The Roses Wilted at Dusk Chapter 05
All from Dashiell Lockwood.
I stood in the Uber pickup zone, thumb hovering above the screen.
In the end, I did not open a single one.
Lock screen. Line up. Get in the car.
“118 Seabreeze Avenue.”
The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror but
said nothing.
The new apartment was on the sixth floor, facing south. If I opened the window, I could see a small slice of coastline.
It was a one-bedroom. The landlord had left clean bedding and a few white porcelain cups.
I leaned my suitcase against the wall and did not rush to unpack.
First, I boiled water, poured it into a cup, and sat on the
windowsill to drink.
My phone kept vibrating on the coffee table.
I flipped it facedown.
After drinking the water, I showered and changed clothes.
Then I sent Marlowe a message.
[All wedding materials have been handed over. Griffin is the day-of coordinator. If there are issues, go to her.]
Marlowe replied in seconds.
[Boss, you really left???]
Then:
[Dashiell Lockwood came to the office. He stared at the new sign on the door for a long time and asked whether you were on a last-minute business trip.]
I replied:
[Tell him I’m not there.]
Marlowe:
[He won’t leave. He’s standing at the door.]
I did not reply again.
I set my phone to Do Not Disturb, leaving only Marlowe’s number and the new company’s HR number whitelisted.
When I woke the next morning, Do Not Disturb had blocked forty-seven messages and twelve missed calls.
All from the same person.
I did not look at the content. I only looked at the send time of the last message.
That afternoon, Marlowe called again.
“Boss, he left. But he went through your desk.”
“What did he find?”
“A copy of the transfer agreement, and… the guest list.”
I held the phone and waited for her to continue.
“When he saw the row with your name, he stood there without moving. I came out of the break room, and he was still holding the booking ledger open.”
“Then what?”
“Then he asked me when Audra Ellison wrote that.”
“I said I didn’t know.”
“He asked what ex-girlfriend meant. Weren’t you two still together?”
Marlowe’s voice paused.
“Boss, I couldn’t help it. I said, Mr. Lockwood, you’re about to get married. What do you mean, still together?”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing. He stood there for about five minutes, then started going through your drawers.”
I closed my eyes.
The old wedding scrapbook was still in the drawer.
When I left, I had hesitated over whether to take it.
In the end, I left it behind.
That book was filled with my expectations for him. Every
page was something I thought would happen.
Taking it with me would only mean taking the heavy burden of the past too.
Better to leave it where it was and let it rot on its own.
