Risk & Reward

Twenty-Seven

Shi had had some pretty long weeks in her life, but this week was fighting hard for top spot. Between her two jobs, being uncomfortable at the work sites, behind on edge at home, and the unrelenting nightmares of her final moments with her sister, she is about ready to throw in the towel. The added stress of not having her usual outlet of Twitter isn't helping either. But every time she logs into the app she almost immediately logs out. She can't ask her friends who told C about her and Calum, and she can't trust that none of them did. She can't tweet silly little things anymore because her entire notification page has become random people tweeting at her about the dating rumors.

She'd like to say missing Calum wasn't a factor in her stress, but it had been over a week since she left his house and unfortunately they hadn't been able to squeeze in a visit. His flight to Fiji leaves in less than 36 hours now, so she's trying to push missing him out of her brain for now, it's not going to help anything.

Eyes heavy but attentive she reaches the landing of her apartment building, surprised to see two bouquets of flowers sitting outside her door. Glancing around quickly she approaches, scooping them both into an arm and letting herself inside. With the deadbolt locked she sets them on the counter, setting aside her work bag and properly locking the door before turning her full attention to the flowers.

Picking up the first bouquet, she chuckles, recognizing easily the collection of oddly picked, but perfect matching in her eyes, flowers. Colorful, wild, and a mixture of both her favorite, tulips, and Sabi's favorite chrysanthemum, with some daisies and small wildflowers. Opening the note attached tears spring to her eyes before she can hardly read the first word.

Fancy Pants,
The girls and I were out today and they insisted we send you flowers. They picked the colorful wildflowers and I added the tulips and chrysanthemums specifically. It's a hard week for all of us, but I can only imagine how hard it's hitting you. We are all so proud of you, and Sabi is too, I know it. Thank you for staying you through all of it, for being the big sister the girls needed. Thank you for always telling them stories of Sabi, they deserve to know their biggest sister through your eyes. We love you, and are so proud of you. And we are all thinking of you most this week.
Jess, Lexi, and Ari

Wandering around the counter Shi pulls a couple vases out of the cabinet, setting them both beside the bouquets before grabbing the note from the bouquet of pink tulips that were also waiting for her.

Shi,
I know it's not a lot, and I wish I could be there to comfort you in person. Hopefully this bouquet of your favorite flowers helps you smile at least a little bit, and reminds you how much I love you. You didn't have to choose another best friend after losing yours so tragically, but I'm grateful you did, and I'm grateful I get to be that person. Sending our love from half a country away,
Tay, and my boys

Wiping her tears with a soft chuckle, Shi carefully unwraps the flowers, cutting the stems and filling the vases with water, adding the plant food before arranging both bouquets and setting them together on the counter. Her phone rings as she finishes cleaning up the mess she'd made.

"Hey." She tries to cover the thickness of her voice as she answers, glad in a way that Calum hadn't tried FaceTime right now.

"Are you crying?"

"Good tears." She chuckles, "I was hoping you couldn't tell."

"What happened?"

"Just feeling really loved and cared for at the moment. That's all."

"Well, you should probably open your front door in about ten seconds so I can add to that feeling." He replies back, and she can hear the smirk in his voice as he does.