MY FOREVER LOVE

Chapter 2: The Apartment

After a restless nap, Zoe allowed her eyes to open. As she lay in bed eyes wide, thoughts whirling in her mind, she began to realize how difficult it was going to be to put her life back together.

She had sold her car, quit her job, and even canceled her lease on her apartment, which she was illegally sleeping in at this very moment.

Her phone buzzed on the pillow next to her. She picked it up and saw Kyle's name blazing on the screen.

This was just like Kyle. He would call her instead of running after her because that would be the easier thing to do.

She let the phone ring to her voicemail. This time, she had no plans of speaking to him again. There was nothing left to say. If he couldn't be faithful while planning a wedding with her, he wouldn't be faithful at all. So that was it – she chose to forget the past five years of her life.

She wasn't sure how she was going to tell her parents what had happened here, because she knew her dad Dave would fly over to Manitoba to kill Kyle and her mother Jillian would probably say 'I told you so'.

So, Zoe decided she wasn't going to say anything for the next while, at least not until

she had something in her life figured out. She didn't want to turn to her parents for help.

She allowed herself to get into this mess, and she needed to be the one to get herself out. She would come up with a reason as to why her move to Manitoba was delayed if her mother called before she was able to figure at least one thing in her life out.

She didn't want her parents interfering in every aspect of her trying to get her life back together.

Zoe sat upright against her pillows. All of a sudden, she heard rumbling in the next room which startled her. Zoe slowly got up and gently opened her door.

As she peeked around the corner she didn't see anything suspicious. But then, more noise followed.

Zoe couldn't decipher exactly where the noise was coming from, so she decided to leave her room to investigate. As she made her way around the empty living room, she heard further rumbling. Except this time she knew it was coming from her spare bedroom.

The spare room had always been just that. A spare. No one had ever used it, and every so often Zoe would wash the sheets to avoid dust. So when she heard noise coming from the usually empty room, she wasn't sure what was going on.

As she made her way to the spare bedroom, she saw the door was slightly open. She hid behind the solid white door, and tried to see inside.

There stood a young man, possibly late-twenties a similar age to her own, tanned, dark hair.

As he turned around, he held a box in his hands that looked as if it contained clothing.

Zoe decided to step out from behind the door frame.

As her glance caught the eyes of the stranger in her house, they both stepped back, aloof and surprised.

“What are you doing in my house," Zoe said, trying to sound calm.

Her heart was beating fast in her chest, and as she stood staring at this man, she knew she had no tools around her to protect herself.

“Your house? This is my house" the young man replied.

It dawned on Zoe that this wasn't her apartment any longer. She had slept in her bedroom while another stranger had been across the hall.

“I'm sorry. Let me introduce myself. My name is Zoe. Until a short while ago, I was living

here. I recently terminated my rental as I was supposed to be moving, but that didn't end up happening. I came back here, found it empty, and so I thought the apartment was still available" Zoe said frankly.

She realized how awkward it was that she had been sleeping in the other room when a stranger was in the house. Yet, in this situation, she knew she was technically the stranger. Somehow, they had managed to be in the same apartment and not even realize they were both there.

“I'm sorry – Zara or whatever your name is – but this is my apartment now, seeing as how I just signed the rental agreement a few days ago"

That explained why Joe, the nice old landlord, hadn't changed the locks. It had only been given to someone else recently and he probably didn't get around to it.

Zoe was shocked at how rude this stranger was being to her. She didn't expect him to give up the apartment easily, but she had at least hoped for a discussion.

She may not know this strange man, but she had hoped that he would listen to her story. She needed someone to give her some slack.

“It's Zoe, not Zara. I understand that this is an odd situation we both find ourselves in, and I mean no harm, but if I do not get this apartment back, I am as good as homeless" Zoe said looking towards the floor.

Zoe could see the young man looking her over. He scanned her head to toe and back. She felt like he was assessing whether she appeared homeless or not. The worry was displayed all over her face.

This was her only chance to convince this man that she needed help. She didn't know him, but as she stared at his face, she sensed a kindness about him, even if he wasn't being kind right now.

“I am sympathetic to your cause Zoe, but it doesn't change the fact that this is now my apartment and I am not going to give it up. You'll have to find other arrangements" the young man said, turning away.

As he returned to his boxes, Zoe could feel despair come over her. She didn't want to lose her apartment like she had lost everything else. This apartment had been her solace when she moved out of her parent's house. It was the first and only place she had ever lived, and she couldn't imagine moving anywhere else.

There had to be some other way.