Page 19 of Coming Unraveled
Though it flutters violently, her heart soars as it fills with the love pouring out of the room.
“How did you all get in here?”
Austin bashfully holds up his hand, a look she’s never seen on her brother, and explains that he had Dylan pick the lock to get everyone in. He knew she wouldn’t be able to resist the pull to go to the house today.
“We’re all so excited for you, sweetie,” her mother Amy claims. “Now, I brought some food for all of us to snack on and thought that you could give us a small tour?”
“I’d be happy to. Let me grab something to eat first. I kind of left my dinner in the microwave in my hurry to get here.” The group all congregate towards the kitchen as Everleigh points out some of her favorite details. “Can any of you help me move things in this weekend? I’m ordering most things, but I need a truck to help grab the things out of the apartment.”
They all agree to help and as she shows them around the first and second floors she actually feels a sense of loss. Everyone trailing behind her is with their someone, their other half. Even Jameson strolls the grounds with his best friend Norah, home for a week before she starts her summer internship. Her mother must notice her mood change because she sidles up next to her as she shows them the fourth bedroom.
“Is something wrong, sweetie?”
Faking a smile, Everleigh rotates herself to look at her mother wishing she could crawl back into herself.
“I’m fine, Mom. All of the excitement of the day must be taking its toll on me.”
“Well, we’ll go and let you get some rest. I love the house. It really suits you.”
And just like that, her mother ushers everyone from the house, leaving her to her thoughts. She wonders how she would have felt if Brooks had been here to congratulate her, to make her feel as if she is a member of the group instead of standing on the outskirts as she has most of her life. She can’t argue that he seems to know what she needs typically before she or anyone else can realize.
Brooks? Who am I kidding?She ruminates, closing her eyes in frustration.
Everleigh knows that if Brooks had been here he would have taken over the walkthrough and she would have been angered all over again.
With a final glance in the room she plans to make her master bedroom, she strolls down the stairs, shuts off all of the lights, and walks out of the front door.
Dream house secure, she travels back to her apartment surrounded by the darkness of the summer night. As she arrives back into her parking spot she notices a dark shadow hanging around the entrance to her stairwell. Carson is a town with very little crime, but with the bar right across the street, it’s not uncommon to have drunk stragglers walking through the alleys. Everleigh opens her glove box, grabs her small can of pepper spray, and double checks that her small handgun is secured but accessible in her purse.
She slowly exits the car, making as much noise as possible in the hopes to startle the would-be assailant, but the figure doesn’t budge. As she gets closer she notices that the person is leaning against the brick wall as if waiting for her specifically.
“Shit,” she murmurs to herself, not in the mood to have to defend herself against an attacker, and grips her spray can tighter.
As she approaches, the gravel crackling beneath her feet, the figure finally looks in her direction and suggests, “You really should get this outer light fixed.”
Jumping back slightly, Everleigh is a bit astonished to find Brooks outside her building waiting for her.
“You scared me half to death! What are you doing here?”
“Can I come inside?” he insists, ignoring her completely.
She exhales a puff of air and then allows him to open the stairwell door as she guides him into her apartment. With his back turned to her she can’t see as he takes in her small space, most of it barren and stacked haphazardly into boxes along the hallway. At first, she begins to feel embarrassment, then realizes that she is being silly since she is in the process of moving.
“Can I get you anything? How long were you waiting outside?” she interrogates as she scoots past him heading towards her kitchen. She opens the microwave and removes the offending food she had cooked earlier and then showcases the interior of her refrigerator. “I have water, soda, a few beers, a bottle of wine…” Everleigh explains but trails off when she realizes that Brooks has stepped towards her, closing the space between them.
“I’m fine and I waited about thirty minutes. Thank you for asking.”
With a nod, she grabs the Riesling from the door of her fridge and proceeds to pour a glass before dragging her attention back to the man crowding her. Everleigh takes a sip of the liquid; the cool, dry wine coating her tongue in bits of flower and fruit then she rests her backside against the countertop, placing her glass beside her.
“So, what brings you by? You certainly don’t live in the neighborhood.”
The sound of his breath escaping through his lips in a deep huff does something that melts her insides; she can even smell this hint of his shampoo when he strikes his hand through his hair. Her tiny apartment, once filled with fragrant blooms, is now shrouded in the scent of Brooks.
“I was invited to your surprise welcoming today, but I assumed you wouldn’t have wanted me there. I didn’t want to put a damper on your day, so I opted to bow out and work on some patient files after hours. I came here as a chance that’s all, I had only planned on waiting a few more minutes.” A gleam shines in his eye and it’s only then that she watches him slide his bag from off his shoulders and retrieves a bottle of Champagne from its depths. “This is for you, to welcome you to your new place.”
The bottle clinks as he rests it on the countertop, the glass against the stone sounding like a tinkle of a bell.
“That is very nice of you, Brooks. I don’t know what to say.”
