Page 94 of Unexpected

I wasn’t second-guessing my decision that Luke and I should continue on with our lives and not let her ruin something that I felt could be good. But the idea that she was unpredictable and obsessive had me on edge in a way I hadn’t been since Michael left. So, I tackled the stupid move-in checklist first since Savannah had already emailed me by ten a.m. reminding me it was due.

After inspecting my entire apartment, the only issue I found was with the lock on my balcony door. It didn’t latch properly even when I tried to force it down. I noted the issue on the form before grabbing my keys and heading out of my apartment.

Luckily, the front door lock was working as it should with the magnetic key the complex had provided.

It was still early in the morning and the cold November air whipped around me even with the hood of my jacket pulled snug around my head. It was because of the thick hood that I didn’t realize my new neighbor was also leaving until I heard a faint yet chipper “Hi!”

Startled, my keys fell from my hand, along with the move-in checklist, when I whipped my head around to see who was speaking.

“Oh shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” she apologized and scooped both my keys and the paper off the floor. “I’m just excited to have a new neighbor.”

She handed my belongings back to me, and I thanked her as my heart rate settled back down to normal.

“I’m Lexi,” she said, sticking out her hand and straightening her shoulders. She was probably around my age, maybe a little older, with vibrant orange hair. It was a stark contrast to her pale skin.

I shook her hand. “I’m Hazel. It’s nice to meet you.”

When our hands met, she tensed a little at my freezing cold touch, confidently squeezing my hand.

“How was your first night here?” she asked with a large, seemingly genuine smile plastered to her face.

“It was good.”

“Do you live alone, or do you have a roommate?” For a second, I thought about how odd it would be to have a roommate in a one-bedroom apartment, but I guessed it wouldn’t be completely unheard of.

“Nope, just me.”

“Me too. Well, I was just off to work, but we should hang out sometime.”

I hesitated for a moment. The only things I knew about the woman was that she lived next to me, and her name was Lexi. But I needed more friends; if I was going to make a serious go of living in the city, I had to make more friends that didn’t consist of my work friend, Stephanie, who I was rarely able to see, and Luke.Lexi reminded me of a friend from my childhood anyway. She was warm and exuded happiness with an unfaltering smile.

So, I pushed away my insecurities and my hesitance and agreed. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

“Perfect,” she said, bouncing on her toes as she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “Here. Give me your number and we can find a time that works for both of us.”

I typed my name and number in her phone before handing it back to her.

“Okay, I’ll text you and we can find a time to meet up.”

“Absolutely,” I said, trying to match her level of glee but knowing I was likely far from it.

She waved before she hurried down the stairs with her large bag slung over one shoulder and her laptop gripped in her hands.

I continued to the office just across the parking lot and turned in the move-in checklist. Savannah was less than enthusiastic about putting in the service request for my patio door; however, when I mentioned that I’m sure Luke wouldn’t mind coming over and fixing it for me if the maintenance guy was as busy as Savannah made him out to be, she immediately input the request and let me know he would be there the same afternoon.

The chick had it bad for him, and I mean, I couldn’t blame her—I also had it bad. But, come on. Enough was enough.

Back in my apartment, staring at the boxes stacked against most of the walls, I was feeling slightly overwhelmed. Restarting by myself and reorganizing my life was part of it, and I was accustomed to being alone since Michael was gone so frequently anyway. As I stared at those plentiful cardboard boxes that held my life, I realized that what was most overwhelming was that, for the first time in my life, I wasn’t dreading what was coming next.

The weight of my new life was heavy, but I didn’t feel it necessary to constantly look over my shoulder to make sure Michael wasn’t lurking and ready to start an argument. I didn’t feel the need to check my phone several times an hour to make sure I didn’t miss a call or a text from him. And I wasn’t staring at the clock, calculating how much longer I had to be in peace before he came back home.

Hindsight is a bitch. Looking back, I could identify that I should have never felt the need to do any of those things; I was scared to live my life in my own house. But in the moment, I rationalized all of it.

So, the cardboard boxes, and the new life, although daunting, were absolutely liberating in the best way. And in true form, I began to cry, happy and relieved tears.And each day, I seemed to mend and heal more of myself.

I wassotired of crying all the time but emotions were high.

The tears slowly subsided, and I was eager to get everything organized. I was in the middle of trying to decide which shelf my glasses should go on when my phone buzzed on the counter. Seeing Delilah’s name roll across the screen made me cringe—I had completely forgotten to give her an update yesterday, and I knew she’d be upset.

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