Love in the Dark (LarssonSiblingsSeries#1)

CHAPTER TWELVE - DELILAH

DELILAH

"DeDe," Poppy's shout wakes me from my dozing and then she pushes her way into my bedroom. I sit up at the tears in her eyes. "DeDe, they're evicting us."

I blink and try my best to recognise her words. "Who's evicting us?"

"The landlord," she says, rushing over to shove a piece of paper in my face. "See, this notice was taped to the door!"

I take hold of the red letter and see the document wrapped in a plastic sleeve and feel my world crumble around me. Eviction Notice shines back at me as I run my eyes over the details in a frightened haze. It can't be true. The universe wouldn't be this cruel to me.

"Where are we going to live?" Poppy replies, pacing the floor.

"We're not leaving. Our rent is always on time. We never cause any trouble. We are the perfect residents."

Poppy grips at her hair. "These letters were taped to every door on our block. The woman who lives three doors down with two kids said the landlord sold up and the new owners want to demolish the whole building."

My heart beats faster as my mind tries to come to a conclusion. "This doesn't make sense. How can they legally throw out a whole flat complex? That's a lot of people left on the streets."

"We need to go down to the council to put our names down for emergency accommodation. The spaces are going to get eaten up at this rate," Poppy says, throwing my knitted dress at me.

I begin to get dressed while Poppy rushes around the flat, putting our most treasured possessions into plastic carrier bags. We couldn't be sure they would let us back in to collect the rest of our stuff right away. My heart physically hurt at the thought of being homeless. I didn't care much for the place we lived in with a new crime happening every week, but my pride was taking a beating.

People talk.

They're going to find out about it.

"Don't worry about the kitchen stuff," I shout, hearing her bash the pots and pans. "Get your things packed first. It's more important."

Poppy stops near my door, holding a holdall bag. "This feels like a dream. I can't believe they would do something like this to the families that live here."

I make sure to have at least four different outfits and two pairs of pyjamas, stuffing my underwear in the zip up compartments, so they don't go missing if I have to search through the bag. "It's disgusting. What will they do?"

Poppy leans on the doorframe, letting the bag dangle in her hand. "I would hope the council will put them first. The young children and elderly should be a priority."

"The council will surely set them up with tempory accommodation until they can find their feet again."

"You would hope so," Poppy says.

I stand and drag my bag from the bed, packing my toiletries into a plastic bag. "We can always sleep at the shop tonight if they can't find us another living arrangement."

"Do you think we should bring blankets and pillows?"

I nod. "Yeah, that would be good."

The loud knock on the door scares us half to death as the sound vibrates around the flat to almost shake the walls. Poppy dashes out of sight and I follow after her, knowing strange men had tried to force their way into the building when she was on her own. We both stare up at a man who dresses in a beige suit and brown leather jacket.

"Hello, is Miss Conway here?"

I raise my hand. "That would be me."

The man smiles and reads from his clipboard. "I'm from County and Life Estate Agents. We have found you another flat if you are interested?"

I widen my eyes. "Where is this accommodation?"

"It's the Cross Street Flats."

Poppy looks taken aback. "They are along the Riverbank. Do you know the price of them compared to here?"

The man smiles as he fiddles with his tie. "The landlord will make sure all pay is the same. I don't mean to rush you, but we need an answer now. There are other people in this building that need accommodation."

"We'll accept," I blurt, thinking we'd be idiots not to do. "Can we move in right away?"

"Yes, the flat is ready for you both now. We ask that you bring your necessary items with you before you leave today, and then we will send a removal service to collect the rest of your belongings later on in the week."

Poppy runs a shaking hand through her long hair. "Forgive me, but this all seems too good to be true. Are you telling me we can live in a flat at Riverbank for the same money as we pay here in Burlington? It doesn't add up."

The man nods. "I understand your nervousness. The landlord keeps a record of payments, and you always pay on time. We never have any problems with you, and you seem loyal to your neighbours. It's a weird situation, but they are willing to let you upgrade."

"And you can promise we won't get any sudden bill increases?"

The man draws a cross over his heart with the clipboard. "You have my word."

Poppy spins around in a circle and screeches to high heaven. "DeDe, we're gonna be living like rich bitches!"