Page 3 of Ravage
“Shit, Sloane, I’m sorry. I know things are rough right now. Please just come live with me for a while until you get back on your feet again. I can’t stand the thought of you living with some strange man, no matter how cute he is.” I let out a chuckle at the fact that she thinks he's cute too.
“I love you, and I appreciate your friendship so much, Cassie. But I can’t live with you. You do so much for me as it is, and I can’t stand the thought of living on your couch. I’m sure I’ll be fine. He’s a nurse, for pete's sake! He had to go through all the board-certified testing to get that, right? I’m sure he’s not as bad as we are thinking.” I pour my optimism out into my words in droves in hopes that it will help ease the situation. She’s quiet for a moment before she finally answers on a rushed sigh.
“Okay, fine, but at the first sign of something amiss, you better tell me, Sloane. I mean it!” I promise her up and down that I will tell her at the first sign of trouble. When I hang up the phone, I don’t feel any better than I did before I called her.
With a heaving sigh, I pack my things back into my bag and climb to my feet. Walking slowly through the aisles of bookshelves until I make it outside and onto the sidewalk. Thecrisp fall air sweeps my hair up and around my face, obscuring my vision momentarily, and I almost tumble off the curb and into the street. The blare of a horn pierces my ears just as a strong pair of hands grips my biceps, hauling me back into a warm chest as a semi zooms past me. I stand there in shock, wondering who just saved me from being instant roadkill. Slowly turning around, I swipe my hair out from my face and look up into my savior's face. I should be grateful for being saved, but the face staring back at me makes my insides squirm with apprehension. Unknown fear races through me as my mind spins a mile a minute on how he just spontaneously showed up. The first thing that comes to mind is that he was following me, but I shake my head, knowing that notion is absurd. He looks down at me with a worried expression as I stand there stunned into silence; the only noise surrounding us is my labored breathing and passing cars.
Mundane adult responsibilities had me ending up downtown running errands. I’ve already been to the rental agency to pay this month's rent, and how I managed to get out of there without killing one of them still amazes me. The old fuckers who own the building I live in tried to swindle me out of more money, saying that I caused a leak that flooded the room beneath me. We argued for at least an hour until they finally gave up with not only the mention of suing but also the proof that I presented to them of the gremlin tenants belowme stuffing enough toilet paper down the toilet to cause the flooding. The woman in the apartment rushed upstairs, banging on doors for help, and I was the only one annoyed enough with the racket to answer and help her. I’m glad that my security camera captured the entire exchange, but if I had known she was going to blame the flooding on me then I would’ve ignored her like everyone else. The look on their faces was priceless when they realized that they couldn’t cheat me out of more money. After storming out of there, I went straight to the electric place to pay the absurd amount of money from last month's energy use. After all of that, I decided to forgo lunch at my favorite bistro and head back to my car.
The brisk air whips fallen leaves around me as I walk down the block, weaving in and out of various people milling about. A horn blaring distracts me from my venture; turning my head to my left, I see a semi going way too fast down the road. A girl with long brunette hair balances precariously on the curb; her hair whips up and around her face, obscuring her vision. Normally, I'd keep walking, but an invisible cord pulls me closer to her, and I quickly step up behind her, grabbing her biceps and hauling her back into my chest before she topples to her demise. We stand there frozen on the sidewalk as she regains her bearings, and her chest heaves with residual panic. Her scent wafts up into my face; my nostrils flare with the feeling of deja vu. I spin her around so that I can ask her if she’s okay, and the most breathtaking creature stares up at me with worried brown eyes.
My Sweet Obsession is cradled in my arms, just like how I daydreamed during our last meeting. Her mouth is hanging open, and her brows are scrunched as she gazes up at me with glassy eyes. A smirk forms on my lips as I watch several emotions dance across her gaze; worry, surprise, and then fear. I think fear is my favorite expression of hers, the way her lips tip down at the corners and her eyes grow impossibly larger. Shelooks up at me, her brows raising while she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, the movement lighting up a fire in my chest. “Are you okay?” I ask as I transform my expression into one of worry. “You almost took a bad tumble there.” A small gasp leaves her lips at my words, the sound making my heart race. I’m not sure if she feels it too, but the sparks of electricity tingling up my arms is almost enough to distract me from the fact that we are standing on a crowded sidewalk during rush hour.
“H-how did you…” She struggles to answer my question, her face twisting up in confusion.
“You were in trouble. Would be a shame if I just let a beautiful woman fall to her demise.” I say it with the friendliest smile that I can muster.
“Where did you come from?” She demands while she pushes against my chest, the fearful look dissipating from her face.
“That way.” I point in the direction I came from, but she is less amused by my answer than I thought. “I was paying bills downtown, and now I’m walking back to my car.” I point at the black car that is a few spaces away from us against the curb.
“So you weren’t just stalking me then?” That makes me chuckle, because as much as I thought about stalking her, I didn’t go through with it… at least not yet, anyway.
“No, I wasn’t stalking you, Sloane.” A piece of hair falls down against her forehead, causing irritation to rise inside of me. Reaching up, I swipe the piece of unruly hair away from her face. She flinches away from my touch, and the anger that builds in me is anything but normal. I clench my fists at my side, watching as she steps away from me. “Well, I better be going now. Nice to see you again, Sloane. I look forward to seeing you again soon.” I leave her with a smile and a wave, making my way over to my car.
The lock disengages with a beep, and I climb into the car and then shut the door behind me. I watch as Sloane stares atme, a look of disgust mixed with intrigue. She watches me the whole time that it takes for me to pull out of my parking spot and drive away. This girl is infuriating in the best way. My mind goes over possibilities of how move-in day will go, and I tighten my hands around my steering wheel in excitement. The urge to go back and fix her unruly clothing is intense and hard to resist. I imagine helping her pick out the perfect outfits each morning and making sure she’s eating healthy foods. She will eventually thank me for everything I intend to do to perfect her. She will be my perfect obsession once I’m through with her.
Today is move-in day, and if I told you that I was excited with the fact that I will finally have a real bed to sleep in, then it would be half of a lie. My run-in with Kole a few days ago is still eating at me. I’m not sure I believe that it was a coincidence for him to just save me like that. The look in his eyes was possessive when I was spun around to face him. They almost seemed to morph before my eyes each second we stood there in silence. The maddening shift from possession to lust and then to worry was enough to make my head spin. The lastfew days at work have been hectic between nonstop business and Cassie interrogating me at every turn. She tried to do her own digging, and she found that Kole had another roommate before me. I swear she missed her calling as a CIA agent. The roommate was another girl named Bailey, but Cassie couldn’t find any other information on her besides her name. She has asked me continuously to just move in with her, and I still deny her because I refuse to mooch off of my friend. Even if it's just her couch.
It was a twenty-minute drive from work over to the apartment complex; once I pull into the parking lot, my mouth gapes open. This building is massive, and there is no way in hell that only $200 a month is going to cover my portion. There are 5 floors to this building; balconies line all the floors above the first level, giving it a quaint village feel. Putting my car in park, I open the door to the cool evening air. The wind blowing my hair and the falling leaves all over the place. The walk to the front door is longer than it looks to be, or that could just be my anxiety as it ramps up in my chest. The keypad on the front double doors blinks at me while I enter in the numbers Kole left for me. The doors open without a sound, and I rush through them in search of the elevator. The lobby looks almost identical to a hotel, minus the front counter staff. Doors line the halls on both sides, and I finally spy the elevator at the end. I force my steps to slow, walking as quietly as possible down the hall to try and avoid the echoes coming from my steps. I call for the elevator and breathe a sigh of relief when I don't have to wait too long. When I notice I’m the only one in it, my breathing evens out. I punch in the code again, watching as the numbers glow and beep as I go, and then I press the button for the 4th floor. The elevator opens at the end of the hall, revealing a plush grey carpet and a row of pristine white doors. I walk down the hall searching for number 42 and end up in front of the only black door in the hall. Myeyebrows raise at the out-of-place color, and I shake my head. Peering up, I spy the golden number 42 that hangs in the top center of the frame, right below a peephole.
My hand raises up to knock, but before my fist can make contact with the wood, the door swings up on silent hinges. Kole’s face appears around the side of the door with a warm smile on his face. I take a moment to scan his appearance while he opens the door further to reveal the modern apartment behind him. He’s dressed in loose black sweats and a tight grey T-shirt that emphasizes his toned chest beneath it; his feet are bare, and his hair is tousled. He looks deliciously rumpled, like he just rolled out of bed. “Ah, Sloane, I was wondering when you’d be coming by.” He steps aside and waves his arm towards what I assume is the living room. “Come on in.” My sneakers pad against the light gray carpet as I admire the luxury of the apartment. The couch alone looks like it could be worth more than my damn car. An intricate wooden coffee table sits in front of it, and beyond them is a fireplace and the biggest TV I’ve ever seen mounted onto the wall. “This is the living room; it’s not much, but it serves its purpose.” My expression must be one of shock because he lets out a chuckle. So far this apartment is ridiculously clean, almost like it’s a showroom, which boggles my mind for a man in his twenties. “The kitchen is this way.” He points to his left, and I follow after him with wide eyes; my jaw almost drops to the floor when I see the kitchen. It’s decorated in white and black with golden accents and is just as clean as the living room—not a speck of dust in sight. A marble countertop shines in the low light with an island in the middle of the floor that houses the sink. He strides over to what resembles an industrial-sized fridge and pulls the doors open. “There’s more than enough room for you to add what you want. I moved my things to the left side and figured you could use the right.” I amutterly speechless because I’ve only ever seen a fridge this big in the coffee shop.
“You okay?” He looks at me with concern, and I mutter a quick yes before he ushers me out and into a hallway. He points out various doors leading to a closet and a half bath for guests. He waves at his bedroom door but doesn’t open it to show me the inside, which piques my curiosity. He finally stops at a door at the end of the hall and pushes it open, revealing a room completely different from the rest of the apartment but just as clean. The carpet is a luscious cream color that matches the metal bedframe and the walls. The dresser and desk are a beautiful oak that matches the other wood in the house, but beyond that this room is bright and cheery, as opposed to the dark moodiness of the rest of the spaces. A floral smell wafts through my nostrils the deeper I enter into the room, and I spin around trying to find the source. “This is your room; I know it’s different than the rest of the apartment, so feel free to redecorate if you’d like too.”
“No, I love it, thank you.” I say as I shake my head and then beam up at him with a genuine smile that he echoes. I finally spy the fresh bouquet of Peruvian lilies atop the dresser. “These are beautiful, thank you.” I say as I finger a soft petal between my fingers.
“Just a welcome home gift; I’m glad that you like them. Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” He nods before backing out into the hallway. “Do you need help bringing anything up?” He asks with a tilt of his head.
“Oh no, I don’t have very much. I’ll be fine on my own.” I answer, following after him towards the front door.
“Great, then I’m going to head back to bed; I have to work early in the morning. Make sure you lock up when you’re done.” He doesn’t spare me another glance before he disappears through his bedroom door, leaving me to my own devices.
I stand next to the apartment door admiring how beautiful the apartment is and how lucky this break is for me. Mentally, I scold myself, telling myself to not get too comfortable here. This is only supposed to be a pit stop until I save up enough for something of my own. I trek back to the elevator, entering behind another woman who stares at me in shock before the doors close behind us. Her blonde hair is stick straight, and her blue eyes shine with curiosity and worry. Her yellow sundress flows around her knees, and she has white wedge sandals strapped to her feet. She clutches a brown woven tote to her side as her hands wring against the handles.
“Are you moving in with Kole Masterson?” She questions in an alarmed voice.
“Sure am! This place is beautiful.” I answer enthusiastically, which makes the alarm on her face even more prominent. “Is something wrong?” Her face scrunches up at my words, and she shakes her head.
“Um, nope, nothing’s wrong. Just be careful, okay?” Her words should bring me comfort, but they do the complete opposite.
“You can’t just say ‘be careful’ and not expect me to worry about that.” A nervous chuckle follows my words.
“Oh goodness, I’m sorry if I worried you! No, everything is fine. You’re just a young woman moving in with a man, which is different, ya know? I’m sure everything will be okay. But if you ever need anyone to talk to, my name is Alyssa, and I live in apartment 48.” She spews out the words so fast that I have a hard time comprehending most of them, but I did manage to catch her name and apartment number at the end of that. The elevator doors open to the lobby, and she rushes out with a smile and a quick goodbye, leaving me behind to try and decipher what the hell that was all about.
Shaking my head, I walk out to my car and start grabbing the few possessions that I have. It only takes me three trips until I have everything stacked up in the corner of my new room. I’m glad that the room is so clean that I don’t have to bother tidying it up before I unpack my things, which is a total win if you ask me. The first thing I unpack is my new bed set I bought on my lunch break. It’s a soft white set with pink and red roses all over it with matching throw pillows. I laid down the soft pink area rug beside the bed and then put away all of my bathroom supplies. By the time I start unpacking my clothes into the dresser, I’m exhausted. I decide to forgo unpacking the rest and just lay out my clothes for the next day on top of it before stripping my clothes off and taking a quick shower. I grab the first oversized sleep tee I can find and throw it over my head and crawl into my new bed. The mattress is like sleeping on a cloud compared to the hard interior of my car. I snuggle deep into the soft duvet, and hug a throw pillow to my chest, heaving out a content sigh. My eyes sweep around the room, admiring the space with a smile on my face and hope in my heart at this new beginning.
Picking the lock on Sloane’s door let off the sweet taste of deja vu. The many nights that I would check in on Bailey float through my head like a movie. The door swings open softly, not a squeak to be heard, and the hallway light illuminates Sloane’s sleeping form in bed. She’s sprawled out in the middle of the bed on her back, one leg under the covers and the other one not. The frilly duvet is twisted up alongside her with one arm flung over the top of it. Her sleep shirt has slid up her body, revealing her plain black panties that hug her hips along withthe apex of her thighs not hidden by the blanket. The state of her disorganized, half-unpacked room makes my eye twitch. The boxes that are stacked against the wall have my fingers itching to break them down and take them to recycling myself. I make a mental note to let Sloane know to take them out immediately.
