Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Kit seemed horrified. “Gross.”
“I know.”
“Did you sign a lease? Maybe you can take him to small claims court for the deposit.”
“No. It was a verbal agreement to rent the room week-to-week, and I paid cash for the deposit.”
He sat up straighter, with a determined look in his eyes. “I don’t know what to do about the rest of it, but we won’t let him get away with stealing your stuff. Show me that apartment listing again.”
One short phone call later, he had an appointment with the creep. “He wants me to come by at seven,” Kit said. “What should we do until then?”
“This.” I reached for the margarita pitcher and topped off our glasses.
A few hours later, we were back in the alley. I reminded Kit, “If you feel unsafe in any way, get out of there. You’re way more important than my stuff.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Give me a few minutes before you make your move. After he shows me around the apartment, I’ll get him talking in the living room. That’ll be your chance to climb in the bedroom window.”
“Okay. Thanks for doing this, Kit.”
He flashed me a smile and said, “I’m happy to help.” I watched as he jogged out of the alley, and then I began to pace. I was so nervous for him that I felt jittery.
Three or four minutes later, I climbed onto the dumpster, grasped the fire escape’s railing, and pulled myself up with a grunt. That wore me out, so I leaned against the side of the building and caught my breath for a few moments before climbing up.
As I reached the second story, I heard muffled voices above me and paused. The creep was showing him the room for rent, and Kit was loudly asking questions, probably so I’d know they were there. I couldn’t help but grin. He was about as subtle as a fart in church, but I appreciated the effort.
After a minute, the voices faded as they left the room, and I climbed onto the third floor landing. When I got a look at the window of my former bedroom, I discovered the creep had wedged a thick dowel between the frame and the sash, to prevent it from sliding open.
There was another window though, maybe five feet beyond the edge of the fire escape’s platform. Since that seemed to be my only option, I climbed over the railing, held on with one hand, and stretched my leg out.
I managed to get my toes onto the windowsill, and then I made the mistake of looking down. It was only three stories, but the drop looked treacherous, especially because I was slightly tipsy.
Oh man, was this how I died? Had the last twenty-nine years led up to getting squashed beside some dumpsters? That was such an undignified way to go.
I’d come this far though, and I didn’t want my new friend Kit to have to deal with that creep for nothing. I pushed off from the fire escape and hurled myself at my target.
Somehow, I managed to grab onto the frame as I found my footing on the narrow windowsill. Only then did it occur to me that I was totally fucked if I failed to get the window open. I was holding on by my toes and fingertips, without enough traction to propel myself back to the fire escape.
Okay, so the only way out was forward. I could do this. And once I got my stuff and it was time to flee from the apartment, all I’d have to do was remove the dowel and climb through the much easier window. That part was a piece of cake.
I fished my credit card from my pocket and slid it into the gap between the window sashes. The old-fashioned locking mechanism was pretty straightforward. It opened with a half-turn, which moved the catch out from under a metal lip. That was easy to do when you were inside and using your hand, but it didn’t give as I tried to rotate it with the credit card.
I tried tapping it with the edge of the card, and when it didn’t budge I hit it harder. I was steadying myself by grasping the window frame with one hand, and I almost lost my balance. A jolt of fear shot through me. I pressed myself against the window to keep my center of gravity from shifting and sending me off that narrow ledge.
My heart was pounding as I muttered, “Such a dumb way to die,” and tried again with the credit card.
It took longer than I’d anticipated, but eventually the lock gave, rotating just enough for the hasp to clear the lip. I stuck the card back in my pocket and managed to slide the window open a few inches. I used my foot to slide it up a bit more, and then I was finally able to reach down and open it enough to crawl through.