𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 | 𝟏𝟖+

LILY

02. LIVING A LIE

I didn't go home last night.

I woke up late in the day because last night's thoughts overtook my ability to fall asleep, and my anxiety about what awaited me frightened me. I yawned and stretched my slightly sore limbs before getting out of bed.

To gain some freedom, I rented an apartment to be away from Xavier, and he doesn't know I live here. It's not too big, not too small. I have a decent-sized bathroom and closet. The only problem is I have to suffer throughout the colder nights due to the lack of a heater. I roll my eyes in annoyance at the thought. I've complained to the landlord, but he still hasn't done anything after three months of living here. Fucking asshole.

Since Xavier started abusing me, I decided to start a double life. Separate housing, income, anything that can lessen any attachments to him that could negatively affect me. I told him that my job requires me to fly out of state. That's a lie. And that results in me having to hide out here as long as possible before I return as scheduled.

He doesn't know anything about what I truly do for a living; I'd be dead if he did. I mean, I wouldn't put it against him if he killed me himself and called it an accident. He's the type of man to pretend he cares to get what he wants, which in this case is sex-nothing more, nothing less.

I hear the slit in my door open, and a chunk of mail falls through and onto the floor. I head towards it and pick it up, sifting through everything, but one catches my eye immediately.

Eviction Notice

"Oh, you've got to be kidding!" I groan in frustration and rip the white envelope open furiously. The note was kept short, with my landlord's signature at the bottom. Is that a mayo stain? EW! I drop the envelope, gaging, rush to the kitchen sink and scrub my hands raw. "Fucking disgusting."

I grab a pair of tongs, pick up the letter, and toss them in the trash. I shudder in utter disgust and disbelief. My landlord is a major scum. He knows what I do for a living due to seeing me at the club a few times. I didn't realize it until he came to me a few weeks ago asking for favors. I'm assuming this is one of the reasons why I'm probably being evicted, that and the fact I'd told him I would call the cops on him if he didn't leave me the fuck alone. He stayed quiet after that. Besides his casual sleazing with fellow neighbors, he and I know he has been up to some drug activities.

After fixing my composure, I called up Mia.

"Hey, girl! What's up?" She says.

"Hey boo, I don't wanna be a burden, but can I...crash at your place for a while? If not, that's okay! I've just run into an issue-" she cut off my ranting.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?!" Her voice rang with worry.

"Yeah, it's just-" I continued to tell her what happened with the landlord and then the letter, and I could hear her making gagging noises through the phone.

"Fucking creep! I'm sorry that happened to you, but of course, you can stay with me." She says apologetically.

I sighed in relief at her response. "Okay, I'm gonna gather my stuff, and I'll be right over."

"See you soon, babe, kisses." She kisses through the phone and hangs up.

I wake back to my bed and lay down, exhaustion hitting me full force. I sigh again and look at the old, cracked ceiling,

"God, what did I do to deserve this life?"

I felt a tear slip down my cheek, but I wiped it away. I get up, finish packing my necessities, and stop at the door, looking back through my vacant apartment to remind myself why I'm doing this, to protect myself.

It is said that God entrusts his most worthy soldiers with the worst hardships because he believes we can handle them and that he doesn't make mistakes.

Well, I call bullshit.

I caught a cab to Mia's place. I made sure that before I left, to leave a rather lovely note to the landlord, ensuring that the police would be on their way to seize his property and everything he owned, including the drugs. Honestly, I should've just burned the bitch to the ground.

I gaze out the window to see the light trickles of rainfall from the gray cloudy sky of New York. I hyper-focus on the droplets of rain that run along the icy window and sparkle from the street lights. Feeling the vehicle come to a halt, I pay the driver and quickly grab my belongings, heading up the stairs.

I knock, and as she opens the door, I'm greeted by a sympathetic smile as she pulls me into a hug. "How are you feeling?" She gestured for me to enter after I returned the tight hug.

I can feel myself becoming overwhelmed, and I let out a sniffle. "I'm doing okay, things could be better, but now that I'm here, I'm already feeling ten times better." "Thank you," my voice cracked as I whispered.

"Of course, nothing girls' night can't fix!" Mia claps with giddiness, rushing past me with my bags upstairs. The rest of the night was spent waxing, eating junk food, and watching Mean Girls and romcoms.