Chapter Twelve: Taking Charge
1307 Words
Still bewildered and pissed at what she had previously uncovered, Hannah got into her car and made the 25-minute commute to Tucson.
She was a woman on a mission. She knew that she had a busy day ahead of her. Once she arrived in Tucson, she couldn't believe how free she had felt being there. She was so very happy to be out of Green Valley, and specifically out of that house! A place that once felt peaceful and calming to her now made her feel on edge, like someone was watching or listening to her every word.
The first place that Hannah went to in Tuscon was the cell phone store. She told the service technician to look over her phone from top to bottom and make sure there were no wire tapping devices on her phone or apps that would do similar things.
After about 30 minutes, she found out that her phone was clear from all of that, which made her feel a little bit better.
"So if he wasn't tracking my phone," she thought, then there must be other spots that she needed to look for.
After going to get her phone checked, she wanted to stop in at the local hospital and register as a new patient. She had not done that yet. So, Hannaha walked inside and explained this to the registration attendant her needs.
She then spent the next 20 minutes completing the appropriate paperwork and setting up an appointment for a few weeks out with a new primary care. Hannah knew that, most importantly, she needed to get on birth control again! Thankfully she used a condom with the sick fucker!
The next thing that Hannah did was go to a local bank and open up a checking and a savings account. She figured if she was going to stay in the area that she needed to get herself established.
After about 45 minutes in the bank, she had both of those two things taken care of. She felt a slight sense of accomplishment!
On her way back to her car, Hannah noticed a real estate office right across from the bank.
"Maybe I should go check that out," Hannah thought.
She desperately needed to find a new place to live. ASAP!
Just as she was about to leave the bank and head into the Realtors office, Hannah wasn't super surprised to see a text from Victor come through.
"Hey, Angel," it read. "What are you doing?"
Hannah held back the urge to vomit in her mouth. This man made her sick.
"Just out an about in Tuscon; nothing much," she replied as she started to fume inside.
"What are you still doing in the city? You've been there a very long time," he typed back?
"That bastard," she thought to herself! "I need to get my car looked at asap. He must be tracking me. How else would he know how long I had been in Tuscon."
The closest place that she could think of going to and honestly the only place she wanted to go to was Cole's Garage. She had mixed emotions, though, about walking in there.
"What if he was working? What if he wasn't? How would she feel?" she wondered?
She quickly put those thoughts out of her head. She knew that she needed to text Victor back. She needed to stay on his good side. She actually feared how crazy he was!
"I'm enjoying my new surroundings. Thanks for thinking of me. Don't worry. I'll be okay ❤️!" Hannah wrote back.
"Message me later, Angel," Victor wrote.
Hannah did not respond. It took every ounce not to explode on him in that moment
Now, back to business, Hannah redirected her anger. She then walked across the street. The sign on the door read, "Homez Reality."
"Good Day, ma'am," a short, friendly, red head greeted Hannah! "I'm Samantha; how can I help you today?"
"Well, I'm new to the area, and I need a rental, preferably sooner than later. What do you have for rent in Tuscon," Hannah asked.
"Yes, we have a good amount of rentals available in Tuscon, so you are in luck," the lady explained!
She then pulled out a whole binder of listings. There had to be at least 25 to 30 of them.
"Thank God," Hannah said to the Samantha.
"What are your requirements," Samantha asked Hannah?
"Not much, really. I just don't want to be in a bad neighborhood! Also... probably even more importantly, I don't want to rent from a man named Victor Chase. Do you know him," Hannah asked?
"Oh yes, I know Victor, quite well, unfortunately," Samantha said matter of factly. "That does limit our available listings though...substantially.
She then sifted through her listing book and took 5 listing sheets out.
"These are all that I have," she said to Hannah.
In that moment, Hannah looked defeated.
"Seriously, he owns that many properties in Tuscon," she asked the realtor?
"Yes, I'm afraid so," Samantha stated. "Everyone knows him around here because he owns so many places. He doesn't have the best reputation either! But don't let that get you down. Let's look at the other listings," Samantha tried to redirect Hannah.
Samantha then fanned out all 5 listings for Hannah to look at. She pointed to the first one,
"This one, I would rule out for you since you specified a good location," the realtor explained. "That leaves these four."
She next showed Hannah a 650 square foot apartment in a large, run-down building. Then, an 800 square foot apartment in a decent looking building, but with no outdoor space.
"I'm not really feeling any of them," Hannah admitted.
However, she knew that if they were her only options, she would take either in a heartbeat just to get out from under Victor's hold.
Samantha then laid the last two listing out side by side. One was an 1100 square foot apartment with a small private patio for $1100 a month. It was cute, kind of small, compared to her condo in Texas, but it was doable. The second was a 1250 square foot condo in the historic district, right above a cute boutique. It also had a cute rooftop patio. The cost of this one was $1350 a month.
She really fell in love with the condo. To Hannah, it had the best of both worlds. It had a decent amount of space, a nice neighborhood, and a view of the mountains from the rooftop that she currently has in Green Valley. It was quite a bit more money than the Green Valley place, but she figured she had plenty of money saved, that she'd bite the bullet and go for it!
"When can I move on," Hannah asked excitedly!
"So it will be available in three weeks. As long as you pass the reference checks, that is, you could potentially move in on the first of the month," Samantha explained.
"Three weeks, seriously? There's no way to speed up the process," Hannah asked anxiously?
"I'm sorry, no, "Samantha explained. "Would you like to go visit the condo, or do you want to start the application process?
"No, I don't need to see it. Let's start the process," Hannah stated with hopeful emotions.
This was it. This was her first step of getting out of that house, that neighborhood, away from Victor's hold. Hannah couldn't wait. The once beautiful home that she fell in love with had become a nightmare.
Hannah was also super happy to go to the city. That was where she wanted to be anyway. She should never have let him talk her into his play house. He had done it purposefully. He wanted her close to him. He wanted to control her, just like he did Allison and Elllen.
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