His voice sounded slightly pained. My hand hovered over the doorknob.
“Have you been standing out there this whole time?” I asked, suddenly horrified that he had overheard my embarrassing crying sounds.
“Yes, and it’s been killing me. Please, let me in,” he pleaded.
After a few more seconds of deliberation, I slowly opened the door. Giles had been sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall. He jumped to his feet as soon as I had the door cracked. As if worried I might change my mind, he snuck his hand between the door frame and wedged his body through.
He looked me up and down. I covered my blotchy face, horrified he was seeing me like this.
“Please, don’t look at me,” I muttered pathetically.
“Mattie, what’s wrong?” he asked, grabbing my wrists and pulling my hands away from my face. “You scared the shit out of me. You sounded hysterical in here.”
“I can’t believe you were eavesdropping.” I attempted to glare at him, but my face fell into a puddle of sadness.
He placed a hand on each of my shoulders and pushed me back toward the couch, forcing me to take a seat.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was worried about you.” He bit his lip and continued to stare at me despite my instructions. “This-this wasn’t about the sign, right?”
His expression was so earnest it almost made me laugh.
“The sign is cute,” I said.
He leaned back, sighing. He ripped his beanie off and ran a hand through his hair. “Then what’s wrong?”
I stared at the floor, not giving anything away. “It’s so stupid. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Mattie—”
“No, really. I’m so embarrassed. I just want everyone to forget this ever happened.”
“Not likely.”
I groaned and cradled my forehead in my hands. “I can’t believe I lost it like that.”
Giles didn’t say anything. I snuck a glance at him through my fingers only to find that he was staring at me intently.
“Let’s get back out there. I should get cleaned up.”
I sprang to my feet, but his hand grabbed mine, holding me in place.
“Please talk to me,” he whispered.
“It’s nothing, I promise.” I forced a pathetic smile and tugged my hand away from him.
I turned the door handle, only to find that it was locked. The keypad was still on the inside of the basement door since I hadn’t found the time to reinstall it. Giles was standing behind me now, looking over my shoulder as I tried to enter the four-digit factory code.
I let out a frustrated sigh as I tugged the door to no avail.
“What is it?”
“It’s locked.” I continued to shake the handle violently.
“Why did you lock it?”
“I didn’t. The stupid thing must be malfunctioning. The code isn’t working either.”
“This is why you’re supposed to install these things with the keypad on theoutsideof the room.”
