Stranger on the Riviera

Chapter Two

Taking a left and pulling into the tree-lined entrance of the Hillside Apartments at Walnut Grove, Lillian ascended the paved hill that lead to the gated entrance in her Altima. Reaching over to open the center console to the car, Lillian fished through the compartment searching for the key card that would open the gate, all while silently cussing to herself at how she just needed to leave it in the cupholder for easier access, rather than lazily tossing it back where it was. After what felt like long, grueling, minutes her hands landed on the edge of the card and quickly pulled it out, reaching over to roll her window down. With the window down and arm outstretched, Lillian unfastened her seat belt to better scan the card, as no one ever wanted to make it easier and place the buzzer in a convinent spot that was reachable for others. Instead, it felt like they wanted you to struggle, and with her short arms she was indeed. Letting out a small grunt Lillian further protruded out the window, and right as the card had been scanned, beeping to signal the gates open, the card slipped from her already dry fingers. Lillian watched the small white key card fall onto the paved ground below with sad, dreadful eyes.

"Oh come on!" She whined as she dropped her chin onto the edge of the car's opened window.

With a sad, weary, sigh Lillian looked out toward the short green filled mountains that surrounded the small town of Walnut Grove, watching as cars nearby drove past. Slightly turning her head, Lillian noticed the gates that were once open were now closing. Normally something such as this would not bother her, but today? Today, nothing felt right. She only wondered what else could happen to make her already off day feel more...well...off. Seeing that another car was pulling up from behind, Lillian opened the door to her Altima, reaching down to pick up the fallen key card.

Before closing the door, she tapped the card onto the buzzer, listening as it beeped open the gates once more. Slamming the door with a firm shut, Lillian tossed the key card into the cupholder (stained from a recent coffee spill this morning), not even bothering to fasten the seatbelt as she slowly drove into the complex. Perhaps, the coffee spill that turned the cupholder into a small caffeinated pool of white chocolate mocha should have been a sign of how the morning was going to go. It only took a shit ton of napkins to clean the mess up, and she was quite confident there was even a small towel involved. Wherever that had gone, as it had been too early in the morning to care.

Reaching out with her index finger, Lillian clicked the button that turned the engine off and just sat in the car, looking out at the small green area with its one lonely tree, watching as the leaves swayed. The sound of the engine and car settling was all that could be heard, until a gentle early spring breeze rolled by, kicking up a lone leaf. Lillian listened as its edges scraped across the parking lot, sounding like that of a broken eggshell, before landing onto a patch of grass and remaining there. Letting out a worn sigh, Lillian tenderly bit the inside of her cheek, staring out of the windshield with empty eyes. She felt tired and worn out, as if she had completed a great marathon, though she had done nothing at all.

All she did was sit in a chair most the day, trying to type while thinking of something to write. No matter how hard she tried nothing would come to mind. Perhaps, it was the mental exhaustion of trying to muster enough brain cells to come up with something that tired her. Or maybe it was whatever phase she was currently going through, where she felt she no longer enjoyed the work she did. Not that she didn't enjoy writing. In fact, she loved it, but, just...something as of late had felt differently about it. She no longer felt engaged with it as she used to. The problem? Was it her job that made her feel so, or was she truly pulling away from something she enjoyed?

Gritting her teeth, Lillian reached over into the passenger side, yanking her bag over, before opening the door and slamming it shut. Reaching down, Lillian clicked the small plastic silver coated button on the door handle, locking the door to the car. Slinging the small black satchel bag over one shoulder, Lillian pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear that the wind had gentle swept up while making her way to the second floor of the apartment. Unzipping the bag, she fished through looking for the famous "skeleton key", that was really just a copy of the key with Jack Skellington on it. For her, it was funny, as she enjoyed the movie and thought the reference was funny.

Unfortunately, there had been someone that she knew who did not appreciate it as much as her. At the time it had bothered and saddened her, but she longer had to worry about that. Frowning, and shoving more past memories down, Lillian stepped through the threshold of the small one-bedroom, flicking the lights on while reaching behind to lock the door. Kicking her worn leather Keds off, and gently placing them onto a cheap shoe rack she had bought one year, Lillian told herself once more that she needed to buy a new pair. The reminder had been going on for two years already. One day it would happen though.

Sliding the satchel off her shoulder, Lillian set it down on one of the two bar stool chairs that sat near the island in the kitchen, with their cherry-wood exterior and leather beige cushioned seats. Walking over to the cupboard with glasses, Lillian reached for her favorite Tervis cup that had the University of Tennessee emblem inside-the school she had attended for four long years-and filled it with water. Leaning back against the corner of the countertop, Lillian took a small sip of the cool water, looking around the apartment with sad eyes. Normally, the apartment felt homey and cozy with its one bedroom and bathroom, and small living space with its attached patio. But today? It felt small, empty, and quiet. Typically, it never even felt empty, as the neighbors above or around made enough noise to make it feel occupied, but today it felt rather...lonely.

A problem Lillian never seemed to face, especially after....Shaking her head, Lillian set the cup she had been holding down with a resounding smack, listening as the ice and water swirled from the sudden force. Rubbing her hands over her round face, she begrudgingly wondered what the hell was going on with her today. She needed a distraction, to do something that would get her mind off of these ponders. Normally, when needing a distraction, writing or even something simple such as reading would help to take care of that; Given the recent struggle as of late the idea was opted out.

Grabbing her phone and earbuds out of the satchel, Lillian moved to sit on the worn, sand-colored cloth couch in the small living room. Placing an earbud inside each ear, Lillian laid down with one arm splayed across her stomach while she scrolled to find a decent song to listen to. After continuously scrolling, and unable to find a good song, she eventually decided to listen to an old playlist she had created years ago. Playing a song from The Cure, Lillian shut her eyes trying to get lost in the music, and before she knew it, sleep took over and she was lost in dreams.