Learn To Love Again

Chapter 11

I sat on the sofa for I wasn't sure how long, staring at the note and reading it over and over again, trying to find some sense in what it was saying.

What did he mean by 'You don't want to make me angry!'?

Was he threatening me?

And what was 'One and only' supposed to mean? Was he trying to be mysterious? I knew it was Malcolm who sent the package. It had to have been. He was the only person I could remember closing the door on, when he'd presented himself at my door on that rainy night.

I managed to convince myself that it was nothing to get worked up over. Maybe Malcolm was just kidding.

I tossed the card back into the box of roses, replaced the lid, and left it there on the sofa.

As I made my way upstairs to take a shower, I mentally added 'crazy' to the list of Malcolm's bad characteristics.

*****

I woke up the next morning with a rumbling stomach. I dragged myself out of bed and to the bathroom to brush my teeth and splash some water onto my face. I then changed out of my pajamas into a pair of blue jeans and a black polo shirt and made my way down to the kitchen.

I set some water to boil and reached for the chocolate jar after deciding to make some hot chocolate, only to find it was empty.

Cursing under my breath, I turned off the fire under the water and decided to have some orange juice instead. After removing the bottle from the fridge, however, I was annoyed to see there couldn't be more than two spoonfuls in it.

I opened the fridge again and scanned the items inside to see what else was low or empty, which was almost everything.

I made a mental list before going back upstairs to get my purse. I was going to have to make a quick trip to the supermarket.

My stomach continued to rumble as I drove along the road. I grabbed a pack of Winterfresh from the glove compartment and folded one into mouth before pulling into the parking lot of Mega mart. I parked the car then made my way into the store and over to the food aisles, trolley in hand.

It being Sunday and still kinda early, the store was fairly empty, save for a few people here and there. I leisurely piled the items I needed into the trolley before making my way to the cashier.

As the slightly plump, light-skinned girl behind the counter tallied up my items, I spotted someone familiar out of the corner of my eyes, standing in the middle of the pastry aisle. I turned in the person's direction and gasped as I realized who it was.

It was Malcolm! And he was looking directly at me.

I forced a smile and a little wave. He returned the wave, then turned and continued down the aisle before disappearing around the bend between the pastry aisle and the one directly beside it.

That was awkward...

I returned my attention to the cashier, who had just finished with my items, and paid for the groceries.

I then left the store and made a quick stop at the market for some fruits and vegetables before returning home.

*****

I tasted the steamed fish to make sure it was done before turning off the fire, then removed the lid from the pot containing rice and peas and stirred the mixture. I had already placed a tossed vegetable salad and a jug of lemonade in the fridge to chill. I grabbed four dishes and began dishing out food.

It was already late afternoon and I was making dinner for Erika, Monique, Dane, and myself.

Erika, Monique, and Dane were already in the dining room by the time I started bringing the food.

I brought two plates with me on a first trip to the dining room, then Erika, Dane, and Monique went back with me on another trip; Dane brought the other two plates, Erika brought the salad, Monique brought the lemonade, and I brought four glasses.

We started eating and conversation flowed over different topics, but was mostly about hurricane Olivia.

"They said it's category three," Dane was saying. "If it continues the way it is, it's going to be worse than Gilbert."

"Heaven forbid!" I exclaimed. Gilbert was a hurricane that had occurred some time in the '90s and had been by far the worse hurricane the island had ever seen; that I knew of, anyway.

"It better not be," Erika said. "I cannot go through that again."

We continued to eat in silence. When we were done, I brought the dishes to the kitchen and loaded them into the dishwasher.

When I was done doing the dishes, I followed the sound of excited chatter to the living room, where Monique, Erika, and Dane were busy talking about the last season of 'Game of Thrones'. I dropped myself onto the sofa and, since I'd never watched 'Game of Thrones', just listened as they went on and on about it. I was glad when the subject was changed to Monique's upcoming wedding, which was scheduled for the thirtieth of June.

"We were thinking of rescheduling to about late July or early August, because of the hurricane," Monique said. "I want the effects of the storm to be out of the way so I'll have nothing to worry about."

"That's great," I said in agreement. "That gives you more time to plan."

Monique was about to answer to that when Goodbye California by Jana Kramer blared through the air.

It was coming from Erika's phone. She picked it up from the coffee table and answered the call.

After hanging up, she rose from the chair she had been sitting in.

"Gotta go," she announced. "My mother came to visit."

Dane and Monique decided to leave also, since it was getting late, and I rose to walk them to their cars.

I waited outside until everyone was in their respective cars. They all waved goodbye as they started down the driveway.

As my eyes followed the last car that turned onto the road-- the one occupied by Monique and Dane-- something moved into my line of vision. It was a navy blue car, parked a few meters down the road. I wondered what it was doing there, since the first house in that direction was at least a kilometer further down the road.

I shrugged and headed back inside the house, then stopped abruptly as a thought occurred to me.

Wait! Isn't that Malcolm's car?

________________________________________________________________________

A/N:

Okay so I was kinda half asleep when I wrote this so my apologies if it's rushed or anything. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter, though.

Don't forget to let me know what you think.

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★It's Carmen. Love y'all! ★