Accidental Housemate

17: falling

I went to work on Monday, all shaky and frightened.

To my surprise, I didn’t spot Hannah anywhere. I was told she came to work, but she didn’t come near me. Ironically, that made my anxiety worse. Not seeing her anywhere left me on edge. I feared she’d appear in front of me at any moment and take me by surprise.

I had given myself two options: I would either report her and get my justice or quit. I intended to meet the manager of my unit after talking to Ellen. Everything went accordingly. As I waited in the lobby for him to come back to his office to talk to me, I received a text from my only contact.

‘I’ll come to pick you up after work because we need to go to the police office together.’

I stared at the text blankly, replying with an automated ‘okay’ from my keyboard.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Hannah approaching. My body froze, and my back straightened. I couldn’t act unaffected and confident, even if I wanted to. After all, it was the first time I saw her after what she had done to me. My breath hitched in my throat, and my eyes started watering.

“Look who we have here,” she said, getting closer and closer.

I didn’t want to see the manager anymore. I was sure she knew why I was there, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she came deliberately to ensure I wasn’t going to snitch on her. She didn’t have to worry though; my will crumbled and went down the drain.

“Leave me alone,” I tried to say without wavering.

She didn’t listen. Instead, she walked even closer until barely any space was left between us. She bent down to my level on the bench and laid her filthy hands on my knees, and God, I would’ve screamed my lungs out if the look in her eyes hadn’t muted even my breaths.

“Do you know who came here today, Perrie?”

I didn’t reply, but I doubted she wanted me to reply. She leant closer beside my ears, and her smoky scent wafted in my nostrils.

“Philip Addams.”

The name was like a panic spell cast on me. Breathing became harder and harder every second, and I felt my vision blur with more than just tears.

She finally leant back. “But don’t you worry. Proud to say I am the reason he is convinced the Perrie Adams he was looking for doesn’t work here.”

“I didn’t ask you to save me.”

She nodded. “Cool. I’ll let him know you’re here if he comes back to drag you out by your hair, then. In fact, I’d love you to go back to your old job. I loved your videos.”

No, please no.

“I don’t care. You’re getting reported as well.”

She licked her darkening lips. “Go ahead. I’ll watch. Get the manager to believe you, then get me to shut up about exposing you.”

As if on cue, the nearby lift dinged, and the manager’s shoes clicked closer to us. I was sitting on the chair, Hannah was standing in front of me with crossed arms, and the manager finally stood in front of us.

And my will sank back down my throat.

\

Sitting beside Dave in the car proved to be harder than I expected when I was on the verge of tearing my hair out.

I crossed and uncrossed my arms, bit my lips and nails, rubbed my neck and shoulders, sighed, and did everything I could do to keep myself sane—at least, in front of him.

However, Dave wasn’t buying it. As we stopped at a red light, he immediately grabbed my thigh to stop it from jiggling. I squealed, imagining a different scenario in my head, but I reminded myself it was just Dave. He looked at me with concerned eyes that spoke his worries on their own.

“What’s wrong? Do police stations stress you?”

“It’s nothing,” I muttered. I didn’t even try to make it sound convincing.

“And I’m a wizard. Spell it out, Perrie.”

“I said, it’s nothing!”

The rise in my tone surprised me as much as it did him. Dave gaped at me in bafflement, as if what I had done was just his imagination. He looked back in front of him and moved the car forward, and then the guilt bubbled in my guts. I was constantly treating Dave like he was the enemy when all he ever did was stay on my side. Not only was I the biggest liar to him, but I was awful and disrespectful.

“I’m sorry…” I mumbled shortly after.

“Save it.”

We arrived at the station. We sat in the office of the commander responsible for my case and waited. Even though Dave and I were opposite each other, our eyes never met. He opted to play with his long dark grey coat, and I found the cup holder more interesting than anything else.

The man finally arrived. He shook both our hands and sat behind his desk.

“I requested you come because I have recent updates for your case. I think we’re close to catching the culprit,” he announced with a big smile. “Ms Adams will get her money back soon.”

I didn’t know if I should be happy or sad about that.

. . .

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