Chapter Four
Another unfulfilling dayat my job caused my shoulders to be more tense than usual, and I stretched my arms as I walked from my car to the apartment building like I had every day since I moved in. I got the mail—nothing exciting—and was about to go into my unit when a very loud booming came from Nora’s unit.
I hadn’t seen her in twenty-four hours. I’d heard her, that was for sure, and the booming caused a prickle of worry down my spine. I got closer to her door when the booming shifted, and a loud, deep voice carried through the door, but it was muffled. Like someone was speaking on a megaphone through a pillow.Did she have company?
I knocked, just to make sure she was alive, but no one answered. The voice rambled on until I caught the wordsJames and the Giant Peach.My entire body tensed for one second before the loudest, most absurd cackle overtook my body. It was one of those laughs that made my face ache from smiling and my throat hoarse from laughing so hard. It was a fucking audiobook.
She wasn’t home but had an audiobook going, and I’d bet my entire inheritance it was for herplants.My eyes watered from amusement, and I unlocked my door, still laughing, and was about to kick off my shoes when the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Something was different.
It wasn’t the bookshelf or the empty beer can on the table…it was the lighting. I loved the natural lighting in the place, but it was darker than the afternoon sun I was used to getting. I scanned the patio when it hit me.
There were plants in my fucking apartment. Six of them. Three were inside my living room, and three were on my patio. How the—what the—why?My amusement shifted to annoyance really fast, and I picked up the three plants in my apartment and moved them onto the patio where I was assaulted by green leaves.
They were everywhere. The only space uncovered was the two-foot area outside my door. Nora had claimed thesharedpatio for her plants, each of which had a name tag.Kacie—loves Sara Bareilles. Colin—loves rock and guitar solos.
I couldn’t breathe. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to rationalize how this happened or why when the sliding door next to me opened, and Nora walked out—letting the audiobook blast the quiet air. She wore a large floppy hat, a tiny tank top, and cutoff jean shorts.
Whoa. The cutoffs were verynormalfor someone like her, and I wanted to comment on them, on the plants, on everything when she started singing. “Mommy loves you so much. You’re the best plants in the bunch. She’ll find you a home and a new life. I just need to be rich or get married.”
I snorted. I couldn’t stop myself, and she gasped, spun around, and knocked over one of the plants. She yelped and fell to the ground asJustinfell out of the pot and spilled soil all over the bricked patio.
“No, no, no,” she mumbled, scooping up the dirt and rearranging the plant into a different pot. “It’s okay. You’ll root here.”
“Uh, can I help?”
“No. Your negative energy is already doing enough damage.”
“My negative energy?”
“Yes,” she snapped, her tone darkening before she eyed me up and down. “You are a very uptight man. That is why I placed all these calming plants by your unit. You need their positive, absorbing energy.”
“Nora, you wentintomy place. That’s…not cool.”
“It was unlocked.”
“You took that as permission?” I laughed at her audacity. She didn’t look ashamed at all. If anything, she looked mad. “You realize that’s illegal, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “We share a floor.”
“Yeah. Doesn’t give you permission toentermy place. Did you touch any more of my shit?” I rubbed the back of my neck, wincing at the thought of her seeing a photo of Gilly and me and her piecing the truth together. “Did you?” I asked again when she remained quiet.
“Of course not. That would be rude to touch your personal things.”
“But entering my apartment didn’t cross that line?”
“You need these plants, Fritz. You’re carrying around your stress in your shoulders, and these will bring a sense of calm.”
“I’m not stressed or uptight or…” I said, hearing the words come off shallow and a little untrue. I had been more uptight than usual, and the lack of purpose in my life had been bothering me more and more. In college, I was laid-back, living the dream without real responsibility, always figuring I could figure my future out later. And now it was later, and something was still missing. “Much. Maybe a little bit.”
“Ah, there it is,” she said, pushing herself up to her full height and smiling. It was unnerving to see her lips curved up on both sides. It made her face softer, more feminine, cuter, even. “Here.”
She shoved a piece of paper at me, into my chest, and arched one brow. I grabbed the sheet and pulled it back to look at it. There was a lot of green ink, and before I could ask what it was, I saw her writing.
WATERING AND MUSIC SCHEDULE
Irritation prickled along my skin, making my neck tense. Did she want me to tuck them in too? I groaned, but stopped when she narrowed her eyes.
She bent down and rubbed the leaves ofJasonagain, a line appearing between her brows, and she looked at me over her shoulder. “Stick to that schedule or they won’t succeed.”
