Fallen

"This won't take long. We're through. Here's all your stuff."

"What do you mean? What's going on? What did I do?" Alak asked in confusion.

"I told you. I wanted some space. Now, I'm making some."

"Five years, and all of the sudden you want space?"

"I just want some changes. I'm still young. I don't want this domestic shit anymore."

"Really Chet? You had to do this during my lunch break? Where the hell am I supposed to take my stuff? By the way, there's no way this is all of it."

"The rest I can drop off later. You have too much crap."

"Don't do this Chet. Do our five years not mean anything to you?"

"Hey, I brought you your stuff. What else do you want? See, this is why it's getting boring. You're becoming so needy and pathetic."

Alak refused to cry, but his vision was starting to blur.

"Where am I supposed to go? I've already paid a year in rent. You should be the one to leave then."

"The lease is under my name. You have no right to stay. I've already changed the lock. Don't make this uglier than it needs to be."

"What about Popeye?"

"I'm keeping Popeye."

"You don't even like Popeye."

"Why don't you figure out where you are going to stay for the night before you worry about the damn dog. See, like I said, you've become so pathetic."

Chet got up, straightened his jacket, and turned to leave. It was over for him.

Alak panicked and grabbed Chet by the arm to stop him from leaving. Chet snarled and shoved Alak back causing him to lose his balance.

And then someone from behind caught Alak and steadied him. Alak looked behind him to find a stranger looking back at him.

"Hey, there's no reason to get physical here." The stranger said, directing his gaze now at Chet.

“Who are you?” Chet glared at the nosy stranger.

"I'm the owner of this cafe. I do not want any disruptions in my business."

Chet gave the stranger and Alak a nasty look before turning his heels to leave.

The stranger gave Alak a friendly nod and went back to his seat which happened to be the next table over.

Alak felt a little embarrassed as he realized that the stranger must have heard everything. But he didn't have time to dwell on that. Alak looked at the three suitcases and a duffle bag in front of him. He needed to figure out what to do. Taking out his phone, he called his friend Nick.

Nick picked up by the second ring. “Hey, Alak, what's up?”

“Hey, can I crash at your place tonight?” Alan asked with his hand over the mouthpiece to muffle his voice.

“Well, my mother-in-law is visiting. I can ask Neem to sleep with her, and you can sleep with me if you don't mind. Are you okay? Did you fight with Chet again?” Nick asked with concern in his voice.

“No, actually don't worry about it. I'll call you later. I have to go.”

“Are you sure? We can make it work. You know?”

“No, it's really fine. I'll call you later. Bye.”

“Well, I'm here if you need to talk. Just call me. Bye.”

Alak sighed. He didn't want to impose on Nick when Nick had enough of his own problems. So Alak called Peter instead.

Peter picked up but fumbled around in the background for a moment before speaking, “Yo, what's up?”

“Hey, can I crash at your place tonight?”

“Sorry. I wish I could help you pal, but I'm on location in Phuket right now. And it's so damn windy today.”

“Oh, nevermind then.”

“Are you okay? Maybe try Nick. I'll be back in a week.”

“Yeah, okay. Don't worry. Bye.”

Alak didn't know what to do. He had other friends, but he didn't want to bother them. He couldn't help but let out another sigh.

"I have to go back to work in 20 mins. What am I going to do with all this? I can't take it to the office." Alak mumbled to himself.

The waitress walked over to Alak.

"Hello mister, you work in one of the offices upstairs right?"

Alak nodded, "Yes, I do. I know my things are in the way. I’ll take them with me right away if you just give me a few minutes to make some calls."

Alak picked his phone back up, but not really sure who to call.

"Actually, why don't you just leave them here with us until you get off. My boss says we can keep it safe in the storage room for you."

Alak turned to look for the stranger, but he was no longer sitting there. Checking his watch, and given his situation, he reluctantly accepted the offer.

He helped the waitress take his belongings to the storage room where she ensured that they would be safe. He thanked the waitress and promised to come to pick his stuff up after work. The waitress told him not to worry, and they closed at 9 pm, so he had plenty of time.

Alak didn't have time to deal with his breakup right now. He had a presentation to give today, so tears and all would just have to take a back seat for now. Alak spent his next two hours double-checking and triple-checking to make sure everything was perfect for the meeting. His year-end bonus depended on this project. His whole company depended on this project.

However, the heavens must be out to get him Alak thought to himself. He had been trying to get the damn projector to work for the last 10 minutes. Their clients have been just sitting there patiently waiting for him to start his presentation. While he had called for technical support, he was desperately trying to fix it himself.

The projector simply refused to cooperate and kept blinking like it was a nightclub. His annoying colleague John even made a joke about playing some music in front of the clients. He knew John was just being a prick because Alak's proposal was chosen over his. Luckily, after the technicians swapped out the broken projector with a new one everything else went smoothly. The clients were very happy with Alak's design of the structural layout for Bangkok's latest upcoming high-end property development.

Everyone in the industry wanted to get a piece of the pie and make a name for themselves. Sun Enterprise had hired some of the best architects, engineers, and builders for the project. The development will boast a five-star hotel, four residential high-rises, a high-end mega mall, and a conservatory garden in the center of it all. The whole development was the first of its kind as its theme was sustainability and going green. Everyone in the industry has their eyes on it, so Alak's company can't afford to fail. It's a miracle for their company to even land a project on this scale.

Alak has his work cut out for him. So his heartbreak will just have to wait.