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I’d had a man watching for the past week in case our shooter showed up. That was how long it took us to buy the apartment complex and kick out the person who’d been living next to the girl and her brother.
I’d only brought the bare necessities, leaving most of my things back at the mansion.
I carried my suitcase and a box up the stairs, careful not to tread on any missing steps. That would be the first thing I fixed. Followed by the railing that had been duct-taped in places. It was a wonder the old owner hadn’t been sued.
Rustling sounded from behind an old mattress that was haphazardly stacked against the wall at the end of the walkway. I was standing on the top step, undecided if I should investigate the noise or go to my apartment, when a giant rat jumped out.
Screaming, I dropped my box and lost my hold on the suitcase, sending both tumbling down the stairs.
“You scream like a girl.”
A boy around five or six shot a gap-toothed smile at me from the bottom of the stairs. His clothes looked too big for his small frame, and there were holes in the knees of his pants. He had a basketball under one arm, the other hand holding on to the railing.
“Yeah, well, the mutated rat caught me off guard. Didn’t know Splinter lived here.” Catching my breath, I nodded to the mattress. “Should I expect talking turtles to appear next?”
His eyes lit up, and he skipped past my suitcase and all the papers and trinkets littering the stairs. “You watchNinja Turtles?”
“Of course. My brother Liam was obsessed with the show. Probably still is, not that he’d ever admit that out loud.”
His face was awash with awe. “You have a brother?”
“I have two of them. And a sister.”
“I only have a sister. And she works all the time.”
“At least you have your own space. My brothers and sister are always up in my business.” I moved down the steps, collecting first my box, then the scattered papers since they were most likely to fly away.
Surprisingly, the boy helped me pick everything up, studying everything he collected. “You have a baseball signed by Ernie Banks?” He held the case with reverence, his voice awed.
I was surprised it hadn’t broken. But aside from a little chip on the bottom, it seemed fine. My dad had given me the baseball when I was ten, convinced I wanted to become a professional player.
The phase passed, but I could never quite part with the gift. I now considered it my good luck charm.
The boy carefully placed the baseball in my cardboard box. A look around the stairwell and ground below confirmed we’d collected everything.
I held my hand out to him. “Hey, thanks for your help. I’m Jude.”
Flashing his missing front teeth again, he shrugged and shook my hand. “No problem at all. I’m Lenny. But don’t tell Ariel I told you or she’ll make me do the dishes because I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”
I made a zipping motion over my mouth. “Your secret is safe with me.”
We walked up to the top together, both taking a left. There were only two apartments on that side, one mine and the other one connected to the shooter.
Lenny waved before disappearing inside the apartment next to mine.
I set my box down in front of my new place and went to retrieve my suitcase. It seemed largely intact besides a few scratches and dirt.
Rolling it inside, I gagged at the smell that hit me. I’d been too impatient to wait for the cleaners to show up since they weren’t booked in until tomorrow. I figured one night in the apartment wouldn’t kill me. Now I was reconsidering my hasty decision.
At least all the furniture was new. I just had to make sure not to touch anything. And maybe take a shower at my parents’ tomorrow.
I dropped my suitcase and set the box on the table, then grabbed a beer from the fridge. Sinking onto the couch, I thought about how to make contact with my neighbor. Maybe I could use the kid.
I dismissed that almost immediately, the thought not sitting right with me.
I could pretend to need sugar and knock on her door. But would she believe I cooked? Or maybe I could say I lost my cat. But then I’d have to get one or she’d get suspicious. And I wasn’t ready for such a big commitment.
After the fourth beer, the sugar idea sounded better and better, and after my sixth, I decided no time like the present. The quicker I finished this, the quicker I could get back home. Because I’d decided that I wasn’t ready to move out after all.
