The Lonely Hearts Club

Chapter 33: The Intruder (Bree)

I'm so mad right now.

I'm mad at everything.

I'm mad at Rowan for everything he put me through, I'm mad he sent those dreadful packages, I'm mad Silvia got worried about me and got her grandson involved, I'm mad her grandson got Hades involved.

I'm angry at myself for not knowing whether or not Lana and Coco are being genuine, I'm angry at Savvy, I'm angry at Jamie.

I'm angry at everything.

And I have a headache.

"Hey there!" A high-pitched voice squeaks out.

A girl is coming out of Lotta's apartment carrying a large vacuum and a bin bag full of rubbish. That must be her new cleaner.

"Hi." I mumble.

"Have a fun night?" She asks.

"Sure." I lie. I don't see why I need to drag someone else's mood down.

"THAT'S GREAT! HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR NIGHT GIRL!" She screams.

Um...okay.

That was random, and terrible for my headache.

My heels hurt my feet as I climb the stairs, but I can't take them off.

Walking barefoot in Ice Apartments is a terrible idea.

First of all, we have all the used needles and broken glass which constantly permeates the floor no matter how many times it all gets cleaned.

Second of all, the carpet is filthy. It's stained with pretty much every bodily fluid imaginable and has a foul smell most of the time.

This is why I like being in my apartment.

It's nothing like the rest of my dumpster heap building.

Walking down my hallway is so relieving, I could cry.

But I don't because I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Somethings wrong.

I notice as soon as I get to the front door.

I have five locks in total.

One is unlocked.

I never forget to lock a single one, so why is one of them unlocked?

My door handle is sticky.

Why the fuck would it be sticky?

When I get inside, Acorn is sleeping peacefully and unharmed, but the air feels different.

Like someone has been in here—someone that shouldn't be.

Something creaks and slams in my bedroom and I scoop up Acorn before racing out of there.

I'm not brave in these situations and you certainly won't see me investigating strange sounds.

I don't even have my pepper spray, I thought being with Lana would be enough protection.

I leave my door open and sprint down the hall while Acorn meows and thrashes in my arms.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. "But it's not safe."

I never thought I could run so fucking fast in heels.

My only plan is to just get outside, I can't get trapped in.

I slow on the concrete stairs purely for the fact that if I fall, I might hurt Acorn.

When I make it out into the night, I'm surprised to see Hades' fancy car is still parked.