“Hmm?” She kept her eyes on her phone as she turned on the stool at the counter to face me. Then she sat the phone down and really looked at me. “Ohhshit! If they don’t throw blood on you for lookingthatgorgeous this time, I’ll be shocked. That dress looks scandalous on you. It’s feminine and classic and enhances all the goods. It’s perfect!”
I swished around some. “At least I’ll be ready for the blood this time.”
She grinned at me. “Can I have it after you’re done with it?”
“For what?”
“My wedding dress!Duh.”
I looked around for something to throw at her.
“We have nothing,” she said, laughing toward the door. “I’ll be sure to pick up a few spiked balls for decorations on my way home. See you later,amica!” She gave Bambina a goodbye pat and then left for work.
I sat on my bed with the dress on, the quiet in the house making all the disturbing thoughts that were usually whispers seem so loud. When the weight of them became too much, I lay back on my bed, closing my eyes.
Somewhere between my eyes closing and waking up hours later, night had fallen. The candles in my room had come on, and the fan whirred.
I hadn’t put the fan on. Neither had I tucked the burgundy rose between my hands when I slept. I sat up, groggy, as if I’d slept for years instead of hours, bringing the rose to my nose. It didn’t smell fresh. It had that distinct preservative smell about it, the morbid perfume of funeral homes. It didn’t even feel right. It was cold, like it’d come out of the refrigerator of a florist shop not long ago, and the petals were stiff.
Even though Bambina wasn’t barking, it felt like someone was in the room with me. My heart beat so fast and so hard, even with the whirring, that I wondered if it was loud enough to be heard outside of me. It sounded like it was on blast.
Grabbing my phone from the bedside table, I dialed the number programmed in. Security answered a second later, and I had to clear my throat to get my voice to go up an octave. I gave him my room number. “I need someone up here. Now.” Then I hung up.
Shit. Shit. Shit. It almost felt like someone was sitting in the chair Aniello usually sat in, but it wasn’t him. I was terrified to do it, but I’d looked. It was empty, but the room didn’t feel empty.
“Bambina,” I called. I wasn’t sure what I planned to do. Make a run for it in this dress or wait for security to come in and look around. I just knew that I wanted her close.
She didn’t come running to me. She wasn’t even barking, which I knew was a bad sign. Unless someone wasn’t in the room with me. But at some point, someone had been. I didn’t dream up the fan or the rose.
I ran to the wall and flipped the light on. Then I went berserk when I realized she wasn’t in my room. I started screaming her name, looking under beds, in closets, in every room and in every possible space we had. I was past the point of sanity when the door to the condo opened and the security guy walked in.
Holding my dog.
He only had enough time to put her down before I lunged for him.
“What the fuck?” he said when he finally was able to keep my arms down. “I brought your dog back.”
“Yeah,aftertaking her!” I was breathless, but it wasn’t from the fight.
“I found her ratting the hallways,” he said. “You should know better than that. You’re not exactly liked around here. If she means so much to you, you should take better care of her.”
“I didn’t let her out!”
“Someone did,” he said. “Are you cool now?”
“Depends,” I said.
“On?”
I flung my arms out of his hold. “Why you didn’t bring her to me sooner!”
“I tried,” he said. “I knocked and you didn’t answer. Figured you were tired. I know you work the night shift.” He shrugged. “She’s a cool little dog. She sat with me, and we watched the monitors together. It’s been a strange shift. A few of them kept going out. She’s picky though. Never met a dog who doesn’t like peanut butter.”
He was young and decent looking and one of the nicer guards—I wanted him out of my apartment before rumors started to spread.
I scooped Bambina up, planning on loving on her after he left, and opened the door for him. “I appreciate you keeping an eye on her,” I said. “It won’t happen again.” Suddenly, I didn’t feel like going into what had happened.
“You called before,” he said, studying my face. “Let me take a look around before I go.”
