Blessing in Disguise

"In exchange for the extra money, let me borrow you apartment a couple of times next week."

I don't need time to think before answering. "No."

He stares back at me, silent.

"You mean yes."

"I mean no."

His expression doesn't change. I shift my stance and lean backwards toward the deli wall, away from the man that I had no doubt would steal something else from me if he got the chance.

"I need to g-"

"How about this," he purses his lips and readjusts his hand over my shoulder. "You let me borrow your apartment from time to time," he lowers his head, moving his mouth closer to my ear, "and I will give you anything in return."

*****

When moving to the big city for university, Valerie didn't expect to get robbed on her first day in her new apartment.

She also didn't expect the robber to be her new classmate.

Valerie thought getting a scholarship to pay for her tuition would be her biggest hurdle after the summer. However, discovering that the guy that robbed her a couple of days ago goes to her school, was an inconvenience that certainly didn't make her life easier.

What's more, his obsession with her apartment was... troubling, to say the least.