Survival

#17 Fresh start

Five brought Lila to the apartment he was talking about and to make it a real surprise, she was blindfolded with a scarf.

"God, this is like something out of a stupid romantic movie!" She laughed.

"You know how I like to make silly romantic gestures!"

"Yeah, I've noticed it a few times!"

They stopped in the middle of the room, and Five untied her scarf and took it off.

Lila looked around the large room, which was beautifully lit thanks to the large windows. It wasn't furnished, none of the rooms were, but at first glance it had a pleasant atmosphere about it. Big windows, white walls, it looked clean and cozy.

"Wow!" She left to look out the window, which offered a beautiful view of the city. You could see the hustle and bustle around, but at the same time the noise didn't reach the apartment. "It must be a great view at night."

"It is..."

"You were here at night?"

"You could say that..."

Lila gradually made her way around the apartment, which was really large. The only thing that was finished was the kitchen, which looked modern and had equipment in a black and silver color scheme.

She was the last to go out onto the terrace and noticed that there were still stairs, she looked at Five in surprise and he just nodded for her to go up.

The stairs led to a large roof terrace, and seeing it nearly took Lila's breath away. There was a large greenhouse in the middle of the terrace, but there was still plenty of greenery everywhere and seating under the roof.

"This can't even be real! Where did you come across such a perfect apartment?"

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, it's beautiful!"

"I'm glad, because now it's yours."

"What? What do you mean?" The smile on her lips froze a little.

"I wasn't lying when I said I was going to buy you a apartment... but I have to admit that I was a little vague about the fact that the apartment is... well, that I already bought it."

"But... how is that possible? When? You can't just... buy me an apartment!" She was a little taken aback.

"In my defense, I bought it shortly after we returned... after we survived the apocalypse... during the few weeks we didn't see each other..."

Lila looked even more surprised, "but... that doesn't make sense..."

"Let's just say that when I went back to my depressing little apartment, as you like to say, I missed the house we were in together all the more... so I got busy looking for a place that would remind me of that house, especially the part with the greenhouse and the garden. When I found this apartment, saw this terrace... I didn't hesitate a moment."

Lila looked around once more, "did you... do this?"

"With a little help from more experienced people..."

"So... the weeks we haven't seen each other..."

"I've been working most of the time here... or at work, of course... I needed to keep myself busy somehow."

Lila just shook her head in disbelief at that. "Okay. Speaking of which, clear up the Nancy thing for me."

"What?"

"The girl from the party."

"Oh, this one..." Five laughed. "When I found out I was going to see you... I panicked a little... and at the same time, I wanted you to notice me, at least for a little while. She works at a coffee shop I used to go to for coffee, and she gave me her number once, and I later took advantage of that and invited her to our family event. The name was a bonus."