Page 8 of Give Me Perfect Love

I sigh anxiously and open the car door. The hinges moan in protest, and the door makes a loud popping noise. I get out and walk into the lobby, seeing a sign above a door that readsoffice.

Nervousness causes me to take a deep breath.

Another new thing for me.

Finding a place to live.

I used to lie in bed at night and daydream about my own home. I thought how nice it would be to decorate it myself and have nice things to fill it with. Instead of a foul couch that had one too many cigarette burns and vomit stains from drug addicts who couldn’t handle the high.

And now I’m walking into an office, getting ready to speak to someone who can make this happen for me.

An older lady with salt and pepper hair is seated behind a desk in the middle of the office and looks up from her box computer.

“Hello, may I help you?”

“I called about an apartment.”

She nods and slides her glasses on top her head. “Follow me,” she says, walking around the crowded desk and past me.

We take the elevator up.

“This is actually the only one we have.” She tells me what the rent is as we step off the elevator and walk a little way down the hall. She unlocks the door, and it feels like a bag of cat shit is thrown in my face.

The smell is horrible.

Instinctively, I cover my nose and blink my eyes.

I take in the old carpet with too many stains and the walls with kids’ drawings all over them. She waits for me outside the door as I do a quick walkthrough before deciding someone died in here and I don’t feel like dealing with more ghosts.

“The carpet man will come before you move in, and the walls will be repainted.”

I nod and shut the door, taking a breath of fresh air as I do.

“You need some time to think about it?”

“Umm. I’ll get back to you.”

“Okay, but these fill up quickly, just so you know.”

We make our way back down and I can’t help but feel

a little discouraged. I wanted the first one to be it. I don’t want to waste my money on some hotel room. I need to find a place quickly.

And a job.

__________

“Well, what did you think?” Lucy asks as I open the car door.

“Honestly, I can’t believe she even showed me that place.”

She lifts an eyebrow. “That bad, huh?”

“Yeah. The next apartment building isn’t too far from here.”

“Well, let’s go.” Lucy tosses a magazine I didn’t know she had back into the car window before opening the door.

The ride is filled with city noises I’m not used to, the wind whipping through the old car, and traffic passing us. It’s exhilarating and frightening all at once.

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