Chapter Twenty-Nine: Little Walk Around:

“Hello?” I asked. I didn’t have to go far outside. A petite Asian woman stood inches away from me. She had a on a nice suit and black-framed glasses.

“Mandy?” I asked. “How did you find me?” She shoved her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

“I had to look up your last known address from the paperwork,” Mandy said. “Your mother said that you were volunteering here for the summer.”

“Oh…” I said. Why did mom have to go telling people where I am?

“What about this lawsuit?” I asked.

“I am trying to find all of the old tenants to file a lawsuit against our former landlord,” Mandy said. I raised an eyebrow.

“Is such a thing possible?” I asked. “Have they even found him?”

“No,” she said. I sighed. Figures.

“Who else did you get to do this?” I asked. Mandy counted up on her fingers.

“I have eight so far,” she said. “My team is trying to get the others. Will you join us?” Something told me that I didn’t have much of a choice. Mandy was going to let up this either. She was a typical lawyer. She wasn’t slimy, but once she got a cause in her head, she wouldn’t stop until she got her way.

“How much are you suing for?” I asked.

“15,000,000 at the start,” she said. Sounded reasonable. She wasn’t going to get much, but still… I threw up my hands.

“I’m in,” I said.

“You sure?” Mandy asked.

“Not much we can do, can we?” I asked. “I don’t really see a point, but I can’t hurt, right?” Mandy perked up with a smile on her face.

“Right!” she said.

“Are you going to hang around town for a while?” I asked. She shoved her glasses up her nose again.

“No,” she said. “I have to get going and find the others.” Mandy turned to leave. She paused and looked over her shoulder.

“I’m staying at the Pearl Inn if you need me,” Mandy said.

“Right,” I said. I waved as she walked away. I turned and walked back into the library.

----------

“Who was that lady who came to see you?” Heather asked. She and I sat on a sat stone bench in the small library garden.

“A lawyer who used to live in my apartment complex,” I said. “She’s filing a lawsuit against our former landlord.”

“They found him?” she asked.

“No,” I said. I shared the story with Heather a couple of days ago. It hurt to relive the second part of the worst day of my life. I didn’t want to relive it again.

“Anyway, she’s filing a lawsuit against him,” I said. “I said that I would join, but I doubt that it would get anywhere.”

“That was wrong what he did to you,” Heather said.

“Yeah,” I said, pressing my lips together, nodding. “Listen, can we talk about something else?” Heather tilted her head.

“Like what?” she asked. I shrugged and shook my head.

“We don’t have to talk at all,” I said. I looked out at the garden in front of us.

“Can we go walking around here?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said. I smiled as I finished my juice.

There wasn’t much to walk around in this garden, but I didn’t mind. Heather looked so good under the afternoon sunlight. I was tempted to put my arm around her shoulders. My heart pounded against my chest. My cheeks flushed red.

“I like you,” I mumbled out. Heather turned her head.

“What?” she asked. I quickly shook my head. Why did I say that? I felt like I spoke too soon. Okay, this was just awkward.

“Did you just say that you liked me?” she asked. I looked away as my face burned bright red.

“Uh… Uh…” I said. I didn’t want to see the look on her face.

“Nathan?” she asked. I started to walk faster in the garden. I shoved my hands into my pockets. What was I thinking? It just came out of my without thinking. I just wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. Maybe I should stop volunteering at the library for a while. I buried my face in my hands. However, that caused me to run into a pole that gave information about the library garden. I feel back on the ground wailing in pain.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” I heard Heather ask behind me.

“No!” I shouted. I looked up and saw her looking down at me.

“Yes,” I said. She just looked down at me as I started blushing again. Heather blinked at first.

“Which one is it?” she asked. I tried to look away from her. I sighed and lowered my hands.

“No, I am not okay. Yes, I said that I like you,” I said. Heather stared down at me blushing as well.

“Oh…” she mumbled. I lost track of how like we were like that. She just stood frozen while I didn’t know what to feel in that moment.