For All I Know

After Pat had let me into his apartment, I found myself being pulled towards the couch. Pat sat down and looked at me with a huge grin.

“So, what exactly did Nat say that made you decide to come here rather than just call?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “It wasn’t really what she said. It was my reaction to something she said.”

“And what was that?”

I ran a hand through my hair and pondered on what words to use. “Well, she had mentioned that I should look at it from your point of view.” I closed my eyes and brought myself back to the incident. “You were being held back while that…..that creep attacked me. There was nothing you could do. You tried to fight back, but you knew the consequences wouldn’t only affect you , but me as well.” I felt tears well up in my eyes. I looked over at Pat and my eyes locked with his. “I’m so sorry to shut you out, Pat. I didn’t think about how it was affecting you.”

He raised his hand and wiped a few stray tears from my eyes with his thumb. “Now, now, no more tears. We both have shed too many tears over this. Let’s take the time now to go forward and move on.”

I gave him a small smile and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. “Okay.”

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Pat's POV

I was happy that Claire had come over, rather than phone. It showed me that there was still hope and that the incident didn’t tear our relationship apart. While she spoke and I saw the tears falling down her face, I found myself having one challenge and one challenge alone for the foreseeable future. I was going to find a way to keep those tears from falling. That was a sight I hated seeing, especially if I know that I was responsible. I pulled her in my arms and held her close to me.

“So, what is it going to be tonight?”

She looked up at me with a smile on her face. “Now, Patrick Timothy, you ask the silliest questions.”

I rolled my eyes at her calling me by my full name and walked over to my DVD stand and found Miracle. I placed it in the DVD player and walked back over to Claire. Picking the remote up off of the coffee table, I leaned back on the couch and wrapped my arm around her as the opening credits began to play.

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Claire’s POV

Waking up the next morning, I was blinded by the sunlight coming through the window. I reached over the opposite side of the bed, but didn’t feel anything. Opening my eyes and looking around, I realized that I was at my apartments. I sat up and looked around my room. I noticed something attached to my mirror. Crawling out of bed, I walked over to my dresser. Once I got closer, I realized it was an envelope with my name on it. I had smiled at Pat’s handwriting. Opening the envelope, I pulled out a piece of paper. Unfolding it, I read the same note.

Good morning beautiful,
I hope you just woke up as you’re reading this. Walk over to your closet and call me. I’ll explain more then.

Pat

After reading the letter, I stared at its words for a few solid seconds, before I looked on my dresser and picked up my phone. Walking over to my closet, I dialed Pat’s number. I wasn’t really one for doing what Pat told me to do, but I figured I didn’t want to stir up any trouble after we had just begun to patch things up the night before. As I heard the phone ringing in my ear, I pondered as to whether I should open my closet door before Pat answered. In the middle of my inner-thought battle, I heard a voice in my ear.

“Good morning Sleeping Beauty. How’d you sleep?”

I smiled. “I slept great actually. I don’t even remember you bringing me home. How did you get into my apartment?”

“Um, I went through your purse. I’m sorry, but there’s a good reason behind it all. So, are you in front of your closet?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I am. Now, you want to tell me why I’m staring at the door looking like a fool, when I could just easily open it?”

“Well, to be honest, I thought you would’ve opened it already. Open it now.”

I chuckled slightly. “Glad to hear you have so much faith in me, Pat.” I opened the door and raised my eyebrow. “What the hell?”

I heard Pat chuckling lightly on the other end, but I didn’t find much humour in this at all. Where the hell are all my clothes?

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Pat’s POV

Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have emptied Claire’s closet, but I wanted this day to be perfect. She was a little upset with me, but I told her to read the note on what was left hanging in her closet and hung up. I had just hoped that she would listen to me. After I hung up on Claire, I quickly dialed another number.

“Hey, is everything set?”

When I heard the answer I was looking for, a grin slowly creeped onto my face.

“Awesome, she is going to love it. Thank you so much.”

I hung up the phone and made my way into my kitchen to start making my lunch, and ultimately start putting my plan in motion.

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Claire’s POV

I was a little ticked that Pat had emptied my closet. Before he hung up on me, knowing that I was upset, he told me to read the note that was hanging off of the hanger. I ripped off the envelope. Opening it, I read what he had written down.

I’m sorry, but please bear with me.
Open your door and follow the arrows.

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have time to play your silly games, Kane.” I told myself as I walked over to my door. Opening it, I looked down and saw small arrows on the floor. Following them, I walked in the direction of my kitchen. Turning in through my kitchen doorway, I noticed the arrows stopped. Getting a little irritated, I slammed my hand on the counter.

“Geez! Where’s the fire?” I heard a voice coming from my living room. I raised my eyebrow and changed direction. I didn’t care about Pat’s stupid arrows. I was more focused on the mysterious person that was in my apartment. Getting a glimpse of the back of the person’s head, I rolled my eyes.

“Nat, what are you doing here?”

She turned her head and her jaw dropped when she saw me. “Me? What am I doing here?” I nodded. “You didn’t answer any of my calls after you left work. I was worried. So, I came here. When I got here, you weren’t home. I figured you at Pat’s, but I figured you would come home. I waited until 1 am, before I finally passed out. When I woke up around 6, I saw all of these envelopes and arrows. I didn’t know what they meant, so I just picked them up. I didn’t want you to think some crazy person went through your house.”

I scoffed. “Well, it’s a little too late for that.” She raised her eyebrow at me. “Pat left those arrows and envelopes. He has some special plan today.”

She rolled her eyes “Well, why the hell didn’t he tell me? I wouldn’t have picked everything up!”

I chuckled at how red her face got. She was really pulling for me and Pat. “You didn’t, um, throw them out did you?”

She reached over onto the coffee table. “The arrows, I did, but not these. Here.”

I walked over and took them from her. I sighed. “I don’t know what order they’re supposed be in.”

“So, I take it this means that yesterday went well?”

I nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, it did.”

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Pat’s POV

I drove to my destination with a smile etched on my face. The day, so far, was going according to plan. Pulling up and parking my car, I heard my phone go off as I stepped out onto the concrete. I didn’t take the time to look at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

”Hey, I have a little question.”

Claire. She sounded a little apprehensive. “Okay, what’s up?”

“Um, where were those arrows supposed to lead?”

I rolled my eyes with a slight smirk. “What happened?”

“Well, you apparently didn’t look on my couch when you brought me home to see that I had a visitor. When she woke up she picked up all of the arrows from the kitchen doorway onward.”

I thought for a second. Who was in her apartment? Then it hit me. “Actually, I did see Nat. How do you think she had a blanket on her? I didn’t think she’d screw up my plans, though.” I chuckled.

“She didn’t know. Even if you told her, she was half asleep. So, are you going to tell where they lead? Or are you going to be really nice and just tell me what’s in the envelopes?”

“Oh, you still have the envelopes?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, just read the blue one and take Nat with you.”

I heard slight shuffling then she spoke again. “Um… okay.”

I laughed at her nervousness. “Don’t worry, that’s the last envelope. See you later.”

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Claire’s POV

I hung up the phone from Pat and looked over at Nat with a quizzical look. “You up for an adventure?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess. What are we up to?”

I held up the blue envelope in my hand. “Whatever is in this envelope.”

Her eyes went wide. “Oh! Okay.” She got up off the couch and grabbed the envelope out of my hand.

“Hey! Give that back!” I tried to reached for it, but Nat had backed away from me. She had ripped it open. Reading over it quickly, she smirked over at me.

“Ooo. We’re going shopping.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. Throwing my coat at me, and shoving my boots by my feet, she hurried to get dressed herself.

“Um, I’m not going out shopping in my pajamas.”

Nat rolled her eyes at me. “Um, hate to break it to you, sweetness, but yes, you are.”

She shoved the note in my hands. Sure enough, Pat wanted me to go shopping in my pajamas. I rolled my eyes. “I’m so lucky I slept in flannels last night.”

Nat laughed out loud as we rushed out the door. When we arrived at our destination, I hesitated getting out of the car.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, just get out of the car. We don’t have a lot of time.”

I huffed and slowly got out of the car. Walking to the store, I clutched to Nat, hoping we’d get out of there sooner rather than later.

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Pat’s POV

Looking around at all of the choices, I felt my head about to spin. I didn’t know what to choose, what would be the perfect choice. I ran a hand over my face with a sigh. I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, my eyes grew wide.

“Jon? What are you doing here?”

He smirked. “I could ask you the same thing. I saw you get out of your car and walk in here.”

I sighed. “Man, I don’t know what I’m doing. I just want a perfect night.”

Jon chuckled and put his hand on my shoulder. “Okay, the doctor is in…..again. What’s the special occasion?”

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Claire’s POV

After we spent around a half hour in the store, Nat and I finally walked back to her car. I slid in and turned to Nat. “So, now what?”

She pulled the note out of her pocket and read it. “Now, we go back to your place, you change into the outfit Pat left you, then you head to his house.”

I grabbed the note to see if there was anything else. “That’s it? What the hell would he need with what we bought?”

Nat looked into the backseat at our purchases and smirked. “I think I have an idea.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled out my phone. I didn’t know what the rules were of the day. Hell, I didn’t care if there were. I texted Pat to let him know that we were done shopping and would be on our way to his place shortly.

It didn’t take him long to respond.

Okay. See you soon. Oh, and Nat doesn’t have to come up. Text me when you’re downstairs. I’ll help bring everything up.

I gave my phone a quizzical look. This day just got more and more confusing as time went on.

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Pat’s POV

I had everything set. All that was left was the arrival of Claire. Thankfully, my phone just before my patience reached it’s breaking point. I looked down at my phone and saw that Claire and Nat had just pulled up to the building. After quickly typing a reply that I would be on my way down in a minute, I quickly looked around to make sure everything was perfect. I wore a satisfied smile as I left my apartment. Once I reached the lobby, I smiled as I took in Claire’s appearance. Clearly, I did a good job picking out her ensemble for the day. When she turned towards me, I couldn’t read her facial expression. I was a little taken aback. I walked through the lobby doors and to Nat’s car. Claire handed me two bags and walked past me to the lobby door. I looked over at Nat with a raised eyebrow.

“She’s not too happy, is she?”

Nat shook her head with a small smirk. “Nope. Good luck, buddy.”

I sighed and nodded to her as she slid into her car. I turned on my heel and walked back into the building. I was thankful that the elevator was a little slow today, seeing as Claire was still waiting for it when I reached it myself. We stepped in and Claire pushed the button for my floor then leaned against the wall, sighing.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, wanting her mood to cheer up.

“I’m tired, Pat. I’ve been on the go since I got up. It’s my day off.”

I tried my best to conceal my smirk. “I know and I’m sorry.”

She sighed and stayed in her place until the elevator dinged and the doors opened. She swiftly walked out of the elevator and made her way to the door. She stood there and tapped her foot on the floor. I rolled my eyes at this.

“Man, Nat wasn’t kidding when she said you weren’t too happy.” I moved in front of her and pulled my keys out of my pocket. Unlocking the door, I slowly opened it. Turning my head, I saw Claire’s eyes widen and jaw drop.

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Claire’s POV

I couldn’t believe it. Looking around, I saw my favourite flowers in various small vases scattered throughout the living room. In the middle of the room, I saw that Pat had moved the coffee table and laid out a blanket on the floor with a few throw pillows thrown on it. I walked further into the room when I jumped, hearing Pat speak from behind me.

“I’m just going to get the food ready.”

I raised my eyebrow and followed him into the kitchen. “Pat, what is all of this?”

He smiled, placed the bags on the counter and walked over to me. Placing his hands on my hips, his eyes met mine.

“I wanted this to be perfect. After last night, I feel like we’re finally back on track. Since I’m leaving for a road trip tomorrow, I wanted to say goodbye in a way that’ll make you miss me while I’m gone.”

I tried to hold it back, but a small chuckle slipped from my lips. Pat looked down and raised his eyebrow at me. I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but I just think it’s kind of funny that you think I don’t miss you when you leave.”

He smiled and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “I figured you wouldn’t want a fancy-shmancy dinner, so I thought an indoor picnic would work.”

“That would explain the sweatpants and hoodie….and the list of groceries you asked me to buy.” I stepped away from him, remembering there was ice cream and reached into the bag. “By the way,” I said over my shoulder, looking at him, “it’s not as embarrassing as you think, shopping in your pajamas.”

He chuckled and walked behind me wrapping his arms around my waist. Placing a soft kiss on the back of my neck, he whispered. “You’re not really that upset, are you?”

I turned around in his arms and smiled up at him. “No, I’m not. I just wish you would’ve just cut to the chase and told me what your plans were.”

“Well, that would take away all my fun and all my planning.”

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the freezer, putting the ice cream in there for later.

“Oh, question. Where are all of my clothes?”