AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh dear,” she said, once she had composed herself enough to speak. “But you have another job lined up, right? Or at least a job interview?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I was thinking about doing some freelance work, but who knows? For once in my life, I don’t have my future planned, and it feels great.”
Ms. Williams puckered like she had just licked a sour candy. “Well, if you’re sure, dear . . .” She peered over my shoulder before lowering her voice. “I’m glad I ran into you. I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I’ve been seeing orcs more and more around the neighborhood, and I wanted to warn you. We need to approve that patrol officer as soon as possible. Make sure you’re locking your door at night. Orcs, goblins, demons, they’re all dangerous, Skye. Thieves, druggies, and murderers, I don’t care what anyone says.”
So I wasn’t the only one? I was relieved to learn that I hadn’t been experiencing some post-breakup hallucination that caused me to see orcs everywhere. Ms. Williams was seeing them as well.
I knew I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but my heart fluttered at the mention of orcs. Was it possible that one of those orcs could be Ansel?
No,my mind immediately replied.Don’t be foolish. Ansel is an entire ocean away.
I reached up and touched the pendant hanging around my neck—Ansel’s necklace. These past months it had become a habit to absently touch the necklace whenever I was feeling nervous. Or missing him. I’m surprised the pendant didn’t have an indent from how many times I rubbed it between the pads of my fingers.
I was pathetic for wearing it—I knew that. I should have buried it deep in the bottom of my sock drawer and forced myself to forget it was there, but it was my last connection to him. Part of me hoped that if Ansel ever changed his mind, he would always know where to find me.
He’s not coming back for you,that annoying voice quickly reminded me. Rude, but she was right.
Tears pricked my eyes at the realization Ansel was never returning. I looked Ms. Williams in the eye, frowning at her. Shaking my head slowly, I said, "Do you know what's dangerous? Sitting in front of your TV and absorbing lies all day long. That's dangerous. Orcs, goblins, and demons are not the problem. They're just like us. Some are dangerous, some are grumpy bastards, some are so smart they've circled around to being idiot enough to knock themselves out with their own chloroform, and some . . . some are sexual satisfaction personified, and they’ll dick you so hard they’ll shatter your soul just before they abandon you and break your heart." I took a long shuddering breath and slid my key in my door before I turned back to Ms. Williams, "but most are normal people just trying to get by. So, please stop harassing them for merely existing, and in the future, keep your bigoted, small-minded thoughts to yourself.”
Ms. Williams’s eyes widened with horror as her mouth fell open. I thought she might have frozen because she held that expression for a long moment, her mouth opening and closing, but no sound came out. Finally, she sputtered, “You don’t belong on the HOA committee anymore. I'll be calling for your removal.”
I nodded. “That's probably in your best interest. I’ve always abstained from voting when I didn't want to upset you and the other members, but that's not going to happen anymore. From now on, you can expect a fight at each and every meeting, until the stupid rule about who is and who isn't allowed to live in this building is gone. And I’m not paying for your damn patrol officer, either!” I paused, my chest tightening at the reminder that Ms. Williams had very close ties with my family. I was waiting for the right time to have a similar talk (with fewer mentions of dicks) with my parents, or at least my dad, who was more likely to hear me. But after one angry call from Ms. Williams to my mother, it looked like my timeline would be much sooner than I was expecting.
I headed towards my apartment without another word.
“I will be telling every member of the HOA about this!” Ms. Williams screamed as I climbed the steps.
Later that night, I laid on my bed staring down at my phone. My laptop was opened next to me with flight info to Scotland pulled up on my screen. I had entered all my personal and billing info in the checkout but hadn’t mustered enough courage to pull the trigger and buy the ticket yet. Even with liquid courage buzzing through my veins, I was still hesitant.
I cursed under my breath at my phone. I had installed cameras outside my door and for some reason, the app was glitching tonight and wouldn’t upload my feed. I wasn’t worried—this was an issue I dealt with pretty regularly. The internet I used didn’t have enough bandwidth to support the app, and it ended up crashing on a regular basis.
Plus, one of the perks of living on the swanky side of the city was that my complex was a gated community. Even if there were questionable orcs loitering around the area, they would have a hard time getting in. My chest tightened, a small part of me still hoping it was Ansel hanging outside, working up the courage to come apologize to me.
I closed my laptop and placed my phone on my nightstand, making a mental note to look into upgrading to a higher speed internet tomorrow. I rolled onto my side, staring at the empty side of my bed.
I hated this time of day. The stretch before I fell asleep where I had nothing to do but think of Ansel. Even without a job, I kept busy enough during the daylight hours to only think about Ansel here and there. But when night rolled around, I had nothing to distract me from thinking of him.
Tonight was no different. I reached up and touched my necklace, rolling the pendant between my fingers as I let my mind wander. Instead of imagining him in his village like I normally did, doing whatever orcs do over there; I imagined Ansel breaking into my apartment, slipping into my bed, and holding my sleeping body until the morning sun peeked through my curtains.
I would wake up to find his mouth between my legs. He wouldn’t apologize right away—he couldn’t, actually, because his mouth would be too busy drawing out orgasm after orgasm until I was too delirious to be angry with him. Then, after rocking the bed so loud we woke up the whole complex (the walls here had always been too thin anyways), I would finally look into his gray eyes and tell him I loved him. And that he was never leaving me again. Even if I had to handcuff him to the bed; he was staying with me forever.
I replayed that scenario over and over again in my head until I was tired enough to fall asleep. The last thing I remembered was holding the pendant pinched between my fingers before sleep consumed me.
The softshickof my door opening made me stir. I groaned, rolling over in my bed as a tall figure crept towards me. Was I still dreaming?
“Ansel?”I grumbled into the darkness. Firm hands slid over me. It was him!
He gripped me, pinning me hard to the mattress. Alarm bells immediately went off in my head. This wasn’t Ansel’s touch. Someone was in my room, and I was under attack.
I jerked towards my nightstand’s drawer where I kept my newly purchased gun, but I was too slow. The intruder grunted something unintelligible as I squirmed in his grip, but he caught my hands in the air, crushing them against my chest.
My eyes quickly adjusted to the dark as I stared up at my intruder. It was too dark to see his face, but he had the build of a monster. There was no use fighting him; he was too strong. I sucked in a deep breath and screamed at the top of my lungs,“HELP ME—”
My voice was muffled as a second intruder appeared and shoved a piece of cloth against my mouth. My head jerked away, but he found my mouth again, muffling the noise again. I screamed against the cloth, but it was useless. At first, I thought he was trying to gag me but hadn’t shoved it deep enough, but then I tasted that familiar sweet smell.
Shit. Chloroform.
“Fuck yo—”I hissed into the cloth. That was as far as I got before my eyes closed, my tensed body relaxing into the mattress.
