Chapter 40: An Unexpected Visitor

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: An Unexpected Visitor

The lecture hall emptied out behind him, but Garrett barely remembered walking through the doors.

He just found himself outside, the evening air doing nothing to clear his head.

Eight days.

The number stayed in his mind no matter how many times he tried to think about something else.

He started walking. Not because he’d decided where he was going, but because standing there wasn’t helping.

Emiliana would probably tell him to think it through properly. Freya would probably tell him to stop thinking and do something. Daniel would probably just tell him to make a decision and deal with whatever happened afterward.

Three people. Three different ways of looking at the same problem.

And Garrett still didn’t know which one was right.

And if I get this wrong, it’s not just me who pays for it.

That thought had been bothering him since morning, and he still couldn’t find a way around it.

The city continued around him. Someone’s shoulder bumped into his as they passed. A shop shutter came down with a loud metallic sound. A bus pulled away from the curb, leaving a cloud of exhaust behind.

Garrett barely noticed any of it.

His mind was somewhere else.

He kept walking without paying much attention to where he was going. He crossed the road when the light changed, followed the familiar streets toward his building, and barely registered any of the people around him.

Eight days.

He still had time.

At least, that was what he kept telling himself.

But every time he thought about the task, the same three names came back to him.

Emiliana.

Freya.

Daniel.

He didn’t know how he was supposed to make a decision that wouldn’t hurt someone.

By the time his building came into view, he couldn’t have said how long he’d been walking.

Already here.

He almost laughed.

Apparently, his legs had been doing their job while his brain was still stuck on the same problem.

He reached the entrance and looked up at the building.

For a moment, he thought about going inside, making something to eat, and forgetting about the system until tomorrow.

Then he noticed someone standing outside his flat.

Garrett slowed.

Jacey.

She was standing beside his door with her arms crossed.

He stopped a few steps away and stared at her.

’What the hell is she doing here?’

He was already tired. He had spent the entire day dealing with the system, Freya, Daniel, and his own thoughts.

Now Jacey had decided to add herself to the list.

She pushed away from the wall when she noticed him.

"You’re impossible to reach, you know that?"

"Busy," Garrett said as he walked toward the door.

"Busy enough to ignore every message I sent you since last week?"

"Something like that."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the honest one." Garrett kept his voice calm. "I’ve had a lot going on."

Jacey stared at him for a moment.

"You’ve barely answered me at all."

Garrett reached into his pocket for his keys.

"I’ve been busy."

"That’s all you’re going to say?"

He looked at her.

"What do you want me to say?"

Jacey seemed ready to answer, then stopped herself.

"Can I at least come in?" she asked. "Five minutes. I just want to talk."

Garrett looked at her.

He didn’t really want to let her inside.

There was no reason he needed to invite her back into his life after the way things had ended. But she had clearly come there for a reason, and if he refused, she would probably keep standing outside his door until she said whatever she had come to say.

Five minutes couldn’t hurt.

Probably.

"Five minutes."

He took out his keys.

"I mean it."

Jacey stepped closer as he unlocked the door.

"Thank you."

Garrett opened the door and moved aside.

She walked past him.

Garrett followed her inside and closed the door.

Jacey stopped just inside the apartment.

Garrett watched her look around.

Her eyes moved from one side of the room to the other.

The new bedsheets, sofa, coffee table and the curtains.

Everything was different from the apartment she remembered.

"You..." Jacey looked around again. "You changed the whole place."

Garrett didn’t answer.

He walked past her toward the kitchen and dropped his bag beside the Sofa.

Jacey continued looking around.

The floor was clean. The counter was clear. There were no dishes sitting around. The furniture was no longer mismatched, and the curtains actually belonged on the windows instead of looking like something he’d put up because he couldn’t be bothered to buy proper ones.

Even the room smelled different.

Jacey turned slowly, taking in the apartment again.

"This isn’t how I remember it."

Garrett glanced at her.

"No."

She looked at him.

"When did you do all this?"

"Recently."

"Recently?"

"Yeah."

Jacey looked back at the sofa.

Garrett didn’t explain where the money had come from. He didn’t explain the system. He didn’t explain anything.

If she wanted to know, she could ask.

Instead, she looked at him for another moment before sitting down.

"Sit if you want," Garrett said, nodding toward the sofa. "You’ve got your five minutes."

Jacey sat down, but she kept looking around.

She rubbed her hands against her knees before finally looking at him.

"So," Garrett said, leaning against the counter. "What did you want to talk about?"

Jacey took a breath.

"It’s my brother."

Garrett waited.

"He’s applying for a position at Halden and Cross. I know you have some contacts that work there."

Garrett’s expression stayed the same.

"I wanted to ask you for a recommendation."

He didn’t say anything.

"Just a word from you. You know people there. If you could put in a good word for him, it would help."

Garrett looked at her.

There it was.

She hadn’t come here to talk about what happened between them.

She wanted something from him.

Garrett remembered how things used to be.

Jacey asked.

He helped.

It had been that simple.

But then she had broken up with him. She hadn’t exactly been kind about it either.

He still remembered how quickly she’d made the decision, and how little room she’d given him to say anything about it.

He had spent enough time being the person who would do anything to keep her happy.

He wasn’t going back to being that person.

"No."

Jacey blinked.

"What?"

"No."

"You won’t even help me?"

Garrett shook his head.

"No."

Jacey stared at him.

"It’s just a recommendation."

"I know."

"My brother really needs this."

"I understand."

"Then why are you saying no?"

Garrett looked at her calmly.

"Because I don’t want to."

The room went quiet.

Jacey seemed to be waiting for him to change his mind, the way he used to whenever she pushed a little harder.

Garrett didn’t.

She looked at him for several seconds, almost as if she was trying to find the old Garrett somewhere behind his face.

He wasn’t there.

"Garrett..."

He didn’t answer.

He had already given her his answer.

Jacey looked down at her hands.

For the first time since she’d entered the apartment, she seemed unsure of what to say next.

Garrett remained where he was, waiting.

He had given her five minutes, She had asked for a favour and He had said no.

For now, that was all there was to it.