Be Alright

Four

Four: Surprise

I groan as I push the glass doors to the station open with my hip. One of my hands was occupied keeping my purse from sliding off my shoulder while the other was gripped tightly around my iced coffee. To be honest, I would rather lose the purse than lose this coffee.

Staying up late last night waiting on Jace may have not been the best idea. I tried desperately to cover my dark circles with a thick amount of concealer, but I'm sure by now the dark circles are evident. No amount of concealer, foundation, and setting spray could fix the disaster that is my face.

On top of the dark circles I didn't have time to do my hair after sleeping well past my alarm. I'm sure nobody would say anything about the messy bun on my head, but I can't help but feel like everyone is going to take in my appearance quite negatively.

"Good morning, Octavia," one of the deputies says to me as I make my way into the lobby of the large building.

"Good morning, Harley," I chirp back at him.

Harley was one of Anthony's good friends. He's how Jace and Anthony met, which started this group of friends with weekly meet ups. He may not be as close to all of us as Jace and Anthony, but he was definitely considered one of us.

I trudge up the tight staircase to the third floor, nearly out of breath by time I get to the floor with my office in it.

I should just give in and take the elevator. After getting hardly any sleep and running late, I know I deserve to get some kind of break in the short elevator ride.

Sighing, I slide inside my office and shut the door behind me. I toss my bag down on the leather seat in front of the desk and make my way to sit behind the desk.

It wasn't until about five minutes of sitting at my desk contemplating if having a job was a necessity or not until I realized the beautiful bouquet of flowers and small box on my desk. The bouquet was a mixture of different shades of pink roses and pink alstroemeria that contrasted perfectly against the green Fiji mums. The vase is a clear glass cylinder with a gold painted bottom. It was probably the most beautiful bouquet I had ever seen. The smell of them erupted throughout my tiny office and it was heavenly.

I run my finger tips along the flowers, feeling the soft petals. I search for a card, but am left disappointed when the sender decided to stay anonymous.

As I search over the flowers, my eye catches the box and my hopes of finding the sender grows. The box is small, the size of a gift card box. To be honest, it probably is a gift card box. Either that, or jewelry.

I untie the black ribbon and pull off the lid, revealing a note. I smile wide as my eyes scan over the pen written words on the paper.

Meet me at our bench tonight at 8PM . Would love to see you again. Enjoy your gifts. T.

T for Tyler.

I set the note down and peak back at the box, finding a long, gold chain with a heart pendent on it. The heart had to be half the size of my pinky nail, but the size of it didn't matter to me. All that mattered was Tyler wanted to see me again.

To be honest, I hadn't given Tyler any thought since the news had hit yesterday evening about Joeli's. Once we had said our goodbyes that night my mind was consumed with getting Evan home safe and sound.