him than I am that I break down.
“What in the hell am I supposed to do, guys?”
Chapter Six
Paisley
* * *
It’s time I call the cops on myself for being a stalker. Has anyone actually tried to get a restraining order against themselves? My eye has been glued to my peephole for so long since my awkward and weird return to my apartment, it’s surprising it doesn’t stay stuck to the door when I finally turn my back.
It’s been noisy though, and who can blame me for being curious.
It seemed like not long after I came home, glass of wine in hand and all thought of a bubble bath evaporated, the door shut and then an hour later, I heard another noise and saw Byron returning. With boxes and boxes of things.
The pictures on the sides as he made trip after trip showed he’d done some serious shopping. Pack’n’Play was in one. Stroller. Car seat. Diapers. Large red bags from Target proving how many items and how large some of them are and when he opened the door to Mikah’s, I heard a lot of laughing come through.
I wish I was still there.
Stupid. It’s a stupid thought and an even worse idea. He doesn’t need a stranger in his way as he gets settled and holy cow… what he must be thinking. How scared must he be? What’s he going to do?
Mind your own darn business, Paisley. I scold myself and sip my wine before heading to my living room where I pull up Netflix and toss the remote to the table and sit on the couch. I am anything but relaxed.
Man. What a night to end the longest and hardest week.
My imagination runs away with me and it can’t be helped. I held Angelo almost for the entire time I was there earlier. And Mikah mostly looked scared.
What will he do tonight when he cries? How will he handle it when he spits up or when he has to be changed?
I can go over and offer to stay the night. To help. To ease him into this.
I slap my forehead. He has friends. A lot of them considering he named several before deciding on Byron, and man… that guy is big and angry looking.
At first I thought he was going to grab me by the throat and string me up by my toes. Hannah, on the other hand, I thought was going to rip Angelo straight out of my arms if she didn’t get her baby fix. I’m so crazily invested in this entire, wild situation, I zone out to the Netflix logo on the screen. I haven’t bothered turning on a show I won’t focus on watching.
“Get over yourself,” I mutter and take a sip of my wine.
It’s none of my business. So the hottie next door is now a dad. So I finally know his name. So I also now know he has an accent that I can’t place and speaks a language so easily he’s definitely not originally from here. So I know more about him than I did before and I might see him again in passing, or maybe drop by tomorrow to see how he’s doing.
Big deal. He’s still only my neighbor.
Sighing, I grab the remote again and pull up the medical drama I’ve been streaming for the last several weeks. Whatever is going on across the hall from me isn’t my business. I’m glad I was home earlier to help, but Mikah will figure everything out. We’ll go back to passing each other in the hall with a smile and perhaps now a polite word or two.
Other than that, it’s best I focus on me and my schoolwork and what I need to do this weekend like laundry and research. Speaking of, I should probably get started. I set down my wine and head to my bedroom where I grab my laundry basket.
A quick sort and a few minutes later, I have my first load in the washer, humming from the small laundry room closet off my hallway.
I’m just about ready to sit back down with my wine and television drama when a soft knock hits my door.
Mikah. It’s scary he’s my first thought but who else would be here? I hurry to the door and open it without thinking, surprised when Hannah is standing on the other side, hand still raised in a fist like she’s preparing to knock again.
She drops her hand to her side and smiles. “Hey… Paisley? Do you have