Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Matt
I had two duffel bags, one on each shoulder, as I hiked my way to the third floor of my apartment building. Knowing that I was going to be limiting JJ’s care, I’d begun bringing stuff back whenever I’d had the chance, so all that was left were clothes and toiletries.
“Hey, Matt.” Nicole, one of my landlords, smiled from her door. “Sorry about the elevator. James called, and the repairman will be here tomorrow.”
James was her husband, and the two of them owned the building. They were pretty good landlords, but they tended to be nosy. The fact that they not only lived on my floor but across from me was annoying, but I knew it had something to do with them not wanting to move the first-floor tenants after they’d purchased the building.
“It was starting to sound shaky, so I’m glad it’ll be fixed. It’s only three floors—not too bad.”
She chuckled and walked over to me. “Nice to be in good shape, huh?”
I cocked my head. “I guess. I mean, physical therapists should practice what they preach, right?”
She jutted her chin at something behind me. “You get a lot of admirers.”
I looked over to my apartment and sure enough, a bouquet of yellow roses with red tips was in front of my door.
“You’ve gotten other packages the last month or so. I haven’t opened them, but I have them at my place. I’ll bring them to you.” She grinned. “It’s a unique color pairing, means that someone has a crush on you or maybe a new relationship.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, my mother was a florist for about forty years. I’ll be right back with those packages.”
“Thanks, I’ll just take these inside.”
I got myself in, put my bags on my bed, and went to get the flowers. I positioned them on my kitchen table, and noticed there was no card, which was weird. Maybe one of the things Nicole brought would have one.
At the knock on my door, I opened it. Nicole had two gift bags and three boxes.
“Wow. Why didn’t you tell me about these one of the weekends I was here?”
She stepped in and put the gifts next to my flowers. “James and I usually go up to the lake house on the weekends. James’s mother is in the hospital this weekend, so he felt better staying close.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
She patted my arm. “Thanks.”
“No card with the flowers?”
She furrowed her brow. “That’s odd, right?”
I nodded and peeked in the gift bags. “It is. Strange.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it.” She waved and left, and I was surprised she hadn’t poked around more. Once she was gone, I locked up and started unwrapping.
The first gift bag was a candle. I opened it to sniff and was smiling at the scent of apple pie. My favorite. No card. The next bag had mini Almond Joys, my candy of choice…no card. Whoever was doing this knew a lot about me.
The first package did have a card but all it said was, “ This will look amazing on you .” It was a pair of red silk boxers and a matching robe.
What the absolute fuck?
The next box had a book in it—and not just any book, it was all about Kama Sutra. Another card that said, “ I’ve checked off what I’d like to try .” I swallowed and tossed the book into the box.
The third box was by far the most unsettling. It was filled with pictures of me over the course of the last few months. The card in that one said, “ You’re an unmatchable art .” I stepped away from the table as if they’d burned me.
What the hell was going on? Who could this be? I sat on my couch and scrolled through my phone, stopping at one name. Tony. If this is his way of trying to get back together, it was an epic fail. Before I could chicken out I hit Call.
It rang a couple of times, and then Tony’s familiar voice answered. “Hello, Matt?”
“Tony.”
“You called me.” He sighed. “Why do you sound pissed?”
I glanced at my deliveries. “Have you been sending me gifts?”
“When?”
“I don’t know, like the last month or so?”
He snorted. “We broke up, Matt. Why would I send you shit?”
I rolled my eyes. “I guess that’s true; you didn’t send me anything even when we were together.”
“I’m not doing this. You’re the one who lied to me in our relationship. I should be pissed, but I just don’t care anymore.”
“I never lied.”
“An omission is still a lie.”
I squeezed my phone, wanting so much to toss it against the wall. “All that should have mattered to you, Tony, was that I was with you and didn’t want to be with anyone else.”
He huffed. “How could I want to be with you anymore, knowing where your mouth had been and what you allowed to stuff your hole?”
I was done. I disconnected the call. No way was Tony making grand gestures to reconnect. He was still an asshole, and it appeared to be terminal.
I got up, grabbed the “gifts,” and brought them to my room, I left the flowers in the kitchen. Part of me wanted to toss them because something in a small part of my mind was screaming that this was creepy. Instead I opened the large treasure chest at the bottom of my bed and placed the gifts in there.
The flowers would die, and I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away. It wasn’t the flowers’ fault that some weirdo had bought them for me.
Ugh, was it a weirdo? He had pictures of you, Matt. Yeah…weirdo.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Darnell. When he picked up, I immediately went into a rant about the gifts and calling Tony and not knowing what to do.
“Damn, Matt. Yeah, I’d have never thought Tony. What made you go there?”
“Who the hell else knows I love apple pie smells and that Almond Joy is my favorite? And red looks real good on me.”
Darnell chuckled. “I know those things, and Trinity. Probably, anyone who’s spent like any time with you.”
“Oh, my God. Do you think Trin is doing this?”
“Does it seem like their style?”
I bit my lip and thought. “Honestly, nobody I know would do this, I don’t think.”
“Could it be some random person who is too nervous to talk to you?”
I plopped onto my couch and rested my head on the back. “Then if they wanted me to know them, why not sign the card, leave a number? They’ve accomplished nothing.”
Darnell hummed. “They accomplished you obsessing over it, and in a way, over them.”
“You’re right.”
“Of course I am. So what are you doing tomorrow?”
“I have a ton of chores to do, and I have to go food shopping. I am working Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with JJ now, so I’m going to enjoy that before Camie slams my schedule again.”
“Sounds good. We’re all due for a night out.”
“Next weekend—that work?”
“I’ll let Joan and Lewis know.”
I ended the call and tried to focus on unpacking, changing my sheets, showering, and yet when I finally lay in bed at the end of the day, I stared at the ceiling.
Who in the world wanted to get my attention…and was it a good thing or a bad thing?