"In a storm drain?" Roxi asked.

"That's what she said!" Garofița said, trying to keep her voice calm but failing. She clutched Roxi's hand as they, Mihai, Gabi and Mr Marius walked around the periphery, all eyes pointed to the ground.

That morning she lay on her back in the silent house, save for Buddy and Walker's snoring. At some point during the night Buddy's head slid down to her chest, where he was rocked by her breathing. Garofița was half-awake, but her eyes were glued firmly shut and her limbs were heavy. The air was cold and stung her nose, and birds sang to welcome sunlight.

She basked in this calm for half an hour, slipping in and out of dreams, until one of them reminded her of what Smaranda told her about Aurora, and Garofița woke up so fast that poor Buddy went flying.

"You believe what that fairy said?" Marius asked, yawning. "You sure about that?"

"Yes! I believe her!" Garofița said, quick to exasperation when stressed. She kept glancing towards her house, praying to every God that her pets behaved and stayed quiet.

"A weird lead is better than no lead, bro! I mean, Sir!" Gabriel said, looking through the empty dilapidated house across the street from Garo's, even though he already looked there and he was wasting time-

"How does a fae know what a storm drain is?" Mihai asked.

"I don't know!!" Garofița said.

"She probably heard someone say it." Roxi said, caressing Garo's hand around her own.

"I thought they were all really archaic." He said. "Like the Amish."

"Dude, what?" Gabi asked.

"I don't know! You're the expert!"

"I'm not a fae expert."

"You're the only one of us in college, you should theoretically be the smartest."

Mr Marius barked out a loud laugh.

"Can we please keep looking?!" Garofița said through her teeth.

"Yu-huuu!" Mrs Delia walked up to them from the other end of the street. She was wearing an orange sweater with dark blue jeans and light green jewelry. "Goodness, this street hasn't seen so much activity since the 90s!"

"What happened in the 90s?" Roxi asked.

"People doing drugs wherever they could." She casually said, hands on her hips. "Ooh, lordie, this part of town used to be really bad. The kind of place where it wasn't recommended you walk around at night alone."

Garo's current anxiety was interrupted for a moment by another one. "My house was a drug house?!"

"Maybe! I don't know, I only opened my shop in the 2000s."

"... oh God."

"I think I found it!" Mihai called out from a few meters away. Garofița almost ran towards him.

On the edge of the periphery, where the street abruptly ended, on one side old buildings and on the other the forest, there was one storm drain. It was wide like a crate for fruit, covered by blackened metal, and the concrete of the road warped to the grating's holes as if the water had carved a valley. Yellowed moss grew along the edges of the metal.

Gabriel turned on his phone's flashlight and peered down, Garofița looking with him. She moved away when she realised they were sitting with their faces almost pressed against each other. He did not seem to notice. Gabi's eyes looked cloudy, to be honest.

"Yeah, I guess someone could fit in there." He declared. "Alright! Let's check!"

Mihai made the motion to grab hold of the grating, then remembered Garofița was there and he looked at Mr Marius for help.

"Gabriel," Mr Marius cleared his throat, "you're as determined about this as Garofița, it seems."

How else was she supposed to be?! she thought and glared at him.

"I really, really want to figure out what's going on." Gabi nodded, blinking slowly. Did he not sleep either? "I want to get it over with."

"For your paper?" Garo asked.

"You know... you know when you have a song stuck in your head?" Gabi said. "And you have no access to a phone or computer to look it up, and even if you did nobody knows what the fuck you're talking about? And then that song keeps playing in your head over and over, even while you sleep, like an itch inside your skull you can't reach because bone is in the way? And also you have untreated OCD?"

"Uhhh-"

"So the more you try not to think about it, the more it pops up, like there is an entity in your head that shoves thoughts you don't want to the forefront, and the more you try to fight it or ignore it, the more it tries and morphs them into worse things that it knows will upset you, like hmmm, I wonder if this is what it looked it when those cultists were raping that girl? So you keep researching and looking and thinking, because if you figure out that song maybe it will all finally stop and you won't feel like you failed this random girl you don't even know?"

While Garofița was looking at Gabriel and listening to him with deep concern, Mihai lifted the metal grating like it was nothing, raining dust and rust. Marius nodded and Roxi looked at them with the corner of her eye.

"W-Wait, that's OCD?" Garofița asked.

"One of the ways it can happen, yeah." Gabi rubbed his face.

"I'm not crazy?" She said.

"Of course not!" Roxi hugged her lightly from the side. Garo's eyes fell back to the drain and, to her surprise, it was already uncovered.

"Honey, you should ask somebody else to do this investigation if it's affecting you this much." Mrs Delia told Gabi.

"No. I'm weaponizing it." He grunted out.

Garofița was about to ask about the drain when Gabi looked with the flashlight again. It led to what looked like a small tunnel with a very low roof, a smell of stale water emanating out.

"Garo's tiny enough to fit. I'm jokin'." Mr Marius said when she looked at him scandalised.

"Is the undead girl like Pennywise?" Mrs Delia asked like the curious bystander she was.

"I've been saying!!" Garo turned to her, quickly checking on her home again. Only a corner of the old house was visible from there, but still too much for her liking.

Mihai slowly lowered himself down, hands on either side of the square hole. His chest bumped against the edge. Oh wow.

"Okay, gimme a second..." He said, feet reaching the floor. He carefully squatted down, knees pressing against the sewer wall, his head and arms disappearing through the hole. They could hear him move, shoes scraping against the uneven concrete. "Somebody could live here!" He said, his voice having a little echo. "If I crouch, there is space."

"Do you see anything?" Gabi asked.

"Come in! Us and Roxi could fit here!"

"Oh, for real?"

Gabi put his phone in his pants' back pocket and climbed down too, mumbling "ow... ow..." whenever the hard edges didn't offer any sympathy.

Garofița watched the silly scene feeling a little more at ease, but still nervous. Where was she, if not in her hiding spot?

"Is there anythin' useful down there?" Mr Marius asked.

Gabriel's hand shot up through the drain hole, holding a chocolate wrapper. "There's still some inside! It looks fresh!"

"Oh, she likes the same kind we do!" Roxi smiled.

How can you all be so calm?! Garofița thought.

"There's some leaves too." Mihai said.

"Anythin'... weird about them?" Marius asked.

"They're pretty! I would have picked them up too. It's like a little collection."

"Come on out, boys." He sighed through his nose. "Thank you, Garo. This was better than nothin'."

"Thank you too..." She said, trying to hide her disappointment.

"I'll fix you guys some coffee!" Mrs Delia said, pointing with her thumb towards her shop.

Adrian found himself in the Palaghiu Manor, sitting at a desk across from the vampire Mirabela. Miss Simona was arranging documents in a neat stack with Mr Robert at her side. Mr Eduard was standing off to the other side, chatting with a vampire named Victor. He looked like Bălașa, which made sense if they really were siblings. The small office was tastefully furnished, with dark-stained oak wood carved in beautiful shapes and authentic Persian carpets. The desk had a vintage lamp with a golden-yellow abajour, matching Mirabela's eyes. Do all vampires have yellow eyes?

Adrian had other jobs until now, at a fast food place for a year and at a thrift store for 5 months, but signing his name on those papers filled Adrian with a dread he could not precisely name. It felt like... he crossed the point of no return. Bălașa would not let him take one step back into Văleni if she found out he got hired by her rival. He didn't want to return, but to have that choice erased for good...

"Aaaand here!" Mirabela pointed with an acrylic nail to the last place where he needed to sign. He signed. She smiled with her mouth closed, either warmly or in amusement. Her teeth jutting out from inside made her cheeks puffy. "Welcome to the family!~"

"They're with Mirabela today." Mr Marius said as he sipped his coffee. "Adrian will start workin’ at Robert's car shop."

He folded that easily? Garofița judgementally thought.

"Good for him!" Mrs Delia said. "He'll learn a trade and make a decent living!"

"I tried to work with Mr Robert too!" Roxi said, petting the cat Sardine together with Garo. "I like how cars look, but not how they work."

"I doubt Robert knows that much either." Marius said. "He just tinkers 'til it works."

Gabriel sneezed loudly and startled Sardine, who ran behind the counter to Delia's legs. "Sorry..."

"Let's go to Amante." Roxi straightened up. "I'll make everyone hot mashed potatoes and beef curry!"

"For breakfast?"

"So what!"

Roxi, Mihai and Gabi lived on the third floor, apartment 10, and Adrian was going to live on the second floor, apartment 7, directly under them.

Apartments 2, 3, 4, 6, 11, 12, 13 and 15 were vacant, as they would be rented by students or construction workers who would stay only for a few months at a time. For the most part, whenever Adrian would climb up and down the stairs in the future, the building would be eerily quiet.

Apartment 1 was occupied by the landlady, Mrs Petruța Bisclavu, a former in-law of the Bisclavu family. Her husband, Jean Bisclavu's cousin, died of cancer when he was only 30, and she had been a widow ever since. She didn't live with the rest of the werewolf clan because, quote, "screw that fancy-pants shit, I was only there for Stelian." Still, her apartment was much bigger and nicer than everybody else's in the building. She seemed nice, although a bit crude.

"The vamp paid your rent for the next 12 months, but after that you pay it yerself. You bring it to my door on the 15th each month, in cash. I don't trust those banks for shit. If anything breaks in your apartment, you call me immediately, you hear? Don't try to fix it yerself, I'm not undoing your mess. You smoke?"

"Uhm, yes."

"Me too. Do it on the balcony or at least open the damn window if you're gonna do it here. That shit sticks to the walls."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You got pets?"

"No, ma'am. I'm allergic to fur."

"Perfect. If I catch you hiding a pet in here, I'm kicking you out. I don't care what the vamp says. I'm not cleaning dog piss out the furniture."

Apartment 5 was occupied by a man named Vasile, in his 50s who lived by himself. Both Mrs Petruța and Roxi warned Adrian that Mr Vasile doesn't close his door, which he found odd, but he didn't think about it too much. As he walked past apartment 5, he saw the door was wide open, the whole house visible from outside. Mr Vasile was sitting on the couch, unperturbed. He even waved at him. Adrian would later learn the door was always open, even at night, as was every door in his house. The only time the front door was closed was when Mr Vasile was away, such as for work between 8 to 4. Adrian would ask why and Roxi would say that Mr Vasile had severe claustrophobia, that he always needed to have a way out of a room.

Apartment 7 was Adrian's, and his floor neighbours were the Ciobanu family in apartment 8 and Mugur in apartment 9.

The Ciobanu family consisted of Doina, 80 years old, and her daughter Teodora, 60 years old. The latter was a widow as well, her husband having died of a heart attack. She never had children and moved in with her elderly mother to take care of her. Mrs Doina was bedridden for the most part, and Adrian would hear her walking frame scrape on the floorboards. According to Roxi, after her husband's death, Mrs Teodora became kind of a health nut, cutting out all salt and sugar and processed food from their diets. Adrian would see her walk up the stairs with huge bags of fruit and vegetables, and every other day she seemed to receive a package of vitamins or supplements or whatever.

Mugur (last name Mugur, first name unknown) was described by Petruța as "an outdoor cat that goes missing sometimes". Either in his late 20s or early 30s, he would be away for days at a time, doing God knows what with no way to contact, then return in the middle of the night looking haggard - according to Mr Vasile. One time Gabi saw him return on the back of a hunk's motorcycle, and another time Roxi saw him picking up a package. When she looked up the label, it was from a lolita dress brand. Mihai speculated he was a sex worker of some kind, but Hurrem didn't recognize him. Petruța said Mugur was the most diligent when it came to paying rent on time and that he kept his apartment pristine, so she didn't care what he did, especially if it wasn’t on her premises.

The 10th apartment was the Amante trio's, who said their door was always open (metaphorically) for Adrian. Roxi said he was invited for pizza and hummus spread on bread.

Apartment 14 was occupied by Crina, who was definitely a sex worker. She rented two apartments, this one where she lived and another one on the other side of town, much fancier-looking and strictly for welcoming clients. She was a pretty blonde lady with a pointy nose and a laugh like a squirrel. When she would go to work, she wore a very comfy-looking jacket and innocuous sweat pants.

Left alone by Mrs Petruța in 7, Adrian took in his surroundings. A plain and tiny apartment, frugally furnished with just the bare necessities. It was on him to give it a warmer appearance. To make it a home, he thought.

Adrian took a deep breath and sat down on the bed without a blanket. And so begins the rest of his life. It was an odd feeling. He thought it'd feel more exciting, that he would be happy and proud. Instead he was still anxious, still on edge. Because what now? What's next? Mirabela "allowed" him a lot of freedom on paper to do what he wanted. What did he want? He already completed running away. He didn’t think he’d actually finally do it, let alone consider what he’d do afterwards. Nobody knew him in Ferești, nobody cared who he or his family was. He was a blank slate. What do you do when you're free to do anything?

He took out his phone. Only 11 am. Days felt so long, yet it will soon be a week since he ran away. Were they looking for him? Were they angry? He hoped they were.

No message from Andrei. He did warn him that he won't say where he will go, in case they question him too. Andrei probably had a hunch, he was smart. They shouldn't talk for a while, for both of their safety. For all he knew, his lunatic of a father would threaten Andrei too, despite his uncle being in the police. Not that those guys ever did anything useful when it came to him. They probably would have done something only after he finally managed to kill Adrian.

He sighed.

Adrian missed Andrei. He didn't realise how much they talked until they had to stop. He was his confidant, listening to all his stupid ramblings and letting him spill his guts, no matter how uncomfortable or embarrassing. Adrian didn't realise how much he hated being alone with his thoughts. Venting to nobody in the notes app felt lame.

He got up with a huff. Stop sulking, do something useful.

His phone got a message and he looked so fast he almost dropped it.

"In the mood for Sushi? 20% off voucher if you order with Glovo today!"

"Oh, fuck off!" He said out loud. As if he had sushi money right now.

Adrian decided to go to apartment 10. They didn't say a specific time for eating pizza and hummus, but the door was always open so he could just say a casual "hi". And not be all by himself.

He knocked on the door and it was opened by Mihai. "Oh, hello! Did you settle in?"

"Yeah! Uh, I don't have that many things, heh."

"Come on in!"

He walked into their living room. Garofița was there, sitting on the couch with a cup of tea. Adrian froze in the doorway for a second before forcing himself forward. "Hello." He said.

"Hello!" She smiled. She looked tense too, but not because of him.

"Hi, Adi!" Roxi smiled as she searched through some cupboards. "How do you like your apartment?"

"It's nice! I like it." He sat down on an armchair rather than next to Garo.

"Oh, where is it...?" Roxi muttered to herself. "I'll be right back." She went into her bedroom.

"When will you start working with Robert?" Mihai asked Adrian.

"Tomorrow! I, uh, signed the contract this morning with Mirabela." He said. He thought he saw contempt flash on Garofița's face for a second, then he quickly looked away when she caught him looking at her.

"Good luck!" She smiled again. Her face was soft and gentle like Andrei's, but there were fine lines under her crinkled eyes that aged her, somehow. That made her cruel. Why did Adrian think that?

"Garo..." Gabriel came from his bedroom with his laptop. "You said that the fairy girl said the undead girl had a mole on her face. Right?"

"Yes, she called it a spot." She said, casual as ever.

"That matches..." Gabriel bit his fingernail. "And you mentioned she had a blueish puffer jacket. I have been lurking on a lost and found group in Văleni and somebody posted that their jacket was stolen off a clothesline, around the time Aurora escaped the morgue."

"The undead girl is named Aurora?" Adrian asked.

"Yeah. You're from Văleni!"

"Uh, yes!"

"Let me show you-" Gabriel reached for his back pocket, then made wide eyes. He slapped each side of his ass several times, but felt nothing.

"You lost your phone." Mihai said.

"I lost my phone..." Gabi whispered.

"Oh God, did it fall in the storm drain?" Garo frowned.

"The what?" Adrian asked.

"Found iiiiit!" Roxi returned, holding up an old and scuffed doggy sweater. It was pale green like matcha with a lot of milk.

"It's perfect!" Garofița lightened up, putting her tea down and taking the sweater. "Thank you so much! I'll pay you for it."

"Oh gosh, no need! I got it second hand too."

"Let's go get my phone." Gabi said. "We'll walk you home, Garo."

"Alright!"

"I'm gonna go home too." Adrian stood up. "I'm, uh, a little tired."

"If you need old clothes or stuff, I can give you some as well!" Roxi said.

"Thank you!" He smiled and nodded.

"Adrian seems like a nice kid!" Mihai said as they walked.

"Yeah, he seems chill." Gabi said.

Garofița didn't comment.

"I hope he'll like it here." Mihai continued. "This town isn't everyone's cup of tea."

"He can leave if he doesn't like it." Garo said quite sharply.

"True, true."

Garofița went to her house and let the boys go to the drain by themselves. She was grinning from ear to ear as she closed the door and went to Buddy.

"Look what I gooot!" She held up the sweater.

Buddy tilted his head, unsure what he was looking at. Walker recognised it as something similar to what humans wear on top of their bodies, but it was too small for him, so he didn't care.

"Come here!" She giggled, pulling Buddy into her lap. He looked apprehensive as she pulled the fabric over his head. It looked like a scarf. "Bend your leg, Buddy! Come on! Please! I don't wanna hurt your leg! Dude, come on! Ugh...! Thhhheeeere we go!"

With some more shimming, she managed to put the other sleeve on too, then pulled the rest of the sweater down to his butt, clipping it closed like a baby outfit.

"Tadaaaa! You look so cute!"

"Do you like it?" Garofița cheesed, fists against her cheeks.

Buddy did not move an inch, legs as stiff as sticks.

Walker didn't have many facial expressions, but he looked very amused.

"I'll be right back!" She said, leaving the house and going to the boys.

She found the grating taken off again, with Mihai squatting next to the hole, gazing down. His eyebrows were knit close in worry.

"Did you find the phone?" She asked.

"No!!" Gabriel replied from the hole.

"M-Maybe it fell somewhere else?"

"Fuck, what do I do?!"

"Do you think she took it?" Mihai suggested. "Came back to the hole and took it with her?"

"Don't say that." Garofița paled.

"We were away for like 20 minutes!" Gabi popped his head out.

"That's plenty of time to come and go!" Mihai pouted. "Maybe she saw us search and waited until we left." He pointed with a nod towards the treeline.

Garofița wanted to scream.

The boys left, Gabi dejected, and Garo went back inside. Buddy had not moved.

"I'm gonna lose my mind." She said under her breath. "I'm gonna lose my marbles."

Buddy watched her pace around the room with pleading eyes.

Garofița suddenly stopped and searched through her backpack. She found a scrap of paper and her pencil.

"You need to leave... How's that? Get out of my town is too aggressive, although that's how I feel... just... leave! Go somewhere else! I don't know, I don't fucking know..."

Buddy stood bow-legged, like a badly-made clay figure.

Garo stared at the paper with furrowed brows and a deep frown, wishing this would all be over already.

Be polite, or as polite as you can be with a dumb note like this. She felt stupid, but folded it up anyway.

She went outside and took the paper to the storm drain. She thought of putting it between the grates, but it would fall right through. After searching for a rock, she lodged it between the metal bars, the paper squeezed at its side.

When she was back inside, Buddy was still immobile.

"Oh my God, you are so dramatic!"

She poked him in the side and Buddy started tipping over like a falling tree. Garofița scrambled to catch him.

Adrian's phone was on the bed when it dinged. He lunged towards it but miscalculated the distance, only half of this body landing on the soft mattress. He stifled the groan of pain as he looked at the notification.

"Are you alright?"

It was Andrei!! Adrian climbed onto the bed properly and replied with a big smile on his face.

Andy

13:02

Are you alright?

Im ok!

I found a place to stay rent and everything

And a job too

Holy freaking shit

You didn't waste a second

Lol yeah

I'm really glad you’re ok

Thank you, dude 🫂

How are things over there?

Not great

Your dad made a scene at uncle's office when he went to report you missing, he ended up detained for a night

Lmao

He filed a report?

Your mom insisted he did, but it still took him a while

Probably too drunk to move his ass

Is mom ok?

She stayed with us, actually! Mom tried to talk to her again

While your dad was locked up for a bit

Thank you so much

🫂 🫂 🫂

Are you ok?

Yeah!

I'm ok for the most part

It's been a tense few days

More than anything, I'm bored

Lol

You were the only person I talked to at school

What about Damaris?

She's busy with the play

She was really mad when you left, she's still looking for a replacement for Audrey

Oh god I completely forgot

Sorry!!

It's ok, dude! She understood

Eventually

You know her

I forgot about everything

Can I ask something?

Shoot

What happened?

Adrian exhaled heavily through his nose.

Andy

13:11

Nothing out of ordinary, tbh

I already had my backpack ready

Then few nights ago he lost his shit again, as usual

I didntceven hit him back lol, I just waited for hkm to leave me alone

Then when the house was quiet, I took my syuff and snuck out the door

In the morning I took the first I saw bus

Boom, done

Please delete these messages

In case they ask you things

I will

I'm so sorry it came to this

C'est la vie

What will you do?

In general?

Work, save money

Probably move to Lautari or somewhere like that

Is it ok where you are rn? Are you safe?

Yeah!

I think

So far

Dude.

I am ok! Promise!

Ok…

I gotta run back to class. Stay safe out there, you hear?

Don't die on me

Pinky promise I won't

If you die, I'm using black magic to bring you back into a potato bag doll

Potato bag??

You'll be Potato Boy!

Nooooo

Ok, I really gotta go now

Take care 🫂, stay out of trouble

I will do my damnest

Adrian sighed and let himself fall back on his bed.

Garofița woke up to her own drool dripping down her cheek into her hair, and the crow outside cawing like a security alarm. The book she was reading was dropped to her side and Buddy was loafing on her other side.

She looked up to see Bezea giving Walker a three-piece combo knuckle sandwich. It didn't do much damage. Walker was looking towards the forest, but was lying back rather relaxed, letting himself be a training dummy.

"What's with all the noise?" She wiped her cheek and fixed her hair. Buddy booped her head with his snout. "Hi..."

Did she fall asleep? She felt tired after that stupid freaking morning, but she didn't expect to doze off.

Her spider was quietly wrapping a fly in white web. She couldn't see the crow in the trees nearby and it had shut up.

Garofița stood up with a groan. "Everything sucks..."

Looking through the window facing the street, she couldn't see anything there, neither bird or undead. She sighed, feeling ridiculous again.

She opened the front door and saw a piece of paper flutter down to the ground. Garo froze for a second and stared. It was her piece of paper. Her head shot up to look around the street, but it was as empty as ever.

With a start, she quickly reached down and grabbed it.

... Garofița felt awful.

The balcony barely had space for one person to stand there, but it was enough for Adrian. And the town was pretty in the evening as the sky turned orange.

With one hand he smoked and with the other he held the phone to his ear, listening to Andrei talk about school that day. His walk back home was a solitary one, so it unlikely anyone would eavesdrop. Ferești was quiet too, only a handful of people passing by below, returning after work or walking their dogs.

"So yeah, Damaris was pissy." Andrei concluded.

"Can't Alex play Audrey?" Adrian asked as he watched cigarette ash dive down, down, down to the concrete.

"Alex can barely remember his own name!"

Adrian cackled. An old man was walking his pomeranian and it glanced up with beady eyes.

"Whatever. How is it over there? Anything interesting?"

"Yeah, actually. One of the, uh, neighbours is investigating the walking dead girl."

"You live next to a cop?!"

"No, no! He's, like, a student. Cryptozoology or something."

"Ugh. I hate cryptids."

"Why? Some are cute."

"From afar! Not staring down at you in an abandoned building!"

"Oh, get over it already!" He laughed, trailing off as he watched a mom and child walk by. The kid wore a neon pink hat.

"So did they find the undead girl?"

"Not yet. They went looking for her this morning, apparently, and instead of finding her, he lost his phone in the process."

"Bruh."

"Yeah."

There was the sound of cars in the background as Andrei crossed a street. "I'm almost home. Can I call you again tomorrow?"

"Of course! Good night, dude!"

"Good night! Toodaloo!"

Adrian put his phone (carefully) in his pants' back pocket and took another drag, letting out a thin grey line of smoke that spiraled upwards. The air was getting chilly.

He scanned the street below one more time and jumped, his teeth pressing into the cigarette. Jesus, for a second he thought he saw Andrei, somehow teleported to Ferești. But it was just a girl that looked like him.

She stood on the same side of the street as Adrian, a few meters away from the building, and the more he looked at her, the less he saw the resemblance with his friend. She was just some girl, brown hair and... no pants...

... and she was looking up at him.

Adrian straightened his back, both hands grabbing onto the railing as if for support. His cigarette hung precariously against his lip. Was this her? Since when was she there? ...How loud had he been talking?

Aurora smiled indecipherably and kept walking down the street, beneath Adrian's balcony and out of his view. She did not have what he assumed at first to be an insane cleavage, but dark lines in the shape of a Y over her chest.

He stood frozen there for a couple seconds, then ran inside, cigarette flying down. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" He searched Gabriel's number before remembering he lost his phone. Would she answer if he called? Focus!

Adrian shook his head and headed straight to their apartment, quickly running up the stairs. He knocked with urgency, but there was not a single peep from inside.

"They're not home!" Mr Vasile the claustrophobe called out, making Adrian's soul leap from his body.

"W-Where are they?" He said.

"They're working at Amante tonight." He continued, leaning over the railing of the stairs from the floor below. "They're usually back around morning."

"Okay..."

He heard a door being locked. "I'm gonna go to Lidl. Do you need anything, sonny?" Mr Vasile said.

"No, i-it's okay! Thank you! And, uh, good evening!"

"Good evening!" He could hear his heavy steps go towards and through the front entrance.

Adrian hurried back to his own apartment and locked the door. He threaded fingers through his own hair, rubbing hard against his scalp. What now? What now? He remembered Roxi and Mihai had phones of their own and wanted to slap his own forehead. Surely they can talk for a second, even if at work.

He was about to dial when he felt his ear perk up to a sound coming from the building's stairwell. Somebody was walking upwards. Was Mr Vasile already coming back? No, it sounded lighter. Was it one of the women? Why was Adrian feeling so faint?

Human hearing is a remarkable thing. He couldn't recall any context in which he heard it before as reference, but Adrian could tell the person coming up walked barefoot, naked skin tapping against the cold concrete steps. He heard her make her way to his door, yet still flinched as if shot when there was a knock. Three times, not super loud, but firm.

Adrian clutched the phone so hard he could have bent it in half. His eyes were glued to his wooden door, alarmingly wondering how sturdy it was, how strong this 'girl' was. He screamed at himself in his head to do something, anything, but he couldn't move.

She knocked again, the same way. Patiently. Not like he could go anywhere.

Adrian stared at the door with huge eyes, an idiot thought convincing him that if he looked away for even a second, she would break it down. Still, his eyes dashed down at his phone, at the most recent calls. He blindly tapped the screen, eyes back on the door, and brought the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" Andrei replied.

"Hey, man! How you doing!" Adrian said very loudly.

"Wha-? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, me too, just chilling. I finished CLEANING MY GUN."

"...What?"

"Thanks again for it!.. Yeah, of course, you can come over whenever you want! We should celebrate you GETTING OUT OF JAIL!"

"..."

"I mean, you did do HEINOUS THINGS, but hey, I'm glad you got out early!"

"... dude, what are you doing?"

"Ahaha. Hahah. Hah... Yeah, man. Just don't tell your parole officer!"

The knocking stopped. As his charade went on he could hear her walking away, bare steps descending down the stairs until he couldn't hear them anymore. No fucking way that worked.

"What is going on?" Andrei asked, his voice stern.

"It's okay!" He replied with a deep sigh. "It's okay now."

"Are you in danger? I'll ask uncle for help, seriously-"

"No! No, it's fine! Don't send anyone! T-There's a homeless guy in the building, knocking on doors. I was just bluffing a little." Why did he lie?!

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll be fine. Don't tell anyone you're talking with me."

"Okay…"

"Sorry, dude, I got freaked out a little. Didn't mean to scare you too."

"It's fine, but please tell me if anything bad is going on!"

"I will! Don't worry."

"I don't wanna wake up one day and read they found your dead body."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic!"

"I mean it. There's a lot of weird shit out there. And well, what's the point of leaving a bad place if you end up in another one just as bad?"

"...I know." Adrian said, face tense.

"I gotta go now. Stay safe, okay?"

"I will."

"Good night...!"

"Good night."

Adrian put his phone down and sighed again. First day of the rest of his life.

Bonus Illustration: