiting to be thrown away. It wasn’t a lot, Jaylin supposed, all things considered, but still. He'd managed to fill three garbage bags of stuff to dispose of, after packing everything else he had away into boxes.

Two of the boxes taped up in Jaylin’s little living room were labeledto sell.They were full of too-expensive clothes and shoes and jewelry he didn’t want, and they made Jaylin sick to look at them. Carlos, in the midst of packing up Jaylin’s closet, had turned to Jaylin, obviously about to make some sort of remark about the differences in the Armani suits and Jaylin’s ratty T-shirts. But he’d taken one look at Jaylin’s face, glanced back at the suit jacket in his hand, and then had said in quiet Spanish,“You could get some decent cash selling this stuff off. But I’m all for chucking it, if you don’t want to deal with this fancy shit.”

A lot of stuff said and not said. It had given Jaylin the ability to reply,“Like it didn’t just hurt your heart a little,suggesting that we throw it out. It’s okay. I’m all for selling it.”Every bit he was able to take back counted.“You can keep anything you want, though,”he’d offered.

Carlos had given him a downright offended look.“You think we’re anywhere close to the same size, Jaylito? Excuse me!”

“There’s watches and stuff,”Jaylin had interrupted, hoping to nip Carlos’s righteous indignation in the bud.

Carlos had sighed.“Buddy, if I let you give me a Weiss watch, I’d never forgive myself. We’ll pack it up and you can sell it, okay? Pay those college bills.”

“I’ll help you take out the trash,” Diego said, appearing by his side. He was already wearing his jacket. “Between the two of us, we could take it all out in one go.”

“Oh,” Jaylin said. “Thanks. Okay, let me just grab my coat.” It wasn’t that cold, March having warmed up some, but there was enough of a chill to need a layer. On reflex he grabbed the gray coat that was still hanging in the closet. Brent’s coat. Not warm enough for winter, but fine for a spring afternoon.

He stared at it a touch too long.

“You okay?” Diego’s voice floated through him and Jaylin shook his head.

“Yeah. Yeah, sorry.” Jaylin put on the gray coat and wrapped Hiro’s scarf around his neck before hefting two of the garbage bags. “Okay, ready.”

Diego nodded and grabbed the third garbage bag, holding the door for Jaylin, and they made their way out of Jaylin’s apartment and down to the dumpster.

“I’m, uh, I’m not gonna ask,” Diego said as they walked. “Since it isn’t any of my business or anything. But I just, um, I, you know, I wanted to like–let you know I’m here. If you ever wanted to talk about anything.”

“Thanks,” Jaylin mumbled.

Diego nodded and they finished their walk in silence. Diego slid open the door to the dumpster and tossed in the first garbage bag, stepping aside so that Jaylin could throw in the two trash bags he was carrying.

Jaylin was left wearing the gray coat he hated, shielding him from the spring breeze. The scarf Hiro had given him was helping to keep out the rest of the chill.

He shrugged off the coat, staring at the dumpster.

“Hey, Jaylin?” Diego shoved his hands into his pockets, and he sounded serious in a way Jaylin wasn't used to, in the time they’d known each other.

Jaylin tore his gaze away from the dumpster to look at his friend. “Yeah?”

“You’re gonna be okay, right?” Diego’s expression was tentative, concerned, but there was no pity on his face. “This was a good thing?”

“Yeah,” Jaylin said. “Yeah, this was a good thing.”

He didn't throw the gray coat in the dumpster. It wasn’t a warm coat, but it was still a nice one, and Jaylin couldn't bring himself to send it to a landfill. He knew a donation bin he could drop it into though, so instead of throwing it away, he tucked the coat under his arm as he and Diego made their way back to the apartment Jaylin was leaving behind.

Chapter 12

Jaylin changed his phone number. In the days that followed it didn’t ring with Brent’s incoming calls, because of course it wouldn’t, his number was different and Brent didn'thaveit, but he still found himself checking it too often, sure he had missed some sort of message.

He didn’t want to hear from Brent, wished that he never had to deal with the man again, and he couldn’t help jumping every time his phone made a sound. The habit was ingrained within him.

He was grateful that he had taken all the extra shifts atEl Guanacoover his spring break. Theygave him something to do with his time that wasn't just stewing and worrying, but he still found himself unsure of what to do during the hours he wasn't working. He was taking up room in Hiro’s home, but he also didn't want to feel like he was a stranger. He wanted to feel like he fit in the space. Like he wasn't someone putting Hiro out, for giving him a place to sleep.

He read more, listening to audiobooks Deepak recommended as he walked around the neighborhood and got used to it. He cleaned what he could in Hiro’s house, straightening up the living room and kitchen, sweeping the floors, vacuuming the rugs. While Hiro kept his home tidy, Jaylin wanted to help make it nice.

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