“Um, yeah,” Korbin said awkwardly, taking the bouquet she handed him. His hand dropped to his side, still clinging to the bouquet like he had no idea what to do with it. I couldn’t blame him. I had no idea how this was even happening.
“Hi, Peyton,” Amanda said finally, but she barely caught my gaze when she said it.
“Hello again, Amanda.”
She turned her attention back to Korbin, a smile lighting up her face like New Year’s Eve. “You have a really nice place,” she said quietly, as though trying to push me out of the conversation. “It’s lovely here.”
Korbin opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it again, looking absolutely astonished into silence. I had debated saying something so as not to get into the middle of whatever in the hell this was, but if Korbin couldn’t let her down easy, I would.
“Hey, Amanda,” I said, waiting until her attention was back on me. “I’m not so sure that coming around so often is quite a good idea.”
Her eyes narrowed in my direction, and for a moment all innocent charm and shyness were gone. She glared at me, a glare so uncomfortably sinister that I almost took a step back to hide behind Korbin.
“Is that what he says or what you say?” she asked evenly. Next to me, Korbin rested his fingers on my wrist, a slight reassurance.
“It’s what we both say,” he said, setting the bouquet of flowers down on the side table. He gave my fingers a gentle squeeze and stepped up, facing Amanda. “Look, I really appreciate all you’ve done to check in on me,” he said. “But it’s unnecessary. Truly. I’m much better now and I’m moving on with my life, into the things that are important to me.”
“I was just trying to help,” said Amanda, and I hated the tone of her voice. Whiny. Scorned.
“I know,” said Korbin gently, as if trying to coax down an elementary school kid. “And you did great. Thank you.”
For a moment only a harsh silence settled between the three of us. I hadn’t realized I’d been clenching my jaw until it began to ache with pain. I had to consciously focus on relaxing it as Amanda stood looking between the two of us, her lip curled up in a sneer.
“I guess I better be going then,” she said in a huff, reaching across Korbin to snag the bouquet that he had laid aside. She looked down at the flowers with a frown and then, before either one of us could say anything, she threw the bouquet to the ground, grinding the flowers into the floor with the heel of her boot. All Korbin and I could do was watch her, staring open-mouthed as Amanda stomped the gift into the floor, seething. She turned away from us and ran, not slowing for a second even as Korbin called her name.
“What the hell was that?” I gasped, my eyes still held captive by the destroyed bouquet under our feet. “Did she just do that?”
“Yeah,” he said, pushing a breath of air between his teeth. “She just did that.”
“What—why?”
“I have no idea.”
My jaw still hanging open, I tore my eyes away from the bouquet and pinned them on Korbin. He was still looking at the spot Amanda had just vanished from.
“Hey,” I said, poking him gently in the arm. “I know I’ve asked this before, but I feel obligated to ask it again—is she someone I need to be worried about? Not just as a person, but also as whomever she is to you?”
Korbin was quiet for a moment, as if trying to get his bearings. He shook his head and leaned down to pick up the stomped flowers.
“No,” he said. “I barely know the girl and that’s the truth. It started out innocent, she just wanted to check in, but now she’s everywhere.” He stopped in front of a bold red door and pulled out his keys to unlock it, then pushed open the door and took a step back to allow me to go through first.
I didn’t know what I’d expected Korbin’s place would be like, but it certainly wasn’t this. Part of me had waited for a bachelor pad, a tiny little apartment littered with old beer cans and dirty laundry, where he lived his lonely life. But this…this wasn’t it.
The condo was clean. Very clean. Like, unlived-in clean, not the kind of place you’d expect a firefighter to live. And it was big, much bigger than my mother’s house, though that wasn’t saying much. The floors were wood, oak, probably, and a spiral staircase just off the kitchen led up to what looked like a loft that overlooked the town of Eagle River.
“This is nice,” I said, stopping at the door to take off my shoes. “No wonder Amanda was waiting for you at the door.”
Korbin watched me as I took my shoes off, a small smile playing on his lips.
“I haven’t had a woman here even once,” he said. “Not before right now. So yeah—this is home.” He dropped the bouquet into a trash bin near the kitchen and then stopped to look around, as if admiring the place himself. “Unfortunately, I don’t get to spend much time here, but it’s nice to have anyway.”
“I bet it is.” Crossing the floor, I spent a moment admiring the décor of the condo. Now that he mentioned it, I definitely noticed the lack of a personal touch. It seemed almost sterile, like what a beautiful wing in a hospital might look and feel like.
“Have a seat,” Korbin said, pointing to the oversized couch in the living-room. Thoughts of Amanda still gnawed at me as I took a seat and tucked my legs underneath me. I admired the décor as Korbin went to the kitchen for two bottles of beer. He returned a moment later and took a seat next to me, handing me mine. I took it from him gratefully and took a long drink, feeling the bubbles tickle my throat.
“I’m sorry about Amanda,” he said, turning his body towards me on the couch. “I didn’t expect her to be here.”
“Actually, she showed up at my mom’s house just before you got there,” I told him. “Apparently she’s still going to be my mom’s nurse for a while.”
