4. Chapter 4
Cole
I stared at my apartment door.
It had been egged. The yolk had slid down the wood like something melting.
Lovely. Things were getting out of hand.
Yesterday someone had written on the door with marker, and now this.
I was going to talk to the manager—but not tonight.
It was too late, and I’d just finished helping Alyssa for the third time this week.
She was making progress, and for the first time in years, I could almost see myself being a math teacher.
I unlocked my apartment and sighed at the mess. I kept saying I’d clean tomorrow, but tomorrow never came. I kicked a pile of laundry out of the way and frowned. There was no excuse for the place looking like this when I live alone. I just never had the time with my weird hours.
Dropping onto the couch, I pulled off my shoes. I couldn’t prove the downstairs neighbor was behind the eggs, but I was almost sure.
I needed less stress—something good.
My smile grew as I thought about Sadie. Two days of working out together, and I could already tell it was going to be a process. She hadn’t worn a skirt today, but jeans—also not flexible. Whatever look she’d been going for, it worked. Just not for exercising.
Sadie was so focused on taking care of Alyssa that I wondered if she ever took the time to have fun. And if I asked her out… I wondered what she’d say. She’d probably say she was busy. She was always busy.
Sighing, I sat up. I should probably clean the egg off the door before it turned into concrete.
Sadie
“Where did all the eggs go?” I asked, looking into the empty carton.
Alyssa shrugged from her seat at the table. “I was hungry.”
“And you ate an entire carton? I find that hard to believe.”
Her shoulders slumped as she looked down at her history paper.
“Alyssa?”
“What?”
“Where are the eggs?”
She sighed. “I egged the guy upstairs.”
My eyes went wide. “You what?”
“Not him specifically, but his door.”
I slapped my forehead. “Alyssa! That’s so rude! You could get into a lot of trouble! You have to go apologize.”
Alyssa stood, face scrunched up. “No way. He deserves it.” She folded her arms across her chest and held firm.
“We don’t even know who he is! What if it’s an older person? You need to go clean it up.”
I could tell she wasn’t going to.
I grabbed my purse.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To get some eggs. Then I’m going to make some cookies and take them upstairs to apologize for my crazy little sister.”
“Great. Tell me what happens.”
I hurried to the store, not enjoying going out in the dark, then rushed back home and began mixing the dough.
People being mad at me made me so uncomfortable.
I hoped whoever lived upstairs hadn’t called the manager.
If we had to move, I didn’t know where we would go.
These were the type of apartments people went to as a last resort.
Once the cookies were finished, I stacked them on a plate and covered them with plastic wrap. Taking a shaky breath, I looked toward our front door. I was not ready to confront a neighbor who probably already hated us.
Leaving the safety of home, I trudged up the stairs. Each step felt louder than the last.
I hesitated outside the door.
Maybe they weren’t home. That would be ideal. My heart was pounding so hard I wondered if whoever lived inside could hear it. The door was really clean. That meant I couldn’t offer to do it for them.
I knocked.
The door creaked open.
And my entire brain short-circuited.
Cole Hart stood there in a white T-shirt and pajama shorts. Barefoot. Hair slightly messy, like he’d just rolled out of bed.
My mouth fell open.
Of all the people in town. Of all the apartments in this building.
It had to be him.
He blinked once, then recognition dawned.
“Sadie?”
I forgot how to breathe.
Cole
I smiled. Sadie Levit was standing at my door with a plate of cookies. That had to be a good sign. Maybe she’d even say yes to a date. I wondered where she’d gotten my address. That made my smile bigger. She’d had to find my address. That meant effort.
She blinked at me a few times, looking confused.
“Hi,” I said, trying to look casual. “What brings you here?”
“You live here?”
“Yeah?”
She pointed to the ground. “In this apartment?”
I chuckled. “Who did you expect to answer?”
Her eyes narrowed, and her jaw tightened; then she shoved the cookies into my hands and avoided making eye contact.
“Thanks?” I said. Had I insulted her? She looked ready to bite.
“Alyssa egged your door. I’m sorry. She will be punished.”
“Egged my door? She said she got a B on her math test. That’s not bad?” I’d actually thought Alyssa liked me. We’d clicked. Or at least I’d thought.
“It’s not about the test,” she said flatly. “Goodnight.”
“Sadie?”
She kept walking. I followed her. Something was going down, and I needed to know what. She hurried down the stairs. I was right behind her.
“Go away, Cole,” she said over her shoulder.
She stopped in front of a door halfway down the hall. Her face was flushed, and I couldn’t tell if it was anger or humiliation.
My stomach dropped. No, there was no way.
She disappeared inside and slammed the door.
I ran my hands through my hair. There was nothing to do but go back home. How could Sadie and Alyssa be my crazy cat woman neighbors?
Sadie
“I can’t believe you gave them cookies,” Alyssa said, curled up on the couch watching TV.
I took a deep breath that was supposed to calm me and failed.
“Plot twist—Cole is our upstairs neighbor.”
Alyssa laughed. “No, he isn’t.”
“I’m not joking.”
“You have to be.”
I hugged myself. “Nope.”
I went into my room and shut the door, locking it behind me. I’d said I wasn’t going to date, but in my ridiculous imagination, Cole had fallen in love with me. Broken through my barrier. I knew it would never happen—but now I’d lost even the fun of imagining it.
He’d said someone had put sticky notes on his door. That must have been Alyssa as well. This was so embarrassing. How was I supposed to face Cole tomorrow? He’d told me he wasn’t loud, but that his neighbors overreacted. That was a lie. Or, I supposed, his point of view.
I heard someone knock on the front door.
“Ignore that!” I called to Alyssa.
I wasn’t in the mood to talk to Cole, and who else would be here at this time? It was best to ignore him and give myself some time to think.
I fell asleep without eating dinner. The next morning, I popped up and made breakfast, but my mind immediately returned to Cole and the neighbor situation. Alyssa was sleeping on the couch when I got to the living room. I woke her up, and we got ready for the day.
“Do you think Cole hates me now?” Alyssa asked, as we brushed our teeth together.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
“Cole was nice. Why would he be so obnoxious?”
“I don’t think he was doing it on purpose. At least at first. He actually offered to go… confront himself.” I laughed a little. It was all so ridiculous.
I went through the motions at my first job, then went to the gym hoping I could hide.
I sat at the desk and focused on the computer.
Then someone came up behind me, and I went stiff.
“Sadie?” Cole said. “Can we talk?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I’m working.”
“Are you?”
I was staring at a blank screen. “Just go do whatever it is you do.”
“Fine. See you for work out later.”
I cringed. I’d forgotten about that and worn a skirt again.
Angela poked me in the arm. “What was that about?”
“Nothing.”
“That was not nothing. What’s going on with you two?”
“Nothing.”
“He looked pained, and you looked angry.” She leaned in and smiled. “Have you been sneaking around with Cole? Because if you have, I want all the details.”
“We haven’t been doing any sneaking.”
“Fine, don’t tell me, but I’m going to keep bugging you.”
I was sure she would.
When the gym closed, I reluctantly went onto the main floor. I crossed my arms and stared at Cole.
“Are we going to do this?” he asked, pointing at the weights.
“Is there a choice?”
“I guess not. Can’t we talk about… everything?”
“No.”
“I know I get a little loud, but not to the point of being annoying.”
Part of me couldn’t believe him. Not annoying? I hadn’t wanted to do this, but he just had to push. I poked him in the chest with one finger, ignoring how solid he was. “You are completely annoying. You are one of the reasons I’ve had a two-month headache!”
Everyone in the gym was looking at us now.
“Look,” Cole said. “I just—“
“Stop,” I said. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Lovers’ spat?” Bill asked, coming over.
“What?” I asked, louder than I meant to. I was calm most of the time, but I was losing hold of myself.
“Take it somewhere else,” he said.
I shook my head. “I quit.”
The second it left my mouth, I wanted to grab it back. Quitting meant not paying rent. No food. No paying the dentist.
“You need this job,” Cole said. “Don’t quit because of me.”
“And we can’t replace you with no notice,” Bill said. “You need to give me at least two weeks.”
“This job is a joke. I was hired to sit at a desk, not pay to work out. I’m done.”
“Rethink this, Sadie,” Cole said.
My eyes narrowed. I snatched up my purse and left. This was a decision I was definitely going to regret.