My Dark Prince

Chapter Seven

I turn on my heels, go out of the bedroom, down the hall to the bathroom. I flick the light on as I cross the threshold. Kneeling in front of the vanity, opening the cabinets, searching for my travel bag. Of course, it’s pushed to the back, but then again, I haven’t traveled in a while. I put every last bit of my makeup into an oversized makeup bag that’s years old and sat it on the counter.

Standing up, I close the vanity doors and grab my toothbrush out of the holder. Putting it in the bag, I continue to grab my toothpaste, make-up remover, and moisturizer. I turn to the shower, pushing back the curtain. I grab my body wash off the rack that is still beaded with droplets of water from my recent shower. I contemplate taking my shampoo and conditioner, but then a dark thought runs through my mind. A devious smile spreads across my face as I imagine the outcome of what would happen if I were to put her Nair in the conditioner bottle. I shake my head at the thought and leave it alone.

I grab my shampoo and conditioner, leaving the shower looking empty except for her generic two-in-one shampoo and conditioner, I didn’t even recognize the brand on the bottle. It sat alone on the rack above a half-used bar of soap that had seen better days. She can have fun with that.

Turning towards the door, I take the make-up bag and travel bag I had crammed all my bottles in in hand and turned the light out. Now that I have everything I think I’ll need, I return to the pile in my room.

Duffle bag full of clothes, check. Laptop, check. Comforter set, check. Pillow, check. Make-up and toiletries, check and check. Now that I have everything together, I start planning which bags to take first. After contemplating for a few minutes, I decided the comforter set and bag of clothes should go first.

I grab the straps of the bag, slinging them over my shoulder. With the other hand, I grab the plastic handle on the comforter set. Doing my best to balance, I lean to the side to get out the bedroom door.

“Siree,” I speak out loud. “Come on.”

I find her sitting in front of the door waiting for me. She’s such a smart dog. I barely ever need a leash to take her for a walk. She listens very well.

She stands up when she sees the luggage I’m carrying. She moves out the way when I go to open the door. She stands bouncing from side to side as I open the door. She’s waiting for me to tell her she can go.

“Let’s go.” I tell her, nudging my head toward the door.

I didn’t have to tell her twice. Out the door, she went down the hall, stopping in front of the elevator. She knows where to go. I shut the door as I smile to myself.

Once I make it to the elevator, I push the elevator button with a pacing Siree behind me. She’s overly excited to get out. As soon as the elevator doors open, she darts in, circling the empty elevator. Tail-wagging as she waits for me. I push the button for the garage and the doors close. Almost instantly you could feel the humming of the elevator as it is set in motion.

When the elevator comes to a stop and the doors open, I see my Equinox. Not twenty feet from the door. Siree goes directly to the driver's side and sits down as I struggle to dig the key fob out of my pocket. When I finely succeed, I click the button twice and start the motor. Siree tilts her head to the side at the sudden sound, then looks back at me. I click the button for the back hatch to pop open as I walk to the back. I place the heavy bag of clothes in first, then the comforter set. I shut the hatch and walk back to the driver's door. When I open it, Siree jumps in and steps over the console, to sit in the passenger seat. I reach in and turn the knob for the AC. On full blast the AC could possibly give you frostbite. The Chevy has a damn good AC unit in it. Feeling the air start to turn cold, I look in the console to check if my spare key fob was there. It was. I c***k the window slightly before closing the driver's door. I walk back to the elevator clicking the lock button. The elevator doors take almost no time at all to open.

Stepping inside, I push the button to the first floor, or ground-level. That’s where I’m going to drop the letter off. Then I’ll go back for the rest of my stuff.

Upon reaching the first floor of the apartment building, I see the empty beige halls with red carpet that covered the building. The trim was white, which made the red-carpet pop. Three doors line one side of the hallway. At the end of the hall is the left corner to turn down that empty hallway. Across from the restrooms was a small front desk that had cubby holes for mail boxes. Easier on the mailman, I guess.

I search for the slot that has the embroidery of P.H. Wong. The elderly asian couple that owned the building also received mail here. Which was pretty convenient considering they only came here once a week to do maintenance.

I drop the letter in their box and head back to the elevator. It doesn’t take long for the door to re-open, and I enter pushing the number to my floor. The soft humming reverberates through me as the elevator goes up. With the ping of the bell, the doors open, and I exit the elevator, making that short trip down the hall to the apartment. I turn the key and open the door. Everything looks the same, no sign of the roomie and the douche bag ex. Good. I go down the hall to my room.

It looks so dreary. Dark gray walls, absolutely bare. With no sheets on the bed, it felt different. I throw my laptop bag over my shoulder, then put my bags on top of my pillow to make everything easier to carry. Grabbing the sides of the pillow, I make my way to the front door to the apartment, which I had left open. Pulling the pillow to my chest, I balanced the bag so I can pull the door shut behind me. Turning to the elevator, out the corner of my eye, I see the level number change.

Ping

The doors open, and who else but the very trash I was trying to avoid. They immediately pull apart, untangling from each other’s arms. Staring directly at her, I nod my head.

“Rey,” She said, shocked to see me. Carrying travel necessities, no less. “It’s not what it looks like,-”

“Really, Tiff?” I cut her off. “Because it damn sure looks like you lied to me, when I specifically asked you if y’all were seeing each other. But hey, maybe y’all are perfect for each other.”

I push past them purposefully avoiding eye contact with Derrick. The thought of seeing them all over each other has made me nauseous, and I am not in the mood for this bullshit. They immediately exit the elevator. Good. I push the button to the garage floor, but the doors didn’t close. They were standing to close for the doors to shut. There was no way the sensor could not pick them up.

Tiff stood quiet for a second, eyeing the bags in my arms.

“You going somewhere?” Her voice seemed to have some underlying disgust to it.

“Yep.” I said, keeping my tone flat.

“You’re taking Siree with you?” She started. “Because she whines when you leave, it’s kinda annoying.”

“Annoying?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. I can feel my blood starting to boil with anger. “What’s annoying is I have a backstabbing ex-best friend who thinks that they can do whatever they want with no consequences,”

I take a step forward and continue to lay into her.

“And an ex-boyfriend, who mind you, said ex-best friend said she hated the entire time we were together.”

I take a breath and another step forward. She steps back knowing I'm obviously in a mood.

“Then, the ex-best friend also starts lying to cover up the fact that she’s a two-faced b***h and thinks that someone wouldn’t find out. But that’s okay cause karma’s a b***h. You’ll get yours.” I tell her, then turn to him. “Don’t worry, yours is coming too. You two are perfect for each other.“

I turn back to her and turn my nose up. She isn’t worth an assault charge. I turn back to the elevator, pushing the button one more time. The doors close behind me, as I start fighting back tears.

My nerves are so bad right now. Mom and dad are gone and then to have to deal with them. I exhale a deep breath as the elevator doors open. I struggle once again to find the key in my pocket. Once I find it, I unlock the doors and almost drop everything trying to open the back driver-side door. How I accomplished opening the door with everything in my hands was beyond me, but I somehow managed.

I shut the back door and open the front. Once I’ve climbed inside and shut the door, as I reach for the seat belt. My hands are shaking so bad, I can barely clasp the buckle. Holding them out in front of me, I can see the unsteady shaking that has taken over.

Taking deep breaths, I try to calm myself. It takes a minute, but the shaking seems to go away. I click the buckle and reach for my phone to turn my Bluetooth on. Adjusting the volume and the station on Pandora, I put the vehicle in reverse, then back in drive as I vacate the parking lot. Getting on the road, I can’t help but think this isn’t real. This can’t be real! Can it?