Chapter Five
Ryle was correct. It only took a few days for my ankle to feel good
enough that I could walk on it again. I waited a full week before
attempting to leave my apartment, though. The last thing I need is to
reinjure it.
Of course the first place I went was to my floral shop. Allysa was
there when I arrived today, and to say I was shocked when I walked
through the front doors is an understatement. It looked like a totally
different building than the one I bought. There’s still a ton of work
that needs to be done, but she and Marshall had gotten rid of all the
stuff we marked as trash. Everything else had been organized into
piles. The windows had been washed, the floors had been mopped.
She even had the area where I plan to put an office cleaned out.
I helped her for a few hours today, but she wouldn’t let me do
much that required walking at first, so I mostly drew out plans for the
store. We picked out paint colors and set a goal date to open the store
that’s approximately fifty-four days from now. After she left, I spent
the next few hours doing all the stuff she wouldn’t let me do while she
was there. It felt good to be back. But Jesus Christ, I’m tired.
Which is why I’m debating on whether or not to get up from the
couch and answer the knock at my front door. Lucy is at Alex’s again
tonight and I just spoke to my mother five minutes ago on the phone,
so I know it isn’t either of them.
I walk to the door and check the peephole before opening it. I
don’t recognize him at first, because his head is down, but then he
looks up and to the right and my heart freaks the hell out!
What is he doing here?
Ryle knocks again, and I try to brush my hair out of my face and
smooth it down with my hands, but it’s a lost cause. I worked my ass
off today and I look like shit, so unless I have half an hour to take a