aphotic

Seven

During the Uber ride from Audrina's place to Leon's, small, calm raindrops started to fall outside the car and the sky looked like they might even get some thunder. However, her Uber driver seemed confident tomorrow would be at least as nice of a spring day as today had been. "The rain is good, you'll see. Makes summer come faster and greener," he said with a wide smile as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the low music playing from the radio.

He was a friendly looking man with round glasses and a polo-sweater, the skin around his mouth and eyes wrinkling deeply when he smiled, proving he had done a lot of it throughout his life. Normally, Audrina would feel bad for not returning his politeness and contributing to his attempted smalltalk throughout their ride, but right now she didn't have the energy.

The one glass of water she had gulped down before leaving her place had not done much to prevent the headache that was creeping up on her by the time they arrived at the parking lot outside the big apartment complex where she assumed Leon was living. She felt tired and cold, but she was still determined to get answers.

Having payed and thanked the still smiling driver, she walked up to the entrance she had watched Leon approach last time she'd been there. Outside the door was a board of apartment numbers and surnames, a button next to each name and a small speaker construction beside the board.

Her eyes and her finger ran across the all the names in search for the right one. Hale. Hale... the police guy had said Hale, right?

Yeah. There it was. L. Hale.

Audrina pressed the button next to his name for a few seconds, then waited.

Nothing.

She pressed down on the button again, holding it a little longer this time in hope for a reply, but still there was nothing. Maybe he wasn't home. It was Saturday after all, and considering the first time she met Leon was in the middle of the night outside a party on a Thursday, it wasn't unlikely he was out somewhere getting his grove on right now. That thought almost made her laugh to herself. Getting his grove on. Leon didn't have a grove, as far as she could tell.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the heavy door being pushed open next to her. A short woman with black dreads and an oversized military-looking jacket walked out of the building. Audrina looked at the door as it slid shut behind the woman, and hesitated only a moment before she reached out for a military-clad arm to stop her.

"Hey, excuse me.. sorry," Audrina started, letting go of the woman's arm as soon as she had managed to get her attention. "Do you live here?" She asked, nodding at the door. "I was going to meet my.. um, a friend. Leon, he lives here. I'm supposed to meet him but he's not buzzing me in and-"

"Yeah, of course," the woman said before Audrina could go on with her rambling. She watched as a keychain was fished out of on of the military-jacket's pockets and a moment later the door was being held open for her.

"Thank you. I appreciate it," Audrina said with a sigh of relief, and the woman nodded at her.

"No problem. You have a good night."

Okay. This has not been properly thought through. Now Audrina was in Leon's stairwell, not even knowing if he was home and even less if he was okay with her showing up like this. She wasn't usually one to do things like this.. spontaneous things. Unplanned visits to more or less unknown boys in the middle of the night. But now she walked up the stairs all the way to Leon's door without thinking twice about it. Mandy would be proud.

At first no one answered when she knocked on his door. She was starting to realize that he really wasn't home and was just considering turning around and going back home, when the lock suddenly turned and the door swung open.