The Rent Is Due

Bekka's POV

"I'm sorry, but don't I know you?" A man with long blond hair asks me. His blue eyes sparkle and his lips hold a light smile.

"Um, I dunno, do you?" I ask. I had just walked into the apartment building when this guy walked up to me. I'm still in my diner uniform after waitressing for 12 hours.

"I think so, you're Bekka, right?" The man shoves his hands into his pockets and balls them into fists. I take a step forward to the stairs.

"Yeah, that's me. Have we met before?" My choppy black bangs fall in front of my eyes and I shake them away.

"No, but, I, um, I've seen you around and, actually, my girlfriend-I mean, my ex girlfriend April knows you."

"April O'Connors?" My eyebrows raise up to my hairline; I haven't heard that name in forever.

"Yeah, I just wanted to...um..." The man looks into my eyes and trails off.

My mouth twitches at the corners. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm sorry to bother you." The man runs up the steps and I can hear a door slide shut. I stand alone and baffled on the first steps. 

"Okay..." I sigh and rub my head which begins to throb and I head up to my own place.

When I reach my loft, an eviction notice is taped onto my front door. FUCK, I think. I rip it down with frustration and slide the loft door open. My roommate sits on the couch, a beer in her hand and her eyes focused on the TV.

"Mimi," I say, holding up the paper to show her.

She looks at me, her brown eyes wide, "Huh. I was wondering what Benny did when he stopped by."

I throw my bag onto the floor and my keys into the holder, "Benny came over?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Mimi shrugs and turns her attention back to the TV. 

I sigh, "Well what would you say then? You know, since you were the only one here."

"I dunno."

I move and sit on the couch next to her, crossing my legs, "Mi, c'mon, if they put an eviction notice on our door, they did it for a reason. What did Benny say?"

She rolls her eyes, "We haven't paid rent for the past 6 months."

My mind lingers to the mountain of unpaid bills sitting on the kitchen island, just 30 feet from where Mimi and I sit together.

"Oh..."

"Yeah, Benny said he's trying his best-"

"His best to what? Kick us out?" I furrow my brows and stand to go get a beer from the fridge.

"No, he's trying his best to let us stay as long as possible." I twist the bottle cap and drop it onto the counter.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I mumble, sarcasm drips from every word.

Mimi shakes her head, "I know you don't like Benny, but you could at least give him a chance, even after what happened."

"You're crazy, you know that right?" I take a long sip and lock eyes with her.

"Whatever."

I set my beer down on the counter and watch the condensation of the bottle fall onto my hand and drip down. A moment passes before either of us say a word.

I clear my throat and stare at my drink, "So that guy from upstairs talked to my when I came into the building."

Mimi spins around and stares at me, "The red head?"

I chuckle, "No, the one with blond hair, and bright, vibrant, beautiful eyes." I smirk to myself.

"Ohhh, yeah, that's Roger. He lives with his best friend, Mark, the red head."

I look at Mimi, "How do you know?"

"No reason..." Mimi bites her bottom lip and smiles, her brown hair falling across her shoulders.

"You didn't..." Oh god how I hope she hasn't.

"No...not yet at least." She laughs and I nod. Roger was pretty cute, I think.

"Well, he um, he asked me about April."

"Your ex roommate?" Mimi looks confused.

"Yeah," I shrug, "I guess they used to date or something."

"'Used to' huh? Well, it sucks to be her." Mimi laughs again and I sigh.

"Anyways, I'm exhausted from work so I'm gonna head to bed, I'll see you tomorrow." I say.

"Okay, night." 

I grab my bag and walk into my room, my beer still with me and I change out of my uniform and into pajamas. I climb into bed and pull the covers up to my waist and pull out my small keyboard and being playing.  My new song hasn't been coming to me as easily as it used to and it's starting to make me mad. Writing music and singing has always been my way to escape, but what am I supposed to do if I can't write anymore? It just wouldn't be the same. I can't do one thing without the other, I never have been, and I never will be able to. Singing and writing music is my life, when I write, the entire world just melts away like nothing even matters. But when I sing, god, I'm the happiest I've ever been. 

My fingers press down on the keys but nothing sounds right together anymore. The chords are all wrong and it wouldn't match the tempo correctly. I shake my head and look at my sheet music to see what I previously wrote. I play the notes, and it starts out alright, but when I start to make it up it all begins to clash. I sigh and rub my temples, my headache growing worse by the second. I pack up my music and put away my keyboard and chug down the rest of my beer  before laying down and pulling the covers up to my head. Quickly and quietly I fall asleep with ease.