CHAPTER 4

MIA

There was only one other time I felt like this—sixth grade, my first-ever presentation. My middle school was strict about projects; you couldn’t pass on to the next grade without completing one. It wasn’t that the assignments were difficult, but the pressure on my 10-year-old self was unbearable. I completely froze. Not a single word came out. It felt like the world was collapsing around me.

Thankfully, my partner and newly found friend, El, took over the first half, giving me time to get my shit together. We passed with flying colors.

But right now, there’s no El to save me. I’m stuck, frozen like a deer in headlights.

“Cat got your tongue?” Griffon asks, her smile growing wider.

“Uhhh—” My head snaps around, searching frantically, but Eleanor is nowhere in sight. My gaze falls back on Griffon. She’s wearing a sage green sweater vest over a white tee, but it’s her eyes that draw me in—bright blue, sharp enough to stop me in my tracks. Still, the satisfied look on her face makes my eyes narrow.

“How do you know where I work?” I question.

Her brows lift, but she doesn’t say a word. Instead, her eyes start to roam over me, and just like that, I’m pulled back to Saturday, to the moment we first met.

Shit.

I was wearing my uniform then. The realization washes over me, and I squeeze my eyes shut, but it’s too late—her laugh is already ringing in my ears.

“Yeah, I don’t know if I would’ve cussed out someone in my work uniform, but I guess it doesn't matter if we’re neighbors now, huh?” When my eyes open again, Griffon’s head is tilted, one eyebrow raised.

I do another quick scan of the empty café and clear my throat before finally speaking. “Look, I’m sorry for banging on your door and yelling at you. I swear I’m not normally like that—it just kind of blew up on you.”

When I finish, I can feel her eyes on me, but mine stay glued to the countertop between us.

“I’m just teasing you, I promise. I actually came down here to apologize. I was hoping I didn’t scare you off with all the—uhh… noise. I haven’t seen you in a few days, so I thought I’d stop by,” Griffon explains, her hand reaching to scratch the back of her neck.

I raise my eyebrows in shock. Apologize? That’s the last thing I expected to hear from her.

“Besides,” she continues, “I’m the building’s new handywoman, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of me.” Her smile doesn’t change a bit when my eyes bulge and my mouth gapes open. There’s so much to unpack here that I don’t even know where to begin.

“I’m sorry. What did you just say?” I blurt out.

“Oh, I was hired to work on maintenance. That’s actually why I moved in. It was a great deal and the perfect opportunity for me to work and live in the same place.” Her smile doesn’t falter, and while I know she’s not talking fast, her words jumble together in my head. I must be going insane because there’s no way this woman—with bright orange hair, blue eyes, and strikingly loud confidence (not to mention the music)—just said she’s working maintenance in the building I live in.

She’s already headed for the exit before I can muster a response. Now I can finally see her full outfit, including the khakis that fit her perfectly. She stops before she’s out the door and looks over her shoulder. The sunlight creates natural highlights in her ginger hair as her sapphire eyes meet mine.

“Oh, and about that package!” Her finger shoots up as if she just remembered.

I can feel the color rush to my cheeks as my eyes disconnect from hers. I knew this was coming, but I would’ve never imagined it would blow up at my job. For a minute, I actually thought El was right and that she forgot all about it.

“Keep it, as a gift from me,” Griffon says, winking before walking out the door, letting the café bell’s chime sound one last time.

***

The air I didn't know I was holding finally escaped from my chest when I locked my front door, closing El and me inside my apartment. Immediately, I drop everything and let my body sink into my couch. I already hear El making her way into my kitchen and probably grabbing us drinks.

I let out a loud groan just now realizing how hard my temples are pounding.

The air I didn’t know I was holding finally escapes from my chest as I lock the front door, closing El and me inside my apartment. Immediately, I drop everything and let my body sink into the couch. I can already hear El making her way into my kitchen, probably grabbing us drinks.

` I let out a loud groan, just now realizing how hard my temples are pounding.

“I mean, I don't really see what the issue is, Mia. Isn’t it a good thing that your place finally has someone doing maintenance? Isn’t your garbage disposal still broken? And doesn’t your toilet still make that screeching noise every time you fl—”

I cut her off before she can continue to remind me of all the issues I’ve piled up.

“That’s exactly why this isn’t good, El! That means I’d have to see her more often!” My arms are flailing as I stand up from the couch and begin to pace.

She stares at me blankly, completely confused.

“You don’t get it, El. This girl is something else. If you could’ve seen how she was talking to me today, it’s like she’s… she’s—”

I can’t seem to find the right word to describe Griffon, but the sound of multiple people laughing next door makes me forget what we were even talking about. Both of our heads snap to my front door when the sound of Griffon’s front door opening echoes through the hallway.

In a matter of seconds, El and I make eye contact from across the room before we both begin racing each other to my front door. I should’ve known she would win, though.

From her position in my small kitchen, it took her less than five steps before her face was squished flat against my door, looking out the peephole.

“She’s hot!” Eleanor exclaims, as I finally make it to the door.

“Oh my God, El. Be quiet!” I whisper back. “I wouldn’t say she’s hot. ”

That makes her pull herself away from the door. “Are you insane? She looks like a fucking model—her and her friends.” She moves back to the peephole before I push in front of her.

“Let me see.” I can hear her groan in defeat, but I don’t care.

It’s kind of blurry because of how dirty my peephole is, but even through the dust, I know Eleanor’s right.

The first girl I see is a tall brunette; her hair is so long it almost matches the length of her black mini-dress. Hooked on her arm is a shorter tan girl with a head full of curls. Whatever they’re laughing at makes them double over as they walk past my door.

I pull away for just a moment, “What did you see? Did you hear them say anything?”

“No, you pushed me away before I could, but I did hear the two girls call her Griffon,” Eleanor says.

I’m tempted to open the door just to get a peek at how she looks. I wonder if she is still in that same green vest from before. But I know I could be risking further embarrassment and I think I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime. So I back away and let the voices fade into nothing as they walk down the hallway. But my mind can’t stop roaming through all the places Griffon could be going right now.

Who are those girls she's with? Maybe they aren’t her friends—maybe one of them is her girlfriend? Or are they both her girlfriends? Is that who I heard with her Friday night?

I don’t even realize I’ve zoned out until El’s fingers snap in front of my face.

“Hellooo? Earth to Mia!” I finally turn to see El standing before my door with arms crossed over her chest.

“What? What is it?” “Uhhh, I think you have some explaining to do, don’t you think?”

I turn away and head toward the couch. “What do you mean?” I ask, trying to sound confused.

“You know what I mean! We’ve been hanging out all weekend, and not once did you mention how hot your neighbor is. You made it sound like she was some crazy weirdo you couldn’t stand to be around.”

It’s quiet for a moment. “Well, I wasn’t really focused on her looks when we first met. May I remind you of the situation I was in?”

El just rolls her eyes and sighs before joining me on the couch.

“We can’t be losers for the rest of our lives, Mia. We're 25, I still live at home with my parents, and we've been working at the same café for four years now. Something’s got to change! How can you deny what the universe is literally giving you? I mean, did you see how tall she is? Jesus, you could climb her like a damn tre—"

“Okay, enough, El! I get it. I want change too, but definitely not like this. Now can we please just drop it for tonight? I just want to forget about all of this,” I interrupt.

She waves her hand in my face. “Fine, fine, I’ll drop it for now, but you're not escaping this, Mia. She literally gave you a dildo!”

“Which I will be giving back,” I say, pointing my finger at her to make it clear.

“Ugh, why?” El groans.

“El, I can’t actually have her thinking I would use that!”

She doesn’t respond, but her lips are tight. I move to turn on the TV, ending the conversation. I’m about to click on Netflix when El stops me.

Her voice breaks the silence. “But what if you did?” El asks.

“Huh?” I turn to face her again, the remote still loosely in my hand.

“I mean, what if you acted like you used it?” It’s still silent as I stare at her blankly, wide-eyed.

“Let’s be real, I don’t think she’d actually expect you to use it either, but what if she just thinks you did?”

Eleanor looks like one of those cartoon characters when they get a crazy idea and a lightbulb pops up above their head. Instead, the light is in her eyes, and I can feel the excitement rolling off her. But I’m about 100 steps behind, trying to catch up.

“Okay, but why in the world would I do that? And who the hell do you think I am?” I ask, my neck craning forward as my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“I mean, don’t you want to change her perspective on you just a little bit? She probably thinks you're just some stuck-up bitch of a neighbor that she’ll never get along with. Plus, she embarrassed you at your job, Mia. She knows she’s in your head. And she definitely doesn’t think you have the balls to do it,” Eleanor explains.

I close my eyes tightly and pinch the bridge of my nose, trying not to take offense to any of her accusations.

“And you think me fake using that toy will help change her perspective?”

Her eyes are wide as she nods proudly.

I don’t even know what to say anymore. I thought I was down bad, but Eleanor seems to have completely lost it. I feel like I’m the only one still stuck on the crazy idea she just proposed, and she doesn’t even seem fazed by my silence.

In fact, for the rest of the night, she seems so satisfied with what she’s come up with that she falls asleep halfway through the movie she picked. And I’m stuck watching zombies tear people’s brains apart while I work my way through the bomb she just dropped on me.