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Theo
The type of apartment building that Mena brought him to was rather plain, the type he’d driven past often and never given a thought to.
He walked along one hallway then another, passing by more and more apartments. This place was home to so many people. Was it safe for Mena?
The elevator was dirty, and the rattling noise it made as it moved slowly between floors was definitely a bad sign. Did Mena use this elevator every day?
He was silent as they got off and Mena led him down yet another hallway. Mena stopped in front of a door, playing with her keys in her hand and not unlocking the door.
“Some of my roommates will still be home.”
“Roommates?” Theo asked in horror. How many people did she live with? Before he could ask, she opened the door and he saw the place. There was a tiny cramped entryway, with coats hanging on hooks that were threatening to come off the wall. Asmall sea of shoes were strewn across the floor so he had to pick his way carefully through them.
“Down here,” Mena called.
Theo caught a glimpse of a big studio room with a couch and a kitchen beyond. There was a man sitting on the couch, who caught Theo’s eye and leered knowingly at him. Theo instantly disliked him, he seemed like a creep, taking too much of an interest in Mena’s business.
Mena’s bedroom was tiny, with the same style of decorations as she had in her college room, except there were no posters on the walls, just floating shelves with books on them.
He recognized the throw on the bed, it was the same one she’d had in college. He sat down, skimming his hand nostalgically along the throw. Some of the happiest times of his life involved this throw.
He’d been so sure that those times with Mena would carry on for the rest of his life, that Mena would be by his side forever. Madly, he had the urge to snatch it up and take the throw back to his home.
But it wasn’t that he wanted this particular blanket, just what it symbolized. If the blanket was on his bed, then Mena would be there too.
“You still have the same blanket.”
Mena was busy rooting in her closet. She dumped a small bundle of clothes on the bed.
“Huh? Oh Yeah, well my great-aunt -”
“Made it for you.”
She shrugged. “I guess I talked about that a lot. Make yourself at home. I’ll just be a minute.”
Mena left him alone in her room, taking her toothbrush and a bottle of toothpaste with her.
Theo frowned at the idea of not leaving a toothbrush in the bathroom. It meant she didn’t trust the people she lived with.His gut feeling about her apartment was right, this place was definitely not safe.
No matter if she didn’t want to see him after today, he needed to find her somewhere safe to live. His hand still idly stroked her great-aunt’s throw, admiring the embroidered flowers and tiny dinosaurs, done in pale pastel colors.
The bedroom door had been left ajar and now he heard the voices of her roommates.
“Hey, Mena, Jeff tells me you have a guest!” a female voice called from the hallway. Jeff, he supposed, must be the creep on the couch. This was yet another roommate.
“No, I mean, yeah.”
“Oooh,” the woman warbled in a sing song tone. Theo decided he also didn’t like this roommate. “And ishewhy you didn’t come home last night?”
Theo glared at the door, wanting to interrupt. He hated the idea of Mena being teased or embarrassed.
“Just an old boyfriend from college,” Mena said tersely.
The woman laughed in a way that sounded mean to Theo. “Well, you know what they say about going back to an ex.”
“Youknow he can probably hear you.”
“Whoops!” the woman laughed again, and then there was the sound of heavy footsteps moving away.
