Unconditionally Bae

4. An Unexpected Reunion

“Hi,” the guy said. I looked up at him just as Gael was leaving the room. Yes, I was sure I had met the guy before but where?

“Hi, have we met before?” I asked as I shook his hand. Curiosity had gotten the best of me.

“Yeah, you do look familiar. I’m Shane,” he said with a look that I must have had too. I could tell he was trying to jog his memory as to where he’d seen me just like I was doing. I only knew of one Shane and by my calculations he was two years ahead of me academically. There was no way it was him.

“Funny, did you by any chance go to Crescent Hill Academy?” I asked just to be sure and rule him out.

“Yeah but that was before me moved abroad. What’s your name?” What in the actual fuck? Could it be him? Maybe it was a coincidence?

“I’m Curtis,”

“No fucking way! Curtis Karani Thaddeu?” He called out my full name! It couldn’t be him, could it?

“How do you kow my full name?”

“I know it’s been years but you’ve changed so much. It’s me, Shane Yegon,”

“No way, there’s no way you are that Shane. Shane was a short scrawny kid,”

“Yeah, puberty hit hard and a lot of things changed,” he said laughing.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” I said bringing him in for a hug from the excitement. It felt weird hugging him again, or maybe it was just me. It had been years since we last saw each other and I honestly didn’t expect him to be that receptive.

“This is such a freaky coincidence. Who would have thought that all these years later we’d be meeting here of all places and to top it all off, share a room? Wait, you are the one moving in right?” I asked because he had to be two classes a head of me after the whole depression thing.

“Yeah, I’m the one moving in. That was my little brother, Gael. He was like six or seven when we moved. I don’t think you ever got to meet him,”

“You two can catch up later,” Gael said coming in with a box, “Dad’s calling,”

“Do you need help with the rest of your stuff?” I asked

“Yes, thank you. We could use an extra pair of hands,” Shane said.

“You should have said that when dad suggested we get movers to do this,” Gael said and Shane threw a kick at him but he dodged and ran outside.

Mr Yegon still had a scowl on his face and he was still as intimidating because he looked like he was mad at something and would beat up anyone in sight.

“Dad, guess who this is,” Shane said when we stood next to the elderly man. He gave me the same look Gael had, inspecting me from head to toe.

“He looks like someone I’ve met before,”

“He’s Curtis Thaddeu. He was my best friend when we were kids. He also went to Crescent Hill before they moved,”

“Thaddeu? Are you Collins Thaddeu’s boy?”

“Yes, he was my dad,” hearing someone that wasn’t family remember my dad was awesome but it also had me in my feelings and I didn’t want to get emotional out in public. What kind of man would that make me?

“He was a very good friend of mine. We worked together for a very long time. How’s your mom? Catherine? Right?” I cleared my throat before affirming. “Tell her I said hi,” I smiled and told her I would do so.

I talked to my sisters every day since I left home. It had been the longest we’d been that far apart since things changed. I, however, avoided talking to mom. I didn’t like her very much. She was the reason dad and Cyrus had died and although I no longer wished that she and they would would trade places, I still thought she was responsible.