One of a kind

Chapter 06

Carlos decided to go back to his own house the day after leaving the hospital. His parents had begged him to stay with them for a couple more days until he was fully recovered, but Carlos wanted to be alone. He wanted to take advantage of these days off to think, to go over his life and what had happened and how he felt.

Above all, to think about the thing that wasn't letting him sleep—how he had ruined or destroyed his relationship with TK by pushing too hard when he shouldn't have.

The doctor had said that he should take things slow. An operation like his wasn't something to be taken lightly, and even less so after the infection that had almost kept him in hospital for another week.

Luckily, that had just been a scare which had passed quickly, and although he still felt a little hot, he was okay.

The house still needed a lot of work, but Carlos had promised himself that he wouldn't do anything while he was off.

"Is it really a good idea to stay here in this house?" his father had asked when Carlos had decided to move after breaking up with TK. "Apart from everything else, it doesn't look ready to be lived in."

"This is still my house, Dad, and look, it has everything I need. They've already installed the kitchen, two bathrooms, and the bedroom. It's not like I'm missing anything."

In the two months since he'd moved after the breakup, there had been a lot of progress with the house. When he'd moved in, he just needed a place to lick his wounds and, more than anything, a place where he didn't have to see TK every day. He loved him too much, and it would hurt too bad to see him day after day.

Then, the house had been no more than four walls, without paint on them, and, as he'd told his parents, enough that he could have a roof over his head, a place to cook, somewhere to shower, and a room to sleep in.

His parents had said that he could stay with them for as long as he wanted, until his house was ready, but Carlos knew it was a bad idea. He loved his parents, but he needed to be alone.

Just like now.

He couldn't deny that it would have been good to have a helping hand so he didn't have to get up every time he wanted or needed something. But the silence helped him to think.

Maybe too much...

He took advantage of the free day to sleep as long as possible, take a hot bath, and avoid looking at his watch the entire day. He avoided his phone too; his parents had texted him twice before he woke up to check that he was okay, and he was tempted to check if TK had said anything after their meeting last night.

Maybe he had nothing to talk about with him, or he wasn't feeling well, or...or Carlos was thinking about it too hard.

He texted his parents to tell them that everything was fine and they shouldn't worry. If you want, tomorrow Dad can pick me up and I'll eat with you guys. That way, he would be left in peace for the rest of the day and his parents would be happy.

Then, he put his phone to one side and took a day for himself.

Once tired of the cooling bath, he went to sit on the sofa in front of the TV, with his phone close to order food when he was hungry. He planned on spending the day with Netflix and Disney+ to make sure that he didn't think about anything.

And he would have managed it if it weren't for someone knocking at the door just after six that evening. He wasn't expecting visitors, so he didn't know who it could be.

But he definitely hadn't been expecting Owen.

"Hi," Carlos said nervously.

They hadn't spoken since it had happened, nor had they had time to have a conversation when he was in hospital.