3.0 The Chronicles of Us - Choas & Clarity

Chapter eleven

•★ Tex ★•

Maggie and Frank live in an apartment building with a video intercom system, so, unfortunately for me, Ellie will see me through the camera before opening the door. Which she probably won't do. Nervous as absolute fuck, I press the button.

Nothing happens ...

Is she stilling looking or did she walk away at the first glimpse of my stupid face? Probably the latter. I should just go. My plan, or lack thereof, is dumb anyway. I mean, really? Flowers?

The familiar sinking of my heart makes me sigh a deep one. With a sad grimace and slumped shoulders, I turn away from the door.

Buzzzzzz.

Surprised butterflies fill my gut. Holy hell! The gates have been opened, allowing me entry into paradise. Let's hope a forgiving angel awaits me instead of a revenge-bent one. Quickly, before the door locks again, I get inside. She will definitely not buzz me in a second time.

The elevator takes me to the third floor and my feet move me down the hallway until I reach the front door. It's open. I sorta expected to find a note taped to the door saying, "Haha. Get lost sucker."

"Bir—Ellie?" I shouldn't push my luck by using her beloved nickname.

"You can come in." Her voice seems to be coming from the kitchen. If I'm not mistaken, it sounded inviting instead of murderous. Might be wishful thinking, though. The last time I saw her, I kissed her abruptly and then skedaddled. Chances are good she didn't like that.

Here we go.

I put my backpack on the floor and make my way to the kitchen. With narrowed eyes, she observes the bouquet of flowers I'm holding. It's a nice one, big too. I made sure of that. Lilies, white orchids and absolutely no fucking roses. All tied up with a sweet pink ribbon.

What was I thinking?

She's going to kill me.

"Uhm, so, I got you these."

She nods curtly and takes the bouquet from me. "I'll put them in a vase."

A vase instead of my face? The stars must be aligned in my favor. For now, at least. One wrong word and she'll murder my ass. Discreetly, I hide the large kitchen knife while she takes the flowers to the sink.

In silence, she cuts the stems with a peeling knife and then places the vase in the middle of the dinner table. All the while, I stay close to her like a loyal dog.

No ... just a dog.

While she rearranges the bunch, she says, "I'm surprised you rang the bell this time."

What?

Oh, fuck ... she knows.

"What do you mean?" I ask, pretending I don't already know.

She arches a single brow and shakes her head. "I've seen you outside the building at least three times, but you never came to the door. Did you bring a CD player last time?"

Might as well admit what a fucking loser I am. "Yeah, I thought about pulling a John Cusack. You know, that boombox scene from 'Say Anything'."

Did her lip just twitch as if to hold back a laugh?

"Anyway, I figured that it would be lame as fuck and probably would've gotten me arrested for dumb and disorderly behavior."

"If you say so." She fumbles with one of the fresh orchids. "The flowers are nice, I guess."