Debt Payment (sample) Book 1

Chapter 5

Stella looked at the door of the familiar apartment that she and Lane shared for the last year and a half. Her arms were trembling. She could barely stand to go inside and stayed seated for minutes after she and Chris arrived. However, she must collect the rest of her stuff; she did not have a choice. What was she supposed to do for the next year without her panties and bras?

"Do you want me to go with you?" Chris asked, catching Stella off guard but welcoming the support.

"I really do if you don't mind."

"It is fine; Mr. Bradford would not want you to go alone anyway."

"Thank you," she said and they both exited the car. But when Stella tried to use her key, it seemed that Lane had latched the deadbolt inside. Stella knocked; then she waited. Lane was not coming to the door.

"Allow me," Chris motioned with his chin for her to move. Then he lowered his body close to the ground and lunged, kicking the door open wide. "I hate waiting," he admitted and held out his arm to the living room.

Stella smiled; then her smile turned into a small laugh that she tried to control but could not help. Chris seemed stern at first, but now Stella thought they would get along fine. With somebody like him with her, this confrontation was bound to go quick.

Chris entered and dumped some electronics out of a large box; then he looked at her worried. "Those weren't yours, were they?" Stella shook her head. "Good," he huffed. "Show me what you are taking."

They entered the kitchen first. Stella looked around, feeling sad for a moment. This had been her home with Lane. It was hard to accept that he cheated on her while she lived there. "I don't know why I came," she mumbled. "I don't want anything to remember him by. Let's just grab the rest of my clothes and leave everything else."

"If that is what you want, then we can drop by the market on our way home."

Stella gave him a nod of appreciation and led him to the bedroom. When she opened the door, she could hear the shower running in the restroom that attached. "Good, we can get my stuff and leave before he even knows I was here," she said and opened the top drawer of the dresser.

Chris held the box as Stella set her belongings inside. She had just made it to the second drawer when she heard the voice of a woman, a shrill cry during the heat of passion coming from the restroom. Stella slammed the second drawer shut and opened the third, throwing her stuff in the box without any attempt to keep things neat. However, the single box was not going to hold all of her stuff.

Chris looked around the room but saw nothing else to use. "Do you have any trash bags here?" he asked.

Stella clenched the blouse over her slacks, mustering every bit of self control she could spare. She tried hard to stay calm, but her voice shook, trembling with both fury and the developing pain in her chest. All she managed was a weak response, "In...the kitchen."

"I will stay here; you go get the bags."

"Okay," she staggered out of the bedroom to the kitchen and started throwing items from the cabinet. What did she care if she left a mess?

As she grabbed a bag, there was a loud crash of a door and a scream; then metal bounced against the restroom tile and echoed throughout the apartment. Stella ran back to see what had happened and stood with shock in the bedroom doorway.

"I never liked him," Chris gave a casual shrug, leaving Lane knocked out flat; then Stella watched a woman with a towel crouch down beside Lane. Sadly, she noted, it was not the same brunette who was sitting with Lane at work. Stella could not believe it at all. She was completely tongue-tied and returned to get the rest of her belongings.