Page 7 of Affogato

Bodhi didn’t even feel the sting of Ravi’s words. He felt strung out and wound too tightly. All of the sensations around him were equally high and he had no room to prioritize emotional hurt over the physical one. He just said nothing, curling his hands around the tea that was just slightly hotter than tepid.

His brother didn’t ever really get why Bodhi needed things a certain way, but Ravi had also seen how shredded Bodhi had been under the “tender loving care” of their grandparents, so he indulged him. Even if he thought it was ridiculous. The heat sank into his palms and felt instantly soothing.

“I think my work is in trouble. Well,” he amended. “I think my boss is in trouble.”

Ravi’s middle finger touched the side of his head and dropped down. “Why?”

“Class gave me a migraine today,” he started.

Ravi scoffed. “Because you won’t use a fucking interpreter.”

Bodhi let out a bone-deep sigh. “Can you not? Please? This isn’t about that.”

Ravi’s gaze hardened for a second before he relented, and he waved his hand. “Fine. Go on.”

“This girl stopped me in the hallway when I was trying to get out. One of the blonde ones with those sorority pins.”

Ravi grinned a little wickedly and Bodhi didn’t need to ask to know what that face meant. He was enjoying college in every way that people were meant to enjoy it, while Bodhi stood on the sidelines and tried to figure out why he couldn’t unwind enough to at least go on a date.

“Was she hot?”

“I don’t find women hot,” Bodhi said quietly.

Ravi’s mouth moved like he wanted to say something, and Bodhi strained to hear if he was making any noise, but he could only make out the faint tinnitus that never left him.

“Sorry,” Ravi eventually said. “Go on.”

Bodhi’s stomach started to ache again, and he sipped his tea, trying to chase off the nausea, but he couldn’t think about the night before without wanting to be sick. “My boss got dumped during my shift.”

Ravi’s brows shot up. “Seriously?”

“In front of everyone. His boyfriend—his ex,” he amended, remembering the devastated look on Caleb’s face, “took him outside and totally destroyed him. Said he was leaving him. Said he’d been cheating on him.”

Ravi’s face fell. “Shit.”

Bodhi let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah. It was so awful. And there were all these people with phones, and…” He trailed off with a stressed hum. His fingers started stimming, so he shoved his hands under the table and let them dance across his thighs. “I think one of the videos went viral. That’s what that girl showed me in the hall. She asked me to interpret it.”

“Did you?” Ravi asked.

Bodhi felt immediate, burning offense in his chest. “No. God, why would I do that?”

“Just asking,” Ravi said softly, Bodhi mostly reading the word from his lips. “Does your boss know about the video?”

“I don’t know. No one’s sent a text to the work chat or anything, but I’m…” He swallowed heavily and forced his fingers to stop moving so he could think about his words. “Do I have to tell him if he doesn’t know?”

Ravi’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“What if he comes into work and he has no idea that this video is going around, and these sorority girls are out here asking people to interpret the ASL? It’s so…it’s humiliating,” he blurted, choking on the word. “He was so upset last night, Rav. I don’t want to tell him. I don’t want to be one more person that has to hurt him.” He rocked gently in his seat, letting out another hum. It was the only thing that was soothing the chaos in his chest.

Ravi’s face did that thing it always did when he finally understood what Bodhi was trying to say, and he laid his hands on the table, leaning in close. “You don’t have to tell him. If it doesn’t affect his work, he doesn’t need to know. I mean, he saw the people too, right? The ones taking the video?”

Bodhi nodded. “Yeah. I think so. They were hard to miss.”

Ravi’s face fell into an expression of rage which mirrored the way Bodhi was feeling inside. “Fucking nosy assholes.”

Bodhi shrugged. “It happens all the time. Like…like whenever you and I used to—”

“I know,” Ravi said. “I get it.”

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