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“All right,” Kai agreed. She stepped into her apartment and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill down her face. The place was a wreck and seeing those big red letters spelling out, “Lying bitch” on her wall upset her more than they should.
“Take your time and look around,” the officer offered. “If you notice anything, please let me know.”
“Thank you,” she said, I will. Kai looked around her small family room and noticed that her laptop and television were still there, although her TV looked like someone took a hammer to the screen. She had bought that TV second-hand because it was all she could afford. It was her first big purchase, besides her sofa because she bought that new. Kai didn’t like the idea of buying someone’s secondhand sofa. What if they had sex on it or something? That thought always grossed her out, so she purchased her couch new.
She walked through the rest of her tiny apartment, Taz by her side the whole time, and didn’t see anything that had been missing. Her pillows from her bed were cut open, almost as if they were gutted. Her comforter was shredded and even her mattress was cut open. Whoever did this wanted to send her a clear message—they were pissed. It had to be Gabe. It was too much of a conscience that he’d left their supposed date pissed off and then, she came home to her apartment looking like this.
“I don’t see anything missing,” she whispered.
“Do you have renter’s insurance?” the officer asked.
“Yes,” she said. “The landlord here requires it when you sign the lease. I guess I’m thankful for at least that.”
“Right,” the officer said, “you should leave everything the way that it is and call this into your insurance company in the morning. They’ll send someone out to take pictures and figure out the damage. Just take what you need to sleep elsewhere—clothes, toiletry, that kind of stuff.”
“Okay,” Kai agreed. She felt numb. The events of the night were finally catching up to her and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed, huddle up into a ball, and cry herself to sleep.
“We’re going to figure this out, honey,” Taz promised. She looked down to where their hands were still joined, and she was almost surprised to still find him by her side. “Let’s grab some of your things and get out of here. I want to get you to my place.”
“I’m going to head out too,” the officer said. “You really should thank your neighbors, Miss Washington. They were the ones who noticed that your door was open and that someone had gotten in. Who knows, maybe they were scared off before they could take anything.”
Or, maybe whoever did this was there to purely scare her and send her a message. “I will,” she agreed, “thank you, officer.”
“I’ll be in touch,” he promised. She gave him her cell number and Taz did the same, even telling the cop his home address, in case they needed to ask her any further questions. As soon as the officer left, Taz shut and locked the front door, and Kai wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry at the gesture.
“I don’t think that is going to keep anyone out,” she said, nodding to the deadbolt. “I mean, I think we’re safe to assume that much, at least.” She looked around her apartment and he was quickly by her side again.
“Let’s pack you up some clothes and stuff, and go to my place,” he offered. “You’ll be my first official guest.”
“Oh—you don’t invite people over much?” she asked.
“Actually, I just moved into my new condo, and I haven’t had time to invite anyone over. It’s furnished and I’ve got a security system in place, so you’ll be safe there.”
“Thanks, Taz,” she breathed. “I don’t know what I would have done without you tonight.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “I’m just glad that I was here for you, Kai. You won’t have to go through any of this alone.” She couldn’t help the tears that now spilled down her cheeks as she nodded her thanks.
“Aw, honey,” he grumbled, “don’t do that. Let’s get moving so that we can get you to bed. You must be exhausted after all of this.” She was drained and bed was the only thing she wanted right now—bed and Taz holding her for the rest of the night.
