Sindy zipped up her duffle bag and placed it next to the door with the rest of her things. “I’m sorry my apartment took longer than expected, Tessa. I really appreciate you letting me stay here.”
“I was happy to have you here.” Tessa came out of her bedroom holding a garment bag which contained the outfit Sindy wore on stage when Prodigy performed with Immortal Angel, made by Jessi Blade and housed in Tessa’s spacious walk-in closet for safekeeping. “I’m gonna miss you. I feel like I have a sister for the first time in my life.”
“Me, too.” An only child, Sindy never experienced the kind of companionship she had with Tessa. They’d grown incredibly close in the short time they’d known each other, and, other than when Sindy worked at the diner, they’d spent most of their days and nights together. It had been an incredible month here at the mansion, and, although she hated leaving, she was also looking forward to finally getting her own place. She didn’t have much to take with her. Most of her clothes were here, which fit into three overnight bags, but the rest of her meager belongings were still at the storage unit. She grabbed the two duffle bags, while Tessa took the small suitcase and carried the garment bag.
Once in the hallway, Sindy paused to look back at the room that had been her sanctuary and a sense of loss made her sigh. She’d miss the sofa with the fragrant pillow and soft blanket that she clung to some nights. “Bye couch.”
Lucas and Mason were waiting out front with a pick-up truck that would take Sindy’s things from the storage unit to her new apartment. They followed her to the self-storage place and into the alleyway that led to the unit she rented. Walking down the cold narrow corridor caused an array of horrible memories to wash over Sindy. The desperation she’d felt when she was forced to live here came back and drowned her, causing her cheeks to burn with embarrassment.
She rolled up the metal door, and the sight of the air mattress hit her like a brick to her gut. She didn’t know why she didn’t deflate it. She’d been back and forth several times in order to pick up clothing and could have easily let the air out of it. So much had changed since she left this place. Looking back, she felt as if it were a different person who lived in this unit. She remembered thinking it was sufficient at the time. Comfortable. She had been thankful for the four walls and the roof above her head. Then she remembered the daily trips to the gym after a 12-hour shift at the diner so she could shower, and then retiring to this 10-by-10 area where she needed to relieve herself in a bucket if she was too tired to drive to the 7-Eleven to use the bathroom. It was hard to believe that she went from living like that to living in a mansion.
The flurry of activity around her made her realize that everyone was picking up items and bringing them to the truck, and she was standing there staring at the mattress.
“Hey.” Lucas held the floor lamp in his hand. “Didn’t you threaten to hit me over the head with this?”
She burst out laughing and took the lamp from his hand. “I did no such thing.” She appreciated that he made her forget about how pathetic her life had been and lightened her mood.
It didn’t take long to load the truck, and an hour later they were at her new apartment. She slid the key into the lock, turned the knob and let the door swing open. Home. It was nothing compared to where Tessa and Lucas lived, and she could only imagine what Mason’s posh Manhattan apartment looked like, but this was her home and it was perfect.
Mason and Lucas brushed past her carrying the kitchen table. She didn’t realize how cumbersome it was moving furniture and boxes up to her second floor apartment and felt bad that Mason and Lucas were doing physical labor. “I’m sorry. I should have hired movers.”
“We got it,” Mason called over his shoulder.
Tessa walked in carrying an end table and placed it in the living room next to where the new couch would go once it was delivered tomorrow.
“Tessa, what are you doing? Leave the heavy stuff for the guys.”
“Nonsense. I can carry furniture. I don’t need a man to do every little thing for me. Neither do you.” She gave Sindy a playful slap on the shoulder. “Get moving. There’s a baker’s rack I need a hand with.”
It didn’t take long to fill Sindy’s apartment with the scarce furnishings and boxes of personal stuff, and she stood back to take in her new place. “Home sweet home. I can’t wait until my new furniture comes tomorrow. I’m going to have a real bed!”
“Now I feel bad,” Tessa said. “I would have slept on the couch.”
“I would never ask you to give up your bed, Tessa.”
“I should have offered. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. It must have been so uncomfortable! Your back must be killing you between sleeping on that blow up mattress then on my couch.”
Sindy locked eyes with Lucas, both remembering how she fussed over his soft pillow-top mattress, and how she joked that it was the reason she couldn’t stay out of his bed. She missed him. As she stared at him, she saw the longing that tugged at her heart reflected back at her in his soulful eyes. This was for the best, she reminded herself. He hadn’t texted her for a middle-of-the-night visit or tried to steal a kiss when they were alone since the night she told him they needed to stop sleeping together. He seemed to be OK with being apart, which made her sadder. She wondered if he had kept pressuring her to pursue a relationship if she would have given in and told him they could deal with the fallout later if it didn’t work out. She never connected with anyone the way she connected with Lucas and missed the way they interacted. She was just being remorseful, she told herself. Fallout would be messy, and, she knew it would be inevitable. She had made the right decision and once again sealed off her heart, although a little voice in the back of her head kept telling her to reconsider.
“It’s your first visitor!” Tessa squealed when the doorbell rang.
Sindy hadn’t given her address to anyone. The other waitresses at the diner knew she was moving into one of her boss’ apartment buildings, but they didn’t know the location. She hoped Tessa didn’t invite her parents. There wasn’t adequate seating, and the idea of mega-talented rock stars in her scantily-furnished home made her uncomfortable.
“Relax.” Tessa headed toward the door, “I ordered Chinese food. It’s not a frat party.”
Sindy’s stomach rumbled with hunger at the mention of food and realized they hadn’t eaten in hours. “You guys must be starving. I’m a terrible hostess!”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll be up in a sec.” Tessa bounced out of the apartment and returned a few minutes later carrying two shopping bags reeking with delicious aromas.
Sindy helped Tessa pull the small cardboard containers from the bag and set them on the kitchen table. She purposely sat across from Lucas instead of next to him, but that proved to be just as distracting because every time she looked up they made eye contact. For the rest of the night she made it a point to stay away from Lucas, because thinking about him made her heart ache. Instead, she set up her bedroom with the help of her best friend. Unfolding the blow-up mattress momentarily made her feel worse, as memories of her less-than-stellar existence in a storage unit came flooding back, but then she found comfort in knowing that this was the last time she’d fill it with air. After her bed was delivered, she was throwing away the blow-up mattress. Maybe she’d even set it on fire.
Everyone left around midnight, and a sense of peace filled Sindy as she gazed at her apartment.Her apartment.The idea was still foreign, yet profoundly real. She paid the rent three months in advance and put six months’ worth of rent money in a separate account. She needed the security of not worrying about being short if she needed to cut back on her hours at the diner further, or, altogether, once Prodigy started the promo tour. She’d already spent more than she expected on furniture and the move. Everything was so expensive, even though she shopped at discount stores for things like new sheets and towels.
Part of her wanted to curl up and go to sleep, the other part wanted to put all the dishes and pots and pans in the cabinets. She wanted normalcy and to be settled. Living out of boxes for the last few months made her feel like a vagabond, so she unpacked a box of plates and silverware and washed them. She just finished putting them in the cabinet when the doorbell rang again. She tentatively pressed the intercom button. “Hello?”
“It’s me. Please let me up. I need to talk to you.”
She should have known it would be Lucas. His voice filled her with equal amounts of excitement and dread. Her finger hovered over the intercom button while she wrestled with her conflicting emotions. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
