The Girl In Apartment 13 | Apply Fic

Chapter Ten: Paint the World Red

Oscar lets himself out of Jade's apartment just as Carter, Yumi, and Pierre walk past the place. He stops, his friends doing the same.

"Hey," he greets. "How was breakfast?"

"It was good," Pierre tells him, pulling his boyfriend in for a kiss. "How was the intervention?"

"It was fine. No one is too hurt from this, but maybe a little tension."

Carter sighs and looks down, shaking her head.

"I should probably apologize, shouldn't I?" she asks defeatedly.

"I'm not your dad so I won't tell you what to do. What I will warn you is that if you value your friendship with Jade, you might want to try to become friends with her soon to be girlfriend."

"Are they really that serious?"

Oscar nods, looking towards the door again.

"By the way, what are you painting red in your apartment?" Yumi asks him.

"What?" Oscar asks.

"You have red paint on the carpet right outside your apartment."

He turns around, surprised to see that she's right. He approaches his apartment and checks to make sure his apartment is locked. Once he knows he locked it, he grabs his keys and lets himself back into his place. When the door is open, he instantly freezes, looking around at the massacre that looks like it happened in his apartment.

There's blood splatter on the walls and floor of his entryway, leading into the hall.

"Can someone come in here with me in case something bad happens?" he calls out.

Pierre and Carter come to the door but Yumi lingers behind in the hall. Pierre follows behind Oscar as he follows the blood trail. Pierre holds onto his boyfriend's arm as he follows him, a lump in his throat and a sinking feeling in his stomach.

As the boys round the corner, they find the source of the blood. Oscar's cat is in the middle of the living room, fileted and bleed dry. Pierre immediately pulls Oscar against him and uses his hand to force Oscar's face into his shoulder. But Pierre can't look away. The amount of blood makes it seem like Arlo was slaughtered nine times over and over again.

"Come on," Pierre whispers, telling that Oscar still hasn't quite grasped what happened.

Pierre forces Oscar out of the apartment as quickly as he can, trying to keep Oscar from looking at the mess. Once they are in the hall, Pierre releases him and pulls the door shut. The girls are both shocked when they see how pale Oscar is.

"What happened?" Carter asks.

Before Pierre can explain anything, Oscar screams and turns to the wall, sending his fist into it. Pierre reacts immediately, putting himself in front of Oscar and pulling him into a hug. Oscar clings to Pierre desperately, sobbing into his shoulder. Jade and Hensley come out into the hall, startled by Oscar's yelling.

"What happened?" Jade asks as they approach their friends.

"Arlo," is all Pierre is able to say.

Oscar shakes his head and looks up, turning to face the group. He takes off his glasses and wipes his eyes, tears streaming down his face. He keeps one arm around Pierre, leaning his head down on his shoulder.

"I'm okay," he lies.

Jade steps forward and pulls him off of Pierre into a hug. He slowly puts his arms around her, trying to keep his cool.

"Come on," she tells him. "I'm going to take you back to my place and make you tea to help you calm down."

She instantly starts off towards her place with Oscar in tow. She looks back at her friends and Pierre gives her a thumbs up and a nod. She nods and takes Oscar inside her place. As soon as the door shuts, Pierre sighs.