The lights that weren't completely shattered flickered as she walked up the narrow staircase. She shuddered as a cockroach skittered across the floor. This was a far cry from the Holbrook estate.
When she finally reached the fifth floor, Arnold, the owner of the apartment, was standing in the doorway, waiting for her. He had a large gut, and he was wearing boxers, a robe, and nothing else. She sagged. He wasn't like the shirtless marines she was used to.
"So you're the new tenant?" he asked. "It’s five dollars a night. You sleep on the couch. I sleep on the bed. Or you can sleep on the bed with me." He gave her a leer.
It’s only a semester,she told herself as she looked around the small, dark studio apartment. There was a small kitchenette that was covered in grime in one corner. The bathtub was right next to it. On the far wall was one small single window that was papered over with newspaper.
"Do you need a shower?" Arnold asked.
"No, thanks," she lied.
You can handle this,she told herself.You’ve had worse.
She decided to risk not unpacking her car. She didn’t want to have her stuff in the apartment and be trapped. She barely slept that night. She heard the man moaning and the telltale noise of him jerking off. She gritted her teeth and pulled out her phone.
Once I meet the other interns, maybe someone will need a roommate,she thought. She had looked at prices for places to rent. She frowned and did the mental math. Could she swing a better place? She wasn’t sure.
Holbrook wasn’t paying all that much. Even if she found a roommate or three or four, rent would still be a significant portion of her budget.
She missed North Carolina.
The next morning after she woke up, Allie checked on her car. Nothing had been stolen, thankfully. She pulled out her work outfit, ran back upstairs to the apartment, changed, and then grabbed Margot.
"What am I going to do with you?" she said to the dog.
"Leave her here," Arnold replied. He was eating some sort of goopy breakfast sandwich. She didn't want to know what it was.
"Where else are you going to leave her?" he said, grinning at her and reaching for Margot. In the meager daylight, she could see his teeth were yellow, and a few were gray.
"She’s not exactly my dog," she said, snatching Margot back. "She’s my, um, ex-boyfriend's dog. He’s a marine, and he will be very unhappy if anything happens to her."
"Understood," Arnold said.
Allie felt sick, but she had no choice. She set Margot down in her dog bed.The place probably has bedbugs,she thought, feeling herself itch.
She marched down the stairs and climbed into her car. She knew she should take transit, but she had to park her car somewhere. Holbrook had parking—she had checked on her phone. Their deck was expensive, though. She wouldn’t be able to pay for parking and move into a better place. While sitting in traffic, she looked on her phone for potential bartending jobs.
"I hate New York City," she growled. After being honked at and almost colliding with a bus, white knuckled and sweating from the stress, she finally drove into the parking deck at the Holbrook Enterprises tower. She took a ticket, parked, and tried to brush off as much of the dog hair as she could.
She inspected herself in the car's side mirror.
"I wish I had been able to shower," she muttered as she walked into the lobby
"Can we help you?" said the fresh-faced receptionist.
"I’m here for an internship."
"Yes, upstairs," she said, pointing to a sign. "Twentieth floor. You can’t miss it!"
Allie thanked her and found her way to the room. There were several other well-dressed young people in there.
"Food!" she said to herself and headed to the snack table.
"The granola is pretty good," said one girl who was standing there, eating.
"Oh yeah? Thanks. I guess I’ll try some," Allie replied, reaching for a bowl.
"I’m Liz Davenport," said the girl. She was pretty, with nice makeup.
