Highland Plaza: a Collection of Short Stories

Damage Control

  Well, here's part two! Sorry this is so late, but business is business. These parts aren't in chronological order, nor is there any large over-arching plot going on here, so I hope there isn't any confusion. Enjoy!   

Damage Control

It was almost two o'clock in the morning when a frantic knock sounded on Genna's door. She was usually asleep by this time, but she was working on a really detailed rose in dot art for a client to approve the next day. She'd probably post it to Instagram tomorrow for her portfolio if she had time. Her apartment was quiet and dark save for the halogen lamp at her work desk and Selena crooning to her from her speaker. She continued drawing the intricate pattern onto paper until she realized that the incessant knocking hadn't given up and seemed to get louder when she didn't answer.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she growled. Genna could take no more; she could feel the beginnings of a headache throb in her temples. "You're lucky I'm awake," she muttered. She rose slowly from her desk in her office and walked through the dark hallway into the living room. Before she opened the door, Genna turned on the floor lamp so she wouldn't stub her toe on any wayward furniture legs.

The lamp flicked on, spilling light onto the sage green wall behind it as well as the rest of the living room. The apartment was surprisingly neat for someone who left a hurricane behind in Nightingale every night at closing time. The patterned area rug in the middle of the floor was a gift from her parents after she moved out of her house. It ran under the black leather couch on one side of the room, and gently caressed the chairs on the other side. The television was off, but the remote on the glass coffee table and the DVDs haphazardly spread on top of the DVD player in the entertainment center gave away Genna's activities earlier that evening. The coffee table displayed a spread of fine art magazines on the table as well as a vase of dark burgundy tulips. Genna fingered one of the satiny petals before going to the wide metal door.

She opened the door while the person was mid-knock, and she was not surprised to see Tessa's fist in the spot where the door used to be. Genna sighed at Tessa's sheepish smile. She reminded Genna of the huge cotton candy they sold at the L.A. County fair. Tessa had taken off the makeup she wore today, and she was in her fuzzy pink pajamas under her small black jacket, and her powder blue hair was tied into a messy bun. There was only one explanation for Tessa showing up at this hour in her pajamas.

"Have you been watching horror movies again?" Genna asked, resting her fist on her hip. Tessa pouted in response and nodded. Genna sighed. "Really, Tess, what have I told you about those?" Two Halloweens ago, Genna figured out why she didn't watch scary movies at night. Tessa didn't fall asleep until five o'clock in the morning, and she got nightmares the second she fell unconscious.

"Not to watch them after sundown," Tessa replied. She scuffed her shoe along the floor and smiled weakly when Genna opened the door wider for her to enter. Tessa walked in the living room and made a beeline for the black couch against the far wall. She sunk into the leather, trying to get comfortable. Genna closed and locked the door before sitting on the opposite end of the couch. She wanted to sit closer to Tessa, but she wasn't sure if that's what she needed.

"So what was it about this time?" Genna wasn't normally too worried about Tessa when she got like this, but she seemed especially rattled this time. Tessa took off her jacket and laid it on the back of the couch before she began.

"It's not really what I saw," Tessa fiddled with the sleeves on her pajama shirt as she continued her explanation. "I was watching Final Destination 3, and out of nowhere, Jasmine just...popped into my head."