9. Jessica
My thoughts wander for a while, but a burst of inspiration floods my imagination, and my ideas pour onto the screen. I stare in utter disbelief, scrolling through the chapters. Could it be?
“Finally,” I announce ecstatically.
My voice echoes in my ears. Writing in silence for so long sure has its downsides. My joints feel stiff. I press my palms against the end of the table, pushing backward. The swivel chair spins. I let out a quiet groan and stretch my arms in the air.
Making this much progress in a short while is a milestone to be celebrated, especially since I’ve been dealing with a lot of drama lately. My eyes instinctively glance toward the window. Brian might be as annoying as they come, but he did keep his word. I still don’t hear any drumming, thank goodness.
I look at the digital clock on my table. It reads 7:52 pm.
OMG.
I’ve been so consumed with my book that I completely lost track of time. I wonder what Lily is up to. The house is quiet, and I don’t recall hearing her voice. She must have fallen asleep, I hope.
I’m still shocked at how she slept through the drumming the other night. I pause momentarily, my ears twitching as I scan the hallway.
“Lily?” I cautiously peer into her bedroom, exhaling a sigh of relief when I see her. She’s sprawled on her reading desk, hair covering most of her face as she drifts into sleep.
A smile curves my lips as I nudge the door open and step inside. Luckily, she is finished with her homework. I lift her head up and scoop her from the chair.
She sleepily mumbles as I carry her to her bed, placing her body down first and then resting her head on her pillow before throwing the comforter over her and tucking it.
“Goodnight, sweetie.”
She rubs her eyes and yawns. “Love you, Mommy.”
“I love you, too.”
With Lily now in bed, I review a couple of pages of her workbook. My eyes are exhausted from reading so many words over the past few hours, and she’s a smart kid. She’ll unsurprisingly ace every question on her test tomorrow.
My heart swells with joy as I glance at her on the bed. She’s just like her Mom. Except, of course, when picking the neighbors we want to become friends with.
A slight twinge of guilt fills my heart. I drop the book back on the table. Was I too harsh? Maybe.
I snap out of it and scoff, kissing Lily’s cheek. I refuse to feel guilty for protecting my child. That’s my job and she doesn’t know any better. Besides, I hardly know Brian myself, and when I attempt a regular conversation, he gets unpredictably grumpier. If he’s not making tasteless, biting comments, he’s boisterously drumming without concern for how his actions impact his neighbors.
He’s definitely not the kind of person I want around my Lily. But he seemed sweet when he spoke to her earlier, an image of his jovial face appearing in my mind. That smile in that moment was genuine.
Get your head out of there, Jessica!
I take one last look at her sleeping face, my smile returning as I switch the lights off.
My laptop is still the same way I left it. A small menu bubbles at the top right corner of the screen, brandishing the statistics of the documents.
My eyes scintillate with excitement about the progress of my book as I grab the head of my chair, pulling it back to the table before sitting down. This is my passion, Brian—writing.
Wait.Why am I still thinking about him? Well, aside from his cranky attitude, he’s the best piece of eye candy in all of South Brook. That’s why. I shake my head vigorously.
“No, he’s not!” I protest my thoughts aloud.
Maybe if I stare harder at my screen, my curiosity will go away. But my eyes feel heavy, and they rest for a second. What would he feel like in my arms? What would his lips feel like pressed against mine? I just want to run my fingers down his sculpted abs. Mmm.
My eyelids flicker open, my heart skips a beat. I haven’t saved my document. What if I lost it daydreaming about Brian? He would have won again.
I quickly save the file, knowing that there would be nothing as heartbreaking as waking up tomorrow to find all the progress I’ve made missing because I failed to click a few buttons.
Regenerating my plot would be nearly impossible at this point. Maybe I should reach out to Gina now. I grab my phone and dial her number.
She picks up at the third ring.
“Hey, Gina.”
“Hey, Jess. Tell me you’ve got good news.”
“I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news.”
“How about we do it this way? You tell me the good news and handle the bad yourself?”
I laugh, but I can tell she’s discouraged by her sighs at the end of every sentence.
“Sorry, girl. You signed up for this, remember?”
“Ugh,” Gina groans. “Alright, spill.”
“Good news first, or bad?”
“Your choice.”
“Good news it is, then.” I drum my free hand on the table. “I finished three chapters today.”
There was a brief silence, and then I heard her breathe heavily again. It was the exhaustion of disappointment.
“Three chapters,” she repeats. “Thought you’d be about six chapters in by now. Why’s it taking so long?”
Rolling my eyes, I slam my free hand on the table. She knows exactly why. I’ve told her why a couple of times over.
“Well, maybe if the leader of that boy band didn’t move in next door, I would’ve finished it much earlier.”
“Really? You’re gonna blame Brian?”
“You bet I am. Why in the world not? If he hadn’t been so disruptive for the past few days, I’d be done already.”
“Girl, not to point fingers, but he doesn’t really drum all day, does he? I mean, how can a little music frustrate you so much?”
I scramble to collect my thoughts. Calling Gina right now might not have been the best of ideas. She’s clearly drained and she can’t mask her attitude.
“I’m a single Mom, too, Gina. I got stuff to do. But it’s fine. I’ll round up the chapters that are left and send them to your email, okay?”
There’s silence on the other end. I pull the phone away from my ears. I hear Gina’s voice before noticing the glaring red battery icon on my screen.
“I’m sorry, Jess. I just…I’ve had a hectic day.” I can hear the regret in her voice.
More silence. I press my fingers on my temple and heave.
“Jess, you there?” Gina calls.
“Yeah, I’m still here.”
“I’m sorry, okay?”
“It’s fine. I’m just kinda taken aback by the fact that you’re at odds with me over some guy you don’t know. I’m the one living next to him and see firsthand what he’s like.”
“Well…about that…It’s just hard to believe he’s that bad.”
“That’s because you’re his groupie. Try being his neighbor.”
“Ouch, girl! I’d switch places with you any d—”
Suddenly, the sound of guitars, drums, and singing blasts into the room. I wince and take the phone off my ear. Someone please tell me it isn’t him…his entire band.
I scream into my speaker, “Can you hear that?”
Gina speaks up, but I can’t make out what she says. Heck, I can’t hear my own thoughts.
“Still think your boys are little angels?” I vent.
Straining to hear her, I catch a bit of Gina’s voice. She’s exclaiming something thunderously. My ears soon adapt to the noise, and I decipher her words.
She’s singing…she’s literally singing the lyrics word for word.
Unbelievable! How can—
“You’re so lucky, Jess,” she interrupts my train of thought.
I sit dumbfounded. The neighborhood fanatics must sleep with earplugs. He might actually wake Lily up this time. Pressure builds in my forehead and flows through my veins, blood simmering on the horizon.
“What do you mean by lucky? It’s a full band. I can’t concentrate on anything like this. I’m a writer, Gina. Not a painter, not a dancer. I need calm to create.”
“I dunno, girl. I just…maybe you can get them to stop? Just find a way to work around it. Please. We’re all counting on you.”
“I’ll call you back, Gina.”
“Not unless you’re finished with the book by then,” she sneers.
Jeez.I wasn’t expecting that remark, but no time for that now.
I hang up and bolt to my feet, fuming as my chair skids to the other end of the room. If Gina needs an extra chapter, then there’s going to be some changes around here.