Carl and Fray should’ve been at work. My voice rasped, “Carl?” After a pause, the door opened again. It was Julia. What in the blazes was she doing here? She stuck her head in and flashed a soft smile. “How did you get in here?”
“The apartment or your room?”
I wasn’t sure which I meant. “Both.”
She opened the door wider and invited herself in. “Well, Fray and I started texting around 4:30 this morning and agreed it would be best for me to stay here with you today. He let me in before he left.” She plopped herself into my recliner and pulled the lever. “And for your room specifically, I used a credit card. It’s very easy.” She paused and smirked. “If you want to keep me out of here, you need to install a deadbolt.”
Jules tagging around was the last thing I wanted. When I attempted to roll and push myself into an upright position, searing pain bolted through my torso. I aborted the motion and settled flat onto my back instead. The broken ribs were more painful today than I expected. Taking a deep breath hurt.
“You sore?”
“A bit.”
“Let me get you some ice.” Jules disappeared down the hall. A big clatter echoed in the apartment as she dropped ice all over the floor. She must’ve appointed herself as my voluntary guardian and nurse. I couldn’t understand why. The urn was still on my dresser. I hoped she didn’t see it, because I didn’t want to answer any questions.
She stopped at my dresser holding a Ziploc bag of ice and a glass of water. Her index finger stopped on the second drawer. “Is this the one t-shirts are in?”
“Third drawer.”
She grabbed a plain white t-shirt. The urn rattled when she slammed the drawer shut. I followed her gaze the whole time. She didn’t seem to notice it. But then again, who knows how many times she’d been in my room. Jules wrapped the t-shirt around the bag and placed it over my sternum. “You are going to have to rest for a while so your ribs can heal up. No construction for the foreseeable future, that’s for sure.”
She handed me a couple ibuprofens and a glass of water. I forgot to tell Carl I’d be out for a bit. “I guess I should probably communicate with Carl.” I rolled to my side enough to take a drink, and handed the glass back.
“Fray already did.” The recliner squeaked as she dropped into it again. “He said to take as much time as you need.”
The ice stung my skin. I didn’t want her intervention. I looked at the wooden urn again, then at her. Jules knew nothing about me. “Why are you here?”
She matched my gaze and blinked. Her eyes were red and swollen, and I wondered if she’d had any sleep at all. “Because you need someone, and I don’t have anything better to do.”
I said nothing.
“So, it’s like one in the afternoon. You hungry or what? Because I’m about to scrounge around for some food in the kitchen.”
“Not really.” She ignored my response and swept out of the room. Cabinet doors opened and closed. The refrigerator door slammed a couple times. She hummed something off-key. A few minutes later she returned with turkey sandwiches.
“The choices were not great, and this turkey had Fray’s name on it. I owe him some Boar’s Head.” She put my plate on the end table and returned to the recliner.
The ice and meds had taken the edge off the pain, so I pushed myself into an upright position. The wall was cool against my back. The springs in the chair squeaked in beats as she rhythmically bounced back off her toe. She must’ve repainted her nails; they were pink now instead of brown.
“You don’t have too bad a view here.” Her mouth was full when she said it, and she gazed out my window as she chewed. She swallowed. “Perks of being in the last building, I guess.”
My sandwich sat untouched. She ate in silence for several minutes before brushing her hands on her bare thighs and turning back to me.
“You want to get out today?”
“No.”
“How about we watch a movie?”
“I’m okay, thanks.”
“Play a game?”
“Jules—”
“Well, your view out this window is good, but not that good.” She crossed her arms. “I’m not going to stare at it all day.”
I started to get out of the bed when I realized I was still in my boxers. “Ah, can I get dressed?”
