She’d missed a couple of decades of hers. “I’ll try to be quieter.”
“And don’t forget to lock the communal door. You left it open the other day.”
No way. My unwanted visitor had made me paranoid with regard to security, but I didn’t want to argue.
“I’ll make sure I do.”
I’d make sure to keep out of her way too.
But the place had its good points as well as the bad. I hadn’t seen any signs of the stalker since I left—although I still broke out in a sweat every time I smelled tobacco smoke—and my mind, which I’d temporarily misplaced, was slowly returning.
The alarm on my phone trilled, informing me it was time to get ready for work. I’d picked up a waitressing job for two days a week. The café was nicer than Buck’s—the tips were better, and the clientele didn’t try to grope my butt—but it barely covered my rent.
“You’re first on the list if more shifts come up,” my new boss told me, but I knew the prospect was unlikely. She worked most of them herself, and the other girls showed no signs of quitting.
And that meant I needed to look elsewhere for extra income.
Luckily, the public library was within walking distance of my apartment. I spent a morning there updating my résumé, what little of it there was, and printed a hundred copies. My hopes were high as I started to deliver them to local businesses, but with every rejection, my spirits sank lower. After two days, the only offer I’d had was waitressing Monday to Wednesday in a gentlemen’s club. Topless. I’d sleep in a cardboard box before that happened.
Shoulders hunched, I traipsed home at the end of the afternoon, running through the food I had left in the cupboard. Could I eke it out for another day or two? Think positive, Lara—at least you’ve lost a few pounds.
Of course, the landlady popped out as I tiptoed past. How did she always do that?
“You keep playing your TV too loud.”
“I don’t have a TV.”
“Don’t give me that. Young people these days, they’ve got no respect.”
“But I really don’t own a television. I haven’t even got a radio.”
“Kids were honest back in my day too.”
That was it! I’d had it up to here with that woman. I clenched my fists as I tried to stop my tears from escaping. “Look, I swear I don’t...”
I clammed up at the touch of a hand on my shoulder.
“Just ignore her,” a blonde girl who looked to be my age whispered. “She’s like that with everyone.”
The landlady glared at the newcomer, backed into her apartment, and slammed the door. My ally giggled. “Cantankerous old biddy. Don’t let her upset you. She’s not worth it.”
“It’s not just that.” I sniffed and resisted the urge to wipe my nose on my sleeve.
“What, then? Man trouble?”
I shook my head. “Right now, money trouble.”
She nodded sagely. “If it’s not one, it’s the other. Do you feel like grabbing a coffee? My treat—you look as if you need one.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or depressed by that statement, but I found myself nodding. “That’s very kind of you.”
“I’m Sylvia, by the way.”
“Lara.”
In the imitation Starbucks on the next corner, I told Sylvia a sanitised version of my recent move.
“You’re braver than me,” she said. “Before I came here, I planned for a year, and now I can’t ever see myself moving away.”
Brave? I couldn’t believe that. Stupid? Definitely.
“I’m beginning to regret leaving Baysville. At least I had contacts there. Job hunting’s so much harder when you don’t know anyone.”
She took another sip of her mocha. “It may not be something you’d enjoy, but would you consider cleaning? That’s what I do, and the lady at the agency I work through may have something available.”
I could clean. Heck, I’d had enough practice when I was with Billy. “A cleaning job would be perfect.”
Sylvia gave me Michelle’s number and promised to call her in the morning to put in a good word for me. Could this be the answer to my problems?
Meeting Sylvia turned out to be my lucky break. Over the next month, Michelle offered me a few days a week of housekeeping work in various hotels, covering for staff sickness and vacation. Some were nice, some not so much, but they all paid money and that meant I could afford to eat.
“They love you,” Michelle told me when I stopped by to pick up my pay