She should have, but this chick was stubborn to a fault. “I’m glad you found something.” I would dig my own eyes out with a spoon before admitting to anyone I’d been worried about her. She seemed so stressed, and I knew desperation was a very dangerous thing in a place where others were just waiting for an opening to take advantage of you. Luckily, I knew Ramon and the rest of the crew who ran the diner. They were all good people and kept a close eye on the young women who worked there. My Boss’s woman worked there when she was putting herself through college, so he also kept his ear to the ground for any rumbling of trouble when it came to the diner. It was about the safest, most legitimate job Orley could get in the city.
“Go put a frozen bag of peas on your eyes, and get some sleep. You look like you could use it.” Orley flashed a grin at me and I felt the impact low in my gut. It was like taking another punch, and this one almost doubled me over. “Hey, if you need anything, I’m in 5B. Let me know. I owe you for getting my car back on the road. I’d be screwed if I couldn’t get to the diner each morning.”
I blinked at her but tried to keep my features under control. She was the quiet neighbor on the other side of my apartment. She was my actual neighbor, not just someone in the building I would pass on occasion. She’d also given me her apartment number. I was too tired and too sore to think about why entrusting me with that knowledge sent something much more pleasant than the pain I was feeling shoot along my nerves.
“I’ll be fine. This isn’t anything new. Do you need me to walk you to your car?” Shit. Why did I offer that? I was barely staying upright as it was.
She shook her head and fiddled with her purse strap some more. “I’m fine. I found a spot pretty close. Thank you for offering though.” Her eyes flitted over my face. “Seriously, Solo, take care of yourself.”
She turned and walked down the steps, stopping to hand Lester something that looked like a muffin. They exchanged quiet words, and even though I was dead on my feet, I couldn’t make myself go inside until I saw her shiny hair disappear into her little car.
Muttering over how much of an idiot I was, I once again tried to walk into the building, but Lester’s raspy voice stopped me.
“Those girls have been without air conditioning for over a week. I think that’s one of the main reasons she caved and let her little girl go and play with Riley. They had to get out of the apartment before they died of heat exhaustion.” The old man kept one eye on me as he picked apart the muffin in his hand. “She called that bastard of a super no less than twenty times and the useless bag of bones has yet to show.”
I tried to lift an eyebrow at him, but the motion hurt too much. “Why are you telling me this, old man?”
Lester snorted and pointed the muffin in my direction. “You know why I’m tellin’ you. Don’t play dumb with me, boy.”
Swearing again I jerked the door open and gave the older man a nod. “Can I at least get some sleep before I call that asshole? In case you can’t tell, I was not the victor tonight. Got my ass handed to me, old man.”
Lester chuckled. “A loss is good for you every now and again. Keeps the ego in check and reminds you that you don’t, in fact, rule the fucking world. Help the girl out after you get some sleep. She was right; you do look like shit.”
I trudged up to my apartment, body aching, face throbbing. It was early enough that the fighting couple on the other side of the wall were blissfully quiet for once. I immediately rummaged through my freezer in search of something frozen to slap over my eyes and across my lower lip. No peas, but there was a bag of tater-tots which looked like they’d been in there since the day I moved in. There was also a bottle of vodka that looked nice and frosty. I grabbed both, and meandered into my living room. I plopped on the couch, setting an alarm on my phone for a more reasonable time so I could call the super about Orley’s AC. The guy was a scumbag of the highest order. I hated having to deal with him, but he would get his ass over to the building if I pushed hard enough. We’d gone round and round enough times that he knew not to push me.
I also needed to call my mother and make sure she was up for a visit before I drove all the way out there. If she was having a bad day, it wouldn’t do either of us any good for me to try and see her. I used to think some quality time together would be enough to keep her episodes at bay, but I’d had enough bad experiences, and watched mom break down enough times to know that simply wasn’t the case any longer. I knew I was still her favorite person in the entire world, but I wasn’t what she needed to keep her stable and safe.
I rolled the bottle of vodka across my forehead before unscrewing the cap and taking a long swig. The alcohol burned on the way down, but the cool liquid did wonders for my throbbing lip. I plopped the tater-tots across my eyes. It was a long day in a series of never-ending long days. They were all starting to blend together.
It made me extremely uncomfortable when I realized the few days that stood out the most were colored with fiery red hair and a splash of gleaming blue eyes. Sighing, I closed my eyes and willed sleep to take me so I didn’t have to think about the way my ribs ached, or the way simply passing by my prissy neighbor made my dick hard.
Orley
I was out of breath by the time I dashed up the stairs and skidded to a halt in front of my apartment door. I had a whole new respect for people who worked in food service. I also regretted not paying closer attention to what percentage I tipped in the past. My feet were killing me, my arms were sore, I’d had to tap into a well of patience I usually only reserved for dealing with my three-year-old, and I constantly smelled like any variety of fried foods. All of the aches and pains aside, I liked the job, and I was making enough money to keep my lights on and to finally make good on the piece of cake I owed my kid… times ten. I also worked with some pretty awesome people. Ramon was a riot. He was loud, flirty, and totally over the top. But he was a good manager and he kept a close eye on all the young staff who worked under him, especially the girls. I’d heard a rumor that at one point, a couple of the girls who worked at the diner long before me had run into some trouble. Ramon apparently took on a huge heap of guilt that the incidents happened right under his nose, so now he is extra vigilant. He was also incredibly understanding when I told him I had to leave my shift early this afternoon because the landlord finally agreed to fix my air conditioner. Only, he told me he was going to be at my place at noon, and if I wasn’t there to let him in, he couldn’t guarantee the next time he’d be around.
He complained during the phone call about the extra locks I’d added to the door as soon as Noble and I moved in, saying it went against fire code. I was secretly glad the creep couldn’t just waltz into my apartment unannounced with his master key. My paranoia and obsession with keeping Noble safe had its perks.
I gasped to catch my breath as the older man standing outside my door glowered at me. I glanced down at my phone and noticed it was five till noon, so I was technically early and in no way deserved the dirty looks he was firing my way. I tried to hide a shiver at the thought of letting him into my apartment, and the two of us being alone in the space together, but ultimately my desire for working AC and a non-cranky child won out over my apprehension.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I had to get off work and find a place to park.” I bit back the complaint that he’d taken his damn time showing up to take care of the problem. I’d been waiting on him for over a week.
The man grunted and lifted his chin in the direction of the door, muttering something about stubborn women. He stood too close to me when I went through the process of unlocking the extra locks, and I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. He was a pudgy man, around my height, with a pronounced balding spot and mean eyes. He made me uncomfortable when I looked at the apartment, and when I’d reluctantly agreed to take it. When I’d signed the lease, I clearly remembered him asking if I was going to live alone. I might be naïve, but I was never stupid. I told him I was going to live with my daughter, and that her father would be over regularly to visit. A total lie, but I suddenly wondered if that was why it had taken him so long to make an appearance. Maybe he thought there was a man in my life who was perfectly capable of handling something like a wonky AC.
The apartment felt like the seventh circle of hell after being closed up all day. I tugged at the collar of my button-up and watched as the landlord stomped over to the wall unit. He banged on it with the side of his fist and played with the dials on the front of it. I’d done both those things several times over the last few days, so I wasn’t surprised when his Neanderthal tinkering didn’t work. When he started swearing, I was super glad Noble was still with Erica. She didn’t need to witness a grown man melting down because he couldn’t make something work.
He looked at me over his shoulder, eyes narrowed and mouth pulled into a tight line. I stayed by the tiny kitchen area where I tossed my purse on the counter and curled my fingers tighter around my phone. I wasn’t sure how fast I could call for help if I needed to, or who would show up, but I felt better having the device in my hand.
“I had all the units checked before summer. Did you mess with it? Are you sure your kid didn’t fuck with it?” He huffed and lumbered over to the wall where the thermostat was.
I bristled at the insinuation the malfunction was because of operator error. “I’m positive she was nowhere near the AC. First of all, she can’t reach it, second of all, I don’t let her play with things like that.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at his back. “If the entire building had central air conditioning, you wouldn’t have to worry about keeping individual ones in each apartment running.”
The man snorted and played with the thermostat. “Consider yourself lucky you found a place that has air conditioning at all. Central heat and air don’t happen in places like this. Hell, I’m lucky if some junky doesn’t swipe my copper pipes for the plumbing to hock for cash every day.”