Imani was just supposed to make sure that the lost dog got home safely, come back, and pretend like the mere thought of the owner with doe eyes and an armful of tattoos didn't make her question her entire belief system. Sounds simple enough...right...
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When Bowie's steps start gaining more momentum the closer we get to the apartment where he lives, I quicken my own pace to keep up. But then he breaks into a sprint as soon as we take the last turn and the large building comes into view, and my eyes widen in alarm.
I call after him but he only stops once he's in front of the place, barking loudly at the black gates blocking his way. Jogging over to catch up, I shove my hands in the pockets of my coat and watch the air whiten from my breath before it disappears into nothing.
Sending a silent thanks to Ved inside my head for telling me to wear something warm before I left the house, I spare a now quiet but distressed-looking Bowie a glance to assure he's going to stay put while I try calling the number on his collar tag. When I have the phone held up to my ear, I allow myself to take a step back and crane my neck so I can take in the ginormous apartment building. It's truly a wonder that my jaw doesn't fall straight to the ground because holy shit, are those glass walls I see?
I have to look away three seconds later because I feel blinded. By the lights reflecting off of it, obviously, but also the reminder that I'm poor. One shoots me in the eye, the other straight in the heart.
And yet again, I wonder if my friends have been right about how I seriously need to go out more this whole time, considering that I didn't know about this neighborhood even though I live so close to it. If that doesn't say an embarrassing lot about just how rare it is for me to leave the house, I don't know what would. I can almost hear Layla scoffing at me all the way from here.
("Get out of the house before you start looking like one of the Cullens." "Shut up, Lay, I'm brown." "Oh, my God, you know that's not the fucking point, Imani.")
One glance through the gaps of the gates and I come to the conclusion that there's no way I'm going in there all by myself. I'd rather wait outside for a bit in this jarring cold and inhuman silence that's spread across the street; so quiet that I can hear the crickets chirping. Which actually adds to the list of things that unnerve me about the night, because it's December.
I lean forward and glance at one end of the street, then the other, trying not to let the silence bother me. Except, the realization that I can't see another human in sight makes the temperature around me seem like it just dropped several more degrees.
Turning around to stare at the building one more time, I let out a long breath and start typing on my phone.
You: It's so quiet here??? I can't see anyone and this apartment is so big I don't even think I'd be allowed in without some sort of permission beforehand. Did you guys hear anything from the owner? These crickets are beginning to creep the hell out of me
