“So, what the hell did you do to this?” he asked.
“I didn’t do anything. I just went to adjust it, and it broke off.”
“These things just don’t break off that easily. You must’ve really grabbed it and yanked it hard.”
He was making me angry with his attitude, and I was thinking about something on him that I was going to grab and yank really hard. I rolled my eyes as I stood there, leaning up against the sink.
“You know what, Mr. Handyman? You’re right; it must be my superhuman strength that broke it.”
He turned his head and looked at me. The corners of his mouth turned up into a small smile that grabbed my attention. I couldn’t look at him anymore. I was getting turned on, and that’s something that hasn’t happened to me in a very long time. I was starting to get annoyed with the way my body was reacting just at the mere sight of him, and the worst part was I couldn’t get what I just saw out of my head.
“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me,” I said as I walked out of the bathroom.
I looked at the clock on the stove, and it was 2:00 a.m. I was practically in tears because I had to be in my classroom at 7:00 a.m., but I still needed to clean myself up. Luke came walking out of the bathroom with his tool box.
“I’ll get the parts that I need tomorrow, and I’ll come back to fix it. Will you be home?” he asked as he looked at me. “Lily, what’s wrong?”
I turned towards the refrigerator and acted like I was getting a bottle of water so that he couldn’t see the tears that were about to fall.
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just really tired; I start my new job in a few hours, and I feel disgusting from unpacking boxes all day. And to answer your question, no, I won’t be home tomorrow; at least not until after 3:00 p.m.”
I heard him take a few steps closer to me from behind. “Hey, grab your things and take a quick shower at my place. By the way, I’m sorry for what you saw earlier.”
I put my hand up to stop him. “Please, don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. It was my fault for walking in on you and your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said unexpectedly. “Come on. Time’s ticking away, and you need a shower.”
I turned around and looked at him. “Thank you, Luke. Let me grab my things.”
He waited for me, and we walked to his apartment. He opened the door, and as I stepped inside, the only thing I saw were two completely naked girls sitting at the table while Sam and Lucky were fully dressed. Luke sighed and walked over to the table. He gathered up the girl’s clothing and threw it at them.
“Girls, it’s been fun, but it’s time to leave now.”
“Hey, man, what the hell are you doing?” Lucky said as he stood up.
“Lily, the bathroom’s on the left,” he said.
I started to walk to the bathroom, and I heard Luke tell Lucky the party’s over and that he needed to leave as well. Lucky wasn’t happy about it, but he did what Luke said. I shut and locked the door. I stepped into the shower and stood under the hot water and relaxed. As I was shampooing my hair, I heard the door open.
“It’s just me; don’t freak out,” Luke said.
I froze. “What the hell, Luke? Get out!” I yelled.
“You’re not the only one who has to get up early. I just need to brush my teeth real quick,” he said.
“You can’t wait until I’m out of the shower and back in my apartment?”
“No, I’m tired, and I want to go to bed. Besides, you women take long showers.”
I heard him start brushing his teeth. I couldn’t believe the nerve of him. “The door was locked; how did you get in?” I asked.
“The lock’s broke, so it wasn’t locked.”
I heard him turn the water off. “I’m going to bed. I’ll be by your place to fix your shower tomorrow after you get home. Night,” he said.
The door shut, and he was gone. “Good night, Luke,” I whispered.
I stepped out of the shower, dried off, threw my clothes on, grabbed my things, and headed towards the door. Sam was cleaning up the mess that was left in the kitchen.
“Lily, before you go,” he said as he walked towards me. “I’m sorry for tonight, and for the things you saw.”
“Don’t be sorry, Sam. What you and Luke do is your business, not mine. You have nothing to apologize for.” I smiled.
He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “Sleep tight. I’m going to give Gretchen a call tomorrow. Could you please not mention what you saw here tonight?” he said with a twisted face.
“Don’t worry; I won’t tell her a thing.” I smiled and walked out the door.
***
I jolted out of bed at the sound of my alarm buzzing. I quickly turned off the irritating sound and looked at the time. It was 5:30 a.m. I didn’t fall asleep until 3:30 a.m., and I was exhausted. I made my way to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face to try and wake myself up. I stumbled into the kitchen, and made a pot of coffee. As the coffee brewed, I put on my makeup, straightened my blonde hair, and put on my clothes. I poured some coffee in my travel mug, grabbed my purse and school bag, and opened the door to leave. As I was locking my door, Luke’s door opened, and he came walking out. Our eyes met.
“Morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” I replied. “You’re up early.”
“I told you last night that you weren’t the only one who had to be up,” he said as he locked his door.
“Have a good day!” I smiled.
“Yeah, you too,” Luke said as he walked up the stairs.
On the way to the school, I couldn’t help but wonder why he was up so early, and why he was going upstairs. He said he didn’t have a girlfriend. Well, he said she wasn’t his girlfriend. I shook my head. He’s no different than every other guy out there, except he was the hottest looking man that I’d ever seen. I couldn’t stop thinking about the scar I saw on him, and I wondered where it came from. Why was I thinking about Luke so much? I can’t do this. I’m starting over, and I can’t have any distractions. I pulled into the school parking lot and headed to my classroom. I walked through the door and stared around the room. This was going to be my second home for the next ten months. I smiled at that thought, and I set my things on my desk. My main focus has to be my students, not Luke.
I heard a soft knock on the door. As I turned to look, Chris Channing, Gretchen and Giselle’s aunt, and the principal of the school, was walking towards me.
“Lily, it’s been way too long. How are you?” she asked as she hugged me.
“I’m good, Chris. Thank you again for hiring me.”
“You’re welcome, and you were the perfect candidate. Not only have I known you for the past twenty years, but I know how much you love children. Gretchen told me about your situation, and I just want to tell you that I’m sorry.”
I looked away and started rearranging things on my desk. “Don’t be sorry, Chris. I’m moving on and starting over. Things worked out for the best.”
“They sure did,” she said as she hugged me again. “Your students will be here any minute. If you need anything at all, call me.”
“I will,” I smiled as the bell rang, and a flock of children entered the classroom.
***
I spent most of the day getting to know the children and having them get to know me. We all had lunch together in the classroom, which they thought was cool. I wanted them, not only to like me, but to trust me as well. I wanted them to feel safe every time they walked into the classroom. The end of the day approached, and the bell rang. In a matter of minutes, the classroom was empty again. I walked around the room and straightened the desks. I grabbed my things, turned off the light, and headed home. Once I arrived at the apartment building, I unlocked and opened the door, threw my bags onto the chair, and kicked off my heels. I sat down on the couch for a minute to relax when I heard a knock on the door. I got up, looked through the peephole, and saw Luke standing there. I opened it a
nd motioned for him to come in.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hey,” he said without even looking at me and just walked down the hall.
I rolled my eyes. I was extremely tired, and I was in no mood for his attitude.
I put the kettle on the stove for some tea. All I wanted right now was the comfort of my plush bed. As I was waiting for the water to heat up, I heard Luke yell from the bathroom.
“Shit!” he yelled.
It sounded like a yell of pain, so I walked to the bathroom to see what had happened. He stood there holding his hand.
“Are you ok? What happened?” I asked.
“Nothing, just go!” he spat.
“Excuse me, mister, but this is my fucking bathroom, and I’ll be in here if I want to be.”
He looked up at me. “Do you always use that kind of language?”
“Yes, I do. Now let me take a look at your hand,” I said as I lightly touched it.
He pulled away quickly. “No, it’s fine. I don’t need your help.”
“Maybe you do or maybe you don’t. You’re hurt, and I need to see how bad it is. Now sit your goddamn ass on that toilet so I can take a look.”
He looked at me with anger in his eyes. “You can come off as being really mean.”
“Good, I’m glad you noticed. Now, give me your hand.”
He held out his hand, and I removed the blood-soaked tissue. I grabbed a washcloth from under the sink and wrapped it around his hand. “Put pressure on that while I get the antiseptic and a Band-Aid. It doesn’t look like it needs stitches.”
I reached into the cabinet and got out the antiseptic and some cotton balls. I could see him staring at me out of the corner of my eye. I soaked the cotton ball with antiseptic and set it on the edge of the counter. I turned to him and took his hand. I didn’t want to look at him because he had the most amazing brown eyes.
“Where are you from?” he asked out of nowhere.
“Why do you care?” I replied.
“I don’t. I’m just trying to make small talk.”
“Seattle.”
“Is your family still there?”
“I don’t have any family. They’re dead.”
I removed the washcloth and took a cotton ball from the edge of the counter. “This is going to sting, but I know that you’re a big boy, and you can handle it.” I dabbed his cut on the side of his hand with the antiseptic soaked cotton ball.
“Fuck!” he screamed and tried to pull his hand away.
“Do you always use that kind of language?” I asked.
“Only when someone’s hurting me!” he exclaimed.
“Stop being a baby and man up.”
“Don’t tell me to man up!”
“Fine,” I said.
I put the Band-Aid on his hand. “There, all better. Now get back to fixing my shower.”
He looked at me and got up from the toilet. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said as I walked out of the bathroom.
I took a teabag from the cupboard and made some tea. I took my cup and sat down at the table. About thirty minutes later, Luke emerged from the bathroom.
“You’re all set,” he said.
“Great. Thank you. Can I offer you a beer?” I asked, not sure why those words escaped my lips.
“No, I need to go. Enjoy the rest of your evening,” he said as he walked out of my apartment.
5
Luke
I opened the door to my apartment and set my tool box by the closet. I looked at my watch, and it was almost time for Mrs. Clements to bring Charley home. I walked outside to wait for her. Charley takes a dance class after school with her best friend, Allie. Allie’s mom picks the girls up from school, takes them to dance class, and then drops Charley off at my place. When Maddie works the day shift at the bar, she usually doesn’t get off work until 6:00 p.m. She doesn’t work many nights, but when she does, Charley spends the night at my place.
“Hey, peanut, how was your first day of school?” I asked her as I carried her backpack inside.
“It was great, but I’m hungry,” she pouted.
“What do you want to eat?” I asked.
“Grilled cheese,” she smiled.
“One grilled cheese sandwich coming right up,” I said as I got out the pan. “Tell me about your day.”
“I love my new teacher. She’s so nice and super pretty.”
“Is that so?” I asked. “What’s her name?”
“Miss Gilmore.”
I made Charley her grilled cheese sandwich and listened to her as she told me all about her day.
“Uncle Luke, what happened to your hand?” she asked as she looked at the Band-Aid.
“Yeah, Uncle Luke, what happened to your hand?” Sam asked as he walked through the door smiling.
“It’s just a cut from fixing the shower next door. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Do you have homework, Charley?” I asked.
“Nope. Miss Gilmore said we would all be too tired from our first day to concentrate on homework, so she didn’t give us any.”
“She sounds like a cool teacher,” I smiled.
“She’s really cool, and you would like her.”
I walked out of the kitchen as she said that and sat down on the couch. Sam opened a beer, handed it to me, and sat on the chair across from me.
“How did it go at Lily’s?”
“It went fine, except I cut myself,” I said.
“I invited Gretchen to go with us to the beach this weekend, and I think you should invite Lily.”
I looked at Sam and sighed. “Your hang up with me and Lily is getting old. I’m not interested. If you want her to join us at the beach this weekend, ask her yourself.”
“Fine, I will,” he said as he pulled out his phone.
Charley came over and sat next to me. “Can I watch SpongeBob Squarepants?”
I put my arm around her, and she snuggled up against me. I turned on her show, and looked over at Sam as he started laughing.
“What is so funny?” I asked.
“Lily asked if you were going to the beach, and when I told her yes, she said no. You two are going to kill me.”
I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t stop thinking about how Lily told me that her family was dead. I couldn’t imagine not having my family. I haven’t seen any guys coming around, so I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Not that it matters, I’m just surprised that someone as beautiful as her doesn’t have one.
The door opened, and Maddie walked in.
“Mommy!” Charley exclaimed as she jumped up from the couch.
“Baby, how was school?” she asked as Charley jumped in her arms.
“Hey, Maddie,” I said as I kissed her on the cheek. “How was work?”
“It was the same as every other day. I got hit on a few times. A couple of drunken guys grabbed my ass. You know; the usual.”
“Yeah, well I better never see them grabbing your ass, otherwise I’ll kick theirs,” I said.
“Tell Uncle Luke and Uncle Sammy goodbye, Charley.”
“Bye, Charley,” Sam smiled from the couch.
“Bye, peanut,” I said as I held out my fist to hers.
“Later gator,” we both said at the same time.
I walked over and sat back down on the couch. “Do you know anything about Lily’s past?”
Sam shot me a look. “No, but why are you asking?”
“I don’t know. It’s just something she said earlier.”
“What did she say?” Sam asked.
“I asked her where she’s from and she said Seattle. I asked if her family lived there, but she said that she doesn’t have any family and that they’re dead.”
Sam looked at me, and his mouth dropped. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously, dude.”
“Wow, poor Lily, to be all alone with no family. That’s awful.”
Sam got up from the chair to take a shower. He was t
aking Gretchen out on a date.
I grabbed an ice-cold beer from the fridge and sat back down on the couch. My phone beeped, and there was a text message from Lucky.
“Dude, come to the bar tonight; there’s some really hot chicks here, and I scored us a gig for Saturday night.”
I wasn’t in the mood for the bar tonight. I replied back.
“Sorry, Lucky, not tonight, and thanks for the gig on Saturday.”
I got up from the couch and grabbed my guitar. I sat back down, and as I was going to begin to play, I heard music coming from the other side of the wall. Lily was playing her guitar. The song she was playing sounded familiar. As I strummed a few chords, the music from the other side of the wall stopped. I played a short tune and waited. Lily played it right back. I strummed another tune, something a little more difficult, and then I waited. A few seconds later, she played it back. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Is that a smile I just saw on your face, Luke?” Sam said as he walked by.
“No, and where are you taking Gretchen?” I asked to change the subject.
“I’m taking her to a new restaurant for dinner and then maybe a movie after.”
“Have a good time,” I said as Sam headed out the door.
I strummed a few more chords and waited for Lily to strum back, but she never did. I decided to try and write a new song. It’s been a year since I’ve written anything. Ever since…
6
Lily
“Hello,” I said as I answered Gretchen’s call.
“Guess what I’m doing tonight,” she said.
“I don’t know, taking a bubble bath and shaving your legs?”
“No, Lily, stop it! I’m going on a date with Sam!”
“Ah, so he finally called you. That’s great, Gretchen; I’m happy for you.”
“Try it sometime, Lily. You might surprise yourself and like it.”
“No thanks. I’m happy with my life as it is. I don’t need a man to be complicating things. Have fun on your date with Sam. You better call me tomorrow and let me know how things went.”