Perfectly Unexpected

by Brandy Michelle

  “Umm …” I pause for a moment and think it over. “I would need to see if I can get someone to watch my niece. Would you need me to close?”

  “No, Jordan can handle that. I would mainly need you for the rush. If you could just help him cover the bar until eleven, I would forever be in your debt.”

  “Let me see what I can do about Jane, and I will get back with you.”

  “You got it. Thank you, Brenna.”

  Hanging up the phone, I pull up my messages and send one to Claire asking for her help. She is quick to reply, letting me know she doesn’t mind one bit having Jane over, and that Emma would be excited about the visit.

  I received a brief phone call from Logan letting me know he landed safely and would call me later on in the evening. The call ended before I could tell him I was working a couple of hours for Ian tonight, so I will just fill him in later.

  * * *

  It’s close to seven before I make it to the bar, and the crowd is already picking up since ladies drink free tonight. Free drinks always bring in business. Using the key Ian didn’t want me to turn in, I go in through the back entrance.

  Stopping by Ian’s office, I knock on the open door, and he looks up from the mountain of paper work in front of him.

  “Just wanted to let you know I am here.”

  “You’re a lifesaver, Brenna. Whatever you make tonight, I will double.” He stands from his chair and runs a hand through his hair.

  “That’s not necessary, Ian,” I say, shaking my head.

  “It is. You are saving my ass, and it’s the least I can do, trust me. I know this isn’t the most ideal situation, considering your new job and taking care of your niece, so whenever you need to leave, go ahead.”

  “Okay, I’m going to head out there,” I say, nodding my head toward the bar entrance.

  “Stop by on your way out later,” he says, sitting back down. “Thank you again.”

  Walking into the bar, I get a sense of déjà vu, which makes the business name even more fitting. I spent a lot of time working here, and in the short period away, I didn’t realize how much I missed it.

  Jordan’s face lights up when he sees me coming around the corner. “I wasn’t expecting to see you. Ian mentioned help coming, but he never said it would be my long-lost partner.”

  “Surprise,” I say cheerfully, holding my hands up in the air.

  “You just made my night.” He wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in for a hug. “Your replacement sucks.”

  “Missy?” I ask.

  Jordan holds his finger up to his head like a gun. “Yeah. She’s the worst.”

  “Well, I am here tonight, so let’s rock this.”

  I dive right in and effortlessly fall into my old routine. Jordan and I have always worked amazingly well together behind the bar, and I understand the struggle of trying to work with someone else. Although I never had the pleasure of working with Missy, taking her drink orders was enough torture for me.

  The place is slammed for a weeknight, and I am in constant motion. A few of my regulars are here tonight, and I enjoy getting the chance to chat between serving drinks.

  The hairs on the back of my neck stand, and I get the eerie feeling someone is watching me. When I glance around, nothing or no one jump out at being suspicious, but I can’t shake the feeling someone is there.

  By ten thirty, the crowd is beginning to die down, and I take the opening to leave. Jordan lets me know how much he appreciates my help and that he can handle the rest.

  My feet are killing me, and my back is sore by the time I walk down the hallway toward Ian’s office. Apparently, my body is no longer as conditioned for this job as it once was.

  Ian is on the phone when I enter his office. When he looks up, I wave and point at the back door, letting him know I am heading out. He holds up a hand, signaling me to wait, and stands from his chair, walking over to me with an envelope.

  “Hold on one second,” he says into the phone, pulling it down from his ear. He holds the white envelope out to me. “This is for you coming in on such short notice.”

  “No, you don’t have to give me any extra,” I say, pushing it back toward him.

  He peers down at me sternly. “Brenna, take it. I can’t thank you enough.” He stuffs the envelope into my bag and raises the phone back to his ear to continue his conversation.

  When I exit the back door, locking it behind me, a shiver runs through my body and the eerie feeling from earlier returns. I search the back parking lot, but other than employee cars, it is empty. Picking up my pace, I keep my eyes up as I dig in my purse for my keys while walking straight to my car.

  As quickly as my doors unlock, I jump in and slam the door, locking them behind me. My eyes do another scan of the dark lot, and it still comes up empty. I don’t plan to stick around, waiting for the person to jump out, so I turn the ignition in my car and peel out of there.

  My phone had been forgotten during my shift, and when I pull it out of my purse, I find multiple missed calls and messages from Logan. I forgot to call him back and let him know I was working tonight.

  When I stop at the next red light, I open the messages and am hit with guilt.

  Logan: What are my two favorite girls doing?

  Logan: I tried calling, but you aren’t answering.

  Logan: I miss you.

  Logan: Did you forget your phone again?

  Logan: Please, call me when you get this, babe. I love you.

  Logan: I am getting worried now.

  The messages and calls span over the past four hours with the last one coming in twenty minutes ago. I hit the call symbol and hope he is still awake. It only rings a couple of times before a voice comes through the speaker.

  “Hello,” a female voice answers.

  A voice that most definitely doesn’t belong to Logan. One that I have heard before and would never expect to hear on the other side of this phone call.

  I pull my phone from my ear and check the screen, making sure I didn’t misdial. Which I didn’t.

  “Hello, are you there?” the voice says with a fake sweetness.

  My finger taps the red circle—successfully ending the call—and I toss the phone in the passenger seat, where it bounces to the floor.

  The light turns green, and I sit unmoving until the car behind me honks their horn. Letting off the brake, I press the gas and continue my drive home in a daze with question after question running through my brain.

  My heart is trying to tell me that Logan would never do something so thoughtless and wouldn’t hurt me. But too often the heart is just a clueless bitch in denial.

  I’m still stuck in my stupor when I make it to my apartment and decide it would be best to collect myself before I walk over to Claire’s to get Jane. My hand jerks back with my keys when I realize that my door is ajar. It’s not unusual for Claire to use her key for my apartment when I am not home, especially when she keeps Jane. But Claire is paranoid and would never leave my door unlocked—much less open.

  I listen for signs of someone on the other side of the door, and when I am met with silence, I push it open and take a cautious step inside. The outside lights stream through the blinds enough to illuminate the wreckage that lies before me.

  Reaching to my right, I slide my hand along the wall until it hits the light switch. I take a deep breath, turn on the lights, and my heart drops. My purse falls from my shoulder, hitting the floor with a thump as I take in the scene before me. Nothing is as it should be, and my entire apartment has been ripped apart. All my belongings are thrown and scattered across the floor. Bookshelves are emptied with the contents thrown about.

  I don’t even know what to do except just stand here and scan the damage. I know I need to call the police and check to see what has been taken, but I am still numb from the last phone call and can’t seem to figure out how to properly function.

  Afraid to step farther inside, I back out the door and walk the short distance to Claire’
s door.

  “Hey girl, I figured you would be a little later,” she says and pauses when she notes my expression. “Are you okay?”

  “Someone broke into my apartment and trashed it.”

  Her eyes widen in shock, and she looks down toward my door. “Did you call the police?”

  I shake my head and go to reach for my phone but then remember I dropped my purse inside the apartment. “No, I just got here. Are the girls sleeping?” I ask, running on autopilot.

  “Yeah, they’ve been out for a couple of hours. I never even heard anything. Come inside and we will call the police.”

  “I’d rather stay out here.”

  Claire watches me closely before nodding her head. “I’ll be right back.” She turns back inside, leaving her door open.

  I walk back across to my apartment and slide down the wall until my butt hits the concrete and pull my knees to my chest. How could a day turn out to be so shitty? The questions I had over Melody answering Logan’s phone don’t seem to matter anymore. Now, I am wondering who would break into my home and destroy it in such a way. What if Jane and I had been here when they came? I own nothing of any real value, so I can’t imagine why someone would do this.

  “I called it in. Someone should be here shortly.”

  I look up when I hear Claire’s voice. “Thank you. What is that?” I ask, pointing at her hand.

  She looks down and laughs. “I’m surprised I even still had it. It’s the baby monitor from when Emma was little. Just needed fresh batteries.” She sits down next to me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “You all right?”

  I lay my head against her shoulder and exhale a deep breath. “I don’t know,” I answer honestly.

  Chapter 12

  “Brenna?”

  I glance up at the familiar voice and am surprised when I see Trevor standing over me in uniform—I never even heard anyone approach.

  “Hey, Trevor,” I say.

  Taking his outstretched hand, he helps to pull me to my feet.

  “Are you okay? Where’s Jane?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Jane is over at Claire’s,” I say, pointing toward her door. “She kept her while I worked a shift at Déjà vu.”

  “So what happened?” he asks with genuine concern.

  “When I came home, I found my door opened, and the place was a wreck.”

  “Did you go inside?”

  “I stepped in and turned the lights on but then backed out when I saw it and went to Claire’s. I didn’t touch anything.”

  He spares a look at the guy I just noticed had accompanied him and gives him a nod. “My partner is going to look around and do some fingerprint dusting. We will need you to take a look and see what might have been taken.”

  “Okay,” I say, watching as his partner begins his work.

  “Do you want to call Logan?” Trevor asks, and my head snaps up.

  “No,” I say too quickly, gaining a suspicious look from Trevor. “He’s out of town on business, and it’s late. I will talk to him tomorrow.”

  “I’m sure he would want to know.”

  “I’ll call him in a little bit,” I lie.

  “Okay, I just need to ask a few standard questions and then we will take a look inside.”

  He launches into a series of questions that I answer as best as I can. I let him know nothing of real value was inside the apartment. I don’t keep any money there and definitely don’t own anything expensive. Trevor’s partner comes out and says it seems that someone was searching for something, but I have no clue what they could possibly want.

  When they ask if I had any problems with anyone or if there was anyone I would suspect, I let them know about the strange feeling of being watched I had tonight. I also mention my sister although I don’t know what she would be looking for. She is the reason I don’t have any nice things anymore.

  Trevor accompanies me during my walkthrough, but I don’t find anything missing. Basically, the apartment has been trashed, but that is all. He makes notes of everything I say and takes down Lynne’s phone number. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest to hear she was in some way connected to this whole thing. If there is trouble around, my sister is never too far behind.

  By the time they get all the information needed, I am barely able to keep my eyes open. Jordan arrived home not too long ago and stuck by my side. He too mentioned calling Logan, but I blew him off much like I did Trevor. I know I need to eventually call him and get answers as to why Melody was with him, but I can’t tonight.

  Before leaving, Trevor promises to call with any information or news. Jordan, refusing to leave me in my apartment alone, walks me back to Claire’s and helps set me up on their couch. Claire called it a night an hour ago and I can’t blame her because I am exhausted. Waking up for work tomorrow is going to be pure hell.

  Lying on their couch, I toss and turn, unable to fall asleep. My mind constantly swirling around the break-in of my apartment and wondering about the fate of my relationship with Logan. Things have been going so well with us that it is hard to wrap my head around him doing something like cheating on me with his ex. He has been nothing but attentive and supportive during this whole thing, but maybe it was too much too fast for him.

  But, dammit, he told me he loved me. He filled my head and heart with all these pretty words, and you don’t get to say those things only to stomp on them afterward. I have a sudden urgency to call Logan, but I remember my phone is still in my purse, which I left in my apartment. Luckily, exhaustion wins and sleeps overtakes me, putting me out of my misery.

  * * *

  I get the weird sensation someone is staring at me, and opening my eyes, I find a pair of dark brown ones.

  “BrennBrenn, why are you sleeping on the couch, silly?” Her curly hair is sticking out in all directions, and she has her blankie in her grasp.

  “I was just very tired after work. Did you have fun with Emma last night?” I sit up on the couch and pull Jane into my lap, kissing her head.

  She begins telling me about how the girls spent their evening with Claire. As usual, her storytelling is very animated. Claire comes shuffling down the hall, and I smile when she waves a hand in our direction. Emma comes bouncing down the hall next, and Jane jumps from my lap and they take off back to the room.

  Standing from the couch, I meet Claire in the kitchen where she is starting a pot of coffee.

  “How did you sleep?” she asks, pulling three mugs down from the cabinet.

  “I didn’t. I swear, one minute I was closing my eyes, and the next, it was morning.”

  “What is your plan for telling Jane?”

  “I thought about it all night, and I don’t want her to be scared in the apartment, so I’m not sure if telling her is best. I was able to get a lot of the mess cleaned up last night, but quite a bit of work still needs to be done.” I sit down at her counter and drop my head into my hands.

  Claire sits a cup of coffee in front of me, and the heavenly aroma brightens my mood slightly.

  “Why don’t you go down to your place and grab clothes for you and Jane? She can stay with me today while you go to work. I can take them down to my mom’s later and come back to help you finish cleaning up.”

  I glance at her microwave and check the time. I really need to get my butt in gear, so I’m not late to work. Taking a careful sip of the hot liquid, I nod and stand.

  “That sounds like a good plan. I’m taking this with me,” I say, holding up the mug.

  Opening the door to my apartment, I feel an odd sense of discomfort in the space. Knowing someone has invaded my privacy and touched my things creeps me out in a way I can’t explain.

  Grabbing my purse off the floor, I dig out my cell phone, which, of course, is dead. My first stop is my bedroom where I plug my phone into the charger and jump in the shower. I make quick work of scrubbing my body and washing my hair, not wanting to waste any time. My phone begins pinging with messages back to back as I am drying off.

>   After I wrap my robe around my body, I walk to my bed and sit down, pulling up the incoming messages. There is a voicemail from Richard, so ignoring everything else, I listen to that first.

  “Hey, Brenna, I just got off the phone with Trevor, and he told me what happened tonight. I don’t want you to worry about coming into work tomorrow. There isn’t anything waiting that can’t be handled Monday. Please let me know if I can do anything to help you, and we hope to still see you on Saturday.”

  It’s a relief knowing that I don’t need to go to work today, but thinking about Saturday and knowing that chances are I won’t be there brings me back down. I glance at the numerous text messages and decide to run down and check in with Claire before I begin weeding through them. I pull on a pair of shorts and a sports bra with a tank. My day will be spent getting the rest of this apartment back in order, and there is no sense in getting dolled up for it.

  Claire is in the process of making pancakes when I walk in and the girls are climbing all over Jordan in the living room.

  “Just in time for breakfast,” Claire says, turning to face me. “Is that what you are wearing to work?” she asks, scrunching her nose up at me.

  I look down at my casual outfit and prop a hand on my hip. “What? Is this not proper law firm attire?”

  She shakes her head at me while waving the spatula in the air. “Not at all.”

  “I had a message from Richard telling me not to worry about work today. So I am going to get a start on cleaning the apartment, if you wouldn’t mind still watching Jane for me?”

  “You know I don’t. But I can help you clean.”

  “No,” I say. “It’s not really that bad at this point. I should be able to knock it out in a couple of hours. I’ve needed to do some major spring cleaning anyway. What better time than now?” I try to make light of the situation.

  “Okay, well, if you need any help, just call. I might take the girls down to the park after breakfast.”