Page 49 of My Almost Ex

After searching the entire place for a key to the door and spending some time in each room to see if anything new comes to me, I end up in the kitchen because my stomach won’t stop growling. I open the fridge, expecting to see it empty—I figure I’ll have to call an Uber or something to take me to town—but it’s fully stocked.

Pulling out stuff to make a sandwich, I hear something outside and go still. I don’t hear anything else, so I start in on my sandwich again, trying to ease some of my anxiety. Although I love having time by myself, since my accident, I find I’m anxious after too long alone. Mostly because being alone with my thoughts only spurs worries that I might never be who I was.

The knock on the door surprises me and I glance at the side table where Adam said he put the gun.

“It’s us!” Cora screams from outside, as though she understands why I would be fearful.

I open the door and find Cora, Nikki, Mandi, and Chevelle on the porch. They hold takeout bags and wine.

“We come bearing gifts,” Mandi says.

Cora walks in first and I can tell from how comfortable she is that she’s been here plenty.

“You guys don’t have to,” I say, but one by one, they come in.

I give Chevelle a hug, since this is our first time connecting since I’ve returned to Sunrise Bay.

“Man, he did a number on this place, huh?” Cora looks around. “Talk about stripping it bare.” She sets the takeout on the counter.

“Well,” Mandi says, “he’s renting it out.”

“He took down every picture of you two.” Nikki shakes her head. “But Mandi has a point. Even short-term renters don’t want to see other people.”

I keep telling myself the same thing.

“Where do you think he put it all?” Cora asks, taking small foil-wrapped items out of the bag.

“There’s a locked closet. I don’t have the key,” I say.

Cora drops a foil-covered item on the counter and heads down the hall. We all file behind her as though she has the magic code to open the closet.

She tries the knob like me and nothing. “I bet all your crap is in here.”

I nod. “I can’t find a key.”

Cora taps her finger to her lips. “Let’s eat first, then we’re going to outsmart that guy.”

We all head back into the kitchen, and as they unwrap the foil packets, I see that they brought tacos.

“You used to love only chicken, but we brought a variety just in case,” Mandi says as she grabs plates and Nikki gets the silverware.

“Were you guys here a lot?” I ask, watching them move around the kitchen as though it’s theirs.

They both stop and look at one another. Nikki says, “You and Adam always had the Super Bowl parties. A lot of Saturdays, it was like an open house here. Adam would always be smoking something.”

I jolt in surprise. “Smoking something?”

“In the smoker.” Mandi points out back toward the deck. “If you go down the stairs, you’ll find it.”

Curious, I walk out to the deck and see the staircase that leads down to a path toward the firepit. I leave the girls in the house and head down the stairs. I find a big smoker that’s chained to the post of the deck with a sign that says it’s not for the use of renters. Farther out, there’s a firepit dug out with chairs around it to the left of the path. Someone did a lot of work here.

“You okay?” Nikki comes out and puts her hand on my shoulder.

I nod. “Yeah, I just wish I’d remember.”

“I’m sorry,” she says.

“Don’t be.”

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