Chapter 3. Evicted

Brooklyn unlocked her door and rushed inside. For the last two days, her already hopeless life had turned into the worst nightmare possible. She collapsed on the floor, drenched, hungry, and tired as the tears fell incessantly from her eyes and she just broke down completely. Why couldn’t her troubles lessen? It would have been so much better if she had died instead of her mom.

Her teeth started clattering from the cold, thoroughly drenched clothes she needed to get out of. Getting up, she walked over to her room to change. After ten minutes, she drank water and curled up on her bed, covering herself well. Her stomach grumbled relentlessly, but she had nothing to eat apart from water. Exhausted, broken, and hungry, she might have dozed off to sleep when the sound of the doorbell woke her up.

Who could it be? Fear gripped her as she remembered the cold, angry face of her stalker and her outburst a few minutes ago in front of him. Did he really take her seriously and come over to kill her?

She trembled on her bed, not wanting to open the door, but the doorbell rang incessantly, making her jump. Fearing trouble with her neighbors, Brooklyn dragged herself reluctantly to the door and peered through the keyhole again. She saw the same black suit on a stout body as before. So, it was the stout man again. What did he want now? She opened the door to a crack and peered out through it.

The man grinned at her and handed her a parcel. “Sir has sent dinner for you, Miss Brooklyn,” he said with a grin, making Brooklyn’s eyes widen with disbelief. How was it possible that her hot stalker had sent her dinner instead of killing her? She shook her head vehemently.

“I don’t need his help. Tell him to just leave me alone and I’ll be thankful,” said Brooklyn, contemplating upon closing the door to his face.

“Sir said that if you don’t accept it, he would come here himself to feed you,” said the man with a poker face, but his eyes looked extremely amused while he held out the food packet to her again. Brooklyn gaped at him in a daze and quietly accepted the packet. His threat sent a chill down her spine. She couldn’t have her stalker arrive here and feed her! Heaven forbid it!

The man left with a smug look on his face and Brooklyn closed the door and went to the kitchen to check what her stalker had sent her. Did it contain poison? Was it a foolproof plan to kill her? However, the moment she opened the packet, the aroma of the juiciest pork chops filled the air.

She hadn’t eaten anything even remotely delicious in all her nineteen years of life. Her mouth watered and she just couldn’t resist the temptation, so picking up a plate, she served herself the aromatic pilaf and the juicy pork chops. She sat down at the tiny dining table in the corner to eat, wishing that Brandon was there to enjoy the delicious food with her.

She wondered where Brandon was. It had been three days, and he hadn’t come back home even once. She took a second helping and then again sat down to finish her food. It was the best dinner of her life. Smiling and happy, Brooklyn stored the leftover food in her tiny refrigerator and walked over to her room. However, she stopped at the door to Brandon’s room.

They had partitioned the living area to create a room for Brandon since it was a one-bedroom apartment. When her mom was alive, she and her mom used to share a room while Brandon slept in this tiny bedroom. Deciding to check whether he had come home in her absence, she walked in.

The room was in exactly the same condition as he had left it three days ago. Brooklyn hadn’t come in but had checked from the door itself every night if he returned or not. Today, she just walked inside. She missed his presence since he was her only family now and yet he never stayed at home. Why did he always have to stay away? Was he into anything illegal? A chill ran down her spine even thinking about it.

Brandon was a dazzling boy, but due to lack of funds, he hadn’t been able to do what he aspired to do. She sat on his bed and smoothed the bedspread with her hands. She fluffed the cushions properly, but her fingers touched something underneath. Curious, she drew out a piece of paper that was nicely folded and placed underneath the cushion. She opened the fold and read the note that Brandon had scribbled in his typical cursive handwriting.

Don’t worry about me, Brooks. I’m fine. Will be back in a while. You won’t find me at college too.

Brooklyn read and reread the message again and again, wondering where exactly he was and how long he would be away. It should be an emergency because Brandon never missed his evening classes at college. Brooklyn sighed and walked out of his room. It was getting late, and she was sleepy.

The next morning, she quickly freshened up, warmed last night’s leftover dinner and ate it for breakfast. She packed some in a container to eat at lunchtime. Thankfully, her stalker had sent a lot, and she didn’t have to worry about tonight’s dinner. It would be sufficient. Feeling happy, Brooklyn walked to her workplace. In her haste, she had completely forgotten to take the longer route.

It was only when she was about to reach did she realize what she had done and hurried the rest of the way and reached her restaurant safely, heaving a sigh of relief. However, her relief was short-lived as a few minutes later, she saw the bald man who had harassed her that night, just outside her restaurant. Had he followed her here? Brooklyn did not know and just prayed to God that he wouldn’t come inside.

“What’s wrong, Brooks?” asked Mia, seeing her pale face and wide eyes.

“That man outside was the one who had harassed me that night,” said Brooklyn in a trembling voice. Mia looked at the man and frowned.

“We’ll drop you home tonight. You don’t have to go home alone,” she comforted her. Brooklyn nodded, agreeing with her. With him outside, she had no wish to walk down again. The whole day went by and strangely, her hot stalker didn’t visit her even once and Brooklyn was relieved that he hadn’t. After work, Seth and Mia dropped her home.

Brooklyn was just about to unlock her door when she saw the notice on her door.

Evicted. You have 24 hours to vacate the apartment.