Bad Things

Chapter 7

Seven
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Jay drove further into the midst of the ghetto, I assumed, because the places we passed were bleak and dark and, in no area, was there enough shops open. Every transaction seemed to be carried out behind closed doors. On the way, I passed two people fighting in front of a stall, breaking drink bottles over each other's head. I tugged Jay tighter.

Jay always kept to the wider, cleaner road where there was less chance of running into trouble. Then, he drove into the underground parking area of one huge building by the road which was clearly given off for people to rent. It wasn't anything like a fancy building but it seemed to serve its purpose. Most of the lights in each apartment were on.

"Where are we?" I asked him as I dismounted from the machine.

"My place."

He took my hand and led me to the elevator. We waited for a minute before it descended and Jay pulled open the collapsible door. We stepped inside, Jay yanked close the door again and pressed the bottom to the fourth floor. Then, we stood in silence, our back against the metal walls.

As we rode up in the little box, my mind raced ahead, wondering what could happen next.

Why did he bring me here?

Will we kiss?

Or will we have sex?

What are we gonna do?

I swallowed and kept my eyes straight to the door. My body temperature seemed to rise a notch up and I couldn't even look at him while my fingers fiddled in my palms.

I need a fan.

Counting the possibilities, pondering if it was the right time, if it would really happen or if I was ready, I jumped when Jay called me.

"Lola?"

"Yeah?" I looked at him.

Pursing his lips to fight a smile, he asked, "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." I shook my head.

Drifting his gaze back to the metal door, he said, "You better be thinking something. A lot of things are happening tonight."

That made the breath in my lungs to drop to my stomach and my teeth sunk into my bottom lip. When the elevator stopped, Jay pulled the door open again, and made way for me to move. I stepped out to the corridor and he followed suit.

"Dylan, stop that before I hit you on the face!" A woman bellowed from one of the rooms on the right.

"Ow! Mom!"

Each of the doors on both sides was all slammed shut but there was nothing to keep the noises contained inside. I followed Jay to the last door on the right. His long arms reached up to the top of the ledge and sought out the key from it; just one single key. I watched as he opened the lock and shuffled inside.

"Welcome to my deluxe."

With the first step I took, through the threshold, my shoes came in contact with a doormat that read 'welcome'. I looked up at him amused.

"Fabio's housewarming gift." He smiled.

His deluxe was nothing like I expected. I wasn't sure what I was expecting anyway but it sure was nothing I could've imagined. It was one huge room with everything inside it, every room combined. On the left corner of the room was his bed area, on the right corner was the kitchen and just next to the kitchen was another door which I figured led to the bathroom.