“I don’t know. But between the possible mold and the creepy AF neighbor—” she made a gagging sound, “—you can’t say here for long.”
I rubbed my arms. “I haven’t seen Cory in a few weeks.”
“Thank God. I can’t believe he tried to break into your apartment that one time. What a freak.”
My neighbor had been a constant source of stress ever since I moved in here more than a year ago. Cory worked at a recycling plant just outside the city, and despite the receding hairline, he couldn’t be older than forty. Whenever we had the misfortune of bumping into each other in the hall, he’d stare at me with his crazy eyes. Eventually, the staring escalated to attempts at conversation. One day, he’d tried to invite himself in.
“I’m just glad I was able to scare him off.”
“It still makes me mad as hell the cops wouldn’t do anything.” She shook her head, her expression tight with anger. “You still carry that pepper spray I got for you, right?”
“Yeah.” I hated carrying that thing in my purse. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t ever use it on another person, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me feel safer. When I’d called the police last time, they’d arrived more than an hour later and all but dismissed my story. Cory had come out to talk to them while putting on his best behavior, claiming the incident was just a misunderstanding. I couldn’t believe it when the cops bought it and left without doing a thing. It was humiliating.
“I’m planning on moving out this year,” I admitted. “I just need to get my raise.”
Piper huffed in indignation. “You know you can always crash with me if you need to.”
“You live in a studio the size of a matchbox. I’m not going to intrude on you like that.”
“Well, what about your sister? Doesn’t she have like a mansion in Beverly Hills?”
“If I told my sister about my situation, she’d lose her mind with worry. I can’t do that to her, especially now that she’s busy with the tour.” I moved into this place a week before Bleeding Moonlight left LA, and in the chaos of their preparations, Ade never got a chance to visit. Whenever we talked over video chat, I made sure not to show her any of the unsavory parts of the apartment.
“Are you going to tell her about Last Rites?” Piper asked.
“Do you know she used to be in a band with Mason?”
Piper’s eyes widened. “The plot thickens. Let me guess, they used to hook up.”
“What? No!” The thought of Ade together with Mason made me want to gag. “She was like an older sister to him. I don’t know if they’ve kept in touch over the years, but she’ll get a kick out of hearing he’s doing well.”
“Is he though? You said he seemed different.”
Mason had been unnaturally quiet. Was it because he was upset to see me? Or was I overthinking it? It’d been three years, plenty of time for him to change. “I don’t know. He certainly wasn’t thrilled to see me. I can tell you that.”
“Well, I sincerely hope they’re not going to be dicks to you.”
“Me too,” I said with a sigh and chugged the rest of my wine.
Piper eyed her watch. “I gotta head home to do my laundry, or I’ll be wearing my bathing suit bottoms to work tomorrow,” she said, getting up. “Text me tomorrow after you’re finished with them, okay? I want to hear all about it.”
“Deal.”
I locked the door, put the door chain on, and promptly passed out on the couch.
* * *
There was a thumping noise somewhere inside my house. I woke up in panic, my half-asleep mind conjuring up scenarios of Cory trying to pound down the door, but it was just my phone vibrating on the glass coffee table.
Six am. A quick glance at the screen showed a foreign number, so it had to be Adeline. I placed my hand on my chest in an attempt to slow my racing heart and picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mol! Shit, is it super early? Did I wake you up?”
I got off the couch and walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. “Kind of, but don’t worry. It’s good to hear your voice.”
“Fuck, sorry. I can never get the time zones right when they change what feels like every day. Want me to call back later?”
