A Note

"Hello... this is Chase's phone. May I know who's speaking?"

"Hello..." There was a brief pause. "Um... I received a call from this number earlier."

Still serving the customers, I glanced toward the counter.

"Who is it, Alvin?"

"I don't know. It's a man," Alvin replied, handing me the phone.

"Oh, right. Alvin, could you please take care of the customers for a while? I'll be back in a few minutes."

With that, I walked out of the café.

Alvin stood there, slightly stunned, before making his way over to Eric.

"Don't you think Chase seems... different today?" he asked.

"Different?" Eric frowned.

"I think something's definitely going on."

After a moment of silence, he continued,

"He didn't come to college today, and when he was explaining why, he kept stuttering. It was almost like he was hiding something from us."

The two exchanged suspicious glances.

Then, as if the same thought had crossed their minds at once, they both exclaimed,

"Don't tell me... he's dating someone!"

Eric's eyes widened.

"If that's true..."

A small smile tugged at his lips before his expression turned serious again.

"Then we'll have to keep a very close eye on Chase."

Alvin nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. We can't let our best friend get his heart broken."

The two of them looked toward the café entrance, completely unaware that the truth was far more complicated than they could ever imagine.

"Besides..." Alvin sighed, worry evident in his voice.

"Chase has struggled enough in his life."

He lowered his gaze before continuing softly,

"I don't want him to go through any more pain."

Eric remained silent for a moment before giving a firm nod.

"I won't let anyone hurt him."

Meanwhile, outside the café...

I brought the phone to my ear.

"Hello... I'm Chase."

There was a brief silence.

"Actually... Mr. Lorenzo must have called you from this number earlier."

The man on the other end immediately asked,

"How do you know Lorenzo?"

Before I could answer, another anxious question followed.

"Is he alright?"

His worried tone caught me off guard.

"Yes, he's fine," I reassured him calmly.

"Last night, Mr. Lorenzo collapsed right outside my house. He was covered in blood and had several injuries."

I paused briefly before continuing.

"He's conscious now and resting at my house. I treated his wounds, and-"

Before I could finish, the man interrupted me.

"Tell me your location."

His voice had turned firm.

"I'm coming there right now."

"I'm sorry, sir," I replied hesitantly. "I'm currently at work."

After a short pause, I added,

"If you'd like to meet him, I can give you my home address."

Without wasting another second, the man said,

"Fine. Tell me your address."

"Alright... please write it down."

I took a deep breath before slowly reading it out.

"17 Lindenstraße,

Maple Grove District,

Eisenwald,

Germany - 11027."

"That's my address, sir."

"Thank you."

His voice softened ever so slightly.

"Just take good care of Lorenzo."

There was a brief pause.

"I'll be there tonight."

Before I even had the chance to say goodbye, the call ended.

I stared at the phone screen for a moment.

"Who was that man?" I wondered.

"And... who exactly is Lorenzo?"

For some reason, I had a feeling that my peaceful life was about to change forever.

Shaking those thoughts away, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and walked into the café.

The moment I pushed the door open, I noticed Alvin and Eric staring at me.

"...What?" I asked, looking at them in confusion.

"Is everything alright?"

Eric folded his arms across his chest, his suspicious gaze never leaving my face.

"Who was it?"

"W-Who?" I stammered.

"The phone call."

"Oh..."

I let out a small sigh as I remembered.

"Actually, on my way to the café this morning, a random man asked if he could borrow my phone to make a call."

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly before continuing.

"But the person he was trying to reach didn't answer. So I told him that if I received a call from that number later, I'd let him know he had called."

I smiled sheepishly.

"So... it was that person's call."

Alvin cut him off with a laugh. "See, Eric? I told you our Chase wouldn't hide anything from us."

"Alright, I admit you were right," Eric said.

Then, after a brief pause, his expression turned serious. "But... if I ever find out you're hiding something from us, you won't like the consequences."

He sounded threatening, but there was unmistakable affection behind his words.

"Yes, my little angry bird. I won't hide anything from you," I replied, pulling Eric into a warm hug.

Meanwhile, at Chase's house that afternoon...

Lorenzo was asleep on the bed.

Suddenly, he jolted awake. Placing a hand on his forehead, he whispered,

"Why...?"

It was as if he had remembered something he never wanted to remember again.

He remained seated on the bed in silence for a while.

After a few moments, he reached for the glass of water on the bedside table.

Just then, his eyes fell on a photo frame resting beside the glass.

The photograph showed Chase standing next to another man who appeared to be older than him.

Lorenzo picked up the glass of water and took a few sips.

He was just about to reach for the photo frame when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Startled, Lorenzo looked toward the door.

Using the wall for support, he slowly made his way downstairs. When he opened the front door, no one was there.

Instead, a takeaway food bag had been left on the doorstep.

Lorenzo bent down, picked it up, and noticed a small note attached to it.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lorenzo, that you had to come downstairs. But eating is important if you want to recover quickly. Please eat your meal, get some rest, and don't forget to take your medicine."

- Chase

Holding the takeaway bag, Lorenzo slowly made his way back upstairs to the bedroom.

As he unpacked the food, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"He's such a little brat."

Despite his words, there was a warmth in his smile that hadn't been there before.

Author:-

I hope you guys enjoyed Part 2 of this novel! Please stay tuned for Part 3.

And don't forget to share your feedback with me. Your thoughts and suggestions mean a lot and will help me improve. Thank you for reading! 💙

Happy Reading 💙

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