Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“So, you said your fan isn’t working?”
“Yeah, it was fine one day and dead the next.” She motioned for me to follow. “Come on. I’ll show ya. It’s back in the bedroom.”
With my toolbox in hand, I followed through the kitchen and into the living room.
I’d been in her place before, but I didn’t remember how fucking girlie the place was. The living room had these big, plush velvet couches in various shades of pink. I’m sure they cost a small fortune, but they reminded me of Pepto Bismol. And if that wasn’t bad enough, every inch of the place was covered up with throw pillows, fuzzy blankets, and candles.
Her bedroom wasn’t much better. It was all lavender and white, and she had one of those girlie-tufted headboards. There were pictures of flowers on the walls and lace curtains on the windows. The second bedroom wasn’t so bad. She’d turned it into a home office, and it was pretty basic. There was just a white desk and a computer monitor on one wall and a bookshelf on the other.
Sadly, it wasn’t the room with the fucked-up fan.
Mia walked over to the edge of her bed and lifted her hand towards the ceiling. “Well, this is her.”
“Hmm.” It was just a basic fan with a light kit. I saw no reason I couldn’t fix it, so I asked, “And the light?”
“It’s in the bathroom.”
I stepped past her and made my way into her bathroom. I was pleased to see that it was just a basic ceiling mount. I hoped that meant it would be an easy fix. I placed my toolbox down on the counter, then flipped the power switch. Just like she’d mentioned earlier, the light started blinking. I figured it was just bad wiring, so I asked, “You got a ladder or something?”
“Yeah, hold on a sec.” She stepped over to the closet and pulled out a small step ladder. “Here ya go.”
“Thanks.”
I flipped the switch, then placed the stool under the light. When I got up to it, I turned on the flashlight on my phone and shined it on the base. I was about to remove the lightbulb when I noticed that it wasn’t properly screwed in. I gave it a firm twist, making sure that it was tight, then said, “Okay. Try it now.”
Mia flipped the switch, and light filled the room. I waited a moment to make sure there was no blinking, then told her, “That’ll do it.”
“Oh, my God. I can’t believe it was just the stupid light bulb.” Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. “I should’ve checked that myself.”
“It’s fine.” I stepped down the ladder, then carried it into the bedroom. “Hopefully, the fan will be just as easy to fix.”
I killed the power to the fan, then walked over and placed the stool beneath it. Mia gave me a funny look as I started up the first couple of steps, but I ignored it and started searching for the issue. As soon as I touched it, the entire fan swayed—which meant it hadn’t been mounted properly or something had bumped it and bumped it hard. “Did you do this?”
“Do what?”
“This?” I gave the entire fixture a shake. “It’s like something hit it.”
“No, I ah... I don’t know what could’ve done that.”
I could tell by her high-pitched tone that she was lying, but I didn’t press. Figured it didn’t really matter. Either way, it had to be fixed. I stepped down and grabbed my toolbox from the bathroom. I got my Phillips head screwdriver, then made my way back up the step ladder. I was just about to start removing the light kit when I noticed something dangling from one of the fan blades. I reached up and pulled it free, only to find that it was a gold tassel from a pillow.
I held it out in front of me as I asked Mia, “You got any idea how this got up here?”
“No… I have no idea where that came from. I certainly don’t know how it got up there.”
Again, with the high-pitched voice.
I had no clue why she was lying, but I was over it.
I glanced over at the bed and immediately spotted a pillow with the same kind of tassel. “You seriously gonna stick to that story?”
“Fine.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “It was a stupid idea anyway.”
“What was a stupid idea?”
“I lied about the fan and the light.” Her eyes locked on mine as she admitted, “I told you that in hopes of getting you over here.”
“And why would you do that?”
“Because I wanted a chance to talk to you without the brothers around.”
I stepped down from the ladder and tossed the screwdriver back in my toolbox. “I don’t do well with games, Mia.”
“I’m not trying to... I just.” She looked to the floor with a defeated sigh. “Just forget it. You can go.”