“What have you been up to this week? Any new projects around the house?” I ask, knowing her love for DIY projects and gardening has no bounds.
“Well, since you asked…”
She goes on to tell me about the most beautiful petunias she picked up at the nursery today. As she goes on and on about finding the perfect place to plant them, I’m thankful for the mindless chatter.
I put her on speaker and change out of my work clothes into a pair of stretchy yoga pants and a sports bra. I’m piling my hair on top of my head when she asks a question that throws me off balance.
“So, are you dating anyone?” she probes, her already chipper voice taking on a sing-song quality.
My mind instantly lands on Andrew and the last couple of weeks we’ve shared together.
He even told me I was his, so why am I feeling discarded?
Taking in another mouthful of ice, I give my mom an answer that’s as close to the truth as I can manage.
“Not really.”
Thankfully, it’s enough for her because she moves on to the next topic of discussion.
“God, I miss your crazy self!” I tell her laughingly after she’s finished telling me yet another story about her flighty next-door neighbor.
“Oh, I miss you too, honey. It’s a shame you won’t be able to make it down here this summer,” she laments sadly.
Guilt stings my eyes with unshed tears. As crazy as this summer is turning out, I could really use one of her hugs right about now. My road trip plans had fallen by the wayside when I took on this assignment with Edward.
“How’s Aunt Sara?” I ask quietly, referring to the aunt who planted the seed to reach as many people as I could through education.
“Oh, she’s great. She asked about you while we were in the garden earlier. You know if she were here she’d be demanding to speak to her favorite niece.”
That makes me smile. I’m her only niece but I still get a kick out of her calling me that no matter what.
Aunt Sara is my mother’s only sibling. She’s fifty-two-years old with high functioning autism. My mother moved to Tampa after she divorced my dad to be closer to Aunt Sara.
Aunt Sara is the reason I do what I do. She lived with us for a spell when I was a kid and it always bothered me to see how people treated her in public based on the perceptions of someone like her. That is, until they got a whiff of her overprotective niece and learned to back the fuck up.
As I grew older, it was heartbreaking to think of how the school system failed her due to lack of resources. Because Aunt Sara is high functioning and tests very high, she’d been placed in typical classrooms with teachers who were not equipped to cater to her learning style.
From an early age, it spurred me on to do something about students who may end up similar situations.
A few minutes later, I end the call with my mom feeling a little better than I did when I got home. Walking in the living room, I see the chaos left from last night and sigh heavily.
It’s time to restore some order to this place.
Twenty-two
LILAH
Monday morning has rolled around once again and still no word from Andrew.
I spent my weekend home alone and binging on my favorite shows while I cleaned my apartment from top to bottom. Cleaning has always been a coping mechanism of mine and the place is fucking spotless, if I do say so myself.
Once the place was immaculate, I began working on some emails to potential donors for my project. With things so shaky, I don’t want to rely solely on this thing at Castle working out. Who’s to say Edward will even uphold his end of the deal?
I polished the PowerPoint presentation that I attach to every email and even worked on the website for a while. It felt good to be immersed in work that actually means something to me. Not to mention, it was a great distraction.
Pathetically, I kept my phone on the charger not too far from me at any given moment.
Just in case.
It never rang. By Sunday, I had stopped hoping against hope and faced the truth of the matter. He’s never going to call.
This is exactly why you shouldn’t go around screwing people you’re not in love with.
I’ve been around the block enough times to know that I shouldn’t mistake my strong attraction to Andrew for love. While I was definitely falling for him, what I felt for him still wasn’t love… yet.
And those feelings had clearly been one-sided.
Fine.
I’ll come to terms with that on my own time. However, I still need to figure out a way to manage his account in the midst of all this.
How the hell am I supposed to maintain professionalism when I reach out to him when all I really want to do is curse him out?
These tumultuous thoughts tumble around in my head as I exit the stairwell and head for the parking lot outside my apartment building. I press unlock on my key fob as I walk to my assigned parking spot.
But there’s only one problem.
My car isn’t here.
You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!
Counting backwards in my head to my last warning voicemail, I realize that I missed the deadline to submit a payment installment to the bank. And they certainly kept their word about confiscating my wheels.
“Son of a bitch!” I screech into the humid morning air.
It’s not even nine and the sun is already glaring down on me ruthlessly. Hands fisted at my side, I throw my head back and groan low in my throat.
Why is this happening?
The universe can’t be this adverse to me catching a break for once.
“Looks like I’m walking.” I exhale,
