Apartment 23

Apartment 23

The early morning sun rose on this summer day. The light pierces into the window of Lydia Melandy. The light hits her closed eyes causing her to squeeze her eyes tighter, as she rolls in her white cotton sheets onto her back. She rubs her eyes as she stretches her arms overhead. Having kicked the sheets away from her body she lays there eyes open in a white tank top and black underwear. She stares at the ceiling not wanting to get up today. Sleeping wasn’t the easiest thing in this new apartment. She had only been here a few days and it seems like forever due to many sleepless nights. She knew though she would have to get up. Sitting on the side of the bed she decides to shower before breakfast.

Her bathroom is small with barely enough room to move in. The counter is already cluttered with her face creams and tooth care items. She yawns and stretches again as she turns on the shower. While she gives it a moment for the water to get warmed up she looks into the mirror at herself. Pulling on the bottom of her eyes where darkening bags have started to form. She examines her face a little more. Wondering how things turned out this way. Checking on the water she finds it nice and warm. She undresses and steps into the hot water.

After her shower she walks into the kitchen. She has a towel wrapped around her body and another wrapped around her hair. She grabs the steel kettle from the stove top and fills it with water and turns on one of the burners the kettle will heat up on. She reaches into the cupboard and grabs a little white cup with cherry blossom design embossed on the outside. It had a lid and a built-in filter that can be removed. Setting it on the counter while she grabs a tin and pops the lid off. A little spoon is inside and she scoops out the herbal contents from inside. A full tablespoon is more than enough for a nice cup of tea in the morning.

The squeal of the kettle startles Lydia who has changed into shorts and a t-shirt. She pulls it from the stove top and pours it into the cup on the counter. Shutting the stove off and placing the kettle on a cool burner. Letting the tea steep she grabs milk from the fridge and honey from the next to the toaster. Removing the filter she puts a little honey and a smaller amount of milk into the cup. Sipping at the tea brings a relaxing warmth through her body. She sits in a chair that faces the window overlooking the city. Looking out at the buildings around and the people walking below. Wondering what their lives might be like and many have had to start over.

After Lydia finishes her cup of tea she looks into her fridge. Seeing nothing to eat there she closes the door and heads over to where her low top sneakers are. Putting the shoes on and tying them up loosely. She grabs a light hoodie and her purse as she heads out the door. Locking it behind her and walking down the hallway. She can hear televisions or talking from her neighbors' apartments.

Reaching the elevators she waits only a little before they show up. A few people step out and Lydia gets in. she notices someone hasn’t got out and this is the top floor. She doesn’t say anything to him. As the elevator goes down she takes small glances over to him. He's a handsome man with short brown hair and stubble instead of a beard. She wonders if he was visiting someone in the building or lives there. When the elevator reaches the bottom floor he stays behind as she leaves. Looking back as the door closed Lydia couldn’t be more confused.

Walking out of the building Lydia was still thinking about the man in the elevator. Wondering if she should tell someone about it. She decided when she gets back she’ll get a hold of the manager and let him know what's going on. The warm sun feels good on her skin. Lydia walks her way down the sidewalk and passes a number of people going on with their day. They don't seem to pay attention to her at all. Such is city life it seems.

Finding a small taco truck just a few blocks away. Lydia stands in a small line waiting to order. Looking at the menu to try and figure out what she would like before its time to order. Getting to the front of the line she looks at the menu one more time.

“Hi, can I get the burrito please?” she asks the window attendant.

“Right away. That’s going to be 12.99 please,” he responds.

She hands over her debit card to be scanned and puts it back into her purse. She sits at a table nearby to wait for her order to be ready. While waiting Lydia watches as people pass people. Hearing chatter from the other people also waiting for their food. Watching as each one takes their meal and heads out. A sense of peace comes over her for the first time in a long time. She hears her order called out when it's ready. She grabs it and heads out to find somewhere nice to eat.

Down the street she finds a nice big park with plenty of places to sit. Sitting down she puts her burrito next to her as she unwraps the tin foil. The burrito is about half a foot long and as round as soda can. It's been forever since she was able to get one of these kinds of burritos. Her last boyfriend didn’t like food trucks and wouldn’t allow her to go to one. She puts a little green sauce on it and takes a nice big bite. The flavors are just so sensational anyone looking could see it on her face.

Having finished eating Lydia heads back home. It's getting a little later than she likes to be out these days. Walking back in the direction of her home there are less people this time of day. She sat in the park a lot longer than she meant too. Reaching her apartment building she wondered if the man would still be on the elevator or not. There's no way he was riding it over and over this long. Pressing the button she waits for just a second before the elevator doors open. No one is there at all this time. Lydia wonders what that guy could have been there for.

As the elevator reaches her floor she steps off and the sounds of talking and television have been replaced with the smells of cooking and dinners. She realizes she forgot to get something while she was out. Just going to have to order in tonight and go shopping tomorrow. Unlocking the door to her apartment she looks around once more without really knowing why. Maybe she’s still a little paranoid about men.

Hours later Lydia is kicking back after getting home she takes out her phone and orders a small meal on an app. It says in 30 minutes it should be there. She turns on the television and flips through steaming services to find a movie or show she might find interesting. She finds a movie about an inexperienced forest ranger that gets lost in the backwoods. A little ways into the movie she hears a buzz and heads over to the little box by her door.

Pressing the button on the box she asks, “Who’s there?”

A young man responds, “Delivery ma’am.”

She buzzes him in and waits with the door open for him to show up. Debit card in her hand as he shows up. She takes the food from him and scans the card. Leaving him a nice tip for being so polite. Heading back inside she puts the food on the table and grabs a plate. Putting a couple slices on the plate she sits back in front of the movie and gets focused on it. As the movie winds down she can feel herself getting sleepy. Turning off the television and putting the plate and leftovers away she heads into her bedroom. Taking off her shorts she crawls into bed and settles in. the softness of her pillow taking her straight into sleep.

Waking up the next morning on her side she realizes she didn’t wake up once in the middle of the night. The relief she feels from having a full night’s rest since she moved in gives her hope for moving on. She rolls onto her back and bats her eyes a little. A confused look comes over her face as she stares at the ceiling. What looks like a dark wet spot right above her head is there. She never noticed it before. She reaches over to the nightstand and unplugs her phone from the charger. She gives a call to the apartment complex manager.

“Hi sorry for the early call but I have a weird wet spot forming on my ceiling above my bed. Can someone come take a look?” she asks.

“Yeah I can send someone up later today,” the manager responds.

Satisfied with the answer she got Lydia slowly gets out of bed. She stumbles her way to the bathroom for her morning shower. After she makes her morning tea and sits by the window watching the people below. This kind of routine takes her out of the thoughts of terrible things people do to each other. After a few hours of this focused morning she hears a knock at her door. The knock is hard and heavy in a way that would remind you of a cop banging on a door.

“Coming,” Lydia calls out.

Opening the door she sees a man in overalls and a ball cap. When he lifts his head she can see it's the man from the elevator. Her eyes open wide at seeing him again. First the elevator and now at her door.

“Can I help you?” she asks.

“Yeah you called about water damage?” he asks.

“Oh yeah right this way,” she says, stepping out of the way.

Lydia shows the man to her room where the wet mark is at. She stands in the doorway while he enters the room. He looks it over, taking a step ladder he brought with him and gets on it and pokes at the ceiling. A small frown comes over his face.

“Well the discoloration is odd but it doesn’t seem to be wet or damaged. Not really a whole lot I can do,” he says.

“Are you serious? There has to be something wrong. How can this just show up?” Lydia asks frustrated.

“I really don't know what to tell you. Sorry. If anything else happens with it I'll come take a look again,” he says shrugging.

She shows him to the door and locks it after he leaves. Upset about what he had to say, she goes and stares at the spot some more. When she’s decided it's pointless just looking at it she goes back to the living room. Sitting on the couch she decided to use one of her apps to have the store deliver groceries. She kind of hates how lazy she is about leaving her place but loves how much less stress there is in having to deal with people.

Cooking dinner that night is a simple meal. Spaghetti with meatballs and lots of sauce. The smell travels throughout the whole apartment and Lydia can't wait to fill up on all those noodles. Living alone has been a blessing but eating alone still feels weird to her. Every bite is so good though that the thoughts of loneliness quickly vanishes. After her meal Lydia feels the need for early bed tonight.

Laying in bed she looks up at the dark spot. It kinda looks like it has got a little bigger but she can’t be sure. She stares at it as sleep starts to drift over her. Her eyes open and close and it seems to change shape each time just enough to notice. Her mind drifts to the man from the elevator. Was there something wrong with the elevator she thinks as sleep takes her finally.

Lydia’s eyes flutter open and she sees right away that right above her the dark spot had gotten darker and a little purple in color now. Her heart raced with fear of what this could be about. Why is it purple now? What's happening? That man can’t ignore this now. There has to be something wrong with it now. She tried to call the manager but got no answer. She left a message expressing her concerns.

Getting out of bed she follows her normal morning routine. First the shower then the tea then sitting at the window. As afternoon rolled around she was getting anxious about the spot on her roof. She needed to get out for the rest of the day and hope the man comes back to look at it soon. She gets her shoes on and grabs her things.

Walking around the city she tries to take her mind off of things. Why is that man so weird? What's with the spot on her ceiling? Nothing she can do can remove them from her thoughts. She keeps walking without having a plan on where to go or what to do.

“Hey! Lydia?” a voice calls out.

Lydia pauses as her heart races in terror while thinking, No not him. Anyone but him.

“It is you. Where have you been hun?” the tall man says to her.

“I’m not your hun anymore and you aren’t supposed to be near me. You know that,” Lydia responds.

“We can work things out. Just come home,” he says.

“Derek, you need to get out of here before I call the police,” Lydia says with determination.

Derek gets a crazed look on his face, “After all I did for you, think you can just walk away?”

“Just go away!” Lydia yells.

Her yelling draws the attention of a few people around her. Looking at her and Derek with questioning eyes. Derek reaches out and grabs her arm tightly.

“Stop it!” she yells. A couple of men who see what is happening approaches the two.

“Hey man you need to let her go,” one guy says.

“Hey mind your own business,” Derek says.

The second guy grabs his wrist and pulls his hand away from Lydia. She steps back behind the two men. They walk into Derek to push him away from her further. Derek tries to get around them but can’t find a way.

One of the men looked back at her, “Best you get home. Take a weird way so he can’t figure it out.”

Lydia nods and turns to go. She can hear Derek yelling something but not exactly. She goes faster and faster until she is running. Taking alley ways and different roads to keep him from figuring out where she lives. Every turn and circling around almost got her confused as to where she was meant to go as well, but she figured it out without too much effort. Rushing into the building.

Once she gets home she locks the door and closes herself into her bedroom. Sitting on her bed she wrapped herself in her blankets and sheets. She starts to rock back and forth at the thought of him finding her at all. Warm tears run down her face as she sobs into her blanket. Lydia’s mind strains trying to figure out how this could have happened and if she needs to move again. Just as she was getting used to this new place.

She eventually lays down and looks up at the spot on her ceiling. She is still trying to catch her breath from the hours of sobbing. She tries to focus on the spot to distract her from the problems of today. She notices the purple is more vibrant than before. Lydia feels the pull of sleep taking her in. She tries to resist out of fear that Derek might have figured out where to find her. Resisting is not an option here though. She passes out and the purple spot begins to glow and pulse.

The wind picks up and blows against Lydia’s face. Opening her eyes she is looking straight up. There is no ceiling above her anymore. She can see to either side tall ruined buildings. The sky her eyes are fixed on is a bright purple with no clouds to see. Sitting up she sees the buildings are all of dark materials. Lights flicker in some windows that aren’t destroyed. Looking around she sees trash and new paper all over the place. She feels like this must be a dream. What else could it be?

Standing up she walks around to try and get some kind of bearings. Everything seems off about this place. Even the smell is strange. Where is everyone? Even in her dreams she usually has some kind of company. Fixated on the oddness of everything Lydia doesn’t see the small pile of rubble in the roadway and trips. She falls to the ground and scrapes her forearm. Blood starts to come out as she holds onto it. The pain is so much that she realizes this can’t really be a dream. She’s never felt pain in her dreams before. If it's not a dream though then what is going on. Where is she? How does she get home? Can she get home?