The Red Eye [Open Novella Contest 2023]

Chapter 6

The apartment building was always lit up like a goddamn Christmas tree, no matter the season. It made sense, in a way, because the building was beautiful, but at the same time, it made it a little conspicuous. The boy in the passenger seat blinked up at the building, then looked back at her. Donna parked the car.

"I'm not loaded, I have the cheapest apartment here," she said.

"I didn't say anything," he said.

"Sure, but you were thinking it. I would think it."

"It's a nice place, is all."

"It is. It has a pool."

The boy gave her a lopsided grin and turned on the screen of his phone. "Is there a lobby I can go to while I wait for a car?"

Donna scoffed. "I invited you for tea, didn't I?"

The boy stared at her for a moment. "Wait, you were being serious?"

"I never joke about tea. Do you promise not to rob me?"

"I couldn't run very far if I tried."

Donna turned off the ignition of the car. "Well, I'm glad we have an understanding."

She opened the car door and felt the blistering cold on her face. Oh, winter, that blasted season. Why did everything have to be worse in winter? Why did the air have to make her skin bleed, why did the cost of electricity have to go up, why did it hurt to be outside, why did her whole body have to feel more inflamed?

She had always felt jealous of those people who loved the cold months. Donna never wanted to complain verbally, but she always felt resentment deep within her. She wished she had been born somewhere warm. If she never experienced the cold, she wouldn't have half of the issues she did. But she had been born where it was cold for over half the year, and her family was established there, and there was nothing she could do about it. If she were to leave, she would be leaving everything: her family, her home, her doctors— hell, even her mother's government-issued health insurance wouldn't cover her anymore. For the foreseeable future, she was stuck where she was.

So, that was that.

She used her keycard to scan into the gate by the pool. During the summer nights, it was a beautiful sight: the hotel shone lights on the water, so every ripple reflected lights on the surrounding walls. But in the winter, with the pool emptied of water and covered with a tarp, it was a little less impressive. She felt odd leading a complete stranger to her apartment. She was completely disregarding all the safety protocols put into place to prevent random weirdos from entering. But she was lonely and tired.

Donna realized too late that she had completely forgotten that her apartment was on the third floor of the building, and there wasn't an elevator. They were actively staring at the staircase when she realized that her newfound partner might not be able to make it up the stairs.

"Uh..." she said.

"How many floors is it?" the boy asked, looking up at the stairs like he was staring down an opponent in the other corner of the ring.

"Three."

"I can make that."

That sounded really fucking stupid. But sure, yeah. If he thought so. So they made their way up the stairs. Donna really wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Should she stand behind the boy in case he fell, thereby making herself a rather uncomfortable pillow? Should she help? Should she pretend like there wasn't an issue, letting the boy keep some of his dignity? Donna had never had a health issue that people could see, so she was never given any sort of handicap. She imagined it would be nice for a little while, but it would probably get annoying.