A World No One Knows (bxb) [editing and rewriting]

Chapter 1

"Blaise, it's been a month. Call her already." Mali sets my tai chi latte in front of me, but I don't look up from my phone.

"What if she's mad at me? What if she hates me? What if she never wants to speak with me again? What if--"

"What if she's glad you called? She is your mother after all."

I push my phone away. "You know what? I'll call her later."

"Blaise."

I finally look up at Mali. Even in her coffee house uniform, she looks gorgeous. She hasn't grown at all since the last time I saw her. We met back in middle school, but then she moved away when we went to high school. I haven't seen her since, but when I asked her if I can crash at her place for a while, she immediately agreed. "Mali."

She sighs. "You're going to have to go back eventually. These things catch up with you. You'll regret it. Speaking of things you're going to regret, how's Casmir doing?"

"Mali, you know how I feel about him."

"Yeah, and I don't think he's not telling you something."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's hiding something. Which means he's lying to you. Which means that he's not as serious as you are about him. I don't want you getting hurt when he breaks it off."

"Stop worrying about it, Mali. He's not hiding anything. I know him."

"Do you really? You guys only met a month ago."

"We met before that, and I really really like him, Mali. He gets me like no one else has before."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

I nod. "Yes. I do."

"Be careful then, and don't be surprised when I'm right. I tried to warn you. Now back to the actual matter at hand, call your mother. I'm sure she's worried shitless."

"Mali!" her coworker shouts. "We need you!"

Mali shrugs. "Duty calls, but we're closing soon." She points to the phone. "Call her." She leaves, and I stare at my phone again. The longer I stare at the phone, the worse my mood becomes. What if she forgot about me? What if she has bad news to tell me? What if Jes has died, and she doesn't know how to tell me? My heart pings at that thought. Please don't let it be that one.

"Earth to Blaise."

I blink and look at the now empty coffeehouse. "Huh?"

"I'm closing up, so we have to leave. Though I suggest we hurry. This storm doesn't look like it's going to let up any time soon."

I look outside and sure enough, the rain comes down in sheets. It patters against the windows. It sparks a memory and my hands start to shake.

"You know what?" My voice shakes. "Why don't you go, and I'll stay here and lock up? It wouldn't be the first time." I stare out of the window.

"What is your deal with water anyway, Blaise? It's like you're afraid of it, but that also doesn't seem like the case. What happened?"

"Let's just say water and I don't exactly get along."

"That doesn't make any sense. It's water. What's the harm?"

Jes flashes in my head. Her cold, pale body on the white hospital bed hooked up to the wires.

"Blaise?" Mali's voice becomes soft, and she places a hand on my arm. "Look, I'm saying this as a friend, but do you think the reason you won't go back is because of this stupid fear? Something trivial like this shouldn't get in the way with the people you love. Think about it, okay?"