Leo waited until he saw his mum walk out of the apartment building and round the street corner before he went back inside the apartment. His mum was right, about the flat, about not having kids. She wasn't meaning to be offensive, she was doing the 'Carol' thing of pointing out the reasons for the 'why' and her 'why' in this situation was because Leo didn't have anyone else to pay for but himself. But he knew damn well that he'd spent most of his savings keeping himself afloat the past 6 months.
Leo sat at the small table in his kitchenette, barely able to fit, and opened up his phone. He'd had to disconnect his CILLA service a few months back, just to try and save some cash, so he controlled everything manually. He opened his Zenith banking app, and realised that he barely had a fifth of what his mum asked for. He slammed his hand down on the small table, which was already loose where the printcrete had crumbled away from the bolts, nearly ripping it off entirely. A letter fell from the table and hit the floor. Leo leaned down to pick it up. He read the heading, unsure what it was, as it was mixed in with a whole pile of other papers thrown on the table.
"AEGIS SECURITY
DATE: 17 FEBRUARY 2090
SUBJECT: LETTER OF TERMINATION"
Leo balled the letter up and threw it across the room. His head dropped into his waiting hands, as he fought to hold back the tears.
"Fuck sake man. It wasn't even me. Why didn't they just fucking listen?! And now my dad's..." Leo roared again, slamming his entire arm down through the kitchenette table, breaking it into pieces. He grabbed the remnants still attached to printcrete wall and dragged it from its moorings. The piece flew through the air, landing somewhere across the other side of the apartment. Leo collapsed to the floor, sobbing.
Whilst on the floor, another letter caught Leo's eye.
"Following the referral by:
Daniel Ashworth
We are pleased to invite you to an interview for the position of..."
He'd missed it. Daniel had managed to get him an interview at Calder Energy, but Leo never went because he'd got the dates mixed up. When he called, 30 minutes late, the receptionist routed him to a pre-recorded message that thanked him for his enquiry but any missed interviews cannot be rescheduled. It wished him luck in his future endeavours. This was the reason he got blind drunk last night. He balled this letter up too and was about to launch it across the room when he had a realisation.
"Broski!"
Leo decided he needed some fresh air, and time to think of what he was going to say to Daniel. He jumped in the shower, hoping the cold water would help sober him up. He got dressed, grabbed his phone and left the apartment.
He walked down the street, away from the block of flats he'd lived in since he left home. Lower-east Alderbourne was a dense, old part of the city. It was the first housing district built following the war, so the oldest prints in the city. It was dispassionately called "The Cliffs" by most others, due to the number of apartment blocks built along the city's eastern edge. That, and the fact they were now all crumbling.
Leo took out his phone, opened his contacts, scrolled down to "B" and took a deep breath before dialling.
Daniel was the eldest of Carol's three sons: a family man who had worked his whole adult life. He hadn't achieved the career highs of either of his two younger siblings, but he was a hard worker, and dependable. "Broski," as Leo would affectionately call him, was his second hero, after his father. He’d seen the respect his mum had for Daniel, when Leo was a teenager and Daniel left home, got married, had kids. He was desperate for her to treat him the same way. He loved his oldest brother, and despite Leo's flaws, Daniel loved him, too.
"Yoo whaddup, Broski?!"
"Sup, Leo. I'm at work. What's up?" Polite, but firm. Daniel was clearly busy.
"Ah, my bad. Do you have five minutes?" Leo sounded like a fifteen-year-old, something that often happened when he spoke to Broski.
"Yeah, five minutes. What's up?"
"I know what you're gonna say..."
"Then don't ask me."
"Don't be like that, bro, I'm just saying—"
"What's up, Leo? I'm at work and I'm busy." The well-practised dad-voice came in handy, not just for speaking to his own children.
"Sorry, Broski. I'm gonna tell you something serious. But you CANNOT let mum know. So please, keep it between me 'n you? Don’t even tell Clara, please bro." Leo had regressed to a thirteen-year-old.
"Leo, I promise, spit it out dude."
"I missed the interview yesterday. I'm such a fuckin' idiot and I'm so sorry but...you remember when you asked if I'd be ok, money-wise? Broski, I'm brassic, and that interview was my last shot. I don't know-"
"How much?" Daniel was typically a patient man, but he also preferred straight talk to long, drawn-out speeches.
"Forty grand."
“Are you takin' the piss?!” Daniel exclaimed, squeezing the bridge of his nose.
"Broski, please," Leo stammered, "don’t be like that. I know it's a lot. Too much. But it'll tide me over until I can get a job."
"Can you not just sell your flat, move back in with mum and dad? She's still got your old room, set up like a shrine it is."
" I can’t. Sell my flat, or live at home. First, mum would kill me if she knew I got fired. Second, remember Sharice? We dated for like, two years? After Adam helped me pay off the flat, I ended up remortgaging, so I could put a deposit down on a new place for her, she said me and her needed a home to start a family."
"Why am I only finding out about this now, Leo? Wait, you're still living at the Cliffs, aren't ya?"
"Yeah. Not long after I put a deposit down on her new place, started moving my shit into hers, I caught the bitch sleeping with Nick from work. Fucking hate that guy!!"
"Jesus, Leo. Okay, okay. Erm...Look, my lunch break is almost over but, come round tonight, come say hi to the girls. I'll think about it until then."
"Bro! You're a life saver, seriously I'm gonna-"
"I said I'll think about it. If I can I'll transfer the money tonight but, I need time, dude." Daniel sounded sombre, like he had a heavy decision to make.
"I get that, I do, I'm just glad you are even considering it."
"Whatever, Leo. Look, this ain't a gift. It’s a loan. I always save as much as I can, given how expensive it is to look after a family nowadays. But, seriously, this money is for my kids. I love you bro, and I'd never see you suffer. But don’t fuck with my kids. They come first. Don't let me down. And let me see if I can sweet talk my boss into giving you a second chance at an interview.”
“Bro, I promise, I will get that money back. I love those girls like they were my own. What time you finish?"
"Five. Come round for like, half five, six o'clock. Gives me chance to come home, say hello to everyone. You want tea with us?"
"Yeah, that would be awesome. Thank you, bro."
"Don't mention it. Literally. See ya tonight."
"See ya tonight. Love you, broski."
Leo sighed heavily as he ended the call. "Fuck Sharice. Fuck Nick. Fuck Aegis." He started to tear up again, thinking about what he just told Daniel. He wiped his eye with his forearm and continued to walk away from The Cliffs.