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April shrugged. “Preaching to the choir. But a fence won’t work here, anyway. It has to be at least half a wall, with fencing on top and specific points where the tenants can get in. The gate for the parking lot doesn’t even work. It never has. You just drive on through, or walk.”
“Why in the world did you live here?”
“I couldn’t afford rent anywhere else.”
Samson rolled his eyes. “You are the most stubborn human being. You could have been living with Lana, and you chose to live here. That says something about you, as a person.”
“Yes, it says that I’m used to having to take care of myself.”
Samson was about to argue that she didn’t have to do that anymore when his eyes shifted over to several men sitting on the stoop of their apartment, playing some kind of card game. He was about to ask about that when a tiny dark-skinned woman with a huge laundry basket on her hip came up to the steps to shoo them off before she went inside. The men made a few rude noises at her and then returned to their game once she’d gone in.
“Would a wall help this place?” Samson asked doubtfully.
“To a degree. There would have to be other structural changes, and you would have to do some rebuilding. And the tenants would have to be able to still live here, if you started doing renovations. The rent has to stay sort of low. Partially because most folks aren’t going to live this far from the center of town in a bad neighborhood, even if you fix up a complex or two.”
“Hmm.” Samson took his hands out of his pockets and put his arm around April. She leaned into him.
“Hey there, pretty lady!” a man wearing sunglasses called to them cheerfully. He was around April’s age, and dressed in a blue tank top over a pair of threadbare jeans.
“Hi, Rene!” April waved. “Still stuck in this place?”
“Welcome to Hell, babe. Be glad you got out.” Rene propped his sunglasses on top of his head and peered up at Samson. “Good God, you’re tall. How tall are you?”
“I’m six-foot-five.”
“He should play basketball,” Rene told April.
April grinned. “Samson, this is my old neighbor, Rene. He lives a couple of units down from where I did.”
“Yeah, they had her strung out on that last unit by the fence like bait. A girl all alone right there where creeps come crawling in.” Rene shook his head. “They knew what they was doin’. And April, she never bothered anybody a day in her life. They couldn’t’ve asked for a quieter renter. But they went and ran her out just the same.”
“I appreciated you keeping an eye out for me, anyway.”
“I do, as well. Thank you for looking out for my girl,” Samson said.
“You went and caught you a good one, didn’t you?” Rene laughed and put his sunglasses back on. “He’s a big one! Hope he takes care of you.”
“He tries. I make it hard for him. We’re here to talk to the property manager.”
“Ugh. Good luck with that.” Rene shook his head. He put his hands on his hips. “Whew. Gotta go, kiddo. I’ll see you around, maybe. Hopefully not, though!”
“Thanks!”
As he departed, Samson pulled April closer.
“Rene is harmless,” she said.
“It’s not him I’m worried about. I hate that you lived here alone.”
“It’s really not the worst place I’ve lived.”
Samson sighed and headed back for the front office. “I wish you wouldn’t minimize your experiences like that. Just because there are worse options, does not mean that what’s in front of you isn’t still objectively terrible.”
“A lot of people don’t have a choice but to live in a place like this. Or on the street.”
“I’d imagine you would have to be facing that choice if you ended up here.”
“Yes.”
