It's early Saturday evening, I'm alone in our apartment, sitting cross legged on the couch and working on an assignment. A quiet song is playing in the background. My phone rings, I glance at the screen, it's Lara. A few days have passed since Lara received that photo, since then she made sure to always go places with her brother, Elias. Since Elias doesn't drive, they catch a bus together to her destination. It's a hassle since most of Elias' activities are all the way on the other side of the city,
"Hey Lara!" I answer,
"Sofia!" Lara's voice is panicked, "I've got another one!"
"Another what?" I ask, though I know exactly what she's talking about,
"Photo of me! I found it under my door!"
"Just now?"
"Yes!"
"Are you alone?"
"No, my brother's home, but I don't know what to do anymore! I can't live like this!" I can hear Elias speaking softly in the background,
"Have you told the police?"
"I called them as soon as I got it. They're on their way, they'll try and see if anyone has been around our building and check any street cameras. But there's no use! I know they won't do anything about it!"
"Where was the photo taken?"
"It's me walking out of the theatre after our last dance rehearsal"
"Does it say anything?"
"Yes, it says in the same black letters as before, I hold you while I fall asleep each night"
We're both silent after she reads it out. I remember the last photo said this photo is one of many. And now this. What a sick person.
"Did you install a camera outside your front door?" I ask,
"We bought one yesterday but didn't get to installing it. We'll do that today"
I hear sharp steps outside the apartment, then the door opens. Daniel walks in. We make eye contact but seeing I'm on the phone he doesn't say anything. He walks past me to his room. I feel my hand going white as I clutch the phone harder. He had missed his fight the night Lara was followed. He has a scratch on his face. He wore a black hoodie. The words keep replaying in my mind. What if his room is filled with photos of Lara? What if I was to walk in there right now and see them?
"Sofia?" Lara asks, I realise I hadn't spoken since Daniel walked in,
"Sorry. I'm just thinking..." I say,
Daniel walks out of his room, changed into workout clothes. He grabs an energy drink from the fridge then with a little wave my way he leaves the apartment. I'm alone once again. My heart is thumping as I stare at his bedroom door. What if I go in right now? Just quickly, walk in and look. And then when I don't find any photos, I'll feel better.
"The police just came" Lara speaks, "I have to go"
"Okay, stay safe Lara. Don't go anywhere without Elias, okay?"
"Okay"
"Call me when they leave"
"I will"
The call ends. I stand up, glance at the front door. This is my chance. Now or never. First I check that the front door is locked, then I quickly run to Daniel's room. I grab the handle, only stall for a moment, then push the door open. His room is bigger than mine and Nina's. On the right side of the room, hanging from the ceiling, is a large black boxing bag. Well used from what I can tell. To the left is a double bed, sheets thrown over messily. There's also a desk and a bedside table. Nothing too unusual, no photos of Lara hanging on the wall. But what if they're hidden somewhere?
It takes me a moment to gather enough courage to step inside, but once I do, I'm all action. I first go to his night table. On it is a bronze, simple lamp with no light globe. I open the drawers, but there's nothing there, just a few personal belongings. I move over to the desk, there are some papers on it. I skim through them quickly, it's all stuff relating to his sport and some random forms and documents. I feel like a stalker myself when I can't stop myself from checking which state he was born in, and his date of birth. He's 22 now, three years older than me. What makes me pause is an old looking drivers license, on it he is a little younger, but his name on the license isn't Daniel Rusu, it's Marvin Richards, all the other details are the same. All other documents I skimmed through said Daniel, so why is this one different? Why does he have a fake license?
I open the top drawer of the desk, pausing when I see two knives and an object that takes me a moment to recognise. Knuckle dusters. I've seen them in movies, never in real life. I shiver. But this doesn't prove anything. He fights for a living. Maybe he's into weapons too. Still, it's unsettling to know he has these in his room. I close the drawer, open the one beneath it. There's an envelope, I pick it up, look inside. Photos. My hand trembles. I close my eyes. Please, let it not be Lara. Please. I open my eyes, pull the three photos out. It's not Lara. It's a young, blonde girl. She's attractive, tall and slender. The photos of her are all taken in winter, outside. She's posing in all of them so they weren't taken in secret. I drop the envelope back in.
There's one last drawer at the bottom, and then there's the wardrobe. As I open the last drawer, I see a bunch of papers scattered over it. I gather them in one hand, picking them up.
I gasp, the papers in my hand drop to the ground. On the bottom of the drawer, hidden beneath the papers, is a gun. Just in that moment, Daniel's bedroom door opens. He stands tall at the door, looking me straight in the eye. For the first time since I met him, his eyes have a threatening, dangerous shine. I swallow.
"What are you doing here?" his voice is so low it travels down my spine. I clench my hands into fists, my mind begs my body to be brave,
"I- um â nothing," I stumble over the words, "I needed to talk to you... I â I thought you were in here"
"What are you looking for?" he asks, he walks forward, towards me, I take a quick step back, further into the room.
"Nothing" I say, my voice feels dry. Not breaking eye contact, Daniel kicks the gun drawer shut with his leg, the loud slamming sound makes me jump. He tilts his head,
"Why are you scared of me?" he asks,
"I â I am not"
"You are"
"I just... I just want to leave" I say,
"Am I stopping you?" he asks mockingly. My eyes seek out the bedroom door, it's behind him, I have to walk next to him to get out. I step towards his bed, he doesn't move, only turns his body on the spot so he's constantly facing me. I eye the distance from me to the door. Be brave. Three. Two. One. I move forward, past him, through the door. He doesn't even try to grab me. I don't stop until I'm the furthest I can be, in the kitchen. He follows me out of the room.
"What were you looking for?" he asks again. Now that I'm standing far from him, I feel better. If he was to come at me, at least I stand a chance.
"Where did you get the cut?" I ask,
"What cut?"
"The one on your face"
He frowns in question, for a moment he keeps quiet,
"From a fight" he says,
"Phil said you didn't go to a fight that night"
He looks even more confused now. He's staring at me like I'm losing my mind,
"What night?"
"The night you got the cut"
"What's it to you?" he asks,
"Why do you have a gun?" the question pops out of my mouth,
"Why were you searching through my stuff?" he asks instead of a response, I'm about to respond when he makes a step forward,
"Don't!" I shout, he stops abruptly, "don't come near me!"
"The hell, Sofia!" he yells, "why are you scared of me? We hardly spoke ten words since I met you!"
"I'm not scared of you..." I lie, "but... but you're angry!"
"Damn right I'm angry! What gives you the right to snoop through my shit than stand there in front of me demanding answers!"
I feel like I could cry from relief when I see Nina walking in through the front door. She's frowning, she must have heard the noise from outside,
"What's happening?" she stares accusingly at Daniel,
"That's what I'd like to know" Daniel says and storms into the kitchen, I almost get a heart attack from his sudden movement into my space. He acts like I'm not there, reaches behind me and grabs his wallet off the counter, then turns his back to me and storms out of the apartment. Only then does my heart resume its beating.
"What was that?" Nina asks. Shaken up, I run straight into her arms.