Chapter 4 What Do I Know?
Corran
I walk away from April, shaking my head. I had been behind her for five minutes before I let her know I was there. The way she was talking, it was like she was having a conversation with someone who wasn’t there. She was asking questions and then laughing as if someone were answering. I can’t help but wonder what is going on with that? Should she be living alone? Should be out in public? She seems mostly normal until I witnessed that. Maybe she was telling the truth when she said she does that. What do I do? I don’t know her.
I head to the store to pay for the couple of items I need for some DIY this weekend. It keeps me busy and stops me from drinking and overthinking. I wait patiently in the line and notice April out of the corner of my eye. I smile when I see she has the red cushions I suggested in her trolley. She has a lot of stuff. How does she plan on getting all of it into her place? Unless she has someone to help. I am unsure whether she lives alone. Every time I have seen her, she’s been alone, but that doesn’t mean April isn’t with someone.
April doesn’t seem to notice me and comes over to the same line as I am in. There were another three she could have chosen from.
“Now who is stalking who?” I laugh.
April rolls her eyes. “I didn’t even notice you.”
“You went with the red ones. Question: How do you plan on getting all of that inside?”
“I will manage. Yes, I went for the red ones. Red will go well with everything else.”
“Do you have someone staying with you that could help?”
“I can manage by myself. I live alone, not like it is any of your business,” she says, sounding hesitant when she says it.
“Sorry, I was only asking.” I groan, shake my head, and turn away from her.
She will end up hurting herself if she tries to get everything upstairs alone. April sighs loudly from behind me and taps on my shoulder.
I hesitantly turn to face her. “Yes?”
“I am sorry for the attitude. I am stressed, but that isn’t your fault,” she says softly, looking up at me through her long lashes with her pretty hazel eyes.
My breath catches in my throat for a second. “It is okay. You have just moved, of course, you are stressed.”
“Thanks for understanding.” She smiles. Her smile is beautiful, too, especially her prominent dimples.
I nod and turn away, moving up the line. I am served, and I head out, saying a quick goodbye to April before I do. I don’t want to seem completely rude. I stop in for a takeaway coffee next door before finally going to my car. Just as I am about to climb in, I notice April come out, but she doesn’t go to a car, she stands outside with her bags in the trolley. Doesn’t she have a car? I groan and stroll over to her.
“Do you not have a car?”
April glances up at me. “No, not yet. I am going to call for a taxi.”
I should walk away, let her get a taxi and make her own way home, but I don’t. “Come on, I will give you a ride.”
April shakes her head. “No, I will be fine. You don’t need to.”
“We are going to the same place, April.”
I take her trolley from her without another word and take it towards my car. She calls after me, but I ignore her. I unpack her bags into the boot of my car.
“What are you doing?” she whines.
“Take the trolley back. I will wait in the car for you.”
If I weren’t going home, I would have left her to get a taxi, but I am going home. It isn’t like I am going out of my way to help her. It will save her the cost of a taxi. They aren’t cheap in the city. April rolls her eyes and huffs as he takes the trolley back. Maybe she should be grateful I am giving her a lift. I climb into my car and wait for April to join me, which she does a moment later.
“Thank you.”
“Now that wasn’t so hard to say, was it?”
“Don’t be a smartass.” She whines.
I chuckle at her little whine and get us on our way. April stares out of the window, not speaking a word to me. Talk about awkward.
“What are you doing for work? Do you have a job?”
“I do, yes. I start in a couple of weeks.”
“Doing what?”
April laughs and focuses her attention on me. “Are you always so nosy?”
“I am just trying to make conversation.”
“I am starting with a company as their Financial Manager. It is what I did back home, so I have the experience.”
“Nice, that is a good job to have.”
With a nod of her head, she goes back to staring out of the window. Our conversation ended there. I shrug it off and put some music on. We arrive in no time. I open the door and hook it to the wall to keep it open. It will make it easier for April to bring in her things. By the time I return, she is hauling everything out of the boot, trying to manage everything.
“I will help, and don’t try to protest. I don’t want to end up taking you to the emergency room when you hurt yourself.”
April mutters under her breath, something I can’t make out. I am sure she is cursing at me again. She nods, allowing me to take some things. With the two of us, we can take everything up in one go, rather than multiple trips. Arriving at her front door, she struggles to open it with her hands full. I laugh and take a couple of things to let her open the door.
April heads in first and motions for me to follow. I glance around, and there isn’t anything in the apartment, not even a sofa. Why would she move in when she doesn’t have anything? The place looks empty, lonely. It is worse than my place, and that is saying something.
“Do you at least have a bed to sleep in? Somewhere to cook food?”
“Yes, I have a bed. I will order food. Everything else will be over the next few days.”
“You can live off of takeaway food.”
“I can do as I please. It will only be for a few days. Thank you for helping. You can just put the things over there.”
I take that as her hint for me to leave. I didn’t plan on hanging around anyway. I place all her things down in the empty living room. “You are welcome. See you around.”
I leave, closing her door behind me. The second I do, I hear her talking again, just as she was at the shop. Who the hell does she keep talking to? What she does is none of my business. She isn’t my concern. I don’t even know. I return to my place and lock up behind me. I am not leaving again today, so there is no point in keeping the door unlocked.