Novel Square
14
The second Elizabeth had set foot outside of the building she saw the news van coming her way. She avoided the lady in the pantsuit and hurried off to the park. Here she just sat quietly, wanting to be alone for a moment.
After that, there were several moments that some paparazzi tried to get her to appear on camera. So before noon she had already run home and decided to stay in for the rest of the day.
At first, she had thought about calling Natalie, but decided against it. Thinking that for now she just didn’t feel like talking to anyone.
Then around six in the evening, she decided to order in. So she got the menu from the Chinese restaurant around the block and ordered.
She hung up the phone and turned around. The lights in the apartment across from her had turned on. It was dark outside so she could see rather clearly into the apartment on the other side and that’s when she saw it…
There the painting was, hanging above a fireplace were probably the tv had been before. She squinted her eyes trying to see if it was actually her painting when she saw a man walking into the room.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
Quickly she ducked behind her counter and turned off the lights. Does James live across the street from me? She thought as she sat there.
She squatted peeking over the counter trying to see whether it was him. Though she could see his overall features, it was too far away to actually see his face…
But then there was a knock on the door. Who could that be? She thought as she turned on the light and walked over to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw an Asian man holding a Chinese takeout bag. That’s really fast… she thought but opened the door never the less.
The man swung the door open further pushing her out of the way. Two more people came into the apartment, one of them being a woman in a pantsuit with a microphone and the other being a man with a camera.
“Get out!” Elizabeth said seething with anger.
“Ms. Waverton, what is your thought on the events of last night?” The lady said not even a little bit phased.
“Get out!” She just yelled, tears welling up in her eyes.
Suddenly the door burst open once more. From it emerges the dark tall form of Wallace. Wallace was one of the kindest men that Elizabeth knew and she had never seen him angry, that is until now…
“Everybody that doesn’t live here, out!” He bellowed. The crew still didn’t seem to fased by it. Then suddenly he grabbed the camera and smashed it to the ground. “Now get out before I do the same for you!” He said to the people making them leave.
It was only then that Elizabeth realized she was sitting on the floor. Wallace put out a hand to her and helped her up, immediately pulling her into a hug. “I’m so so sorry sweetie.”
“They all came in separate and it all seemed fine.” He said still holding her.
“If it wasn’t for the person across the street to see it happen I wouldn’t have been here when I was. That man is a good man.” He said.
Wallace stayed with her for a moment before going back downstairs. She called the Chinese place canceling the order, as she did not want to open her door again.
She sat down on the couch for a moment thinking about what to do when the doorbell rang once more.
At first, she ignored it, but then the man behind it yelled her name. The second he did that she knew it was him. She recognized James his voice.
She walked over to the door and stood next to it. “What do you want?” She yelled back.
“To talk to you.” He said in a quieter voice. She scoffed, “About what?”
“Look I want to apologize for what I said on your last day of work.” He said and staying quiet for a moment. Then he added, “And I brought food.”