When The Rich Son Falls

Twenty One

“Alright, you have two choices. The couch or the attic.”

That was the first thing that James had said once they stepped into his house. The interior looked exactly like it did in Nicki’s pictures, only in person, it was much cleaner and it wasn’t crowded with people.

The layout of the house seemed pretty straightforward and typical. There was a living room with one long couch and a regular sized TV, then there was the small kitchen, a steep and narrow wooden staircase leading up to the attic, and two closed doors that Topher could only assume were James’s bedroom and the bathroom.

“I’m guessing that asking for the bedroom would be too much?” Topher asked as he took off his hat and sunglasses. James looked at him as if to say that he had to be joking, but he wasn’t, of course.

“It would be, yes,” James stated as he helped Topher pull in one of his luggage. “Okay, pros and cons. The couch has little privacy and the length might be a bit uncomfortable for your height, but it’s cool and airconditioned down here, with an easy access to the kitchen and the bathroom. For the attic, I’ve already dusted around it so it’s clean up there. It’s private, has a mattress, more spacious, but you’d have to share the space with a few storage boxes and it can get warm in the middle of the day.”

Topher walked to the stairs and tried to peek up, then looked at the couch that would obviously cause him back and neck pains. “I’ll take the attic, thank you very much,” he said as he began to look around the kitchen.

“Good. You can have the drinks in the refrigerator, but don’t mess with the—” James stopped and sighed, “with that.”

Topher froze with a leaf of lettuce half-eaten in his hand, then quickly chewed and swallowed. “What? It’s just lettuce,” he said in his defense. “I’m hungry.”

“You’re messing up the proportions that I already set for meals,” James said as he shut the door of the refrigerator that Topher had opened.

“Oh,” Topher bit his lower lip guiltily, then proceeded to eat the rest of the leaf. “Sorry. I’ll pay for your lettuce.” He took out a bill from the bag of money on his shoulder and placed it on the table.

James looked at the money and sighed. “That’s not—”

“Ah, speaking of which, here is my share for the food and for the stay.” Topher began to take out more bills, counted them, then placed them in a pile on the table. “I’ve already factored in the electric and water bills that I might use up. Also, for my laundry.”

James frowned at the money then up at the man who placed them there. “This is too much. Way too much,” he said incredulously. “Also, do you really think that I’ll be cooking for you and doing your laundry?”

“Can’t you? I’ll pay extra for the manpower. How much do you charge per hour?” Topher innocently took out a few more bills. “Is this enough?”

“I—no,” James firmly said, pushing the mountain of money towards its owner. “I can help you buy detergent and other stuff you’ll need at the store, or I can teach you how to use the washing machine and dryer, but I’m not doing your laundry or cook for you. The only thing I agreed to doing was to let you stay in my home. That’s it. No amount of money can change that.”

Topher’s mouth opened as he looked taken aback and offended. “I am deeply hurt to learn that your kindness has bounds, James,” he stated disapprovingly.

“It does, so get used to it. And letting you become dependent on me is not a form of kindness if it’ll only reinforce your laziness and lack of basic skills.” Without waiting for a reply, James walked away and went through one of the doors in the living room. Topher followed him, but stopped by the doorway and simply peeked into the bedroom. It was relatively neat, with just a few used clothes on the back of a chair and some books on the desk, but aside from those, it looked like a relatively regular and unimpressive bedroom.

“I guess this means you’re also not down to helping me scrub my back?” Topher asked even though he knew the answer, for he simply just wanted an excuse to stand by the door. He could spot a few framed pictures by the bedside table, but he couldn’t quite see them properly.

“What do you think?” James asked with a deadpan expression. He placed his phone on the desk and began to rummage through his closet.

“I mean, my kindness has no bounds. If you need someone to scrub your back for you, like in those Korean spas, I’m totally down to help you out.”

James simply ignored him—which was something that he had learnt to do quite well—when his phone let out a small “Ding!” that made him and Topher look at it simultaneously. Topher saw a message pop up on the screen, but before he could make anything out, James was quick to turn the device over.

Seeing his reaction, Topher whistled and teasingly smiled. “Who’s that? And why are you so quick to hide it?”

James went back to the closet and reached for something high up. “It’s none of your business,” was all he said about the matter before he walked back to Topher. “Here’s my extra set of keys. I won’t be home until late so don’t forget to lock up before you go to sleep.” He handed the keys to Topher then proceeded to neatly fold a decent shirt and pants into a bag.

“Oh, where are you going on a Friday afternoon?” Topher wiggled his eyebrows excitedly. “A date? A party? A date?”

“I’m going to help out with the festival.”

“And you require a set of extra clothes for that?”

That made James stop what he was doing for a second. “I-it’s—it can get warm, and it’s uncomfortable staying in sweaty clothes so…” he quickly zipped up his bag and looked indignantly at Topher as he passed by him to get out of the room. “And then after, I’m going out to have dinner with my friends.”

“Mmm-kay,” said Topher who was clearly unconvinced.

James looked like he was about to say something more but decided against it at the last second. Instead, he walked to the front door and changed his shoes, saying, “Don’t burn down the house. If you get hungry, there’s a telephone there and a bunch of numbers for restaurants that deliver, or you can go to the hotel. If you need me, my number’s there as well, but only use it for emergencies. I don’t want my phone bill skyrocketing.”

Topher sat on top of the couch’s back rest and nodded. “Okay, I get it.”

“If there’s a fire, the extinguisher is right over there, and the emergency hotlines are also over—”

“Relax, I got it. I think I know how not to burn down a house,” Topher confidently said, gesturing as if to shoo him away. “Go on, go on.”

“I highly doubt that,” he heard James mutter under his breath before he opened the door. He looked back reluctantly at Topher and put one foot out the door. “Okay, then I guess I’m going.”

“Bye.” Topher waved at him, but he still didn’t leave.

“Don’t touch my things and don’t—”

“Goodbye, James,” Topher repeated imposingly, making James hesitantly and slowly begin to close the door.

“Bye,” he quietly said at the last second before the door finally shut.

Topher stood up and looked out of the window to watch the man with amusement as he looked back three or four times at the house, while he made his way to his vehicle. Once he was finally gone, Topher carried his luggage up the steep stairs and placed them in the attic. The ceiling was low, and it was warm that afternoon—much like what James had warned him about—but it still seemed much better than sleeping on the streets. James even took the time and laid out extra towels and sheets on the mattress that he had set up, making it feel like a dingier version of the hotel room he stayed in.

Without bothering to unpack, Topher went down and walked around the house. Although, there wasn’t much walking to be done since the place wasn’t that big. He checked the different sticky notes that James had stuck to the fridge, which contained different phone numbers and reminders that Topher didn’t bother to read. He then looked into the cupboards, the drawers, and the bathroom; but much to his credit, he didn’t go inside the bedroom out of respect. Then when he had nothing more to explore, he sat on the couch and looked around, completely bored.

At least, when he was still in the hotel, he had the staff to keep him company and his goal to keep him busy; but now that he had achieved it, he found that he had so much time and not much to do.

So, Topher looked for something to do, and somehow in his search later that night, he found himself in a strange bar three towns over, pants stained with alcohol, and rushing to follow a masked man through the crowd.