[Melkin City Series book #3, please make sure to read the others first]
Things seem grim for Lacey when her and her friends are kidnapped on their way out of Melkin. Travis is separated from the group, she has no idea what happened to Finn and Anna...
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Travis.
I did not like this.
Our plane ended up being delayed and once we boarded, there was a wait to get to the correct runway. We spent a lot of time sitting in uncomfortable chairs. The airport we arrived in wasn't big at all but we got lost looking for the area to rent a car. We had to use my fake ID to rent it and Lacey pursed her lips to the side the second she saw me pull it out, like she wanted to say something but never did. And then, since it was already late by the time we arrived, we decided to go straight to Lacey's apartment instead of stopping by any family.
I knew exactly where Lacey's apartment was located. I knew the name. I knew the surcharge they applied to electronic payments. What I didn't know was that the ride there would take hours. It didn't, not really. But I anticipated actually seeing it so badly that my mind couldn't bear to wait.
The issue came up regarding the fact that Lacey didn't technically have her apartment key. That was long gone. She told us this before we even left and that her spare was inside of her apartment because they gave her two upon moving in and she had no one to give the spare to. So then I had to wait even longer for Ben to pick the lock. It felt like he was going too slow and I would've taken over to do it myself if it wasn't for the excited beating of my heart and the rushing fizzle in my veins. I wouldn't be able to hold still long enough to do it correctly.
And then we were inside and it was both amazing and not at the same time. I wanted to see this other part of Lacey but then I didn't. I didn't want to see the life she had built when I was out of the picture. Only, there wasn't much in her apartment. At all. Which was great. And not great. Because then my chest just hurt at the way she lived those three years we were separated.
Everything necessary to eat and sleep was here like it was just shelter from the rain. It reminded me of the many houses Cam moved around in. And Lacey, Lacey was always supposed to be separate from the lifestyle. At least, in my head it was. There was my life: bloodied clothes, ripped skin, my life in one bag with no real house as a home. There was my picture of Lacey's life: fuzzy pink slippers at the end of the bed, pearls in dishes on the bathroom sink, dance clothes scattered along her floor, marble countertops, perfume filling every inch of the space, of her life, of her home.
She had none of those things and I realized that her life and my life were a lot more similar than I thought. I had seen her room years ago at her father's house and it was in direct contrast to what her apartment looked like. In fact, there were a lot of differences between the two spaces. For instance, when Lacey opened the cupboard to see if she had any canned food when we arrived, the door nearly fell off its hinges. There was a divot in the kitchen floor that felt like a sinkhole in the making. I avoided stepping on it. Ben was going to sleep in the living room on the couch she had so when he went to plug in his phone charger, Lacey was quick to stop him. She told him not to use that plug because sometimes it sparks. Ben and I caught each other's eyes but kept quiet.
