Page 108 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

When she gave me the sketches, I was shocked. Megan was an art major so I wasn’t surprised by her drawing skills. What shocked me was how accurate she sketched the products I wanted to make. I’d described them to her, but in a rough way, not in any detail. Yet her sketches were exactly what I imagined. It’s like she went into my head and could see what I was envisioning. It proved how connected we were, on a level I still can’t explain.

Seeing those sketches, I loved Megan even more. She was determined to make me follow through on a dream I never thought would happen. She pushed me to start my company. To me, it was a side business, not something I thought would make enough money to live off of, so I continued down the path of being a lawyer and got a job at a law firm while also running the company. A few months into the job, Megan knew it wasn’t for me. I’m a free spirit. I like to make my own schedule. Be my own boss. She told me to quit and focus on growing the company, which I did, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The company took off and made me a very rich man. But I never would’ve done it if it weren’t for Megan. When she died, I decided I couldn’t keep the company. It was something we’d built together, and it didn’t seem right to continue it without her.

When Trina showed me that sketch in the storage room today, all those memories from the past came rushing back. Memories of being in college with Megan, graduating together, buying the house, asking her to marry me. That one piece of paper with a simple sketch is all it took to take me back there.

I didn’t want to tell Trina who did the sketches and I got angry when she kept asking. Even if I wanted to tell her, I couldn’t do it. Whenever I talk about Megan, I feel like I did when I lost her. The heartache. The pain. The anger that she’s gone. I feel those emotions just like I did back then. It’s like I’m reliving the most horrible time of my life.

That’s why I lost my temper today, but it doesn’t make it okay. Trina didn’t do anything wrong. All she did was ask some questions. But in that moment, seeing that sketch, I was lost in the past. I couldn’t find my way back to the present. My emotions were running high and I didn’t want to talk or answer her questions, or even be around her. I just wanted to get out of there.

“Hey, are you doing anything?” I ask Cole when he answers my call. It’s just after five and I’m back at my apartment.

“I’m watching TV. Why? What do you need?”

“Can you come down here? I need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Just get down here and I’ll tell you.”

A few minutes later, Cole walks in with a plate of cookies. “It’s a new recipe. Chocolate with mint chips. I made them for this girl I’m going out with who loves anything mint. I had some extras so I thought I’d share.”

“Thanks,” I say, pacing the floor. “Just put them in the kitchen.”

He goes over there and sets the plate on the counter. “What’s going on? Why are you wearing a suit? And why do you look like you want to punch someone?”

“The suit is because I just got back from a client meeting. And the only person I want to punch is myself.” I yank my tie off and toss it on the couch, still pacing the floor. “I really screwed up.”

He comes over to the couch and sits down. “You screwed up at your meeting?”

“No, with Trina. I lost it today when we were in the storage room. I yelled at her, and then I wouldn’t talk to her, and then I left. I just left her there, with no explanation. And now I feel like shit.”

“What the hell happened? You guys get in a fight?”

“No.” I sit down on the couch. “She brought up Megan.”

Cole’s eyes widen. “You told her about Megan?”

I shake my head. “She asked me about the sketches. The ones Megan did that pushed me to start the company.”

“I didn’t know you still had those.”

“I was going to toss them when I moved here, but I couldn’t do it. I still can’t.”

“Then don’t. You should keep them. They’re really good, and they’re what inspired you to start the company. If I were you, I’d frame some of them. Hang them in your office.”

“And be reminded of her daily?” I huff. “Yeah, I don’t think so. And it wasn’t the sketches that inspired me. It was the person who did them.” I rub my jaw, gazing at the floor. “God, I miss her. I miss her so much.”

“I know.” He moves over on the couch, closer to me. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah.” I sigh. “You could tell me what to do about Trina.”

“You could apologize. Say you were in a bad mood and didn’t mean to take it out on her.”

“But I wasn’t in a bad mood. I was in a great mood before she asked me about the sketches. She’s not going to believe that my mood changed that fast unless I explain why.”

“What’d she want to know about the sketches?”

“She thought I did them. I told her I didn’t, so she asked who did. That’s when I got angry. I said I didn’t know who did them, but she wouldn’t let it go. I told her to drop it and that I didn’t want to talk anymore. She got this sad look on her face, like she thought I was ending things between us. I should’ve told her it wasn’t true, but I didn’t. I was too caught up in the past. I was having all these memories of Megan going through my head and I couldn’t deal with Trina. I told her to hurry up and finish the storage room so we could be done with it. And then my client called and I left to go to the meeting.”

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