Page 5 of Ravage
“Is everything okay?” Alyssa asks, her voice laced in concern, while I lean down to pull on my Converse.
“Yup, everything is just peachy.” I grumble, letting my anger out on my shoelaces. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, for starters, you were running out of your apartment without your shoes on. So either you’re late or something happened.” She chuckles with a wave at my feet.
“Oh, uh, yeah… Late, I’m running late for work, that’s all.” The words stutter out of my lips, coated in lies that she easily accepts.
“Having to work the day after you moved in has to be rough, I’m sure. Where do you work?” As she asks the question as the elevator dings its arrival, the doors opening to reveal the empty inside.
“The Ravage Café.”
“That’s a nice place! I’ve been there a few times; their iced lattes are todiefor!” She pretends to faint as she speaks to really sell her comment, and it makes me laugh. Then her face gets serious as she faces me full on. “Look, you seem like a nice person, and I want you to know that you can come to me if something’s wrong. I know you’re not late because the café doesn’t open until 10, and you still have an hour to go.” My heart starts beating frantically in my chest, my cheeks warming with embarrassment at being caught in my own lie. I scrub my hands down my face, while I try to think of how to reply and curse this elevator for moving so damn slow.
“I’m sorry for lying… I just… I have a lot on my mind right now.” I give her the lame excuse because my brain can’t even piece together more coherent thoughts from my jumbled-up brain.
“It’s okay.” She says with a soft smile, reaching out to pat me on the shoulder, “Just know if you need to talk, I’m around. Here, give me your phone.” She doesn’t wait for me to respond before she snatches my phone from my grip, getting into it easily with my lack of passcode. Her fingers fly across the screen for a few seconds, and then she’s handing me back my phone. “Now I’m just a text away!” Her friendly smile warms my chilled insides enough for me to crack a smile. The elevator finally stops in the lobby; the doors open to the lavish area. “I hope you have a good day at work, Sloane!”
“Thanks, you too, Alyssa.” I wave goodbye to her with a smile on my face and less anxiety in my chest.
“Girl, I just had the mostembarrassingmoment of my life at the store!” Cassie’s voice says next to me as she grips my bicep, tugging me hurriedly down the hallway to the locker room. As I’m twisting the combination lock to open my locker, Cassie’s voice rattles on in my ear. “I was in the plant section looking at orchids, and these two women were prattling on about how relaxing gardening was, so I joined in with them to agree. I asked them what their favorite strain was, and they looked at me like I was crazy! That’s when I realized we were not talking about the same type of gardening.” She ends in a whine and lays her head against the locker door next to mine. I can’t help but laugh at her, not only at her reaction but also at the fact that she thought two women were just openly talking about marijuana in the plant section.
“My goodness, Cassie! That’s almost as bad as me finding a note from Kole in my bathroom along with a blue shirt to wear today.” I continue to laugh, hoping her head is elsewhere while I slam my locker shut and turn to walk away.
Her hand snaps out like a viper, wrapping around my wrist and pulling me back beside her. “You can’t just speed on past that like you didn’t just say what I heard you say.” Her brows are pulled into a deep V, and her arms cross over her chest while she cocks her hip out to the side. “He left you a note in the bathroom?” She repeats, raising an eyebrow up at me.
“He sure did.” I answer with trepidation in my voice, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth.
“Tell me everything, now!” She screeches before tugging me to two folding chairs against the opposite wall.
“But we have work—” I don’t even get a chance to finish my sentence before she’s pushing me down into a chair and glaring at me like I’m a child.
“I’m the boss today, remember? So what I say goes; now spill.” She smiles brightly at me, but her eyes lack the same brightness, filled with concern and worry.
“I already told you what happened; he left a note in my bathroom.” I shrug my shoulders, trying to convey that I really don’t care, when deep down I’m totally creeped out.
“What did the note say? You said he told you to wear something blue? There’s something you aren’t telling me.” Cassie’s voice is full of concern, with a frown marring her voice. I blow out a deep sigh before launching into my whole spiel about how this morning went.
“I woke up this morning and found a sticky note on my bathroom mirror after my shower. It said“You would look beautiful in blue.”and he hung up one of my blue shirts on the towel rack. You know that pretty one you helped me buy a while back?” I say, hoping that she will focus on what shirt she helped me buy and not the fact that Kole was in my bathroom while I was sleeping.
Cassie blinks at me with her mouth hanging open, looking like a fish waiting for food. “He was in your room while you were sleeping?” She says the words slowly, like she’s talking to a toddler.
“Um, well, when you say it like that…” Heat blooms in my cheeks with embarrassment at the fact that Kole really did come into my room while I was sleeping. “I swore I thought I locked the door last night, but maybe I just forgot because I was so tired after unpacking?” I run my hands through my hair, twisting theends with my fingers, trying to piece together what could have happened last night.
“Sloane, I hate to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure you locked that door; you’re too anxiousnotto.” As she speaks, the dread in my chest intensifies. I didn’t want her to be right, because it’s crazy to think that Kole wouldbreak intomy bedroom while I was sleeping. Right? I open my mouth to reply to Cassie, but the words get stuck in my throat, and my skin grows clammy with my nerves. “My couch is still open if you want…” Her words trail off into the distance, or maybe I just can’t hear what else she says through the blood rushing in my ears and the pounding of my panicked heart.
My shift at work went by agonizingly slow. The only customers we had were our regulars who wanted their same coffee they get every single morning. On any other day I would have been thankful for the low amount of work, but today all it did was allow my brain to spin and spin with worries. The number of bad scenarios I had conjured up in my mind from my earlier conversation with Cassie was almost enough for me to skip going home and crash on her couch. When my shift was up, I ran out of there like my ass was on fire, eager to beat Kole home. I take a peek down at my phone and see the 5pm flashing at me and my heart rate speeds up with anxiety. I stop abruptly next to my car, yanking the door open and practically launching myself into the driver's seat. My car stutters to a start, and I praise God for the simple generosity. Leaving the parking lot turns out to be rather difficult with all of the after-work traffic, delaying my exit byten minutes. My fingers drum against the steering wheel while I zoom through town, passing all of the drivers who have decided that it's a great time to go on a leisurely drive.
By the time I whip into the apartment's parking lot, it's five minutes before six. Rushing out of my car with my bag slung over my shoulder, I book it to the front door. Bypassing other tenants and swerving around various parked cars. I’m not able to take a full breath until the doors of the elevator shut me inside the quiet box. My leg jiggles as the seconds pass by in a blur until the doors open at the fourth floor. I resist the urge to run towards the door and walk with purpose towards my destination. Taking a deep breath, my hand reaches for the doorknob, and it twists freely in my palm. A sense of dread makes my stomach drop to the floor. I steel myself before opening the door as quietly as possible and pushing through it. The apartment is quiet as I make my way through it.
“Welcome home, Sloane.” Kole’s tall form walks out of his bedroom wearing loose grey sweats and a black t-shirt.
I’m momentarily stunned by his annoyingly good looks, trying to remind myself that he was in my room without my permission. I give him a small smile and a nod before turning towards my own room.
“Is everything okay?” His words are accompanied by a cornered tilt of his head.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t they be?” My words come out high and squeaky, and I curse myself for being such a shit liar.
“You just seem… Odd.” He says while leaning up against the wall of the hallway.
