“I had a lot of time to think on the flight, but to be honest, every time my mind wanders to what you told me about your past, I instinctively block it out. It’s like a protective mechanism.”
“I can understand that. It’s sort of what I do whenever I think about it now. It’s how I deal with it, too.”
“Is it okay that I just don’t want to think about it at all right now?”
“Of course, that’s okay. You take all the time you need. Just don’t stop talking to me. I need to hear your voice every day.”
My Uber driver pulled up to the sidewalk in front of me.
“My ride is here.”
“Will you call me before you go to sleep tonight?”
“Yes,” I promised.
After we hung up, during the drive home, I focused on nothing but the noises around me in an attempt to clear my mind. Dark Side by Kelly Clarkson came on the radio. How ironic. Closing my eyes, I tried my best to relax for the rest of the ride.
Little did I know I was about to be greeted with a rude awakening when I got to my apartment.
Once inside, the place seemed eerily quiet. Usually, I could hear some kind of noise coming from my roommate’s bedroom. Instead, Lenny’s door was open, revealing an almost entirely empty space.
Oh, my God.
He was gone. Not a single item was left behind.
I was feeling a mixture of relief and paranoia.
Reaching for my phone, I immediately dialed Landon.
He picked up. “I didn’t expect to hear back from you so soon.”
“Lenny’s gone.”
“What? Like disappeared?”
“Like moved out, yeah. He took all of his things.”
“Well, shit. That’s a good thing, right?”
“I think so, yeah. I mean, a part of me is a little paranoid.”
“Of what?”
“That he might come back.” I laughed at myself, realizing how ridiculous that sounded.
“You’d rather live with him every day than live with the fear of him coming back?”
“No. But at least with him here, I could keep an eye on him. Now, Lenny will be like an invisible danger lurking in the night.”
“That’s insane. I’m glad the fucker left. That’s the best homecoming you could’ve asked for. You don’t need that shit in your life.”
“Well, I needed his rent.”
“No, you don’t. I’ll pay his half of the rent indefinitely until you can find someone, preferably a female.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Doesn’t matter whether you let me. I’m doing it anyway.”
I walked into my room and gasped loudly upon the sight of my open closet.
“What happened?”
“My clothes…most of them are gone!”
“That sick fuck took your clothes?”
My hands were shaking. “This is so freaky.”
“Call the police, Rana. Now.”
“I won’t do that. I’m too scared of retaliation.”
“Okay, if you won’t, then at the very least, you need to change your locks.”
“I’ll work on that first thing in the morning. Nothing’s open now.”
“We used to think it was funny, but this shit is no joke. That dude is sick.”
“What do you think he’s doing with my clothes?”
“Who the fuck knows. Some voodoo shit? It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad he’s gone.”
“I think I’m going to start looking for a new place tomorrow. It freaks me out that he knows my schedule.”
“I’m going to insist on it, Rana. Seriously.”
“I was hoping to come home and relax, maybe draw a nice, hot bath. Instead, I feel like I walked into an episode of Unsolved Mysteries.”
Landon chuckled. “Minus Robert Stacks’ creepy voice.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I swear…my life is so bizarre.”Since Lenny had taken my work clothes as well, the following day was spent scrambling to find two new belly dancer outfits, seeing as though I had to return to my dancing gig that night.
I was eternally grateful for the money Landon had snuck into my coat. Otherwise, I would never have been able to afford new uniforms. There was only one woman in town who sold them, and she was expensive because everything was handmade. I didn’t have time to order anything online, so I had to go to her.
After leaving the seamstress’ shop, with an hour to spare before the start of my shift, I decided to pay a quick visit to Lilith and give her the few souvenirs I had brought her back from California.
It wasn’t our normal Big Sister day, so she looked surprised to see me when she joined me out on her porch.
“You came back.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“I bet Jasper a dollar that you would, but he wanted to make it five. I told him that was too much because I thought I might lose.”
“Thanks for the one-dollar vote of confidence, Lil.”
“Is there something for me in that bag?”
“There are several things in this bag. Two new work outfits for me, and there just might be a few things for you, yes.”
She adjusted her glasses. “Let’s see.”
“Okay, technically, Landon paid for these gifts, because I didn’t have any money with me.”