Seem Meaningless

 

“Can you tell me now why there is a gun under your pillow?” Piper asked.

He was hoping she would have dismissed that little fact, but should have known better. He always knew she was nosy and he should have guessed she’d never let something like this drop.

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it does,” she said, leaning up on her elbow. He’d been hoping that since they were both trying to get their breath—and maybe their thoughts—back, she’d forget about it. Guess not.

“Security,” he said.

“This building is safe,” she said, angling her head. “Do you mean mental security? Or is someone after you? From when you were in the army? You never talk about that part of your life.”

And he didn’t want to now either, but found himself answering just the same. “Yes, to the mental. No, to someone being after me.”

She ran her hand around his chest, but he put his on top of it and stopped her. “Talk to me,” she said.

He didn’t want to, but maybe he should. Maybe it’d help him a little too, but he was keeping it simple. “I enlisted in the army after college. Went in as an officer. Worked my way up fast to a commander.”

“What did you go to school for?”

“Criminal justice,” he said.

“Why did you leave?” she asked.

“Because it wasn’t for me anymore,” he said quickly.

“There is more to it than that,” she pushed, her hand moving over the scars on his body. “Does it have to do with all of these?”

“Yeah,” he said, flinging the covers back and standing up, pulling some clothes on.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it,” she said, getting up and grabbing her own clothes. “I can see it on your face. But sometimes you need to. I’ve told you a lot of embarrassing things about my life.”

“This isn’t embarrassing,” he said, his voice harder than he wanted it to be.

She flinched as if she were burned. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know. Look,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. The summary is…all these scars on my body are the results of a suicide bomber. A child suicide bomber. And I lost a man when it happened. A wide-eyed newbie I should have protected. Those were the only two deaths. But they’re on me. That’s for me to live with. That’s for me to come to terms with.”

He walked away from her and out of the room, over to where he kept his liquor. It was more than he’d planned on saying, but he knew she’d have questions.

 

***

 

Piper stared at the retreating back of Vin, her jaw open, her heart pounding.

Deep down, she’d thought something serious might have happened to him. That something caused him to be the way he was.

She just didn’t think that something would be what he said.

It made her little vandalism seem meaningless. All her little problems seem small.

She walked out and saw him sitting in a chair with a whiskey glass in his hand.

“I’m sorry.”

He turned his head to look at her. “What for?”

“For pushing you to talk about something you obviously don’t want to.”

He drained his glass and set it down. “You see. That’s the problem. I don’t want to, but yet I did anyway.”

“Why?”

“Beats me. Come here,” he said holding his hand out. She walked over and ended up in his lap, his strong arms holding her tight. “You do something to me.”

She wanted to ask more, but didn’t. It didn’t seem to be the time or the place for it. Instead, she rested her head against his chest. “I guess I could say the same.”

They sat like that in silence for a minute until the growling of her stomach broke through.

“Do you want to get some dinner?” he asked.

“How about I make us something instead? I’m not in the mood to go out. I’m not sure you are either.”

“Not really, but I don’t have a lot in the way of food right now.”

“I’ve got some veggies and a steak I could slice up thin, and do a stir fry over rice. How does that sound?”

“Sounds better than if I’d grabbed a sandwich like I normally do.”

She reluctantly climbed off his lap, missing the feeling of his warm body against hers, the comfort they seemed to provide to each other, then pulled him up and to her place.

He was sitting in her kitchen while she was bent over pulling everything out of the fridge when he said, “Your roses are dying.”

She turned and smiled at him. “Yeah, I tried to save them, but they weren’t properly wrapped when you left them on my doorstep. They should have had little glass vials on the stems to keep them hydrated.”

“I didn’t leave you these.”

“What? Sure you did,” she said, frowning. “Yesterday morning when I opened my door to come to your place, they were on my doorstep. I thought it was you that left them.”

“It wasn’t. I’m not the type of person to leave flowers without at least a note or something. Why didn’t you say anything to me?” he asked, pulling the vase closer to him but not touching the flowers.

“I honestly forgot. I was more nervous about talking to you about our night together that the flowers slipped my mind. What’s the big deal? Someone from the building probably left them. I’m always leaving cookies. Others have left me things before.”

She didn’t want to tell him that she’d had such horrible thoughts of her past after their night together that finding those flowers just wiped it all way. She saw them and they made her happy, and that was all that mattered.

“Like what?” he asked, making her anxious with his steel-eyed stare. “What was left for you? Anything that doesn’t have a note on it? Or a card, or letter?”

Now that she thought of it, almost everything. “Flowers, usually. Normally wildflowers. Ones picked. Nothing that looks like it came from a florist. I’ve had food left before, but then found out someone in the building left it for others when I would chat with people.”

“Have other people in the building been left flowers?”

“You’re scaring me right now. Why does it matter?”

“Because twice now I’ve seen you freeze like someone was watching you. I’m guessing it’s happened a lot more than those two times.”

“Well, yeah. But I told you why it happens.”

“No. That’s what you’re telling yourself. Now you’re saying you’ve been left flowers anonymously. Then the first day you go to work after you and I sleep together, the word ‘whore’ is spray-painted on your dumpster. Doesn’t this add up to you?”

She froze. Telling herself it was nothing all along didn’t seem to be working and now she was feeling stupid. “Oh my God. No. No way. Why would anyone do that to me? I’m no one.”

“Don’t ever say that. You are someone. Someone to me. And someone to whoever this is, too. We’ve got to go to the police with it now.”

“Vin, there’s nothing there. I’ve been in the system most of my life. It’s going to be dismissed and you know it.”

“That has nothing to do with it. I’ll go with you.”

He stood up, but she stopped him. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“You have to work tomorrow. So do I. Let’s go now.”

 

***

 

It was a frustrating hour at the police station. Vin shouldn’t have been surprised they were blowing this whole thing off, but that didn’t stop his annoyance.

“Piper just told you everything. The flowers that have been left for almost a year now. The feeling of being watched or followed several times, and the word on her dumpster that she reported today.”

“I’ve got it all,” the detective said. “But like I told you, I can file a report, but I can’t do much more without any evidence or signs pointing to who it is.” He stopped and turned to Piper. “Have you ever seen anyone when you’ve had the feeling of being watched? Anyone consistent?”

She paused then said, “No. I own my own business. I have a lot of repeat customers.”

The detective flipped his pad over. “Sweet Eats. For two years now. So this has been going on for two years?”

“I don’t know when it started. After I opened the shop, though. I think. I’ve lived in that apartment for three years and like I said, I’ve gotten other things left on my doorstep, but the flowers started about a year ago. Maybe more. I just don’t know for sure.”

“Take a deep breath, Piper,” Vin said, reaching over and grabbing her hand. She was starting to panic and he didn’t want her to feel that way but knew she needed to be aware too.

“I feel lightheaded right now.”

“I know.” He stood up. “Is there somewhere you and I can talk for a minute?” he asked the detective.

“Sure, follow me.”

The two of them walked out of the room. “Don’t write this off,” Vin said. “I’ve been with her when she’s felt like someone was watching her. I’ve seen her reaction. It’s real. That type of fear can’t be made up.”

“I understand you’re concerned, but what do you want us to do? You’re what, a security consultant? What do you know about this?”

Vin snorted. “I know more than you. Go run your background check on me like I know you’re itching to do. You won’t find anything to alarm you other than that you should be listening to what I’ve got to say. I’ll get the roses tested for fingerprints. I’ve got more contacts than you anyway, I’m sure. I tried to keep this all on the up and up, but now I’m thinking I’ll deal with it my way.”

The detective eyed him hard. “Don’t be breaking any laws.”

“I’ll find results. You want to be kept in the loop. Fine, I’ll do that. I’d ask you to do the same, but I don’t think you will.”

Vin turned and walked out and went to get Piper. “Are we all done now?” she asked, looking a little pale.

“For now. Detective Myers will let us know anything he finds, right, Detective?” he asked when he saw he was followed back to Piper.

The head nod was more than he thought he’d get.

“Now what?” Piper asked.

“Now we go home and get some sleep. You’re staying with me.”

“No,” she said.

“Why?” he asked, turning to look at her as they were walking out of the building.

“Because you didn’t ask me. You just told me. And no one tells me to do anything.”

He smirked at her, glad she was finding a backbone. “Will you stay with me tonight?” he asked, winking at her.

“Yes. But at my place. I’ve got to get up early. Earlier than you.”

He wanted to argue with her, but decided not to. He could look her place over after she was gone, but he wasn’t telling her that.