Lost & Found

by E B Brooks

  The twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

  Trying to delay the inevitable, she waited until everyone else left the bus before she slowly walked up the aisle, scared at what might greet her outside. She rounded the short barrier at the front and took the steps down off the bus.

  Dry heat hit her. “Holy shit, it’s hot!”

  “First time in Georgia, ma’am?”

  She turned and grinned at the bus driver, wiping the sweat from her brow. “Yes, sir. When I left Ohio, it was cold and rainy. I expected hot, but not like this.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ll be used to it soon. Welcome to Georgia.”

  “Thanks.”

  As Maddy joined the line to claim her bag from under the bus, she took in a deep breath, mmhm. It smelled wonderful, like citrus, honey, and jasmine.

  “You’re smelling the magnolia trees and honeysuckle,” the old lady in front of her said. “They’re in full bloom right now. You picked a great time to visit Georgia.”

  Maddy smiled at her as she grabbed her duffle bag.

  The bus station sat on top of a small hill, which provided a great view of the small town of Lockhaven. The town was nestled against the big university. The city lined all the streets with magnolia trees, their green leaves glossy and their blossoms creamy white-pink.

  She’d never seen anything more beautiful, and a wide smile crossed her face. At that moment, she knew she made the right decision. For the first time, she felt this was where she belonged.

  The college had given her a map of the area, which included her apartment. She had a small hike ahead of her. She grabbed her duffle bag and slung it over her good arm.

  Her head fell back as Maddy finally stood in front of the sign for Cascade Apartments. She chuckled about the two wrong turns she made, but she had arrived. It wasn’t quite what she expected. The brochure must have been old.

  Paint peels hung from window ledges and doors. Knocked over garbage cans left trash strewn everywhere. But this was the only place she could afford that wasn’t the dorms. As far as Maddy was concerned, the dorms weren’t even an option. She wanted privacy for the first time in her life.

  An arrow pointed to the manager’s office.

  When she got there, the door stuck in the frame, and she had to yank it hard to open it, her shoulder protesting. Smoke engulfs her. Behind a large oak counter, an older lady with a cigarette hanging from her mouth sat on a red, worn out recliner, staring at a small black-and-white TV that sat on an old milk crate.

  Maddy hesitated at the door. “Hello?”

  The lady didn’t look up from her television. “Yeah? What can I do for you?”

  Maddy ventures farther inside, waving her hand in front of her face. “I’m here for my keys. My name is Madeline Walsh.”

  “Yeah, give me a minute.” She laughed at something on the TV, which turned into a coughing fit. Once she could breathe again, she finally looked at Maddy. “That Steve Harvey just slays me. Now, what’s your name again? Oh, yeah, Walsh. That’s right.”

  She stood and waddled over to a large open cabinet that held keys dangling from hooks. She grabbed a pair, walked to the counter, and laid them down. “No parties or you’re gone. No loud music after ten pm. If you paint the walls, they must be white before you leave. Rent is due on the first of the month.”

  Maddy didn’t hear everything she said. The cigarette that dangled from the old lady’s mouth fascinated her. How did the cigarette stay in her mouth while she talked?

  Wait! Did she say the rent was due? Whoa, something was wrong. “My grant paid for my room for a year. I shouldn’t owe you anything.”

  She gave Maddy a dirty look, like how dare she ask a question while Steve was on. She reached under the counter and grunted when she came back up, plopping a pile of papers on top of the counter. She laid the burning cigarette in an ashtray so she could finger through the stack of paper, muttering Walsh as she looked.

  “Here it is. You moved up from a one bedroom to a double bedroom. The grant only paid for a one bedroom, so a hundred extra each month is due.” She smiled smugly.

  “An extra hundred? I never called and changed it. That’s a mistake.” Maddy shook her head. No, this would not happen to her. “Just move me to a one bedroom, please.”

  Leaning an elbow on the counter, the woman glared at her. “It’s not that easy, doll. The second you upgraded; the one bedroom was gone.”

  Maddy scrubbed a hand down her face. “Listen, I didn’t call you and tell you to move me up. Give someone else the double and give me the single I requested and paid for.”

  The old lady’s mouth opened, and Maddy got a look of her tongue moving around like a pissed off snake before it slammed shut. She pointed to the paper. “It says here you called on June sixth to upgrade. If you can’t afford the room, find a roommate. Here are your keys. You must call to have your utilities turned on.”

  And with that, she waddled back to her TV.

  Shocked at the dismissal, Maddy demanded, “Do you have the phone number for the local electric company?”

  “There’s a list in the apartment.” Then she gestured with her hand, telling Maddy to leave.

  Maddy stood with her mouth hanging wide open. What the hell just happened? Slamming her hand down on top of her keys, she hoped she disrupted the lady’s show, but she never even looked back.

  Outside once more, Maddy checked her paper to see where to go. It seemed she was in building four, apartment 214. There were two apartment buildings on her right and two on her left. The left one said building two and the other one said building three. Heading toward the last building, she was glad to see at least one of her windows would look at the street.

  Unsurprisingly, the door of the apartment building only hung on by two out of the four hinges; excellent security. Seemed like she traded one hell for another. She shook her head in disgust. Maybe it wouldn’t be bad once she got to her apartment. Shit, she hoped so.

  When she took her first step inside, an aroma of stale beer, body odor, burned food, and God knew what else, assaulted her senses. Covering her nose with her sleeve, she walked up to the second floor and searched for apartment 214. At least she was on the top floor and had the corner apartment, so she only shared a wall on one side.

  Unlocking the door, she closed her eyes and took a calming breath before she opened the door.

  Maddy slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the discolored walls. They were supposed to be white but were more of a stained yellow. She walked in and found a closet next to the door. A small hallway opened to the living room. On the right was a small counter that you could sit at, and behind that was the kitchen

  The kitchen was decent. Not as big as the group home, but not a bad size. The cupboard doors needed help; new hinges and maybe some paint. Stains dotted the carpet from who knew what, but two throw rugs would cover that up nicely.

  The living room and kitchen wall formed an arch. When she walked through and headed right, a little way down the hall, she found a linen closet on the left. Opposite that was the bathroom. Two steps farther, and she reached the bedroom at the end.

  Maddy picked the one on the right to check out.

  The first thing she noticed was a window that looked right into the next apartment building. There no view at all, not to mention it smelled of old cigarette smoke.

  Crossing the hall to the other room, she hoped it looked and smelled better.

  It appeared to be a little bigger, with a view of the road. This would be her room. At least no one could look in at her.

  Maddy set her duffle bag on the floor, slid down the wall to put her head on her knees, and groaned. How would she come up with an extra hundred a month? Her schedule had no wiggle room. One hurdle at a time. The important thing right now was to purchase the phone she needed to turn on her electric and gas.

  Opening her bag, she pulled out the envelope Mrs. Jones gave her. Putting back the cash she had and used her car
d.

  Back outside, Maddy was unsure which way to go. But there was no way she was going back to ask the manager. Two girls stood outside one of the buildings talking, so she ambled over and ask where the closest place was where she could buy a phone. One of the girls told her to go right out of there and about a mile down the road was a Walmart.

  Maddy thanked them and headed out on her trip.

  She’d heard of Walmart, but she had only ever shopped at thrift shops or second-hand stores. As she walked inside, her heart beat erratically as she looked around with wide eyes.

  The place was huge.

  When she finally found the electronics department, she couldn’t believe how many types and styles of cell phones they offered. What was the difference? Never having owned a phone, she had no idea what to buy. The last thing she needed to do was buy a phone so technical she wouldn’t be able to turn it on.

  She glanced around for an employee to help, but only found one other person in the department, and he didn’t look like an employee. Resigned, she started at the first phone and read what the little sign said about its features.

  Halfway through the description, she scratched her head. She didn’t know what half of this shit meant. Why didn’t they have a phone that she could just pick up and dial? That was all she needed. This could drive someone insane.

  Frowning, she looked around again for someone to help but still didn’t see a sales rep. A guy stood in the music section, and when he turned around, their eyes met.

  Her breath caught. Holy hotness. He had dark hair and beautiful, chocolate eyes. From what she could see, he also had a well-built body. Once he noticed she was staring back at him, he glanced away.

  Her heart skipped a beat when he peeked back over at her with a swoon-worthy smile.

  She tucked a long, loose strand of red hair behind her ear and gave him a sexy smile. With his gaze on her, he took a step forward, and before she could warn him, he stepped into a display of headphones. The display fell over, the headphones scattering all over the floor.

  As she moved to help him, a sales rep choose that moment to appear and ask her if she needed help.

  The sales rep would choose right this minute to show up. She gave the gorgeous guy a warm smile before turning her attention to the rep.

  After about an hour of the rep explaining the different phones, she picked one, going with an Android at his suggestion. Since there would only be one person she would call, she went with a pre-paid option.

  After checking out, she noticed the time. She needed to call the utility companies before they closed for the night, and she still had stuff she wanted to buy. Before she headed back to her apartment, she wanted to buy a pillow and sheets to sleep on, and maybe some cleaning products.

  She found the bedding section and was checking out the different sheet options when a warm breath caressed her neck, sending a shiver down her spine.

  “Silk. Your sexy ass body shouldn’t be up against anything but the best,” a breathy voice moaned.

  Jumping back, Maddy squealed, letting her right arm fly upwards right into the corner of the guy’s cheekbone and eye. She pulled back a little at the last second, not hitting him with her full force, though she wasn’t sure why she held back.

  “Ow, ow, ow! Why the hell did you hit me?”

  Maddy took a step back as his hand flew up to cover the eye she hit. “You deserved it, asshole, sneaking up behind a woman and whispering in her ear. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “I was just trying to be nice.” He gave her a pouty frown as he picked at his nails.

  Maddy’s eyes roamed over him, his hair was the color of midnight, cut short on the top but long enough to run her hands through if she wanted.

  He peered at her through long, black eyelashes. His whiskey-colored eyes sparkled with mischief. She winced a little when she noticed his left eye showed redness where she hit him, but he brushed off the injury. With a sexy ass grin, he leaned against the rack of sheets, shoving his hands into his pockets.

  There he went back into Player Mode. He didn’t give up! Looked like he didn’t learn from the black eye. Hmm, she had an idea.

  She bit her lip and slowly let her eyes roam his body one more time. He wore black jeans that fit snugly against his muscular thighs and a red shirt that showed off every muscle on his upper body. He was one gorgeous guy, and he knew it.

  She flipped her hair off her shoulder as she stepped into his personal space, using her sexy voice, “So, you think silk would look hot under me, huh?”

  She traced her bottom lip, watching his eyes follow her finger. Oh, she was going to have some fun.

  “Um, yeah, I do,” he groaned while licking his lips. “You have a sexy body. And you know what else would look good on those silk sheets?”

  “What?” she leaned closer, raising her head to show off her neck.

  He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Me.”

  An involuntary moan slipped out of her mouth, and she gave herself a mental shake. Don’t forget who’s trying to turn who on, Maddy.

  Before he could straighten, she ran her hand up his neck. When he leaned his head to the side to give her better access, she pictured herself licking him. She admitted he was good. She was supposed to be turning him on, but he somehow turned her on instead.

  “Mmmm,” she purred near his ear, and a shiver ran through his body. “I can think of something better. Me on top of you on those silky sheets.”

  He let out a low groan.

  She leaned closer to him as she raked her nails down his neck. “You know what else?”

  He stared down at her, his pupils were completely blown. For good measure, she licked her lips and threw her head back while running her hand down the front of her shirt.

  “Aw, shit, baby. What?” He placed small kisses on her neck.

  She straightened, pushed him back, and looked him straight in the eyes. “You will never find out! You’ve been played, Player.”

  It took him a few seconds to escape his lust-filled haze and figure out what was going on, then he straightened his shirt and ran his hands down his jeans. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Please, you’re telling me you’re not turned on right now?” Maddy rolled her eyes.

  He leaned down, so they were face to face. “You think that little display turned me on? Get real, little girl.”

  Maddy’s eyes roamed his body down to his crotch, and damn he was huge and so damn hard! Focus, Maddy. “Then what’s that?”

  She bit her lip. Holy shit, she needed to leave before she got herself into any more trouble, she grabbed the silk sheets, threw them in the cart, and darted away.

  Before she got too far, though, she glanced over her shoulder. “See ya, Player. Get some meat for your eye.”

  3

  Maddy

  It was after dinner by the time Maddy made it home and finished calling the water and electric company. They would send someone out tomorrow. Hopefully, she’d have water before work. It would be nasty to head to work without getting a shower with all the walking she’d done today.

  Taking the silk sheets, she headed to the bedroom. As she made a makeshift bed on the floor, her mind kept returning to the hottie in the bedding department with his impressive package and muscles.

  Argh! You know damn well he was a player; you don’t need that bullshit in your life. Plus, what’s the likelihood of you seeing him again.

  The sun was setting, but there was no way she could go to sleep this early. Grabbing her flashlight, she made sure everything was locked before she laid down on the sheets. She hated to admit it, but Player was right; the silk felt good against her skin, the arrogant ass.

  She moved her flashlight, so it shone on her book and settled down for a night of reading.

  “Hmm, I knew those sheets would look good with you laying on them.”

  Once her eyes could focus, she found Player leaning against her bedroom doorframe wi
th his ankle crossed, looking just as sexy as she remembered him.

  Maddy sat straight up. She must have fallen asleep. “How the hell did you get in here?”

  Player sauntered over and laid down beside her, propping himself up by his elbow.

  “You invited us in,” someone said behind her.

  She snapped her head to the side to look where that voice came from. The guy with the chocolate eyes from the electronics department leaned forward and kissed her shoulder.

  “Didn’t I tell you she was sexy?” Player purred, closer to her.

  Chocolate eyes nodded as he continued to kiss her shoulder. Maddy turned her head back around to Player. His face was right in front of hers. Her eyes focused on his mouth as his tongue peeked out to moisten his lips. His head slowly moved forward, their lips almost touching.

  “Greg!” someone screamed.

  Sitting up, Maddy grabbed her pounding chest, her other hand scouring the bedding to find the flashlight before she turned it on and swung it back and forth.

  Holy shit! She was dreaming. She reached under her pillow and grabbed her switchblade before she headed to the living room.

  Loud music and people talking came from the other side of the door. No parties? Yeah, right!

  Pound. Pound.

  Maddy jumped and let out a squeal of fright. She covered her mouth.

  “Come on, Greg, don’t make me break down the door, dude!”

  Every muscle in Maddy’s body went rigid. She tiptoed to the door and peeked through the peephole, but all she could see was a mess of brown hair. With shaking hands, Maddy made sure the door was locked, then backed up, readying herself to fight if she had to.

  Another pound. “Greg, you are missing an epic party!”

  “Dude, didn’t Greg go to rehab?” another voice mentions.

  “Did he? Oh, well, let’s go party!”

  The noise dissipated. Maddy’s shoulders slumped and she let out a sigh of relief. She trudged back to her room, shut that door, and curled up in the corner, her switchblade clutched tight in her fist to wait out the rest of the night.