The Apartment - K. L. Slater Page 0,11

at me as she goes.

6

I don’t mention Skye’s comment about the little girl to Brenna and Viv when they reappear with packing boxes marked ‘kitchen’ and ‘essentials’.

I’m not sure why I decide to keep quiet, it just seems so bizarre and they’re already a bit freaked out by Audrey Marsden as it is. The last thing I want is for any more embarrassing comments to be flying around.

Skye has such an active imagination, and besides, Dr Marsden has already said that we’re the first tenants in the apartment.

Still, even as Viv and Brenna begin unpacking the boxes, it niggles.

‘Listen, will you two be OK to stay here with Skye if I just pop downstairs to see the Marsdens? They’ve asked if I can meet a few people, and I don’t want them to think me rude.’

‘Sure,’ Brenna murmurs, leafing through a Gordon Ramsay cookbook she just unearthed. ‘Go knock yourself out with the Dr Dee-ath and his vampire bride. And don’t worry, if you’re not back in thirty minutes, we’ll come looking . . . armed with a bunch of garlic and a silver cross.’

‘Don’t!’ I quickly paste a smile on my face when they both look up at my snappy tone. ‘You’re freaking me out.’

‘Hey, chill out, it’s only a joke, Freya!’ Brenna grins. ‘Hurry up, we’ve got a bottle of fizz on ice to toast your new beginning here. That should loosen you up a bit.’

I pop my head around Skye’s door and smile when I see she’s deep in conversation with a circle of soft toys who are, by the looks of it, being treated to an impromptu tea party.

I decide to leave the apartment without disturbing her.

The house is blissfully quiet as I pad downstairs, and I’m already feeling brighter as I absorb my spacious surroundings and look out of the large windows at the front of the house, at the blue sky and fluffy white clouds.

Each landing is spotless. The wooden floors gleam and the ornate banister rails shine in the hazy sunshine that filters in through the glass.

I linger a little on the second and first floors, outside the grand mahogany doors, to see if I can detect the sound of voices beyond, perhaps a television or music playing. But there is nothing but the sound of my own breathing.

Back down on the ground floor, I stand on the bottom step for a few moments before tapping lightly on Dr Marsden’s apartment door.

I hear footsteps approaching, and the door quietly clicks as it opens to reveal Audrey Marsden. Her skin stretches tightly, as if her face is struggling to accommodate the smile.

‘Freya. How nice you’ve been able to pop down so quickly,’ she says in that deep, hypnotic tone of hers. She tips her head to see behind me. ‘But no little one with you?’

‘My friends are looking after her for a few minutes,’ I explain as she signals for me to step inside. I slip off my shoes at the door, and Dr Marsden himself appears, ushering me into the lounge.

‘The removals went smoothly, I trust?’

‘Yes, thank you.’ I smile. Then something occurs to me. ‘Thanks for recommending them, but they seem to think the bill has been already paid.’

‘And so it has.’ Dr Marsden beams.

‘What? I mean . . . thank you, but there was no need. If you let me know how much it—’

‘Think nothing of it, dear.’ Audrey waves my concern away. ‘We’re good friends with the owner of the company.’

‘Oh, I can’t let you do that,’ I say lightly.

‘It’s done,’ Dr Marsden insists.

‘Thank you so much.’ My throat feels tight. That has saved me a lot of cash, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable that they’ve taken it upon themselves to pay without mentioning it to me first.

‘Now. We thought it might be nice for you to meet one or two of our other residents on your first day here, but there’s only one home apart from us,’ Dr Marsden says, seeming to watch for my reaction. ‘That’s if you’d like to, of course.’

‘That would be lovely,’ I say, more confident than I really feel.

He looks pleased. ‘We’re quite a close-knit bunch here. Don’t get me wrong, we don’t live in each other’s pockets by any means, but you can rest assured there’s always someone around if you need any help. We pride ourselves on that.’

‘This is not the kind of place where you will ever feel alone,’ Audrey adds.

I draw in a breath. ‘Actually, Skye mentioned something