Page 74 of Back Room Host

“Don’t say anything,” he snapped, breaking away from me again.

“Listen, I’m sorry if you were hoping to bounce back out of here, but look on the bright side. You can walk on your own again.”

“Do you seriously call this walking?”

Biting my lower lip, I stifled a laugh. As he turned around again and continued hobbling, I started moving too.

You can start practicing climbing stairs at home every day. And now that you can stand again, perhaps you could even cook for me sometime. You did work in a kitchen for a few months— in a Michelin-starred restaurant, no less. I can handle unplugging the robot vacuum cleaner. We also have a regular vacuum cleaner. If you're up for it, you could help clean the apartment.”

“Leave me alone.”

Feeling the need to lift his spirits, even though I wasn’t sure why, I couldn’t ignore the gloomy weather. It was gray and drizzling, hardly the kind of day to feel upbeat. Despite my home being just half a mile from the hospital, a journey I could make in about eight minutes, I felt relieved when the tram arrived. The steep descent into the old town would have been too strenuous for Juri.

Nevertheless, we returned home shortly after noon. Juri headed straight to his room, shutting the door behind him. I’d never seen him in such a foul mood before. Despite his penchant for wearing black, there was usually a warmth and affection in him that I appreciated. His humor, although dry, had a dark charm to it that I found intriguing.

Well … no surprise there, I thought and went into my room.

For the past few days, I’d been busy making phone calls and sending countless emails to bars and nightclubs. One night at Exil hardly covered my expenses. Although my parents had the means to help out if needed, it was important to them—and to me—that I covered at least half of my expenses independently.

So when I found two offers for a trial night at each club in my inbox, I was overjoyed and called back immediately to set up the shifts. I could already step in at the Olé-Olé-Bar tomorrow and at the Safari Bar next Wednesday. That reassured me immensely because I had never failed a trial night. If I could manage tocoordinate the jobs, I might be able to fill up to four evenings. My mood suddenly skyrocketed.

I should take advantage of that.

After packing my things for training, I stepped out into the hallway and noticed there was no sound coming from Juri’s room. I went over and listened. Nothing.

“I’m going to training,” I said through the door.

“Mhm …” he replied, his tone muffled.

He was probably trying to distract himself again with the photo blog. So far, he had done quite well with that.

I felt dizzy as I stepped off the bus. Perhaps I should have grabbed a quick bite at home, but I preferred hitting the training session on an empty stomach. Dario had been advising against it for years, but old habits die hard.

“I told you, make sure you put on a few pounds,” he grumbled as he weighed me. “What else is Christmas good for? You lost three pounds and, as I can guess, you even came here with an empty stomach.”

“Alright,” I replied and got off the scale. “I’ll grab a kebab right after.”

Dario smacked his forehead in frustration. “You won’t make up for that with a kebab. God! Luca! What’s wrong with you? If you can’t help it, at least drink a protein shake before training.”

“Maybe it’s because of my new roommate. He’s keeping me quite busy.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m playing housemaid for him. Cooking. Cleaning. Tidying up. Washing. I’m nursing an invalid. But don’t worry. Things will get better from today.”

Dario grimaced. “As if you could lose three pounds by doing extra housework. More movement means more eating. Especially for you. So get that through your head already. Do you still have any protein powder?”

“No. It’s all gone.”

“Since when?”

“For a few days? How should I know?”

Dario let out an exasperated grunt. “Then go and get some new ones! For heaven’s sake! Luca! How serious are you about this competition anyway?”

“Why are you so pissed off? It doesn’t matter if I get lighter. I can still fight in this weight class.”

Dario rolled his eyes. “Just listen to your coach and watch your calories!”

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