Luca Chessman has been longing for love his entire life. The only problem is-he can't seem to find a guy that likes him the same way.
With his family cafe, Chessman's, struggling to keep afloat and no help from the bank, he's slowly accepting the d...
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I stare back into Aris' eyes, waiting for him to explain. A thousand different thoughts rush through my head but my first thought is–is he abusing prescription drugs? I've seen him come into the cafe looking like he's hungover or maybe he's having withdrawals.
My head shakes, telling myself to wait until he explains what's going on.
Aris shakily grabs the pills that lay on the floor and attempts to put them back into the pot. Every part of him trembles and I step back, kneel down and help him. He looks up at me in surprise and then offers me a small smile that doesn't meet his eyes–in fact it looks like he's about to break down any second.
Oh God. Fear sparks my heart, not ready for whatever conversation we're about to have.
Once the pills are back in the bottle and he zips up his bag, I say nothing. He watches me for a few moments, exhaling a breath. "Luca," he starts. "The reason why I have so many pills is because I'm not very well. I haven't been well for a couple of years and I have to take a lot of medication to stabilise myself otherwise I could end up in the hospital or worse."
My eyes widen in surprise. "Aris..." I trail off. "You never said anything."
"No," his throat is strained. "Because a lot of companies and businesses have turned me down in the past for being ill and I don't think it's fair. I need the money because my father is in a care home, he suffers from Alzheimer's and it's getting increasingly bad as the months go on. I have to fund that, as well as myself and it's tough. I didn't mean to not tell you the truth but I keep it to myself because it gives me a better chance of being accepted for a job."
He takes a slow breath and my heart crumbles in my chest. "I'm sorry," I say quietly. "And I know you probably don't want any apologies but I'm sorry. I had no idea."
Aris hangs his head. "If you're going to fire me then I understand."
I press my brows together instantly. "Why would I fire you?"
"Because I lied, because I'm not well." He raises his eyes to mine, his voice still shaking.
"No," I say boldly. "If you think I'm going to let you go because of that then you're mistaken. We all deserve the same fair chances. All I ask is if you have appointments in the future, let me know. Same goes with if you're not feeling well, we can work something out. I'd rather you not suffer if you're in pain, we can be honest with each other about this."
His eyes waver for a moment, then he sniffles. "Thank you," he exhales gratefully. "You have no idea how much that means to me. I was late because I received bad news at the hospital today, which probably explains why I look like a walking zombie."
I reach out and press my hand to his shoulder. "It's okay," I shake my head. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," his voice snaps and he releases a slow shudder of breath. "Sorry. No. I don't want to talk about it. There isn't anything anyone can do right now, all I have to do is wait and hope for the best. That's the most painful part."
