The Neighbor

Chapter 6

Arden's POV

Elodie was lost in thought as we ate breakfast together. She just stared off into space and I was  worrying that I had bored her to death with all this art talk. I noticed her breathing seemed to be uneven as she poured coffee into a mug. 

"Elodie, are you okay?"

 No response. Did I say something? Did I mess this up? I noticed she was definitely zoned out in thought. I stared at her tilting my head. What was she thinking about? She bit her lower lip slightly as her chest began rising and falling quickly. Had I triggered her somehow? 

"Oh shit! Elodie you're spilling your coffee!" 

I stood up quickly as Elodie snapped back into reality. Her cheeks were rosy and she seemed disheveled. I grabbed some paper towels and helped clean up the hot coffee.

"Oh my god I am so sorry!"

She started scrambling to get more paper towels. 

"Are you okay?" 

She looked down at her shirt and I saw her dress was now covered in hot coffee. 

"Oh shit, it's all over your dress! here, let me find you a shirt" 

I threw the paper towels away and jogged down the hallway entering my bedroom. I grabbed the first shirt I could find and headed back up the hallway handing it to Elodie. 

"Here. Go down the hallway straight and that's my bedroom." 

Elodie nodded and mumbled out a thanks. She walked past me and moved swiftly down the hallway. What was she lost in thought about? I thought about going down the hallway but I think it's best I give her a moment. A few seconds later she emerged from my bedroom in my shirt. It hit the middle of her thigh and she looked so sexy in it. I found my eyes lingering as she approached the counter. 

"I am so sorry, I don't even know how-" 

"Was our conversation about art boring you that much?" 

I let out a laugh and a smile spread across her beautiful face.

"No! Not at all, I just, I seem to have gotten lost in my own thoughts." 

She looked down at the ground and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, looking at her coffee stained dress.

"I get it. I have been there. Here, let me throw this in the wash. i am going to go grab some shorts and a shirt fast, I'll be right back" 

I reached for Elodie's dress and she handed it to me. I headed down the hallway and stopped in the laundry room throwing her dress into the wash. I grabbed a pair of khaki shorts and a black polo shirt out of the dryer and quickly got dressed. I came out of the laundry room and headed towards the kitchen.

"I was going to spend most of the day unpacking these boxes and finishing hanging up my artwork, and some shelving, if that seems of any interest to you?"

Elodie smiled and nodded her head. 

"I'd love to help,"

I flashed a smile at her and looked down at the ground. 

"Cool, well, I have most of my boxes labeled by category. 1 is bedroom, 2 is kitchen, 3 is living room, and 4 is miscellaneous shit. Pick an area and start unpacking I guess." 

Elodie smiled as she grabbed a random box looking down at the number before she carried it towards the bedroom. I began to unpack the kitchen boxes as they were going to be too heavy for Elodie to manage.

.........................

Elodie's POV

I grabbed a box that was labeled 1 on it and carried it down the hallway into the bedroom. It wasn't too big so I am assuming it's just smaller stuff like pictures or candles. I tore open the box and saw tons of picture frames. I pulled one out and saw Arden kissing the cheek of a woman. She had Bright blue eyes, pale skin, freckles, and bright red hair. Who was she? I set the frame on the bed and then pulled out another photo of the two of them, this time they were somewhere in Seattle, maybe hiking or something? Arden had his hand snaked around her waist and they were both smiling.