Set Me Free// L. Staley

32. Phones and Paint

Rowan sighed, running her hand through her curly hair as she looked down at the coffee table. The spikey plants stood out in her vision, begging her to do something to them.

"What the fuck, Christian," she sighed, looking at the succulents. She looked in her other hand, the yellow sticky note calling for attention.

'I figured you needed some life in your apartment. You seem lonely. PS- don't kill them, please.

Sincerely, Christian.'

She looked at the plants once more, sitting down on her couch as she picked the box up. She held it, looking between the plants with uncertainty.

"Well," she mumbled. "It beats a puppy in a box."

Rowan stood up, picking up the planter of succulents as she walked over to the window, opening the curtains. It didn't help much, considering grey blankets of snowy clouds covered the sky, but the light was better than nothing.

She placed the plants on the windowsill, adjusting the curtains if they fell in front of them. She stared at them for a few moments, debating what to do with them.

It spruced up her apartment, in all honestly. Her home hardly looked pleasing to the eye: grey and dust was her main accent. No color popped, no paintings or psychedelic rugs, just bland furniture. She hadn't had time to make her apartment cozy and inviting. The last few months were survival mode, and she figured it was time to change that.

"Great," she whispered to herself. "Do I have the money for this?"

She looked down at her flanneled pajama pants, noting that she did not plan on changing if she went out. As the days drew nearer to Christmas, she realized people would possibly still be out shopping, even amidst a pandemic. Nonetheless, she had nothing to do on her day off, and she stayed in her apartment all the time. Plus, she needed to keep her mind occupied from the many things that plagued it.

An outing would be nice for her. Anything to get her mind off Layne...of Konala...helped in some fashion.

So, she gathered her stuff, not bothering to put on a bra or anything, just a casual outing to the store to pick up home decor. The last time she went shopping for a home was with Rosie, and she wasn't a part of Rowan's life anymore, and for the better, too.

As she picked up her phone from the coffee table, it lit up, indicating its ringing. Rowan looked down at the screen, noticing Markus was calling her.

She answered before placing the phone to her ear. "Hey, Mark?"

"Rowan?" Markus asked, his voice panicked and out of breath.

Rowan's heartbeat accelerated in her chest, her posture now straight as she walked over to her front door, picking up her shoes with her free hand.

"Hey, what's wrong? You sound spooked?" Rowan questioned with absolute concern. "Did something happen? Is your grandma okay?"

"She's fine," Markus answered, sounding almost relieved. "Roja, what the hell have you been up to?"

"Uh," Rowan paused. "Well, nothing. I'm about to leave to do some shopping?"

"Thank fucking Jesus," Markus mumbled to himself with a dramatic sigh. "You scared me half to death."

Rowan moved over to the couch, balancing her phone with her shoulder as she put on her shoes.

"What?" Rowan asked with a light-hearted laugh. "Mark, how did I scare you?"

"I don't know," he answered with absence. "I just...I just got this feeling that something was wrong. I don't know what came over me, but I had to see if you were okay. I...I..."