A Garden of Rose and Bone

Chapter 6: Fall

Our ride to my apartment was silent, and I was fine with that. It felt like Lyn and I should have discussed his conversation with Father, but I wasn't ready to broach that absolute disaster of a subject yet. He pulled into the parking lot and chose a spot, and I immediately jumped out of the car. I wasn't about to check my mailbox because I wasn't interested in more threatening material today. Moving up the stairs, I looked behind me to see if Lyn had followed. To my surprise, he wasn't there.

At my apartment door, I paused and sighed. The whole day had decimated my mind. I needed to sleep for an entire century to have a chance of feeling refreshed at this point. I unlocked my door and greeted Midnight. Flipping on the light, I expected to see my depression cave in all of its glory, but to my horror, everything was gone. I stood there with my mouth hanging down. The stinging smell of fresh paint hit my senses. I fell to my knees in complete shock. Where was all of my stuff? Where was Midnight? Rising with a quiver, I turned and collided with Lyn's chest once more.

I staggered backward, unable to rein in my cries. "Where is everything? Where is my cat?!" My voice echoed down the halls, but I didn't care. I was in complete meltdown mode. This was too far.

"Don't worry, I tucked away all of your possessions, and your familiar at my penthouse." Lyn put his arms around me and I felt like I wanted to rip them off.

"This is unbelievable, Lyn!" I disentangled myself from his embrace, rejecting his attempt to reach for me with a swift hand slap. I felt completely uncertain about how to act. The anger was so intense that it made me queasy.

"I understand you're upset with me, but it isn't safe for you here." Lyn attempted to caress my cheek but I backed away another step.

"It's fine!" And of course, right on cue, one of my neighbors started yelling, calling his girlfriend a fucking bitch. Lyn looked in the noise's direction and then back at me. He stayed silent, but I could see the frustration in his eyes.

"How did you get into my apartment?" I snapped.

"I saw that the complex came onto the market yesterday, so I purchased it. Thus, I gained access to all the keys," he said. I swear I was about to have a coronary.

"YOU WHAT?!" This was insane. My chest heaved from how angry and frightened I was.

"I promise you, this won't be a bad thing."

I completely lost it then and assaulted him fiercely with my bag. Lyn maintained his calm demeanor, gracefully enduring each strike.

"Put everything back, NOW!"

"I can't do that, my love."

Through all the slamming around of my bag, the zipper came undone and my medication bottles clattered out onto the linoleum. Capsules scattered and slid down the hall. I must have left one of them ajar. Erupting into tears, I started kicking my feet down onto the pills, crushing them. I hated everything.

Lyn tried to calm me down by rubbing my back and hugging me, but I wasn't having it. I continued to stamp down on every pill I could get my foot on, screaming expletives the whole time. One of my creepy neighbors opened his door a crack and stared at me.

"What the hell are you looking at?!" I screamed at him. I rarely behaved like that. Usually, I preferred to remain unseen. However, the man kept staring at me with wide eyes until Lyn gave him a frosty glare. He clicked his door closed, and I heard the locks slide into place. I continued crushing the pills, having lost utter control of myself. I screamed and cried like a child.