Milan didn’t bother me. I thought he would be spiteful by turning the TV up when I set up to study, but he did the opposite. After working for an hour, Milan came over to sit at the table with a plate of toast and a glass of water in hand. He looked to be interested in the material I had been pining over, but didn’t ask any questions, just watched me.

I was so deep into my Strategic Management textbook that I was surprised when my phone started vibrating next to me. When I glanced at the screen, it was only Rikki. No surprise there. Even if Jeff had called, I had already screened any notifications from him, so I wouldn’t have received anything.

“Hey, Baby Girl,” I answered, leaning back in the chair.

“Hey, Babe, where are you?” Rikki asked.

“At a friend’s house.” If I told her where I was, she would want to come to see me. Seeing as Sang had already warned me about having anyone I know show up at the hotel, I couldn’t risk her knowing where I was. She would want to check on me in person for sure.

“Vague answers again, I see. Are you safe?”

“Yeah. I’m actually studying. I should have given you a call earlier, but I forgot.”

Even though I lied to her all the time, Rikki knew something wasn’t right with me. I could be as careful as I wanted with my words, but as Sang had reminded me at breakfast, there were physical signs that I couldn’t hide. Rikki could tell that my life outside of school wasn’t all that great. It was why I imagined she insisted on buying me food, helping me study, and checking up on me even when she knew I’d just continue to lie and say that I was fine.

“You don’t need to be worried about me.” I spun my pen between my fingers. “I probably won’t show up to school aside from on exam days though. We only have a few more weeks to go anyway and I’m a bit preoccupied with life at the moment.”

“As long as you’re alright and you’re studying to get this last stretch over with, then I guess it’s fine.” She sighed heavily. “I don’t mean to be stifling or anything, but can you text me every now and then to let me know you’re alright?”

I smiled. “Yeah,” I agreed. “And I’ll bother you whenever I don’t understand what I’m reading because you are so much better at academics than I am.”

“Just make sure to keep in touch with me. If you go silent for too long, I’ll worry. You know I’m just a phone call away if you need anything.”

Rikki was too good. I didn’t need to pull her into my crap. I was already staying with two aliens and their pet human for now in a last-ditch effort to save my own ass. She didn’t need to be dragged into the details of how my life was.

“Of course,” I responded.

“I gotta go for now, but remember, the Strategic Management exam is tomorrow. Don’t forget. I could pick you up if you want.”

“I won’t forget, and... I’ll call you if anything.”

“Okay.”

“Bye.” I dropped my phone on the table with a sigh after hanging up, being suddenly reminded that Milan had been sitting at the table with me the whole time. “What?” I asked. He was staring.

“Nothing,” he answered, nibbling on the corner of his toasted bread. “I didn’t think you had any friends.”

“You don’t like me, do you?”

“Not really.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I was only going to entertain conversation because I needed a break. “Why?”

“You’re worrying my brother.”

“Your brother?”

“Aubyn. I don’t like seeing Aubyn upset, and you make him upset. So, no, I don’t like you.”

“How are you so sure I’m the cause of him being upset?” I asked.

Milan cocked one eyebrow. “Sang says Aubyn has a heart that’s too big, so he can’t just walk away from someone in need. This time, that person is you. But I can’t tell if you really want help or if you’re just playing around.” Milan tore the toast in half. “Sang and Aubyn want to help you, but I can’t tell what you want for sure. You look like you are more focused on trying to get Aubyn’s attention.”

He wasn’t that far off. I needed as much help as I could get. I wasn’t stupid enough not to know that. But I was having trouble making that my main focus. As much as I liked hearing that Aubyn and Sang wanted to help me, I highly doubted they could. It was bound to become obvious to them that they couldn’t do anything to change the way I was living now. Until then, I’d play along for the benefits of a decent place to stay every now and again for the time being

“Aubyn can’t be your real brother so you shouldn’t be so concerned about what he chooses to do,” I said to change the subject.

“But he is my brother.”

“Isn’t,” I corrected.

“Is!” Milan insisted.

“He’s an alien, and you’re human,” I pointed out. He must be delusional. “You can’t actually be related unless you are half-alien, which I doubt you are. Sang already told me you’re human.”

“Aubyn says he’s my brother and I believe him over you.”

“But you don’t share the same parents. Are you adopted?”

“I’m not adopted. We don’t share the same parents, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be his brother. I can be his brother because I want to be. We are closer than just friends.”

“Weird,” I muttered suddenly remembering what Aubyn said about ordering groceries. I took out my phone to text him. I never went grocery shopping, but I wanted to ask for at least one thing. “What kinds of stuff do Sang and Aubyn buy for you when they get groceries?”

“Yoghurt, fruits, milk, tea, ice cream and rice.”

I glanced at him briefly, waiting for the rest of the list. When it seemed he was done, I asked, “That’s it?” Though it wasn’t hard to notice that Milan didn’t eat much, I had expected more. He mostly just sat and picked at his food as he’d done with the slice of toast now torn to pieces on his plate.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “I always like those. I don’t care what else they bring home as long as I have those. What do you like?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been grocery shopping before, but Aubyn asked me to text him what I want from the store.” I frowned at the text box on my phone screen. “What do you recommend?”

“Well, you already know what I like. Sang eats everything, and Aubyn likes soup and stew. If you aren’t a picky eater, don’t bother asking for anything. If you like something, then ask for it. Do you like sweet things?”

“No.”

“Salty things?”

“Not particularly.”

“Savory things?”

“Yeah. Pizza.”

“Then ask for that.”

I pursed my lips to keep myself from frowning. He made it sound so simple, but my mind had blanked on what to ask for initially. Seeing as I couldn’t think of anything else, I did as Milan said and texted Aubyn that I wanted pizza.

“Who were you on the phone with before?”

“None of your business,” I replied instantly. I wanted to get back to studying, but just looking at the questionnaire at the end of the chapter made my head hurt. “How about you make yourself useful and quiz me for my exam tomorrow?” I slid the open book across the table and tapped the sections with the questions and answers. “Ask me these and then check if I answer correctly.”

Milan’s eyes wandered over the page, his eyebrows furrowing as he started mumbling things under his breath. “What… What even is this?”

“It’s the textbook for my Strategic Management class. You don’t need to understand it. You just have to make sure my response matches what the answers are.”

“Oh… I can’t help you,” Milan said, sliding the book back over to me.

“Why? You’re not exactly doing anything else.”

“I can’t read that.”

I sighed. “I know it’s confusing with all the unnecessarily large words, but you don’t have to understand it. You just have to read it out loud-”

“Did you not hear me?” Milan asked, leaning forward over the table. He was clearly growing frustrated. “I can’t read it.”

I froze for a moment, my eyes watching him as he stood with his dishes and brought them back to the kitchen. I stood from my seat, looking over the counter at him. “You can’t… read?”

“Nope. Well, sort of. I can read some books and work stuff, but that’s simple. And I can recognize my name, Aubyn’s name, and Sang’s name, but that’s about it. Your book is too complicated.”

But he was speaking English like the average native. “Can you write?”

“I suck at that, but I can type.”

I couldn’t find the words to describe how stunned I was. I’d barely made it through high school, and Peter had withdrawn me for a few years all because he didn’t think I needed to be forced to learn another language. He had homeschooled me and done a shit job of it, but I somehow managed to transition back into a traditional school system and make it to college.

Someone being without education wasn’t normal in this day and age. Education was free for the most part. Every year from kindergarten to the last year of university wasn’t something to worry about. So, how could someone not have access to that? The basics like learning to read and write should have been taught to him, even if he had dropped out of school at some point.