Comforting Souls

Chapter Seven.

Toby told me to wait in his truck as we arrived into a private parking area that settled behind a row of buildings. I watched him closely as he walked up to the gate that we drove through and looked out onto the street before closing the gate and pad locked it shut. He turned to look at me, and gave me a little wave to get on out.

After gathering all of my belongings back inside of my bag, I hopped out, closing the door behind me. Toby presses a button on his truck keys which automatically locked it. Toby rustled with another set of keys to unlock the door of what looked like an abandoned building. The darkness of the night gave it a creepy atmosphere, and when I heard the wailing of two cats and tin trash cans crashing, I nearly jumped half a mile.

Toby pushed the door open and he let me scurry inside before him. Just as he stepped one foot into the doorway, we both stood silent as we heard the roar of motorcycle engines. "You don't think. . ." I started to say before Toby held a finger to his lips signally me to be quiet.

But as soon as we heard the roar of those engines, they soon drowned out. "It wasn't them." He stated confidently and banged the door shut, pushing across the dead bolt.

Following Toby, we headed towards a cemented staircase where the walls, which were cracked red bricks, looked like they were ready to crumble. As we reached the top, a single grey door stood. Again, Toby would open the door and stand aside to let me in first, but what I saw inside was unexpected.

A large, modern open plan apartment. The floor was wooden, and the walls I guessed were the original red brick work of the building, except they don't look as broken and withered as the ones on the stairs. A large, navy curved sofa that could seat up to five people sat in the centre of the room with an oak coffee table placed in front of it. A large flat screen television was hooked up to the wall across from it too.

To the left far side was a kitchen with all the essentials that you would need, and an island with high stools placed around it which gave the illusion of separating the kitchen from the living area. It was all porcelain, the only colour difference was the green fabric of the cushions on the high stools. And to the right far side stood a large, coal panel divider and behind that laid a giant king sized bed strewn with a crimson duvet and pillows. One oak bedside table was at the side with a small lamp and at the other side of the bed stood a clothing rack with all of Toby's clothes.

"Make yourself an home." Toby said, throwing his keys onto the coffee table and shrugged off his jacket, letting it fall onto the sofa.

Kicking off my shoes, and dropping my bag to the floor, I crawled onto his very comfy sofa and hugged onto one of it's cushions as I curled myself up. "Oh, this is pure bliss." I muttered as I let myself finally relax, and closed my eyes.

"Here, this should fit." Toby threw me a plain black, oversized T-shirt as he walked passed in a pair of green plaid pyjama bottoms and white T-shirt. He got changed quick. Had I dozed off for a moment? "You can change in the bathroom if you want." He said pointing towards the bathroom door just past where his bed was.

"Thanks," My smile was small but grateful. Getting up off of the sofa, I took the T-shirt and my bag, and disappeared into his bathroom.

Slipping out of my clothes, I folded them and placed them on the bathroom counter then pulled the oversized T-shirt over my head which fell just above my knees. I washed my face to freshen myself up before I pulled out the scrunchy that held up my hair causing a wave of blonde locks to fall around my shoulders. Seeing a brush on the side, I quickly ran it through my hair pulling out any tiny knots. Once I was finished, I put my clothes into my bag and walked back into the living area.

Toby glanced over from the kitchen upon hearing me walk out of the bathroom. He stared at me a minute too long and I suddenly began to feel uncomfortable. I slowly walked over to his sofa, all the while I could feel his gaze on me, and sat down, tugging the T-shirt around my legs.