Chapter 1: Moving Day

 

A large blue and white truck caught Tia's eye through the window as she pecked away at the keyboard of her laptop.  Curious, she stopped working for a moment to study the scene below her in greater detail.  Standing at her window, she freed her long, dark hair from the high ponytail it had been captive of all morning.  She grabbed her brush from the windowsill and ran it through her thick locks as she watched two well-muscled moving men wrestle with a large, plush, cream-colored sofa covered in plastic, trying to get it through the doors of her building.  As they struggled, a small, black sporty looking car rolled up and parked behind the truck on the side of the street.  A man in jeans, a cap, and sunglasses emerged and half-heartedly glanced into the truck before making his way over to the movers.

 

"Must be a new resident.." mumbled Tia.  She sat back down at her desk and dreadfully released a sigh as she resumed her work on the case brief she was preparing.  She loved her job as a legal assistant, but sometimes, just sometimes, the work could get just the slightest bit tedious.

 

 

 

 

She hadn't typed one sentence when she heard a loud crash in the hallway and someone yell an explicit phrase.  Tia sprinted across the living room of her condo, swung the door open, and poked her head out the door.  The moving men were each hanging onto an end of the sofa, and the man she'd previously seen through the window was picking himself up from the floor.  Meanwhile, it appeared that the hallway plant had been the casualty of the incident, suffering a broken pot, split in half, with dirt and leaves scattered in every direction across the hallway.  A smirk played on Tia's lips as she took in the scene.  She took a couple of steps outside of her door.

 

"Is everything okay?"  she asked, trying to hide her amusement behind a veil of concern.

 

The man in the cap turned towards her and offered a slighly embarrassed smile.  "Well, I'm fine," he stated, "but I'm not sure if the plant is gonna make it..."

 

Tia allowed a small giggle to escape before she realized she hadn't introduced herself.  "Hi... I'm Tia," she said as she held out her hand.

 

"Justice," he replied as he took her hand in a firm, but friendly handshake.  "Justice Brenner."

 

"Justice... that's an interesting name," she replied.  "I like it."

 

"Thanks... I get that a lot," said Justice with a smile. 

 

"Wow.. his smile is... wow," thought Tia to herself as she began studying him for the first time.  He was a little over six feet tall, with a slender build and well-defined chest and arms.  Brownish blonde curls spilled out the back of his cap, as well as a few on the sides, as if they were escaping the confines of the hat for dear life.  The sunglasses he was wearing prevented her from seeing much of his face, but she had the feeling that she was going to like whatever was behind them.

 

As if he were reading her mind, he reached up and removed them, quickly placing them in a back pocket and flashing her another one of those killer smiles.  Tia sighed a little too loudly as she gazed into the most hypnotizing deep blue eyes she'd ever encountered.  Her face grew hot as she became aware of how long she'd been staring.  She lowered her gaze and began examining the floor as if the right words to say might somehow appear there in a scrolling marquee.

 

Tia hadn't been the only one staring.  Justice found himself slightly lost in her dark brown, doe eyes and hadn't even noticed her loud sigh or embarrassment.  His eyes took in her full lips and then the long dark hair that spilled across her shoulders.  His gaze lowered and he began imagining what she looked like in regular clothing instead of the loose pajama pants and t-shirt she was wearing. 

 

"Snap out of it!" he silently scolded himself as he quickly looked away.

"Looks like I'm your new neighbor, Tia.." said Justice aloud, finally breaking the silence. He gestured towards the door directly across the hall from hers.

 

Tia looked up at him then at the door.  "Well, that's good news.  No one has lived there since I moved here last year.  It'll be nice to see a new face around here."

 

The slightly awkward silence fell upon them once again.  After a few moments, one of the movers loudly cleared his throat.  Both of their heads turned towards the movers, then to the sofa, with their collective gaze finally ending at the mess on the floor.

 

"Let me get something to help clean that up," offered Tia, stepping back into her condo.  After a few moments, she reemerged holding a broom, dustpan, a garbage bag and a bucket.  "Maybe we can try to save the plant... if at all possible."

 

Justice nodded in agreement and took the broom from her.  "Sounds like a plan."

 

They worked together to scoop up and salvage what was left of the plant as the movers leaned against the sofa, slightly amused.  Tia brushed off her pants as she stood up and surveyed their work.  The plant, now half of its former self, was now residing in her mop bucket, but somehow appeared that it may have a chance at survival. 

 

Justice rose to his feet clutching the garbage bag, which now held the parts of the plant deemed too damaged for salvation as well as the soil that would not fit in the bucket, as it was much smaller than the pot had been.  "I'll take care of this," he said, holding up the bag.  "Thank you so much.. you really didn't have to--"

 

"No problem," Tia interrupted with a wave of her hand.  "That's what neighbors are for."

 

"Well, I guess I got even luckier than I thought I was when I got the last condo available in this building.  A great new place, and a wonderful new neighbor," Justice smiled.

 

"D****t!  That smile again..." thought Tia as she forced herself to look away.  She bit her lip to stop herself from smiling back like a giggly teenager.  She took a few backwards steps towards her door. 

 

"Umm.. I should really be going... you have a lot of moving to do... and I... umm.. I.." she stammered.

 

"Stop babbling like an idiot!" screamed her inner voice.

 

"Hey," said Justice interrupting Tia's stuttering.  She had just reached the doorframe and had almost escaped.  Almost.

 

She raised an eyebrow at him, trying to keep herself together.  "Hmm?"

 

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he nervously kicked his left foot back and forth against the hardwood floor of the hallway.  He looked at the ground then glanced back up at her before once again concentrating on the floor between them.  She smiled.  At least she wasn't the only one nervous.

 

"Well, um... I don't know what your plans are or whatever.. and I know you don't know me, but..."

 

Tia knew exactly what was coming.  Her smile fell away, replaced by a cold, empty stare.  Her gaze was not so much at him as it was through him.

 

Justice, not looking up to notice the change in her demeanor, continued with his question.  "Would you like to grab something to eat later on tonight?  I am new here and all... I thought maybe you could--"

He stopped in the middle of his sentence when he saw the look on her face.  The warmness, the friendliness, the smile.. it was all gone.  And so suddenly.  "What in the world happened?" he wondered.

 

"I... I... I can't," Tia managed to mumble as she slipped through the doorway of her apartment and closed the door without another word spoken between the two of them.

 

Justice sheepishly stared at her door, completely confused by what had just taken place.  He glanced back at the movers who looked just as confused as he felt.  He shrugged his shoulders at them, as if to say "Oh well" then turned to the door of his own condo.  He slid the key in the lock, opened the door, then held it open as the movers passed through with his sofa.

*******

After securing a series of five deadbolts as well as the door chain, she leaned back against the inside of the door, still holding the knob in her right hand and tightly shut her eyes.  Tears slowly escaped as she slid to the floor.  She hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face between them. 

 

"It's been five years..." Tia thought silently.  "I can't keep hiding."

 

******* 

 

Though he tried to put it out of his mind, Justice couldn't stop thinking about the events of that morning all throughout the day as he and the movers traveled in and out of the building.  Every time he passed her door, he couldn't help glancing at it for a moment and replaying the incident in his mind.  What had gone so wrong?  What caused her to look at him the way she had?  Justice was never one for giving up on any puzzle... and he wasn't about to start now.