Page 30 of Ever After

Many people are working in the old building. This must be the place. I look around for Jay’s truck in case it’s not. When I spot it, I say to the driver, “It’s here. Thanks for the ride.”

I exit the car and walk to the building. It’s gutted down to nothing. The roof is standing up by columns. I walk inside and look around for Jay. A lot of the workers are looking at me. I get a feeling I shouldn’t be here. No one talks to me or says anything.

I spot Jay and walk toward him. His back is to me. Someone is standing in front of him talking. I get a little closer. The guy Jay is talking to spots me and looks back at Jay. He tilts his head toward me. He doesn’t look very happy, and suddenly I’m worrying I made a huge mistake. Jay turns around and his eyes are on me with his eyebrows raised and then the next they’re squinting with his jaw tight and hard. Jay turns his head back to the man he was talking to before and then turns back to me. I look over at the guy and he’s walking away, shaking his head.

“What are you doing here?” Jay states, sounding angry.

I lift the Chick-fil-A bag. “I wanted to bring you lunch?” Jay grabs my hand and walks me out of the building quickly. I’m trying to keep up with his speed, but my legs aren’t as long as his. I pull my hand out of his and stop. “Do not pull me like that.” Jay tries to grab my hand again and I pull away.

“Lilah, you’re not supposed to be in here. It’s dangerous and you don’t even have a hard hat on.” He tries again to grab my hand, but I keep it down to my side and walk away from him. He is following me out now. Once I’m out of the building, I keep walking. “Lilah, stop!” Jay yells.

“What?” I pause and turn my head over my shoulder.

“You can’t just show up at my job like this. It’s dangerous and you don’t have the proper safety gear on. If something were to happen with you in there I would have been in a lot of shit.” Jay says. Wide eyed at how angry he is. I stand there in silence. Jay reaches into his pocket and hands me his keys. “Go home. I’ll find a ride.” He turns around and walks back into the building.

I watch him walk away with his back toward me. He walks in urgency with his shoulder up right. His fists are down by his side. His hands are clenched into fists so tightly his veins are popping out of his arms. He looks like he’s about to knock someone out. The other men move out of his way when he walks back into the building. Once he passes them, they look back at him and then at me, just as confused as I am. I stood there watching him walk away from me in shock and disbelief that he got this upset. What the fuck just happened?

I’m in the middle of watchingThe Proposalwhen I hear a knock on the door. The time on my phone is almost seven. Getting up from the couch, I see Jay through the window. I open the door and move to the side for him to pass me. He walks in and reaches his hand out to mine. I place my hand in his and he walks us to the couch. This isn’t the reaction I was expecting. I thought he would come home mad.

“I’m sorry for the way I acted. That job has been stressful. The job is behind because a lot of our sub-contractors haven’t shown up. The owner is upset because of how behind it is. He came in to see for himself what had been going on. When it gets to the point where the owner has to come in and check out what is going on, I know all trust is gone, and that’s not a good thing.” He stops and looks at me before grabbing my hand and placing a kiss on it. “I shouldn’t have pulled you out like that. I’m embarrassed by my actions. The owner was already mad and when he saw you walking in with no safety equipment, that upset him even more. It shows how I’ve been running this job, and it wasn’t a good look on me.”

I sit here in silence. Not sure what to say. No one has ever apologized to me with an explanation. I only get one word. And that’s always a sorry. I squeeze Jay’s hand and say, “I was trying to do something nice for you after everything you’ve been doing for me. I should have asked if it was okay to come by. I hope I didn’t get you into more trouble?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He leans back into the couch. “I’m up for eating the food you picked up for me. Where is it?” Jay looks around.

“I tossed it.”

“Why?”

“Because at that point, I didn’t think you deserved it.”

“You’re right. I didn’t.” Jay leans back into the couch and pulls me to him. He puts his arm around me. I snuggle up closer to him and lay my head against his chest before reaching for the remote to turn the movie back on.

There is a note,and a red rose on Jay's pillow. I grab the rose and smell it. I wonder where he got this from. We didn’t get flowers last night. My attention is drawn to the note as I read it.

I’ll be in and out of meetings all day today. I forgot to mention it to you last night. Call me if you need anything. I’ll try to get back as soon as I can.

This is a nice way to wake up. I stay in bed for a little longer, enjoying the relaxing time I have left. It’s been nice having this break from work. Especially after what happened. After the first night in Hawaii, I didn't think meeting Jay would happen either. I keep trying not to think too much about it because I know when I get home, my world is going to come crashing down.

I swing my legs over off the bed and walk to my suitcase that I have in the corner. Jay is also waiting on a dresser to be delivered. For now, his clothes are hanging in the closet with his socks and underwear in plastic bins. I throw on some leggings and a tank top and head downstairs to get some coffee. The second I get off the last step of the stairs, I see another note folder in half sitting upright on the kitchen island. I walk over and read it.

Look in the microwave.

I walk over to the microwave, then pull the door open. I see waffles on a plate with another note.

Look in the fridge.

I open the fridge and there is a bowl of fruit and a side of Nutella with yet another note.

Enjoy the fruit and Nutella with your waffles. -Jay

My cheek heat as I smile from ear to ear. I don’t remember the last time I had something like this done for me. Aiden used to do cute stuff like this, but it’s been ages. Too long for me to even remember. I get sick butterflies in my stomach thinking about him. I hurry, erase him out of my mind and start preparing my waffles to eat. The time will come soon when my focus is on him again. The uninvited. Eventually, I will have to face everything.

After I’m done eating, I’m trying to figure out what to do for the day. I don’t have a car to go anywhere. Debating what I should do for Jay, I look around the kitchen and see some boxes with the wordkitchenscribbled on it. I grab some scissors and start cutting open the boxes. This must be where all his dishes are. He only has a few here and there. I throw my hair in a bun, turn on Spotify, and start unpacking.

A few hours later, I’m taking the last empty box to the garage. Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I looked at the time and realized most of the day has gone by. That was quick. Jay should be home from work in a few hours. I decide a shower is much needed after all the sweating I’ve done.

Once I get out of the shower, I spot a robe. Wondering whose it is, I reach over and smell it. It has no scent, not even Jay’s. I hope it’s not Lindsee’s. No. It shouldn’t be. He said he moved here without her, and none of her stuff came to this house. I don’t think it’s another girl. He said he hasn’t had time to date since the fallout from his almost marriage. Maybe he’s just a man that likes robes. I shrug my shoulders and throw the robe on anyway.

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