"What is love in this temporal life, if not just a distraction from the pain that doesn't seem to end."
After losing his best friend to an unexplained suicide, Mateu finds himself left to pick up the pieces with his best friend's younger brother, Fe...
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"I ought to thank you for what you did back there," Mohamed said, before drawing in a breath of smoke. "It could've cost me my job."
"Don't mention it," I replied, shrugging.
"You seemed quite pissed back at the store," he said, biting his lip. "You know what – how much did it cost? I'll pay you."
He fiddled out his wallet and starting looking through it for notes.
"No, don't worry about it," I said. "It's fine."
He frowned.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "I feel so terrible."
"It's fine," I sighed, even though it would've been nice if he paid for it.
"Anyway," he said, cigarette between his fingers. "I uh, didn't catch your name."
"Mateu," I muttered as I blew out another long puff of smoke.
"Right." Mohamed said rather awkwardly. "Nice to meet you I guess."
I only grunted.
"So what are you doing here at this dinner party?" he asked after a brief moment of silence.
I turned around to look into the apartment behind us through the shut glass door. Amélie was walking towards her friends around the coffee table.
"You see her?" I said, pointing at her with my chin. "She invited me."
"I see," he replied. "You're one of her friends from university?"
"No, no," I answered. "We go. . . quite a while back actually."
"I take it you don't know anybody else here other than her."
I turned to look at him, narrowing my eyes.
"How did you know?"
A brief smile came to his lips.
"Well if you did you wouldn't be out here all alone."
I let out a slight chuckle.
"You're right." I relented, drawing in another breath from my cigarette.
"We're in the same boat, you know?" he said. "This was actually only my second time meeting her."
"Then why would she invite you?"
Mohamed frowned. His hazel eyes glossy in the sun's dying light.
"I'm Hasan's brother," he said, a hint of irritation in his voice.
"Well I didn't want to assume," I shrugged. "Just because you have an Arabic name doesn't necessarily mean you're related."
"You always have something smart to say don't you?"
He rolled his eyes, but I noticed the slight hints of a smile on the corner of his lips. I couldn't help but smirk. I was starting to rather enjoy his company.
