If All Else Fails | [On Hold]

Chapter Three: New Neighbors? Bra.

My apartment was on the second floor. There are about twelve identical buildings, each containing eight apartment rooms on each floor; four on the right side of the long hall and four on the other. With only three floors, each apartment in my building is packed with a kitchen that's connected to the living room, a tiny laundry area, two bedrooms with small walk-in closets, two bathrooms (one inside the master bedroom), and last but not least a balcony with a view of the huge fountain that all the buildings surround. Other buildings have different number of rooms and structure but I never been to the other buildings to see. To top it all off, surrounding the whole area is a long, light-brown brick wall, making the front and back gates the only exits. It's a beautiful, quiet, open, and we even have a pool and gym at the main office. What's not to like?

I walk down to the end of the hallway to the last door; 207. Taking the keys out of my purse, I unlock the door and step inside, closing it after me.

"How was work?"

I find my mom sitting on the white leather couch, watching one of her spanish soap operas, Reina de Corazones. Queen of hearts.

"Long. I even had a baby throw up on me." I said. Suddenly it hit me. Shit. I forgot my shirt at work!

"Sounds nice."

I drop my purse on the kitchen counter then go to give my mom a kiss on the cheek, purposely blocking her view of the screen as I do.

"How's my favorite person in the world?" I ask, smiling down at her. She pulls me by the hand, making me plop down on the seat beside her.

"Good. Watch la telenovela with me." My mom demands. She shares her blanket with me and I snuggle up close to her. The protagonist was blind folded and tied to a chair. Her main captor was teasing her, sadistically pointing the gun to her temple meanwhile other captors surrounded them, enjoying the show. I never found interest in watching any type of soap opera. Mainly because I barely speak Spanish. And they're all so... dramatic.

"Why do you like watching this?" I ask curiously.

"It's romantic."

"But it's so dramatic."

"Life is dramatic."

"Hashtag wise words from mom." I made a hashtag sign with my fingers to block her view again and she swats my hands away.

The protagonist ended up on the floor, still tied up. Her captors were now sprawled on the floor, lifeless. The camera zooms in on incredibly hot, shirtless, muscular blonde who picks her up. Still blindfolded and terrified, she struggles to scream, not knowing that she was saved.

I look at my mom who was devoting her entire attention to the soap opera. I noticed that she got a haircut. It was just inches above her shoulders and layered in the back now. It was a darker brown too. She hates having white hair so she dyes it whenever she sees one. I think it's fear of getting old. For a forty-two year old woman, she was still beautiful even with the faint lines on her forehead but she never believes me when I tell her that.

I turn back to the TV. The protagonist's hero covers her mouth with a small towel and she goes unconscious. What the fuck? What was the whole point of that?

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Failing to remember to close the curtains last night, I wake up to the the sunlight hitting my face, the rays so bright that it illuminated the entire room. The soft blanket tightly cocooned my body, making it impossible for me to stretch. I stayed like that for a few minutes before deciding to wiggle out. A shiver went down my spine when I freed myself from the warm blanket but it didn't take long to adjust to the cool temperature. I reach for my phone from the white nightstand and pulled it till the charger came off. 10:11 AM glows from the screen when I unlock it and I look through my message and find some from Michael.