Eighteen
Harold, our doorman, told me a package arrived for me this morning. I don’t need to read the label to know it isn’t mine. I haven’t ordered anything, which means this has nothing to do with me and everything to do with my downstairs neighbor and her complete lack of restraint when it comes to online shopping.
So much for the truce.
I nudge the box aside with my foot and peel off my clothes before I head for the shower and let the hot water steam away the edge of a sixteen-hour shift.
When I come back out with a towel secured around my waist, I decide it’s time to see what new soundproofing technology Madison has deployed.
I examine it in my hands. It’s a small box. Not big enough for more mats.
It’s probably poisonous.
I slice the tape. Beneath the packing paper is another, smaller box. I lift it out, my stomach doing a flip.
Inside sits something shaped like a rose.
It’s deep red and silicone, with a discreet charging port tucked underneath.
My brain moves through three stages of disbelief before my professional experience kicks in. I don’t need instructions. I have spent enough nights in the ER to recognize this on sight. You’d be surprised at what patients come in with, and even more surprised at where we have to retrieve them from.
“This cannot be happening.”
I check the packaging again because denial is a powerful drug. There’s an invoice tucked inside. She used my address, but Madison’s full name is right there in the evidence.
I snap a picture of the rose resting in my palm, because I’ll convince myself I’ve hallucinated later, then text it to her.
Me:What is this? I thought we agreed to a truce?
A moment passes before the typing bubbles appear.
Madison:Who is this?
Me:Beckett. 4B.
Madison:How did you get my number?
I look at the silicone flower in my hand.
Really? That’s the play?
Me:It’s on the invoice, which is currently in my hand. Along with your… package.
My chest tightens unexpectedly as my brain supplies an image.
Red hair.
Freckles.
Her mouth parted in concentration or frustration or…
I shut that down immediately.
Not fucking happening.
Me:How exactly is this supposed to help with the noiseissue?
The response comes back at lightning speed.
