To The Rude Guy in Apartment Five - J. S. Cooper Page 0,13

to live next door to Jagger. I would have paid a million dollars to see his smile every day, and now I’d pay a million dollars to never see him at all.”

“You’ll be okay, Magnolia. I promise.” Anna said, her voice soft. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.”

“I have to go now, but I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“Sounds good, and good luck with your millionaire. I hope you get his business.”

“Thanks, girl. Love you.”

And with that, she was gone. I placed the phone on the couch next to me and stared up at the ceiling. Wasn’t life ironic? I could remember having daydreams about Jagger. I could remember picturing his lips against mine. I could remember the touch of his skin on my fingers. I could remember his deep, throaty laugh. I could remember walking to the beach and watching the sunset with him. I could remember how magical it had felt. How I’d felt like I’d been flying in the sky with the birds. How my heart had raced and my entire body had felt like it was on ecstasy. How we’d laughed and talked and laid back and thrown stones into the water as we’d waited. How the sky had been a majestic array of purple, orange, and red.

How I’d thought that was the best night of my life.

The very next day, everything had blown up in my face, and I’d never seen him again. I wished I could say that I’d never thought of him either, but that would be a lie. I’d thought about him often. Wondered how he was. Hoped he was happy. Hoped he was dead. Hoped he’d thought of me. Wished that I would somehow morph into a beautiful, rich supermodel and bump into him in a grocery store.

I’d truly never expected to see him again and now he was here. Right next door. He was the rude guy in apartment five, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next. My life had turned upside down, and I wasn’t sure it would ever be the same again.

Chapter Six

Dear World,

I have a confession to make. I only have one credit card. And it’s not even really my credit card. It’s my dad’s. He put me on it when I was eighteen and never took me off. I never felt the need to get another card all on my own because frankly, I’ve never made enough money to warrant having one. I have always lived by the philosophy of pay back what you borrow, and I can’t really afford to pay back much. The reason I’m telling you this is because how the hell do I write articles helping people to pay back their debt and gaining free trips on credit cards when I have none? I have to think of something great. I do have an idea, but I’m not going to reveal it yet.

Also, did I tell you about my new neighbor, Jagger, yet? Most probably, right? Sorry, he’s got me so overwhelmed and furious. And if I’m honest with you guys, just a little bit confused. Why am I confused? Well, if you knew our history, you would know how weird this whole situation is. But I can’t say more now. Or rather I don’t want to. Sometimes I feel like I would die before I told anyone exactly what happened. There are only two people who know the full story, and that’s me and Jagger. And let’s just say I will kill him if I hear he’s told anyone.

Well, not really. But you know what I mean.

XOXO,

Magnolia

I was slightly disappointed when I grabbed my keys to head to work the next morning. I’d half been hoping that Jagger would be there with another cup of coffee, knocking on my door, trying to get inside, maybe even with his shirt off again, but as I left the apartment, there was no one outside.

I tried to ignore the pit in my stomach as I locked the door and then tried even harder to ignore the sudden lift in my spirits when I noticed the small package on the ground. It was no bigger than a shoebox and wrapped in gold paper. I grabbed it and hurried towards the elevator. I knew that I should have left it on my doormat or put it inside my apartment, but I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on work not knowing what was in the box. I wasn’t one of those