DANIELLE'S POV

I sighed and palmed my head. The head that was unable to think for me. Since I'd entered the office that morning, I'd been thinking, wondering what I could do, yet nothing had come to mind. It had been either nothing or something absolutely ridiculous, like telling my mom the truth. I still stood my ground that if I did that, she really was going to kill me.

I checked my watch and sighed again. It was just about ten minutes to 3 o'clock. The time I'd planned to leave. And there was still no plan in place. Not about my car or the house. Absolutely nothing.

I'd thought extensively and reflected on Lillian's response to my favor, but the only thing I could conclude was that it was her passing aggression on me. Perhaps she and Lucas were on the off time of their relationship, and she had just poured out her frustration on me. None of what she had said to me made sense to me. She wasn't the type to be jealous of my relationship since she had a better one with Lucas, and even though Lucas wasn't as wealthy as Jonathan, he had enough to live on and enjoy life to an extent. He had also started working in college and had quickly climbed up the ladder of leaders even while he was still in college. For someone with no family support, he had made quite the name for himself. And what did she mean about people telling me and me seeing hints, but I was just choosing to stay in ignorance? Plus, why would she ask if we were that close? I wasn't as close to her as I was with Lucas, but I would have considered us good friends. Perhaps I will take the time to check on her after my mom leaves today.

I packed my bags, preparing to clock out. I guess it was up to Mrs. Morison now. But the thought of asking my nosy neighbor for that kind of help was making butterflies fill my stomach, and not the pretty kind. I went to relieve myself in the bathroom, my bladder acting up in response to my anxiety.

I looked at myself in the mirror as I washed my hands and shook my head. At least my face didn't hint at what was going on in my mind. I should be thankful for little blessings.

I wiped my hands, closed the door of the restroom, and went to Jonathan's office. I knocked on the door, and his voice rang out. "Come in."

I entered the office, and, like always, he was bent over his computer. "I'm going to be headed out now, sir." I winced. I was really trying to stop calling him sir. Since he technically was my husband, it felt weird to me, but it was difficult to drop it when I was talking with him in his office.

He nodded. "Alright. Have fun." I nodded and went out, grabbing my bag and entering the elevator. The plan on ground was to head to the subway, grab a train, and go to my apartment. Clean and dust the place, rearrange things so it looked like a living creature lived there, possibly borrow some things from my neighbor, go to the grocery store near my house, and cook something simple even though my mom had told me not to bother; I needed to brag to her that I was learning how to cook food that could be edible. And then wait for her to arrive.

Since it had been more than a month since I'd been at the apartment, I wasn't sure exactly how it would look and how much work I would need to put in it.

I came down at the subway station and looked around, a thought suddenly occurring to me. What if my mom had come in early to surprise me? Thankfully, that didn't happen, and I started the short walk to my apartment. It was about five or ten minutes from the subway station.

I got to my apartment door, and the first thing I saw was the junk mail that had been piled up by my entryway. I sighed and opened the door, and a musty, slightly stuffy smell greeted me. If that was the only thing, I would have been grateful. Nearly all the surfaces in my living room were covered with dust. I sneezed once and went to open all the windows and the door. As I opened the door, I heard the sound of my neighbor's window opening, most likely to peep on me.

I packed all the mail, quickly went through it, and, seeing it was mostly junk, threw it all in my trash can. When I was done with that, I grabbed my vacuum cleaner and started cleaning the living room as well as dusting the surfaces. There were some bugs that had gotten into the corners, so I went to get my pesticide from the bathroom.

The bathroom was in a similar condition to the living room, and since it was the only bathroom I had, I needed to clean it as well. I took a deep breath and changed my clothes to a comfortable shirt and shorts. Thankfully, I still had some clothes I'd left here on purpose, and while they were also smelling a little musty, it wasn't anything that couldn't be worn.

I crouched down on the bathroom floor and made a list of what I needed to do and their order of importance. First on the list was spraying the living room a little to get rid of the bugs. I stood up to get the pesticide, only to realize it was finished. A few weeks before I'd moved out, I'd finished using it and had left the container there, since seeing it will remind me I needed to get a new one. It hadn't.

I sighed and grabbed my head. What was I going to do now? It was better I sprayed it as soon as possible, so the smell could go before my mom showed up. Aside from spraying the living room, I needed to go and get groceries, cook a simple dish, probably mac and cheese, and clean my kitchen to rid it of the dust, as well as clean my bathroom since the probability of Mom using it before she left was very high.

I made the difficult decision to borrow from Mrs. Morison and left the apartment, going to knock on her door. I knew she'd heard the knock the first time and most likely knew who it was, but didn't respond until the fourth knock.

Mrs. Morison opened the door and turned to me. "Oh, my, if it isn't Danielle. And here in the flesh. I thought you had moved out." She greeted with fake surprise.

I smiled. "No, ma'am. I just temporarily moved. I am still in possession of the apartment."

"Hmm." She responded and sniffed. "I wasn't sure, so I told a few of my friends that wanted to move closer to me that my neighbor was moving. Hope you don't mind. I already discussed it with the landlord, and they're coming to see the house tomorrow."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. I informed the landlord I was staying somewhere else temporarily, but I guess he forgot. I'll just have to call him again to remind him. You can tell your friends the house isn't available for viewing for now, and I'm sorry for the disappointment." I replied to her with a level tone.

She looked me up and down. "So, what are you here for?" Her tone was unkind.

I ignored the tone. "There are a few bugs in the apartment, and I don't have a pesticide at the moment. I was wondering if I could borrow yours. I don't need much."

She laughed. "Oh no. I, too, have run out of mine. I was even planning to get a new one tomorrow."

I sighed. What was I going to do now? I knew she was lying. The proof was in her voice, her excited face, and the look she was giving me. She just didn't want to give it to me, and I couldn't blame her. It was her property, and she wasn't required to give out her things if she didn't want to. I just wished she had been more reasonable today.

When I'd moved in, even though she had been nice and was the perfect neighbor who baked and brought things she made, she had acted too nosy for my comfort, especially discussing my business with Lucas when things happened, and I'd shut her down. After that, her nice behavior had disappeared, and she had begun antagonizing everything I did. I would have been more offended if her granddaughter, who sometimes came to spend time with her grandmother, hadn't taken me aside to tell me to ignore her. She was just used to being nosy, even with the previous neighbor, and wasn't used to being told off for her nosiness.

"Alright, ma'am. Thank you." I said and was about to leave when her granddaughter, thankfully, came out with a pesticide.

"Grandma must have forgotten that I went to get one yesterday." She said and handed it to me. "You can keep it; it has almost finished."

I shook my head, waving my hands with it. "Oh no. I just need a little. I don't need to keep it."

She shook her head as well. "I insist. I won't accept it if you try to return it."

We were both ignoring Mrs. Morison's murmurs and glares. "Thanks, Claire." I turned to Mrs. Morison. "Thank you so much. I'm really grateful." Without waiting for whatever catty response I was sure to receive, I turned back and went into my apartment. "Thank goodness Claire was home." I whispered to myself.

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