We’d find her. I knew this. Cora was too strong-willed and brave to give in. She’d fight and fight and stay alive for us. I envied that about her so much.
Ten minutes later, I saw my apartment building. It was still as broken down and empty as when I lived there, maybe more so now. The rent was low, and when you looked at the air conditioners hanging out the windows, the chipped wood in the balconies, and the faded paint, it made sense why. No one wanted to live there. It’s probably why I chose it. The fewer people, the better.
“This is it,” I said, almost embarrassed. They all probably had such nice homes, and I had this.
When we got out of the car, Priscilla slammed the door behind her and said, “You have power and running water here, right? ‘Cause I gotta piss like a mother.”
“We were at a diner ten minutes ago,” Max complained.
“I didn’t have to go ten minutes ago, Sherlock,” she sniped back.
My apartment was on the second floor, so the four of us trotted up the stairs. I did my best to keep up, but my heart was still pounding too fast in my chest and I was suffering from a lot of lightheadedness. Priscilla mentioning the bathroom made my stomach churn, and I wondered if I was going to need to throw up.
“Number 14,” I said, pointing to the door at the end of the hallway. They all walked in front of me as I trailed behind, but before they entered my home, I stopped them. “Wait,” I said. “Look.” The doorknob, which was usually locked, had been busted apart and was left hanging from a hole in the door. Someone or something broke it.
Max extended his arm out in front of us, and very quietly warned, “Stay back.” He gently pressed his hand against the outside of the door and pushed, but his face scrunched and twisted like there was a resistance on the other side. He pushed once more, and again nothing moved. Finally, he banged his shoulder into the door not once, but twice, and eventually, the thing flew open.
We joined him at his side, prepared to storm in together to fight off whatever intruder was in my home. We took a couple of steps inside and found nothing, only that one of my sofas had been used as a barricade to keep us out. Everything else was mostly the way I left it.
“Looks like you were robbed,” Priscilla said.
“No, that’s just how her place is,” Rickey replied.
I couldn’t even argue. The memories I had here were pretty horrible, and with my depression controlling my life, I rarely had the energy to pick up after myself. It was just wall-to-wall books and dirty coffee mugs. I barely even decorated.
Thud.
The noise came from down the hallway, and I think we all collectively lost our breath at it. Someone was in the apartment, probably hiding in my bedroom or the bathroom. It was a terrifying thought.
“What the fuck was that?” Priscilla asked, and Max shushed her.
I glanced over into my small kitchen and noticed the top drawer was open. It’s where I kept the knives. My first instinct was to go in there and grab one, and that’s when I wondered if it was the same for whoever was hiding.
If we were surprise-attacked, I didn’t know if I would have the physical strength to fight them off. My legs still felt like jelly, my arms were still heavy, my balance was still off-kilter. I didn’t think I could even attempt to turn into a wolf right then and there to protect myself, either. My body was under too much stress.
As Max crept down the hallway, the three of us followed him closely, so much that we were practically up his butt. When Rickey bumped into him and apologized, Max rolled his eyes and kept moving. Poor Max, getting stuck with a trio of idiots like us. If something happened to him, we’d never know what to do with ourselves.
Down my hallway, there were three doors—the bathroom on the right, my bedroom at the end, and then an extra room on the left. All of the doors were wide open except the room on the left, so, of course, that’s the one Max went for. He jiggled the handle, and it was locked. Whoever was hiding was in there.
I suddenly smelled that flowery, funeral scent. I swallowed, feeling sick to my stomach, and then squeezed Max’s shoulder in hopes that he was ready for what was on the other side. I know I wasn’t. Not by a long shot.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark figure come running down the hallway with an object raised over their head. It smashed down onto the back of Max, knocking him to the ground. We all backed up, confused, horrified, but ready to fight.
But then Rickey stopped us. “Wait!” he yelled. Or was that yell not for us? Was he talking to the attacker?
Oh my god.
The attacker wasn’t Molly, Veronica, or Tiffany.
My chest swelled with relief, and I smiled.
It was Cora.
“Stop, it’s us!” Rickey screamed.
Cora stood there with a wooden rolling pin high above her head, and as soon as she realized what she had done and who we were, her eyes grew to the size of a small dinner plate. She turned her attention down to the floor where Max was, and the two locked gazes for the longest time, I swear. I wasn’t even a part of it, but I could feel the electricity between them. I could actually feel the love.
“Cora?” Max
