Another Broken Girl

Chapter 1

"Who's this?" James asks with a slight smirk.

"The new taker of room 118. Also known as my sister." Leo says going to the elevator that is right next to the desk. The elevator opens and we both step into it.

"Cool." James says faintly resuming to his magazine.

"Don't even think about it." Leo says to me as we are waiting for the elevator to get to the third floor.

"What?" I ask.

"I am fully aware of your one night stands missy." he says tisking at me while moving his finger at me disapprovingly.

"Says you." I say in defense.

"For your information, I actually have a girlfriend that I care about. Her name is Nikki." he says looking at me.

"Whatever. How do you know about that anyway?" I ask.

"Jay."

"Of course." I say rolling my eyes. Jay is my best friend back in New York. I told him everything. "I don't even do that anymore."

"Sure you don't." Leo says sarcastically. Before I can defend myself the elevator door opens.

"He isn't even cute." I lie.

"I saw you smiling at him too."

"To be polite." I lie.

"Sure."

"I wasn't even thinking that anyway." I lie.

We approach closer to the room. The hallway is narrow and dim. The carpet has stains that are most likely from a party because of the smell of beer.

110... 112... 115... 118.

We stop in front of a wooden door with silver numbers that print "118." I hate to admit it, but I'm scared.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Leo asks holding out keys. I think he catches my uncertain expression because he tells me, "C'mon, I promise it isn't as bad as it looks."

I take the keys from him hesitantly. This is my new home. My new surroundings. My new life.

I put the keys into the round handle and turn it. As I open the door Leo puts his hand on my shoulder reassuringly. There is a short hallway once you enter and a door to the right. I walk into the hallway and open the door. It's a closet. I walk in deeper into the room and to my right there is a decent sized open space which I assume is the living room. To my left is the kitchen that has a divider between it and the dining room where a wooden table stands. The table looks like a used beaten-up one that you would find in a garage sale. I set my bag on the table and go into the little kitchen area observing everything. The whole apartment is carpet except for the kitchen which has white tiles. The countertops are made of cheap dark granite and the cabinets below and above are wooden. There is a small dishwasher diagonally under the sink. A refrigerator stands against the wall opposite of the sink. Leo walks into the kitchen too and sits on one of the stools against the divider. I didn't notice that the divider is also a table. There is three stools lined up against it. I have to admit that this apartment is pretty nice, even though it's small, and the kitchen is cramped. Oh, and the beaten-up table.

"I'm sorry that it's a bit small, but-"

"No, no. It's actually nice. I really like it." I say smiling while I run my hands on the granite countertops.

"Good, I thought you weren't going to like it." Leo sighs.

"The table slash divider is a good touch." I say pointing to where he is sitting.