Chapter Thirty-Five
Grant
“So, you definitely want to buy this house?” the realtor asked me as we walked through the remains of Emily’s house.
I nodded. “Yeah, I think it has a lot of potential, actually. What do you think?”
“Personally, I think it’s great. I love dealing with people that want to restore something old rather than just buy something new. And it will be great for this area if you do something with this space. Also, the deal is amazing. I think you should go for it.”
“I agree. Also, it’s right by my brother’s place, which is pretty convenient. Well, I say we go for it.”
“Great. I have the papers right here if you want to sign?”
“I do. I want to snap it up before anyone else realizes what a gold mine it is,” I said. We walked over to her car and signed the papers.
“Perfect. It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Grant. I’ll have the papers scanned and sent over to you in the morning. And I’ll be sure to send over the plans of the house to you so that you can give them to your builder. It’s going to look amazing. It’s sad what happened though, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s terrible.”
“Poor Emily. That girl has been nothing but sweet to everyone in this whole town. It’s not fair that it happened to her. But, I guess, these things just happen. Don’t they?”
The agent clearly had no idea about what really happened, but I wasn’t going to be the one to tell her. I just nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. Goes to show how appreciative we need to be of the things in our life. They can be gone so suddenly.”
“Absolutely. Are you and Emily friends?”
“We’re friends,” I said.
“And does she know you’ve bought this place?”
“No. Not yet. And I’d appreciate if you didn’t say anything.”
“Of course. Your secret is safe with me. I’m sure she’ll be very happy when she finds out. I’ll be in touch, Grant. Have a great day.”
“You too,” I said and waved her off.
I still needed to talk to Emily about what I had done. I thought she’d be happy, but judging by everything that had gone on with us, I wasn’t so sure anymore. What if she didn’t want me to own this house? Perhaps I should’ve asked her before going ahead with it. I stood there for a long time, contemplating how different my life now was. A few months ago I was sitting in a day job I hated and wondering if my life had any meaning. Now I was a homeowner in a new town.
I was just about to get into my car when I noticed a man near the house, peeking through the windows. I thought immediately of the phone call I had received from Brady and figured this was the man that was snooping the last time. I decided to go and talk to him. If he wanted the house, he needed to know that it was no longer for sale.
“Hi there,” I said as I got nearer. The man turned to look at me and smiled. His face looked vaguely familiar but I couldn’t quite place it.
“Oh hi,” he said.
“Can I help you with anything? You seem to be interested in this house,” I said casually. I was still trying to figure out how to broach the subject of me buying the house. If he kept coming to check it out, then he was clearly very interested in buying it.
“Oh, I’m just looking at the ruins. Spectacular, isn’t it?”
“Spectacular? That’s an interesting way of putting it.”
“Oh, I’ve always been interested in fire,” the man said.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said. “It’s the most beautiful and yet most destructive thing in the world.”
“Like women.”
I looked at the man. Clearly, he had a lot of issues if he was comparing the destruction of fire to a woman. I was just about to console him when he started laughing.
“You know, the man who did this must’ve been an interesting guy, don’t you think?”
“Uh, how do you know someone did this on purpose?” I asked.
He looked at me and smiled. “Oh, I know.”
“Do you know the person who did it?” I asked. I could feel the hairs on my arm standing up. Something wasn’t right about this man.
“Oh yeah,” he said and chuckled.
“Well, that man was a genius,” I lied. I figured the only way I’d get him to confess was to have him on my side. “I mean, it’s incredible.”
“It was me!”
I looked at him. That was easier than I thought it was going to be. The man was delusional.
“You? Why’d you do it?”
“Well, I’m in love with the woman who used to live here.”
“You’re in love with E—uh, the woman?” I said, almost blowing my cover by saying Emily’s name.
“Yeah. I’m in love with her. And I’m sure she’s in love with me. Although I asked her out three times and . . . and she said no. I’m not sure why. Maybe she’s scared about just how much she wants to be with me. I knew I couldn’t ask her out a fourth time. That would be too weird,” he said. That would be too weird, I thought but didn’t say anything. I just nodded and let him talk. “Also, I know she doesn’t have family to turn to. So I burned this ugly house down so that she could come and live with me.”
“Did it work?”
“Nah. I forgot about her best friend. The woman that works with her. So that was a bummer. But it’s okay. I’ll find a way to get her.”
I turned to him and punched him in the nose. He staggered back and looked at me in surprise.
“Ow. What was that for?”
“You could’ve hurt her.”
“Who?”
“Emily.”
“You know her?”
“You could’ve hurt her. Imagine if she were inside. How can you do something like that?”
“Whoa, dude. I made sure she was out. I wanted to try and get her, remember? Why would I hurt her?”
“So you burned her house down? Do you even realize how messed up that sounds? You’re a freaking psycho.”
“I prefer to think of myself as intelligent, thank you very much. A creative thinker.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. If ever there was a time that my rage was unstoppable, it was now. I could feel my blood boiling the longer I stood there and looked at his face. I walked up to him and grabbed him by the throat.
“Listen here. If I ever see you again, I will kill you. You hear me? I will kill you. You’re a good for nothing son of a bitch, and I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Just then Brady came running out of his house after he’d heard the commotion outside.
“Grant, what are you doing? Let him go.”
I held tight.
“Patriot! Let him go!” he screamed.
I let him go, and the man scurried off.
“Run away like the coward you are,” I screamed as I watched him retreat.
“Whoa, what the hell was that all about? Who was that guy? Hey, I think that was the same guy I saw snooping the last time, actually.”
“It was.”
“What the hell was he doing here again? Did you talk to him?”
I nodded. “He did it. He’s the one that burned the house down.”
“He actually told you?”
“Not only did he tell me, but he boasted about it. He was happy about it. Oh, he was delighted at what he had done. I think he’s been bursting to tell someone about it. He obviously had no idea who I was.”
“But why would he do that? I mean, why would he burn her house down? Did he have a reason?”
“Because Emily turned him down numerous times. He didn’t want to ask her out a again so he burned her house down in the hopes she’d come and stay with him. Clearly, that didn’t work out too well for him. The guy is messed up man.”
Grant groaned. “Are you serious? He burned her house down because she wouldn’t go out with him. That man is a psycho. No wonder she turned him down.”
“Tell me about it. I actually couldn’t believe it when he told me. Look, I’m sorry for losing my cool out there. I couldn’t help myself. He was actually laughing about what he had done. I think that’s what did it for me. The laughter.”
Grant shook his hand. “Nah, I don’t blame you at all. I would’ve done exactly the same thing if I had been in your shoes. But you need to let him go. The last thing you want is to get into trouble for any of this. He’s the one at fault.”
“Yeah, you came at the right time. Thanks, man,” I said. I was still visibly shaking.
“And listen, have you spoken to Emily?” Grant asked.
“I haven’t since the time we fought. Why do you ask?”
“Well, clearly you care for her a lot more than you think you do. I think you might be in love with her. Don’t you think it’s about time that you made amends?”
I sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I need to make things right with her.”