Five Years of Fame [COMPLETE]

13. House Hunting

Winter, Year 3, Month 1

The sunlight was the first thing she noticed and the smell of coffee was the second. The late winter morning sun broke through her thin veil of sleep, rousing her from the land of weird dreams.

It had help, as Reeve's current residence was almost nothing but windows. There was a skylight right above her. And there were large industrial windows that lined the walls with stretches of six feet of uninterrupted glass.

The apartment had not been this building's original intention. The walls of exposed brick spoke of some kind of warehouse or factory. Reeve hadn't seen the bill yet but she was sure the heating was substantial.

Reeve sat up off the lumpy old couch and stretched to try and wake up. She shook her head to clear away the array of warped images that had infested her dreams. The only bed in the long studio apartment was already made, neat corners tucked into the old iron frame.

Kelly was standing in the kitchen, dressed for the day, working on breakfast. She looked alert and refreshed, something Reeve could only dream about at that hour. But Kelly looked just as put together after the nights it was her turn to sleep on the couch. Reeve had insisted they switch off and it had taken a forceful hand to finally get Kelly to take the bed.

"Morning."

Reeve's greeting came out in a yawn.

"Breakfast is ready. We're meeting Beverly at 10. You have exactly thirty minutes to eat, shower, and get dressed."

Everything was 'exactly' with Kelly, Reeve had come to notice. But it helped. If she wasn't there, Reeve would have sat on the couch looking out the window, thinking she should probably get food, probably take a shower, maybe go look for a more permanent residence, with very little chance of accomplishing any of those things. She needed structure and a schedule. Kelly came wired as both.

Reeve sunk down onto the only bar-stool available in the small kitchen. Kelly was washing dishes, her own breakfast having already been eaten.

The coffee helped Reeve rejoin the real world another step. She recapped her night while Kelly leaned against the counter, drinking a large mug of green tea. She found something suitable to wear, digging through her large suitcase of mostly LA-weather clothes to find anything that could handle a Boston January.

Once showered, with her hair up, Reeve pulled on her baseball cap and sunglasses, her uniform for whenever she was going anywhere and grabbed the keys before Kelly could. The thought of listening to a GPS try and navigate Kelly through streets Reeve knew like the back of her hand sent chills down her spine and she had to shake them out before they moved to her stomach. It was enough getting out of the apartment.

Kelly took the passenger seat without complaint, telling Reeve where they would be meeting Beverly first. Reeve knew the town and drove west out of the city.

It was a town filled with families, wealthy ones. Her real estate agent seemed to have taken some liberties when determining Reeve's budget as Reeve was aware just how much these homes usually ran for.

It was a town of private schools and rowing clubs on a man-made lake, with horse stables just a few blocks off the main road. They had left the city far behind by the time Reeve pulled the car up behind a shining new Mercedes SUV.

A perky woman, seeming about forty years old, with white-blonde hair, hopped out of her car to greet them. There was no other way to describe her actions. She literally hopped with excitement, her words flowing a mile a minute. Kelly stood forward, letting Reeve slink into the background of the conversation. While Beverly and Kelly talked schematics, Reeve leaned against the car and looked up.