Truth Be Told

sixteen

THEY SAY CURIOSITY KILLS the cat, and if Colin was one, he'd be long gone by now.

"I think this is it." Sadie stops in front of a red brick building. She looks down at her phone, then back at the structure to double-check.

Colin surveys the apartment. There's some moss growing on some of the terracotta bricks and old watermarks on the wall, left by rain dripping down the building over the years. A small staircase leads up to the main door, which is adorned by a number of potted plants, as well as a small rack which holds a single red umbrella.

Sadie will be moving here by next week. She'll be finalizing the paperwork today after checking out the apartment in person.

She told everyone over dinner the night before. Drew and Perry reacted exactly as one would expect them to (re: totally dramatic and over the top). They did their best to make her reconsider leaving, much to Sadie's amusement. They did not, however, ask about her new apartment as much as Colin hoped they would, leaving him brimming with questions he couldn't bring himself to voice out.

But try as he might, he couldn't just leave the matter alone. He kept to himself for most of the night, restless, and in the darkness of the room, just before they could both fall asleep, he found himself saying, "I'll come with you tomorrow."

"What?"

"I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do."

"You don't have to worry about me, you know," she replies. "I'll be fine."

But that was the thing though. Colin can't bring himself to believe her, and that's how he found himself here: Standing in front of what's likely to be Sadie's new place with none other than Sadie herself.

"Looks cute, right?"

He looks back at the building and shrugs. "I guess."

A woman with thick, brown hair and even thicker framed eyeglasses ushers them in. She introduces herself as Meera.

"Yours will be on the third floor," she tells Sadie, her voice mellow, with an accent he can't quite place. "The elevator works, but I'll be honest, it has its moods sometimes."

"Don't we all?" Sadie responds as the elevator door opens.

"That we do," Meera agrees with a small smile.

They all step in. The light above flickers slightly and the doors have to try twice before shutting close. It does seem to be working fine though, to Colin's surprise.

There are four rooms on the third floor. Meera leads them to Room 304. It's a small, studio space, with a loft bed on one side of the room. A desk sits below the loft, illuminated by the morning light filtering in through the window. It does have its own bathroom and a small kitchenette. There's also a small, circular table opposite the loft, likely the designated dining area.

Meera and Sadie talk over the details of the lease. Colin lets them be, opting instead to look out the street below through the window.

It's not that far from their apartment. A twenty-minute walk maybe? There's the bus too, which would be significantly faster. The place itself is tidy and looks quite cozy, and Meera seems nice enough for a landlady. There's a laundry area on the first floor that was pointed out to them earlier, too.

"So, what do you think?"

He looks over his shoulder to see Sadie walking towards him. Meera seems to have left for a moment, leaving the door open behind her.

"I mean, it's not much," she adds, "but I do think it's a good find, this late into the school year."

"Sure."