Looking down at the silver band wrapped around my finger—the only thing that doesn't seem to be causing me any discomfort at this present moment—I sigh.
As the elevator nears my floor, I run my hands through my hair, tousling the already messy curls, and then drag my hand down my face, smoothing down my beard as I release a deep breath.
The door opens, and I'm greeted with darkness.
The hallway that leads further into my apartment is almost pitch-black, with only a dull glimmer of light pouring through from the kitchen doorway where the warm white strip lights sit under my cupboards.
Frowning, I walk into the apartment, listening for any movement, but the deeper I get, the more I start to think Alicia might not be here.
When I reach the kitchen doorway to the left, I peer inside, but nothing looks out of place. I continue forward a few steps and then peek into the doorway on my right that leads to the living room.
The moonlight shining through the large, floor-to-ceiling windows that run along the back wall casts a glow around the room, and as my eyes scan the area, I squint at the new items placed on the floor in the middle of the room in front of the black leather couch.
As I move towards it, I hear the faintest sound coming from the stairs that are tucked away on the other side of the room by the windows, and I whip my head around, expecting to see Alicia, but instead, I'm startled by a little shadowed figure bounding towards me.
Jumping backwards, my feet connect with something hard that's on the floor—something that shouldn't be there—and I go tumbling backwards, landing on my back with a thud and a groan.
Before I can even process what's happened, I hear an annoying, loud yapping sound before I'm attacked by a fluffy little ball. A slobbery tongue swipes across my face as tiny paws with sharp nails dig into my chest.
"What the fuck is going on?" I shout, grabbing a hold of my attacker and pulling it off of me so I can sit up and finally look at the thing in my hands.
It barks at me, and I physically jump back as I lower it to the floor and let go, hoping it'll run back to wherever it came from, but it seems adamant on torturing me because it barks again and then climbs onto my lap, nuzzling its face against my stomach.
Brushing it off my lap, I turn around to see what I tripped over, and I'm greeted with a hideous sight.
A miniature set of bright pink steps sit behind me, standing out in contrast to the white fluffy rug beneath them, and the black leather chair behind.
As if the creature can sense my confusion as to what they're for, it moves towards them and uses the steps to climb onto the leather armchair.
My chest tightens at the sight, and I step back in horror, thinking about how its sharp little claws are going to scratch up the leather.
It hops off the chair and trots out of the living room. I follow behind it in the hopes it's going towards the elevator and leaving by itself, but instead, it turns into the kitchen, and a second later, a lapping, slurping noise echoes through the room.
Stepping into the kitchen, I move around the island in the middle, peering down at the fluffy rat on the floor, and I choke on air when I see two little pink bowls with white bows adorning the outside of them, placed on the floor of my kitchen.
I'm losing my mind.
I'm sure of it.
There's no way this woman has brought a little furball with her to my apartment.
Jesus Christ.
This is my worst nightmare.
I jinxed things. I said to Jaylen earlier she'd have another thing coming if she turned my apartment into a pink wonderland, and now the universe is punishing me, playing some sort of cruel trick on me.
Not only are there pink items scattered through my apartment, messing up the usual aesthetic I've had for years, but there's a tan-coloured little rat here as well.
Glancing back down at the creature, I see it now staring up at me, wagging its tail excessively. I squint my eyes at it when I catch another flash of the colour that's starting to make my stomach turn.
It's wearing a fucking bow!
You have got to be kidding me.
I can't cope with this.
Shaking my head, I pull my phone from my pocket and go to type out a text to my new wife, but that's when I realise I don't have her number.
