Troublemaker - 23. Chapter Twenty-three

Todd

“Happy Birthday. To. You!”

After that last line, everyone in the living room started clapping as the birthday girl blew out the candles to her birthday cake. Someone then shoved her face into the pink confection, getting frosting on her nose and a roar of laughter in return.

I chuckled at the merriment of the occasion, but inside I was a complete wreck.

Two weeks have passed since I got fired, and Barrett hadn’t responded to my calls or text messages. I was really worried that either I did something wrong or something horrible happened to Barrett and he was currently grieving. I knew he was still alive since I saw that my messages had been read, but other than that one sign, I had no idea what he was currently going through.

I contacted Anthony who said that he took a break from work, and I even went to his house to check on him. But no answer.

In addition to this hell, I had trouble finding the right job, resulting in not the best decision making that involved excesses in beer drinking and wallowing under my bed sheets.

Now here I was, attending a birthday party and pretending to be Dillon’s boyfriend with the hope that the celebratory atmosphere would distract me from my inner turmoil.

Unfortunately, the sight of happiness and laughter just made me realize how depressing my own life was in comparison. Oh, the joy of not having to worry about finding your next paycheck and falling for someone who cutted all communication with you.

And yes, I said that correctly. Since our last short phone call, I realized that over the span of a few weeks, that I wasn’t just worried about Barrett’s wellbeing, but that I was freaking heartbroken over the thought that he was mad or upset with me. The idea that he no longer wanted to talk, or worse, be with me anymore crushed my soul. Could someone really be this hurt over a person who only took you out on a single date? Damn, can falling for someone really happen that fast?

I never had this feeling before. Sure, I’ve been on dates before and had a few hookups, but something about Barrett felt like leagues away from those other guys, and not being able to talk to him was slowly killing me.

And to say that I wasn’t handling it well was an understatement of the century. I swore I gained five pounds from all the leftover Filipino food Dillon’s mother gave us that once filled the refrigerator but was on its way to being emptied. It was either eat or drink a lot, and I didn’t like the idea of hangovers and vomiting into a trashcan in the mornings after.

At least for now, I was holding myself up by stacking my paper plate with food from the buffet set in the dining room and decided to just drown my sorrows in some really tasty sago at gulaman that had these chewy boba-like things that added a pleasant texture to the drink.

“You alright, Todd?”

I turned to Dillon who had a plate in his hand that only had a small portion of pork adobo and white rice on it, which was no surprise there.

“I’m surviving,” I said with honesty and focused on finishing my drink, so I could refill it.

“Still that bad, huh?”

I sighed and nodded. “I’m a jobless, loveless loser. What else can I say?”

“Hey, you’re my pretend boyfriend, remember?” Dillon said with a nudge with his elbow.

I chuckled. “And my job is to fool everyone that we are indeed boyfriend and not just friends and roommates.”

“There you go,” Dillon said with a smile before looking at the small crowd of people waiting for a slice of cake. “But if you want to end this charade, I won’t stop you.”

I shook my head. “Nah. It’s the least I can do for being my emotional support for the past couple weeks.”

“Well, thanks. But I’ve been thinking about this whole scheme since I first brought it up weeks ago, and maybe I should just be honest with my mom.” Dillon gazed at his mother who was singing karaoke.

“Won’t she be worried about you, though?”

“She will. But I think it’s better to be upfront about my love life, or lack thereof. I’m her youngest child and only boy, so she’ll always be worried about me regardless. May as well be truthful with her, you know?”

I nodded and patted my best friend’s back. “I agree.”

“I’ll let her know that we’re just roommates before we get out of here,” Dillon said before taking a good spoonful of adobo into his mouth.

“So, you’re breaking up with me already. Some pretend boyfriend you turned out to be,” I joked.

Dillon laughed as he chewed.

“Oh, by the way, I have something for you.”

I unzipped my crossbody bag and pulled out a small box, which I handed to my friend.

“What’s this? It’s not my birthday.”

“I know. It’s another way of saying thanks for being there for me.”

Dillon grinned upon seeing what the box contained. “A limited-edition Superstar figurine! Where did you find this?”

“One of my artist friends from college was selling some of his stuff since he was moving, and he offered me a reasonable price for the figure.”

Superstar was a comic and animated television show about a lightbulb dreaming to become an astronaut and becoming a star. This series was Dillon’s favorite, and I sometimes argued with him for the television since he watched reruns of the cartoon as often as he could.

“So, you like it?”

“Of course! I’ve been looking for this to complete my collection. Thank you, Todd.”

I grinned back. “No, thank you.”

“If I haven’t known already, I would’ve believed you two weren’t fake boyfriends by the way you two are smiling at each other so lovey dovey.”

Dillon sighed at his oldest sister Jenny, the birthday girl, as she approached us with a smirk on her face.

“Did the cake taste good, Jen?” Dillon asked.

Jenny rolled her eyes. “It did, actually. Pandan is my favorite cake flavor.” She then turned to me and asked, “By the way, your brother Anthony tried to ask me out the other day. I said no, of course, but it would’ve been funny if I had brought him to the party as my plus one. It would’ve been like a double date situation.”

I chuckled. “That would be awkward to say the least.”

“Not nearly as awkward as our mom being on my back, begging me to find a man. Dillon, she’s all like, ‘Well, if your kuya has a boyfriend, why can’t you?’ Ugh!”

“Don’t worry, Jen. I’m going to tell her the truth before the party’s over. She’ll be refocused on me in no time.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I won’t have to keep lying to her and say you two are, indeed, just roommates.”

We laughed at the joke. Then my phone started buzzing in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw it was my father calling. I was about to reject the call, but I knew he would just keep calling until I answered.

Tapping the green accept button, I said, “Yes, Dad.”

“Todd! It’s your brother. He’s in the hospital,” Dad said so quickly.

I felt my heart stop. “What? What happened?”

“I think he had a heart attack! It happened right at work. I drove him to the hospital as soon as it happened, and he’s being treated right now.”

“Oh, God…” I said, looking at Dillon and Jenny with looks of concern.

“Todd…I know I haven’t been the best father, hell, you can ignore me after this is all over, but please, for your brother, can you come here and be with him. I…”

I never heard my father sound so vulnerable before, and I knew I couldn’t say no.

“I’ll be right there, Dad. Just hang in there. Anthony’s going to survive this, okay?”

“... Okay. I’m in the ER when you arrive. See you soon.”

I ended the call, and I looked at Dillon and said, “I need to go to the hospital. My brother just had a heart attack.”

“Oh, shit. Is he going to be okay?” Dillon asked.

“I don’t know. But I need to be there for him, and for my dad.”

“Of course. Do you know the way to the hospital?”

“Uh…”

“I do. Let me drive. I know the fastest route to get there,” Jenny offered.

“Oh, God. Thank you,” I said. “Let’s go.”

We quickly left the house, much to the surprise of the partygoers since Jenny was the birthday girl. But we didn’t stop to answer any questions as we got into Jenny’s SUV and sped backwards and performed a tight turn before slamming the gas pedal. I barely had time to put on my seat as Dillon’s sister drove at a speed that was just legal enough to not get us pulled over by the police.

I flinched when we sped past a traffic light just as it turned red before Jenny did another turn into another street like we were racing with the hospital being the finish line.

Unsurprisingly, Jenny got us to the St. Mercy’s Hospital in less than ten minutes.

She stopped at the entrance of the ER and said, “You two go, while I find a parking spot.”

I nodded and Dillon and I exited the car and ran through the double glass door.

In the ER waiting room, I looked around the area and spotted my father, hunched over in his chair, at the far corner of the room.

“Dad!” I called out as I approached him.

Looking up, my father saw me and stood. “Oh, Todd. Thank goodness you’re here.”

“How’s Anthony? Do you know?”

“Only that your brother did indeed have a heart attack.” My father sighed heavily. “I can’t believe it. He’s not even thirty yet, and then out of nowhere Anthony started clutching his chest. He said it was just heartburn, and then started feeling dizzy and fell down. I quickly drove him to the hospital with an ambulance, and he was taken away to be tested.”

“So. We just wait?” I asked.

“Yes. I pray he gets through this.”

“How is he?”

I turned to Jenny who appeared behind me. “We have to wait. But it was a heart attack.”

“Oh, Jenny. I didn’t expect to see you here,” my father said.

“Todd was at my birthday party when he got your call. I drove him here as quickly as I could.”

“And this is my friend and roommate, Dillon. Jenny’s brother,” I said, pointing my thumb toward my friend.

“Thank you for bringing my son here. If you want to stay and wait with me, I’d appreciate it.”

Jenny and Dillon both nodded.

So, we did. We waited with a crowd of other people in various states of distress and pain, and I wondered how the hospital was able to function with so many people in need of care and aid.

I looked at my father who was hunched over again with his hands clasped together as whispered words, a prayer most likely for my brother. I wasn’t religious, which I inherited from my mother who was more laidback when it came to prayer and going to church than my dad. However, I looked up at the ceiling and hoped whoever was above, if there was a god up there, that they would give Anthony the strength to get through this heart attack and that he would make a full recovery.

“Todd?”

My eyes went from the ceiling to…

“Barrett?”

Barrett approached us, his whole face lined with worry. “I went to work and was told about what happened. Is Anthony okay?”

I just stared at Barrett, the man who I hadn’t seen in two weeks, who ignored all of my calls and text messages, who I have apparently fallen for, being in front of me again.

“He had a heart attack,” my father answered. “We’re waiting for an update.”

Barrett nodded, his eyes still on me. “Is…Is it okay if I wait here with you guys?”

I didn’t answer, just moved a magazine that I had rested on the chair next to me and looked away.

With a mumbled thanks, Barrett sat right next to me and said nothing else.

Though we sat close to each other, I didn’t acknowledge his existence, while I tried my best to distract myself with the magazine. My father continued praying, and Dillon and Jenny chatted quietly to each other.

Thirty minutes passed, and Barrett suddenly stood up and went towards the restroom on the other side of the waiting area.

I looked back at my father who was just looking at his hands and then to Dillon who motioned his head towards where Barrett went.

I took this moment as a chance to finally confront Barrett over his absence and do it outside the range of other people.

I stood up and walked across the waiting room and into a hallway where the restrooms were located. I didn’t enter inside, not needing to piss, and just waited by the door.

It didn’t take long for Barrett to appear again, and when he saw me, his eyes widened and he gazed at me with pursed lips as I leaned on the wall with crossed arms and a frown on my face.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, “Hey…”

“Hey? That’s all you have to say after two weeks of not contacting me?” I said venomously.

Barrett bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Todd. I…I was dealing with a lot two weeks ago. Still am.”

Leaning off the wall, I said, “What happened?”

“My mom’s dead. And my dad too. I found out from her sister who I visited, thinking I was finally going to be reunited with my mother…”

“Oh, God… Barrett, I’m so sorry,” I said, stepping closer and squeezing his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve been there for you.”

“I don’t know. I just completely shutdown and felt so hopeless when I discovered that I was never going to meet my mom, or my dad… Also, I guess I didn’t want to unload all of my baggage on you… We’ve only been on one date, you know?”

I scoffed. “Sure, but we’ve been through a lot besides that one date, and did a lot also.”

“Like?”

“Like cooking that special sauce together, coming with me to the art exhibition, coming with me in your bed that same night.” I stepped even closer to him and said, “Remember the morning after, and I said I felt like I was already catching feelings?”

Barrett nodded, leaning his body towards me.

“Well, you can forget that… I’ve fallen for you. I realized that after these past two weeks, after I got into a fight with Damon at my work and got fired.”

“Oh, man. Is that why you called me?” Barrett asked, looking guilty.

“Yeah… I just want to talk to someone who I really care about, and when you didn’t respond, I–”

Barrett caught my lips with his own, and we were kissing each other passionately, and for a moment I forgot the hallway, this hospital, this entire world and universe existed as I expressed to him much I missed and needed him right then and there.

We eventually released each other to catch our breath, and Barrett then said, “I’m so sorry, Todd. I should’ve been there for you.”

Touching his chest, I said, “It’s okay. You are now. And I’m here for you. We’ll get through this. Together this time.”

Barrett smiled and leaned for another kiss.

Someone cleared their throat.

I froze, knowing who that sound came from, and Barrett and I both looked to see my father at the front of the hallway. He looked so confused, his gray eyebrows scrunched to his eyes and his mouth open with a hundred questions probably ready to spill out.

Before he could say anything, someone called out my dad’s name, and he twisted around and disappeared.

“Todd…” Barrett said.

“It’s cool. It’s his problem if he can’t accept that we’re a couple, not ours.”

“So, we’re boyfriends now?” Barrett asked cutely.

I grinned. “If that’s okay with you.”

Barrett grinned back. “Of course it is.”

We kissed each other one more time, a confirmation that we were indeed a couple and whatever shit happened to us, we would deal with it together.

We then left the hallway, and I saw my dad talking with a doctor who must’ve been informing him about Anthony’s status.

“He’s currently in one of the patient rooms and receiving medication to thin his blood and remove the clot in his artery,” the doctor explained. “I can take you to see him along with whoever is with you.”

My father turned to me and Barrett and simply motioned his head for us to follow him. I just nodded and started following the doctor. I waved at Dillon and Jenny who nodded back in return, and I walked through the double doors with Barrett’s hand in my own.