30. Liliana
Chapter 30
Liliana
“Wheeler wants me to tell you he’s sorry… again,” Winnie groans as she reads another text Wheeler sent her.
Apparently when Smithy and I wouldn’t answer him, he called Winnie. Not only was Winnie completely unaware of what happened, but she gave Wheeler an earful. Now, she’s pissed at him too.
“Yeah, I'm wondering how practice is going today. Smithy was still pissed when he woke up today. I think between the three of us, there have been over five hundred texts sent from Wheeler in the last fifteen-ish hours.” I glance at my watch and guess what time we got home yesterday.
“You know he’s an idiot, Lils. You can't stay mad at him forever.”
“I know and to be honest, I'm not that mad. Sure, what he said was upsetting in the moment, but I understand where he was coming from. And, it does seem like too much of a coincidence for me to start dating Smithy after years of us being close, me hanging around the clubhouse, and then the article coming out. I get it. I just feel like I can't forgive him until Smithy’s ready to. I don’t want to upset him.”
“Why are boys so temperamental?” Winnie groans again. “I swear the two of them are worse than middle school girls right now.”
The alarm on the driveway beeps, letting me know someone is at the gate. I hop off the couch and go to see who’s here.
“Hold on, Winnie…” I press the button to speak through the gate. “Can I help you?”
“I have a delivery for Ms. Sweets.”
“You can come up and leave it at the door.” I push the button to open the gate and watch the delivery truck move up the driveway.
I know this seems like a little too much security, but I’ve heard so many stories about crazy fans peeping in people’s windows. I'm glad Smithy has a gated property, especially when I'm here alone or when we’re in the hot tub at night… naked.
“Oh, I wonder what you got.” Winnie sounds a little more interested.
“I’ll let you know after the delivery truck leaves,” I say quietly, not wanting the delivery man to hear me.
“Oh my gosh, Liliana! Are you seriously not going to open the door for the man? He could just hand you the delivery instead of you making it awkward. He knows you’re home since you opened the gate.”
“That’s not true! You can talk through doorbell cameras with your phone, so why can't I talk through this and let him through even if I'm not home?” I scowl through the peephole as the guy sets a large box on the porch and climbs back in his truck.
“I don’t know! I think you need to stop watching cold case shows. You think everyone is out to murder you.”
“At least I’ll stay alive,” I singsong as I watch the gate close behind the guy’s truck, then I open the door and eye the massive package. I don’t know if I’ll be able to lift this. I think I'm just going to push it through the door.
“Unless another man jumped out of the truck and hid in the bushes. They knew you’d wait until the truck left and while you’re not paying attention, he’ll sneak in the house and hide. He’ll wait until you least expect it, then he’ll jump out and stab you to death.”
“What the hell, Winnie!” I shriek as I glance around at the peaceful looking front yard.
“I'm just saying, your theory won't necessarily keep you alive.”
“Yeah, well, now I'm not telling you what I got. Goodbye, Winnie.”
I end the call to her yelling through the phone. I know she’s going to call back and when I don’t answer, she’ll get mad and text me a million times.
After pushing the package inside the house, I eye it, trying to figure out the best way to open it. I slice the top open and glance inside.
It’s full of various types of popcorn with a card that says ‘I’m sorry. You’re one of my best friends, Lils. Don’t let this tear us apart. – Wheeler’. He knows I love popcorn and never want to share mine with anyone. He even got my favorite flavors. This is the biggest arrangement of popcorn I’ve ever seen. There’s no way he didn’t have this custom made.
I want to text him and thank him for the gift, but I don’t. Instead, I take a seat on the couch and pull my laptop onto my lap. Right as I start to search for new jobs, the gate bell goes off again.
Tears fill my gaze as I carry the next delivery inside. It’s filled with chocolate covered pretzels. Each one is decorated differently, but they all have my favorite toppings. The card attached to this says ‘I'm an idiot. I’ll apologize a million times if I have to. Please forgive me, Lils. I love you. – Wheeler’.
My butt isn't even touching the couch for two seconds when the bell goes off again. I groan and let the next delivery man up the driveway.
The first tear slips down my cheek and falls onto the top of the third box. This one is filled with a few bottles of my favorite wine and all the makings of an entire charcuterie board. The card says ‘Answer my texts, Lils. You’re killing me with this silent treatment. – Wheeler’.
This time, I don’t even get to the couch before the bell goes off a fourth time. I open the door for the driver this time and quickly accept the beautiful flowers. The massive vase is filled with my favorite flowers. I don’t know how he did it, but each flower inside is a type I love and my favorite colors. He went above and beyond with the thought he put into these boxes. The card says ‘I need you in my life, Lils. I'm sorry I was such a shitty friend. Please don’t leave me. – Wheeler’.
I glance at the camera on the driveway and find three more trucks pulling up to the house. I open the gate and leave it open. At this point, I'm tired of dealing with this.
The next delivery is a spa package complete with home spa items to pamper myself with and a gift card to a high-end spa nearby. The amount of the gift card has my eyes widening and my mouth falling open. I don’t even get to read the card before the next delivery man approaches me.
The next one is full of gourmet cookies and cupcakes. The one after that, are fruits in the shape of flowers. The next is a basket of gift cards to my favorite stores. I thank each of the delivery men and slam the door shut. I march right over to my phone and pull up my text thread with Wheeler.
Liliana: Exactly how many gift baskets will I be receiving today? I'm tired of answering the door.
Wheeler: There are seven scheduled for today. How many have you gotten already?
Liliana: Seven.
Wheeler: Six are scheduled for tomorrow. I'm working on the next day now.
Liliana: Stop it, Wheeler! This is too much.
Wheeler: It’s not. I don’t know how else to apologize to you, Lils. I'm so fucking sorry.
Liliana: How long are you going to continue sending packages?
Wheeler: Until you forgive me. I'm hoping it doesn’t take long though, because I'm running out of ideas here, Lils.
Liliana: I forgive you, Wheeler.
Wheeler: Don’t just say it, Lils. You need to mean it.
Liliana: I do mean it.
Wheeler: Thank you. I really am sorry for everything I said. You didn’t deserve any of it and I wasn’t acting like a friend. You’re like a little sister to me, Lils. I don’t know what to do without you.
Wheeler: Also… Do you think you could tell Smithy you forgive me so he stops glaring at me? He’s making everyone feel uncomfortable at practice.
Liliana: Everyone?
Wheeler: Fine! Me! He’s making me uncomfortable. I said I was sorry, what else do I do?
Liliana: I hear gift baskets work wonders.
Wheeler: Real funny, Lils. The jokes on you though when you have to get up ten more times today to answer the door.