Page 18 of Baby, It's You
“Bummer.”
Trying to move this exchange along, I give her a small smile and say, “If I could just grab his stuff quickly, that would be great. I don't want to get caught in the rain with all of the boxes.”
“Yeah, of course! Let me get out of the way. Everything is in the corner next to the couch.” She motions behind her.
“Awesome, thanks,” I tell her.
“He should be the one thanking you,” she murmurs. “If I had to stare at his stuff for one more day, I was going to list everything on Facebook Marketplace so I could get some money out of the breakup.” She begins laughing once more and I’m not sure if she's being serious or kidding about selling the stuff. I wouldn’t blame her, though.
Ivy steps aside to let me into the apartment and I walk to the corner that is jampacked with overflowing boxes of clothes and random items. There are two boxes that say “porn” in huge marker letters. I turn and look at her.
“Sorry,” she says, “I thought one of his loser poker player friends would be coming to grab the stuff, so I wanted to mess with them.”
“Gotcha.” I scratch my neck. “No problem.”
She continues, “I’m going to my room to shower. Just shut the front door for me when you're done.”
“Will do,” I say as she goes to her room and closes the door. Avenged Sevenfold begins blasting a few seconds later.I bet the upstairs neighbor loves her, I sarcastically think to myself. She’s a little kooky, just leaving a man she doesn’t know alone in her living room. I mean, I’m a decent guy, so she has nothing to worry about, but does she do this with everyone? Is this how she ended up with someone like Dennis in the first place? She trusts easily, I’m assuming.
I lift the two boxes labeled “porn” and turn the writing so they face my stomach. Then I rush them to the back seat of mytruck. I jog back to get the next few boxes, trying to beat the storm.
Fifteen minutes later, I finish loading everything, my back seat stuffed with boxes. I wipe my sweaty forehead with my white tee and then reach down to grab my phone out of my pocket. I don't feel it and I realize it must have fallen out while I was moving Dennis’s stuff. I quickly walk back to the sidewalk and look up and down. I notice it right next to the curb by the street and feel relieved the screen isn't cracked since I must have dropped it while moving the boxes.
As I reach down and pick it up, I hear someone cry out. Shoving my phone in my pocket, I turn around. I see woman about thirty feet down the sidewalk with a giant laundry basket that’s fallen over, clothes blowing down the street from a strong gust of wind. I run over to help her and hear her sob as I get closer. She has her back to me, and I grab a shirt and towel that are on the ground near my leg.
“Excuse me, miss. These are yours, I think,” I tell her and walk closer.
At that moment, she turns around and mumbles, “Thanks,” while reaching out her hand. I sharply intake a breath when we make eye contact. I feel like lightning has just struck me.
It’s Olive.
Chapter 15
Olive
Ilook up to see Hunter, the guy from last night, in front of me.You have got to be kidding me. I hold back my tears and reach my hand towards his, taking the clothes that he picked up for me. He then runs around the parking lot and retrieves my other items that have blown across the street before I can compose myself more to help. Hunter sets the last few things in my laundry basket and looks at me.
“Thank you,” I murmur, giving him a quick glance. A leftover tear falls down my cheek and I quickly swipe it away, hoping that he doesn’t notice.
“No problem.” He gives me a soft smile and tilts his head down towards me.
“How are you always here to witness me at my worst?” I groan and look away. “Well, my worst twenty-four hours,” I add. Then I realize how insane it is that he’s here right now and turn back to face him. “Also, what are you doing here…where I live?”
“To be fair, I caused what happened to you yesterday. If I wasn’t at the bar, that never would have happened to you.” He pulls at the hem of his white shirt that sticks to his torso with sweat. “Also, I promise I’m not a stalker.” He laughs. “I just came here to pick up some stuff for a family member.”
“Cool, cool,” I respond, trying to appear nonchalant as I grab my basket. I want to get out of this conversation quickly, so I muster up as much enthusiasm as possible before saying. “Well, thanks! Bye!”
I can feel him staring at my bruises as I walk past, and I ignore the urge to meet his eyes. The universe has to be laughing at me right now. Putting this man in my presence again after last night is basically comical. I’m just waiting for a sinkhole to open and swallow me up at this point.
“Wait,” he calls out from behind me. I keep walking but he jogs to meet up with me on the sidewalk anyway. Once he is next to me, I stop and turn to him.
He bites his lip lightly, and I can tell he wants to say something.
“Yes?” I ask him, while struggling to keep my tone from sounding impatient. I glance at the sky behind Hunter and see heat lightning dash across it.Great.
He pushes his hair back from his eyes and I can tell he seems nervous. “I am so sorry about the bar stool. I feel like the biggest asshole in the world.” I stare at him as he continues to speak. “Is your nose okay?”
I shrug. “Yeah, I think so.”
