CHAPTER 54: CAME OVER

I finally made it to my apartment door, fumbling with the key because my hands were shaking from the strain. The second the lock clicked, I shoved the door open and just let everything go.

The six bags of groceries crashed onto the floor with a series of heavy thuds and the clatter of the new frying pan. The sound was nothing compared to the screaming protest from my ribs.

I leaned against the door, my whole body trembling, and then my legs just gave out. I slid down the wood paneling and ended up in a heap on the floor, surrounded by my new, adult-looking purchases.

"This was a stupid idea," I huffed, my head resting against the door. My lungs burned. I thought I was getting better, that the limp was almost gone and the ache was fading. But carrying all that weight for ten blocks had undone all of it. I felt like I was back to day one.

I just lay there, trying to catch my breath, when my phone started buzzing in my pocket. The vibration against my leg was annoying, and my first thought was to just ignore it. But it kept going. With a groan, I awkwardly fished it out of my pocket.

The screen lit up with Nina’s name.

’Of course,’ I thought. I took a shaky breath and swiped to answer, bringing the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I managed to get out, and my voice was way more winded than I wanted it to be.

"Kofi? What’s going on?" she asked immediately. "You sound weird. Are you okay?"

I tried to play it cool. "Yeah, I’m fine. Just got home."

"You are not fine," she shot back, her voice sharpening with worry. "You sound like you just ran a marathon. What happened? Did you get into another fight? Did someone start something with you on your way home?"

Her questions were coming so fast I could barely keep up. "No, nothing like that," I said, trying to sit up a little straighter, which was a mistake. A sharp pain shot through my side, and I couldn’t stop the quiet hiss of pain that escaped.

"I heard that!" she said, her voice getting higher. "What’s wrong? Are you hurt?"

I sighed, giving up. There was no point in lying to her. "I’m fine, really. I just... I went grocery shopping."

There was a dead silence on the other end of the line.

"...Grocery shopping?" she repeated, her voice full of disbelief. "What, did you get into a fight with a pineapple and lose? Kofi, what is going on?"

"I just bought a lot of stuff," I explained, feeling kind of stupid. "The bags were heavy. My ribs are just... reminding me they exist."

"You carried a bunch of heavy bags?" she exclaimed, and now she just sounded mad. "Are you serious? You just got out of the hospital! You’re supposed to be taking it easy! What were you thinking?"

"I had to get food," I said, a little defensively. "My fridge was completely empty."

"You could have just gotten a few things! Or asked someone for help!" she said, and I could practically hear her pacing on the other end. "What did you possibly buy that was so heavy?"

"Uh," I started, looking at the pile of bags around me. "Eggs, milk, vegetables... a frying pan."

"A frying pan?" Her tone shifted again, from angry-worried to just confused. "Why did you buy a frying pan? Do you even know how to cook?"

"No," I admitted. "But I bought a cookbook, too. I’m trying to learn."

The line went quiet again. When she finally spoke, all the anger was gone from her voice.

"Wait, for real?" she asked, she sounded... impressed. "You’re actually learning how to cook?"

"Yeah. I’m tired of instant noodles," I said. "Figured it was time for a change."

"Wow," she said softly. "That’s... actually really cool."

I felt my face get a little warm. "It’s not that big of a deal."

"No, it is a big deal," she said, "But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a complete idiot. Are you still on the floor?"

I glanced around at the bags of groceries scattered around me like I’d just survived a car crash. "Yeah, kinda. My legs just sort of... stopped working."

"Kofi," I could hear the sigh in her voice. "Are you in pain? For real?"

"I’ll be fine," I said, trying to push myself up. A sharp pain shot through my side, and I let out a grunt. "Okay, maybe not right this second. But I will be."

"That’s it, I’m coming over."

My brain just stalled. "What? No. You don’t have to do that. I’m okay, seriously."

"You’re a terrible liar," she shot back, and I could hear shuffling sounds in the background, like she was grabbing her keys. "And you’re hurt. You shouldn’t be alone. What’s your address?"

"Nina, no. Don’t." The last thing I wanted was for her to see me like this, a mess on the floor surrounded by spilled groceries.

"Pillar contract, Section D, subsection C," she said, her voice completely serious. "Pillar has the right to conduct wellness checks on their dumbass friend when said friend has clearly done something stupid to hurt himself."

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, even though it made my ribs ache. "You’re just making this up as you go."

"Doesn’t mean it’s not binding. Now, address. Or I’ll just get it from the school records, which will be way more embarrassing for you."

I sighed, defeated. There was no arguing with her when she got like this. I recited my address, feeling stupid the whole time.

"Aright," she said. "I’ll be there in like, fifteen minutes. Don’t you dare try to clean up. I want to see the full extent of your disaster."

"There’s no disaster," I mumbled.

"You, on the floor, surrounded by food and a new frying pan sounds like a disaster to me. So what were you going to make first with your new expert-level cooking skills?"

"Scrambled eggs."

I could practically hear her smile through the phone. "Ooh, ambitious. Try not to burn the apartment down before I get there. See you in a few."

She hung up before I could say anything else.

I just lay there for a second, the phone still pressed to my ear, listening to the dial tone.

’Crap,’ I thought. ’She’s coming over.’

The thought sent a jolt of panic through me that was strong enough to get me moving. With a groan, I managed to push myself into a sitting position, my back against the door. My whole body protested, but the thought of Nina seeing me in a heap on the floor was worse than the pain.

I looked at the mess. One of the bags had tipped over completely. An onion had rolled under the small entryway table, and a carton of milk was lying on its side, looking dangerously close to leaking.

’I have to clean this up,’ I thought, my brain kicking into gear.

It took me a solid five minutes, but I managed to get everything back into the bags and line them up against the wall. Then, using the wall for support, I pulled myself to my feet. My legs were shaky, but they held.

I was leaning against the counter, trying to catch my breath, when I heard the knock on the door. It was a light, quick rapping sound.

I took a deep breath and limped over, pulling the door open.

There she was, standing in the hallway with her arms crossed and a worried look on her face. Her eyes immediately scanned me from head to toe.

"Sup." She said with this look on her face, god, why do you tempt me.