I sigh.Renting this semi-detached house in Leslieville, a gentrified Toronto East neighborhood and dubbedtheplace to be, was too good to be true.I should have known better.
At the time, I was desperate to move on with my life.I finally relented and let Terry have our apartment—only for him to move out shortly after I left—and I jumped at the listing even if this place wasn’t the nicest on the street.
It’s a good neighborhood and minutes from downtown, where most of my clients are these days.And most importantly, I could afford the rent, barely, on my own.Reality bitch-slapped me when I soon discovered all that was wrong with the placeaftermoving in.
“Is it a dump?”She must detect the sad truth in my tone.
She’s known me since birth and married my older brother, Drew.Most of our conversations take place on many levels and many don’t even need to be verbalized for the other to get it.
Right now, they’re living in New York City and neither has seen my new home.I’ve only been in this house for a month and last we saw each other, over six months ago now, it was their wedding.
“I wouldn’t call it a dump.”Setting my keys and purse on the counter, I grab a bottle of water from the fridge.“Let’s just say, it’s one of the last houses to be renovated in this area.I need to suck it up and make this work.”
Tilting my head back, I take a long gulp of the cold liquid.I don’t have a lot of options.While Terry and I battled for our apartment, he stopped paying his half of the rent.Foolishly, I burned through my savings, covering his sorry ass instead of leaving him high and dry.
And why?All because I wanted to believe Terry was a decent guy and that, eventually, he’d do the right thing.Leech.Asshole.
For a while there, it looked like I was going to have to swallow my pride and live with my mother and stepdad.At thirty-one, going home with my tail between my legs was the last thing I wanted to do.
Thankfully, a new opportunity fell into my lap, with the potential to make more money as my own boss, at the same time, so I took my name off the lease, leaving my ex with the apartment.
“Paige, you could have moved into Drew’s.”
My brother owns a condo, a really nice one, in the city and it’s close by.It isn’t empty right now, but the lease is coming up for renewal.I didn’t want to even think about it because it feels too much like taking a handout and I’d feel too much like a failure.
“Paige?”Pippa pulls me from my sobering thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m still here.”Exhaustion hits me like a tidal wave, tenfold from only moments before, and I trudge up the stairs thinking of my bed.
All this talk of what’s wrong with my home amplifies what’s wrong with my life.Ditching Terry was my first smart move, and Pippa is right, although I’d never admit it to her, but I am a loser magnet.
I’ve dated too many to count and tonight only proved what I already knew deep down—I need a break from men.Maybe even a permanent one.
At the top of the stairs, a chill races up my spine and I jump, screaming at a dark figure standing in the doorway to the spare bedroom.There’s something familiar about him but it’s too dark to see his face.
My fingers squeeze the open bottle clutched to my chest and water gushes all over my top like a geyser.
“Sorry.”I recognize the Eeyore-like voice.
Joel Hummel, my landlord, steps from the shadows, arms out in an ‘I mean no harm’ gesture, which is the complete opposite of what I’m feeling in this moment.
His unforgettable mutton chop sideburns and greasy, longer on the top, brown hair is slicked back from his high, sweaty forehead.I recoil, swallowing my fear.
“What are you doing here?”I barely register my voice over the thundering of my heartbeat.
He gave me the creeps from the moment we met, but I squelched the vibe in favor of completing my quest for somewhere to live.I wouldn’t have to deal with my landlord that often, right?Boy, how naïve was I?
Now he’s in my house, late at night, without my consent.It doesn’t matter that he’s the landlord or has a key, he’s in violation of our rental agreement.Blankly staring, he fidgets from one foot to the other like a child.
“You can’t just come in here whenever you want.The agreement states you have to give me at least twenty-four hours’ notice and I have to approve it before you can come in.”
“I-I-I-I was f-f-fixing the door.”He hooks a thumb over his shoulder at the guest bedroom door.“It was at the top of your list.”He tries for apologetic, shoulders hunched in a less-threatening manner, but I’m not buying it.
Alarm bells ring in my head and adrenaline buzzes through my body as my mind races with how to get him out of here.It’s then my name comes at me, repeatedly, muffled yet frantic.With my phone still in one hand, I remember Pippa.
“Pip, sorry, one sec.”
“Are you okay?What happened?”Her questions are high-pitched.
