backdoor - private practice

one

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Lucy stumbled up the stairs of her apartment complex, giving herself a small break every ten seconds. her feet killing after walking for what felt like five hours up San Francisco's steep paths.

She grasped the railing whilst her clothes and hair dripped rainwater to the floor as she continued huffing and puffing out of breath.

She was used to such things by now, it was winter and rain was just second nature to Lucy. One of her likes of living in San Francisco was that each season had its 'correct' weather, but this day, she was wet, exhausted and in desperate need of a hot bath.

She wanted to run to her friend's older brother, Leon's, accommodation, the place she'd been living for the past month, to get the aching pain over with and let the pain wash away on the sofa with a movie on, though she was too drained to even jog.

Nonetheless, she was finally beaming with joy when she lifted the key in the hole, her smile from ear to ear and a sigh of happiness followed as she threw her arms up and plopped herself on the couch, relief filling her body, kicking her shoes off and dropping her bag beside herself.

The rest of the day was spent with herself, changing into sweats after a warm bath, helping herself to Leon's food to which she made a mental note to refill his storage before he got back in a few days.

She found herself in sheer comfort as she sunk into warmth, the television playing, whilst her throw blanket kept extra heat in as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

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Music echoed through the wall, making Lucy groan at the loud noise as she stirred, pulling the comforter over herself, attempting to drain out the disturbing sound.

Much to her dismay, it didn't quieten down or become less irritating, she turned to look at the wall, the music blaring on the other side.

It was dark out now, the DVD screensaver on the TV, lucy tried to drown the disturbance once more but it was no use, so she took up the courage to go ask them to turn it down.

The young adult was scared, at eighteen asking a simple favour to a possibly drunken, twenty-something-year-old could be a hassle and Lucy wasn't interested in making enemies with neighbours.

She brushed her hair a bit and slipped on some shoes. still debating whether this was a good idea or not, she made her way down the hall. she realised the urge to have a good night's sleep was much desired, making her wishes overpower her fear.

A young woman, who appeared pregnant, whom Lucy knew as 'claire davidson answered the door, not looking much older than Lucy herself, "Yeah?" Claire asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice as she held a cigarette with her two fingers making Lucy cringe internally, and the whiff of alcohol off her breath gave Lucy a straight impression of how this girl lives her life.

"I'm sorry, but I just want to tell you that your music is really loud-"  Lucy started, trying to sound sweet, not wanting to start something.

"And?" the older girl cut in with sass, making Lucy regret her choices.

"Well, I was going to ask if you could turn it down," Lucy said quieter than before, finding it a little hard to look into her eyes.

Claire looked Lucy up and down as she held her cigarette up to her face. Lucy became increasingly nervous as the older girl raised an eyebrow at Lucy. Lucy's build looked as small as ever compared to the older girl.

She blew smoke out before answering Lucy "Well, I want a vacation in Hawaii but we don't always get what we want"

Lucy furrowed her brows in confusion, she was easily frightened by others, especially people who had an attitude with her but for some reason, she couldn't let this girl smart-mouth her.

"Why are you getting so bold? I've only asked you to turn it down" Lucy put her hands in her pocket with a head shake.

"I'm getting bold 'cause there's a girl with a big mouth on my doorstep" The woman leaned forward at Lucy.

"Me?! You're the one blowing smoke in my face, sassing me in the middle of a hallway, treating me like I've just slapped you one" Lucy threw her hands up, trying to make a point.

"You'll be the one getting a slap in a minute, sweetheart" Claire stepped out as she pointed at Lucy with two fingers, the lit cigarette between the pair.

"Go on then" Lucy chuckled, of course not thinking this pregnant woman would dare lay a hand on her, but her expectations were proved wrong when the woman suddenly grabbed Lucy by the shoulders, practically dragging her into her home.

Lucy fought restraint by grabbing onto the door handle and creating friction with her shoes, not having the guts to lay a finger on a pregnant woman.

"What the hell?!" Lucy yelled out as the woman had a tight grip on her hair.

"Well, you wanted to fight, didn't you, sunshine?!" Claire adjusted her grip, getting a hold of Lucy's sweater.

"Come on, you're pregnant, for God's sake!" Lucy reminded.

"And you provoked me, so if anything happens then it's your fault," the woman said with a hint of humour in her voice.

"You were the one who provoked me, threatening to slap me and all!" Lucy reminded her as she groaned, still being dragged by Claire, trying to grip everything in sight, her legs burning as they ground against the carpet, making her regret wearing knee-length sweatpants.

Claire threw her cigarette on the wooden part of the floor before pulling Lucy's matted hair in a tight hold, struggling to manage the girl as the youngster tried to escape her grasp.

"I swear to god if I even get the slightest bit of ash on me I'm going straight to the police!" Lucy shook her head when she noticed the burning item on the ground.

"Oh, and who are they going to believe, eh? A heavily pregnant teenager just trying to get by or a girl who just stirs up shit for no reason?"

"I'm pretty sure your side will sound like total pants when that baby comes out with half a brain and four missing fingers," Lucy says with snark.

And before she knew it, she was thrown to the ground.

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