Sparrows Song

Chapter 12

Jane had busied herself around Blake's apartment for as long as she could. She had tidied things up the best she was able to and did three loads of laundry, but the apartment was sorely lacking cleaning supplies and cooking utensils. Even though she told Blake he could take her after he was done with work, it really only made sense to go grab some things while Andy was still at work too. Besides, she really wanted to get her car back at the very least so that she wouldn't have to depend on Blake for transportation anymore.

In the end, she decided to call her friend Alyssa to give her a ride over there. Alyssa was the least nosey of her friends, and she didn't pry about why Jane needed a ride or whose apartment she had been at. Besides, Jane knew it was only a matter of time before everyone found out that she was leaving Andy anyway so there was no point in hiding from her friends forever.

Andy's truck was gone when Alyssa dropped her off, just as Jane thought it would be. She unlocked the door and went inside. Her eyes swept the room and she found that everything was intact, just as she had left it. And then she noticed the bouquet of roses on the table.

She sucked in a breath and stepped closer to examine it. It was a beautiful large bouquet of two dozen long stemmed red roses. There was a card resting next to the vase with her name printed on it in Andy's boyish handwriting.

Jane almost turned away without opening the card. If Andy thought she would find the gesture endearing or sweet, he was wrong. She did not want the flowers, and for a moment she contemplated throwing them right in the trash. But they were pretty, and they must have been expensive, and she would have felt guilty disposing of them so callously. It wasn't the flower's fault, after all. In the end her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the card.

Jane, I love you for better or for worse. I hope you still feel the same way. I know we'll get through this together. Please forgive me. Yours always, Andy

Jane nearly sighed. Flowers were not going to fix what was wrong between them, in fact, Jane wasn't sure anything could. She thought she had explained that to Andy on the phone but it seemed like he wasn't going to give up on her that easily. The flowers made her feel guilty and gave her a general sense of unease that settled into her stomach.

She didn't want to think about them or the implications of it any longer so instead she turned away to go collect some of her belongings. A short time later she left the townhouse with a laundry basket full of her things. She took Andy's card with her but left her engagement ring on the table in its place, leaving the flowers behind to wither and die.

When Blake returned back to his apartment after his exhausting day at work he opened the door to the smell of something good cooking. Jane was standing by the stove stirring a sizzling frying pan.

"Oh, hey," she called to him, "How was work?"

"Fine," he replied.

He was still standing near the door looking over his apartment in astonishment. Jane had cleaned and the place was spotless. Things had actually been dusted. His apartment hadn't looked this clean since the day he moved in.

A frown crossed Jane's features when she noticed him silently regarding what she had done.

"You're not annoyed, are you?" she asked him. Blake looked at her then with a bemused expression.

"No. Why would I be?"

"I don't know, because I touched your stuff?"

Blake realized now how his guarded reaction must have seemed to her. He knew he had been kind of an asshole to her the last few days, but he really couldn't help himself.

"No, it's just...weird," he said slowly, "No one's ever taken care of me like this."

"Oh well, it's the least I could do, since you're letting me stay here and all." She smiled at him warmly, "Here, I made dinner."