So she quickly stepped back inside and closed the door quietly. He probably hadn’t even checked to see if she was there, just assuming she’d be gone. After all, she’d told him she had a busy day away, taking care of things, so he wouldn’t press on taking her to the nursery.
Damn.
How was she going to get out of there?
For a moment, that burning question faded and she smiled. Kendrick was fixing her stairs! He wanted to keep her safe. How sweet was that?
But she still had one problem: there was no way out of her apartment.
Or was there?
She went to one of the only windows the place had, over the kitchen sink that overlooked the overgrown, unkempt back lot. It was big enough for her to fit through, though she’d have to climb into her sink to access it.
And it was quite a drop down. But a pipe ran the length of the building right beside it. She knew because she’d actually used it to climb up one time after locking herself out. Right at the bottom was the dumpster, so she only had to make it to the top of it.
That wasn’t too far. Really. That’s what she tried to convince herself of, anyway.
It was the only way, unless she wanted to stay trapped inside for a while. Who knew how long Kendrick would be working, though? It was imperative that Tonya make that appearance today while her two friends—Marissa and Monica, or M&M as they called themselves—were at Auntie Athena’s.
With that in mind, she drew a deep breath, held a moment, and then exhaled. Her nerves were steady enough. She could do this.
She leaned over the sink, opened the window, and then climbed up.
Her giant fake boobs scraped across the window frame as she slithered out, and for a moment she was worried she’d torn them. After a quick check, she found everything in place and her clothes intact.
So far, so good.
With her hands holding onto the windowsill and her legs dangling down, she reached for the pipe. There wasn’t a way to close her window. So, it would just remain open all day. That sucked. But there wasn’t much in there worth stealing. One look at the outside of the building probably told any would-be thief that much. She doubted anyone would take the trouble of actually climbing up there to the second floor.
It wasn’t easy to do, after all.
She was finding that out once again, only going the opposite direction: it wasn’t easy to climb down!
It was too late to back out now. Samantha was committed.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have the skill to match her determination. Her hands slipped and she fell straight down.
There wasn’t even really time to be scared. She landed inside the open dumpster about two seconds after accidentally letting go.
Bags of garbage smashed beneath her body. She wanted to get out of the rotting trash. But she didn’t quite have her wits about her yet. So she lay on her back atop the disgusting pile for a moment, groaning.
Samantha wiggled her toes and moved her legs. They worked fine. Flexing her fingers, she found they were all good, too.Thankfully. Nothing hurt too bad. She might be a little sore, though.
She was about to get out of there when she heard footsteps just outside the dumpster.
Crap! This kept getting worse!
“Hello?” Kendrick’s voice called. “Anyone back here?”
Something moved beside her, bumping her arm.
What. The. Heck?
It was almost as if a snake was slithering over her bare skin. She frozen in panic but quickly realized a snake wouldn’t be in the garbage. And whatever this was had fur.
A scream rose in her throat but she managed to stifle it as she noticed it was just a cat who was desperate to scurry away. Old cans and fruit peels shifted as the cat lunged up and away, onto the rim of the dumpster.
“Oh. It’s just you,” Samantha heard Kendrick say.
