Chapter 20
“Hey, Daniel.”
Casey’s voice stopped him from his dash out of the house.
He was going to be late for work and should have left ten minutes ago.
Like always, he’d lost track of time while talking with Jensen and probably would have missed half his shift if his bladder hadn’t protested at being ignored a moment longer.
Ending the call with Jensen had revealed just how late it had gotten, which had Daniel sweating.
He didn’t have time for a roommate chat before getting in his car, especially since the last time he’d seen his boss, she was telling him to get the fuck out of her hotel for the weekend.
Being late wasn’t a good way to get back in her good graces.
Which he desperately needed if he was going to survive.
“Yeah?” he asked, keeping his hand on the door so he could make his escape the moment Casey stopped talking.
“I haven’t seen your portion of rent being transferred over. I’m sure you’re already planning on sending it, just thought I’d give you a reminder that I need to get it in by midnight.”
Daniel’s hand tightened on the doorknob.
Rent. Of course. Because it was the first of the month again.
Which meant his car insurance would have been transferred out of his account that morning.
Along with his student loan payment. And his phone bill.
And his gym membership. All out of his savings account that had less money in it than it needed.
He didn’t have his credit cards set to automatically pay out like his other bills as a precaution to make sure he had enough for everything.
A late payment on his cards only cost twenty-five dollars, and that was so negligible compared to the ocean of debt already on them that Daniel had just stopped caring.
But he couldn’t get out of paying rent. He didn’t think his roommates would kick his ass to the curb if he was late; at least, he hoped they wouldn’t. Daniel still didn’t want to be a burden to them.
Besides, he was a grown man, dammit. He didn’t need his roommates covering for him. It would be endlessly humiliating to tell them he couldn’t balance a fucking checkbook and needed them to pay his portion until he could come up with the funds like a grifter.
No way. He wasn’t going to put that on them. No, he’d get to work, check his bank account, and figure out a way to send Casey the rent payment.
“Yeah, I’ll get that over to you.”
“Thanks, doll. Don’t have too much fun at work!” Casey shouted over his shoulder as he left the hallway leading to their front door.
Daniel shook the unease settling over his shoulders and stood up straight. Everything would be fine. Surely he had enough to send over to Casey. If he had to skip this month’s credit card payment, then he’d deal with the consequences later.
Slipping out the door before anything else could fall apart on him, Daniel got into his car, turned it on, and started up his music. With a joyfully emo song blasting that drowned out the squealing, he pulled away from the curb and began his commute to the Lillian.
Daniel refused to let the uneasy feeling in his gut take hold.
Everything would be okay. And there was no sense in worrying about it when he had to focus on pulling as many tips as he could from behind the bar.
Besides, he had gotten paid for his night with Kassandra, including her generous tip.
Sure, he had taken too many days off to spend with Jensen, but he’d also done quite a few bar shifts before leaving.
And there was nothing to worry about, not more than usual.
Daniel always figured things out. He was no stranger to tough times and had been much closer to homelessness in the past. He could just move some things around, maybe ask Lucinda for his paycheck early, and he’d give Casey the cash by the end of the night.
There was certainly no sense in worrying.
Not when his life had been improving. In the past few months, he’d felt more alive and happier than he had in years.
He had a man that wanted to move across the country just to be with him.
A stable and not at all toxic man who’d introduced Daniel to his parents the moment he could.
It wasn’t some hidden affair like the ones he saw too often at the Lillian or any of the rushed and casual relationships he’d had in college.
He had a real future with Jensen, if they could figure out how to live closer to each other.
But even a thousand miles apart, Daniel felt closer to him than he had anyone else in his life.
And he did have people in his life. He wasn’t sure if he could call his roommates super great friends quite yet, but he was certainly on his way there.
They cared about Daniel, which was obvious from the way they’d stepped in when he was packing for his spontaneous trip, how they’d pulled him out of his misery and dragged him to the party over the weekend.
He could already see their friendship taking root, much more than it had in the years they’d lived together. It almost made him feel like an idiot for not attempting to get close to them before now.
So everything was great. He had a boyfriend he really liked. And friends that cared about his well-being. And he still had a steady job. And he was alive and healthy. And …
And that didn’t feel right. His steering wheel was suddenly much harder to use; the right turn he was trying to execute was taking all his strength.
Unless Daniel had spontaneously lost all the muscle in his arms, his power steering was going out.
But that was fine. Maybe it was a good thing.
He could skip arm day at the gym for the foreseeable future.
A difficult steering wheel would make up for all the handies he was no longer giving at work.
Satisfied with his excellent problem-solving skills, which included ignoring problems until they became part of his routine and no longer bugged him, Daniel turned his music up another couple notches and continued on his way.
Except the temperature gauge on his dashboard started climbing.
Which was also fine! It was hot outside, so it made sense that his car was getting warm.
Just not that warm.
Daniel chewed on his lower lip and continued driving.
The hotel was another fifteen minutes away, and he was going to make it.
Then he could park his car in the parking garage and let it cool while he worked.
By the time his shift ended, the sun would be down, and the temperature would drop at least five degrees, if not more. And his engine wouldn’t overheat.
And everything would be fine.
And maybe God herself would come down in a heavenly ray to give him two million dollars and a heartfelt apology for the time he’d sat in a person’s piss on the subway in New York.
Or not.
The temperature of the engine kept climbing higher and higher until it was kissing the top of the gauge. Easing off the gas, he crept down the road, people honking at him and passing. It was the only thing he could think of doing to stop his engine from getting hotter.
It didn’t work.
He still had over ten minutes before arriving at work when smoke started hissing out the sides of the hood.
At that point, even Daniel—the veritable king of ignoring his own problems—couldn’t ignore it anymore.
With a herculean effort, he turned the car into the next parking lot he came to and put it in park. In the hot cab, he took a few breaths, his eyes squeezed closed and sweat gathering at his hairline. Fuck. Fuck. This was not good.
After taking in one more ragged breath, he turned off his car, popped the hood, and got out.
The sun beat down on him, causing the sweat on his skin to spill over and run down the side of his face.
This was not how he wanted to show up for a shift, and he’d have to find an empty room to take a quick shower in. Which would make him even later.
Daniel rounded the car and started fumbling for the latch under the hood, pulling away with a sharp inhale when the metal burned his hand. He shook off the pain and stepped back to watch steam roll out from under the rusted metal.
Fuck.
Fucking dick and balls.
The car wasn’t getting him to work. That much was obvious.
He would have to get a rideshare. He would also have to get a tow truck to haul the trash he used for transportation over to a repair shop.
And while he was at it, he would need to find a person with black market connections so he could sell his kidney.
He looked up at the clear blue sky and blinked a few times, trying to get his emotions under control. He wasn’t even mad. He was just tired. So fucking tired of things going wrong.
Of not having enough money to cover his bills.
Of not getting to take a break from his endless work and problems and tragedies that just wouldn’t. Stop. Coming.
Of not knowing where he’d be in five years. Or even next year.
Of not having someone there to help him, to say they’d take his load off his shoulders and not just out of his balls.
None of that would be solved by standing in the middle of a parking lot, the sun heating his skin and time ticking by, though. He pulled out his phone and opened his banking app. First things first, he needed to see how much money he had and if he could afford a rideshare and still send Casey rent.
The balance displayed after entering his credentials had his knees going weak and him rushing to the side of his car to hold himself up.
Less than three hundred dollars. Less than three hundred dollars.
Daniel let his knees give out, the rust-eaten car scraping against his back as he slid down and sat his ass heavily on the grimy asphalt.
He didn’t have enough for rent and utilities. He might not even have enough for a tow truck. He certainly didn’t have enough for whatever stupid expensive repairs his car needed. Because it would be expensive. Daniel’s luck wouldn’t allow for an easy and cheap fix.