I'm continuously searching in my bag for the keys. It's been ages since I've tidied it up. With all sorts of crap inside, it's a hell of a mission to accurately locate something in it. I eventually feel roughly molded pieces of metal and grab the keys out. I walk along the corridor and get to my gate. I get inside and close the door behind me. After a quick shower, I take my pack of Oreos and start switching channels. I hear the door bell ring.
"Who the fuck..." I use all my effort to get up and open the door. It's Garcia, my apartment's owner. Garcia is in her 60's and has messed up gray hair with thick blue eyes. She's wearing her Granny dress and flip flops - with socks. She has rabbit teeth, except she's nowhere near cute. Plus, she has a really weird accent.
"Oh, Hi" I say.
"Yes, it's high"
"Wha-"
"It's (iss) high time you pay (phu-way) me now (lau)"
"Actually i-"
"Look Miss, I want (vonth) my rent (wenth) right (lyth) now (lau)"
"Right now? Are you like... serious? Listen I -"
"You listen (leeh-thenn)! I want (vont) my money (mauh-nee) in three (fuh-ree) days! You get it? Or you get out!"
"Woah, okay! Chill. I'll pay you by three days alright?"
"You better (beh-durr) do!" She bangs her right foot on the corridor's floor and storms off.
I sigh and close the door.
I haven't paid the rent for three months now. When Lewis was here, he used to help me with some money. My parents died when I was just three. I don't even remember spending any time with them. My grandma took care of me. I used to live with her until she passed away five years ago. She left some insurance for me, but I spent all of it while moving to Ontario, settling down and surviving some days without a job and of course, renting this apartment. I've never really been easy with the money, always a little bit tight. I eventually found a job and had an endlessly boring routine.
Then I met Lewis, at an art exhibition. I was with Karina, my colleague as well as my best friend. She is an artistic person and always attends these kinds of expos. I got extremely bored while she was exploring a sculpture. I just started to wander around on my own, when I tripped over a pebble and knocked a sculpture down.
"Oh shit!" I exclaimed as I saw the sculpted little figure do a double somersault and continue on its way to crash on the floor. Luckily, a hand rescued it just before it hit the ground.
"Oh my god!" I exaled in relief.
"Thank you so much!" I looked up to him and said. He had the most gorgeous face I had ever seen. He had light brown hair styled in a faux hawk. Wolf gray eyes, a defined and sharp nose and lips just a little more than a thin line across the face, wide ones.
"That's alright" he said gesturing his palm towards me. He was dressed in a formal brown suit.
Oh my god, he had a deep sexy voice. Shit. I want you. "I want you right now".
"Excuse me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Excuse for wha- shit. Okay. Damn. I said that out loud, didnt I? Think. Make it up. Fast.
"Umm...I...uh...yeah, I want to thank you right now I said" I pretended.
"You just did" I knew he was mocking. Shit.
"Well, I mean you saved me from a million dollar debt and legal trouble, so...I think I owe you...a coffee?"
He slightly crooked his lips at the edges, giving a half smile. Gorgeousness.
"Well, doesn't sound bad"
*******************************
"So, you're interested in sculptures?" He asked, wiping away the excess espresso from his lips.
"No, actually I came along with my-" Crap. I left Karina at the expo. Great. Just great. I knocked over a million dollar sculpture, then I drooled over a hot dude and I forgot my best at the expo. Fantastic.
"You...?"
"Oh, yeah...I just came to look around."
"Look around? In an exclusive exhibition?"
"Actually, I accompanied my colleague here and-"
"and you got really bored so you decided to watch a sculpture performing a circus?"
"Yeah."
Awkward Silence...
"I mean no...I mean-"
"I was kidding. Chill."
"Actually, YES." I said and we both burst out laughing, spilling a little bit of my latte.
"So, I don't even know your name"
"Natasha, and you are...?"
"Lewis, Lewis Harrison"
"So, Lewis, you're interested in sculptures?"
"Nah, not really. Actually, I'm an architect and I'm working on a project in a Greek cuisine. They said they want a historical touch. So I just came to look around for inspiration. That's it."
"Oh."
"You? Don't tell me you have a circus!"
"No! C'mon..." I said trying to suppress my laughter.
"I'm a junior financial analyst, I work for Ersparnisse"
*******************************
We talked till late noon, and i fell deeper into his spell. I felt like he was the one. The one I was lacking in life. We eventually started dating and he became the most important thing to me. He helped me with everything. I can't do anything without him. I can't even manage my bloody rent! Eleanor had offered me to move in with her, but I told her I wanted to be on my own. I wanted to fight within myself, overcome the fact that I can't be alone. I thought I'll be fine. I thought I can manage. But I'm just broken. I'm just dying inside, every day, every moment.
