Page 13 of His Reward
I close my eyes and recall the moments leading up to leaving for my trip.Katelyn let me leave work a couple of hours early.I came home and got ready quickly to catch the bus on time and not waste my expensive, non-refundable ticket.But I can’t remember closing the window or evenopeningit.
Something doesn’t feel right.I move closer and look outside.Nothing suspicious as far as I can tell.The window clicks when I pull it shut, the eyelets scraping on the rod as I draw the curtains close.My tension starts to ease in the quiet until I turn and notice the purple lace on my bed.I snatch it up.
It’s my underwear.A tag still dangles from the fabric because I’ve never worn them.No way I would’ve packed these for the trip.They’re earmarked for a date that might lead to sex, and my dating life is a ghost town.
I dart my gaze around my room until it lands on a third, unsettling discovery: faint brown marks on my ivory bed sheet.I bend to peer at it.
Are those dirt marks?
Looks like it, but…how?When did they get there?These are clean sheets and I haven’t slept on them yet.I put them on because I wanted to flop into fresh linens when I came home.It was the last thing I did before I left for my trip.
My heart pounds, my body stiff as I slowly straighten.I clench my underwear in one hand and my bag straps in the other.
Did someone break into my apartment?Or did they climb through the window I possibly left open like an invitation?
I jerk my gaze to my closed closet door and freeze.
Are they still in here?
The thumping in my chest is louder and faster.I don’t want to do it, but I need to make sure nobody’s hiding in there.I summon bravery with a deep breath, march over to my closet, and yank open the doors.My clothes and shoes are the only occupants.
Thank god.
After I leave my bag in the closet, a quick trip to the bathroom to wash my face calms me down.Finally, I return to the living room.
It’s usually thieves who enter people’s homes uninvited.My TV, laptop, and tablet are things of value they could’ve taken, but they’re still here.Maybe there wasn’t a break-in after all.It’s possible I left the window open and took out those purple underwear by accident as I was packing.
But what about the dirt marks on the bed?
“You OK?”Malcolm asks.
He’s sitting in my loveseat, watching me.Should I tell him about my suspicions?No.I’m fed up of always being a damsel-in-distress around him.Not to mention, he assured me it wasn’t a problem for him to drop me home, but his attitude on the drive said differently.
He barely said a word, and he sped like he couldn’t wait to unburden himself of me.He only agreed to come in here for the food and drink I offered him.That’s what I should give him instead of more of my problems.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”I throw him the best care-free smile I can muster as I head to the kitchen.“I’m going to see what’s there for us to eat.”
Unfortunately, my cupboards are sparse and my fridge is disappointing.I can’t feed salad to a sturdy man like Malcolm.I return to the living room with an apologetic smile.
“Looks like I need to do a grocery run.Is it OK if I order a pizza?”
He nods.“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Our order is in the queue a few taps later.I close the pizza store app on my phone, then I don’t know what to do with myself as I hover by the loveseat.
I’m about five feet tall, so it’s usually enough for me.Malcolm has broad shoulders and long legs.His larger body takes up a little more than half of the furniture.
We’ll be close if I sit beside him, but there’s no other choice for seating.Not unless I do something totally awkward like sit on the floor.
Tentatively, I perch on the edge of the other cushion.He holds my stare before he looks away and sweeps his gaze around the room.
“Your mom said the room I’m in used to be yours, but it’s hard to believe it.This apartment is definitely yours, though.Blue walls, orange curtains, red couch, yellow clock.Signature Jujube.”
I chuckle.“I love living in colour, even if they don’t match.”
He smiles.“Even in a room full of colour, you still stand out.”
It’s like yesterday when he called me beautiful.I glow on the inside at his compliment, and my brain struggles to think up a response.
