Nothing's Guaranteed

Chapter 1

"Nice kicks." He calls this after me causing me to stop. Now I know I must turn around and respond because the last thing I want is for anyone in this building to mistake me for being unfriendly or unapproachable. If this is going to be my home I want to be as comfortable as possible. I slowly turn around and smile sweetly in his direction. It does not take much to catch his gaze because it never left mine even when I turned away.

"Thanks." He nods his head and smiles back. I continue to make my way inside the building. Before I open the door I hear Ms. Anne lock her car doors and start to make her way towards the entrance as well. I go ahead and open the door and hold it as China and Ms. Anne come up the walkway. I can not help but look in the guy's direction one more time and he has started back talking to the old guy he is sitting with but his eyes are still on me. I do not look for long and once China and Ms. Anne pass me at the door I follow behind without another look.

I observe the building as we walk down a narrow hallway towards the elevators and stairs. The walls are very plain and uneventful. There is very dim lighting, but only because some of the light bulbs in the overhead lamps need to be replaced. If I were apartment hunting and looking for a comfortable place to call home, this hallway would not put this place at the top of my list. I hope Chasity is able to keep herself safe in here. The hallway seems to go on forever but we finally make it to the end.

"Stairs or the elevator?" I ask Anne since the choice is really hers. I know China and I would take either one.

"Dearest, we are taking the elevator. Lord knows I do not need to carry anything heavy up the stairs. We'd be moving your stuff in forever." And Lord also knows we don't want that. I shrug my shoulders and press the up button. The wait is only a minute or two and the doors open up. I let China and Ms. Anne get on first and by themselves, with the bags they are each carrying, they take up majority of the space. One thing I hate is being pressed into tight spaces, especially when it could have been prevented.

"Um, Anne, I am not too big on tight spaces so I'll just meet you upstairs by the elevator door, okay?"

"You sure. sweetheart?" I nod my head yes and start to walk towards the stairs before she can question me further. Lucky for me Chasity is only on the second floor, or else I would have been forced to squeeze myself into that claustrophobic elevator with them. I make my way up the stairs and try to walk as fast as I can with all of my bags tugging at my arms and shoulders. I walk up the first flight and pause to catch my breath before I have to make my way up the second flight. As soon as I make it to the top a feel someone, or something, push pass me down the stairs.

"Ah, dang!" I slam back into the wall and I have to grab onto the rail for support from falling back down the stairs. It feels like a linebacker just rammed into me.

"Oh, sorry mi--" The voice makes me jump and I look down to see a very tall guy looking up at me. I didn't notice he was still standing there. He looks at me weird and I can't help but notice how good looking he is. Wow, is every guy here just automatically gorgeous? How do girls in this building function? For a while we are just awkwardly staring at each other, but after about two minutes he seems to snap out of it and his expression changes to a blank expression. His mind seems to flash back to what was previously on his mind and just like that our gaze is broken. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He swiftly finishes his way down the steps and I notice a little girl struggling to keep up behind him. She looks about six years old and she does not break eye contact with me until she can't see me anymore. That entire encounter has left me confused and frozen in my place against the wall at the top of the stairwell.

China and Anne are probably wondering what has happened to me. I shake the past five minutes off and proceed down the hall to Chasity's apartment number.