new neighbor
The hallway was dim and quiet, the hum of a flickering light the only sound. Ruby shifted her weight from one foot to the other, jiggling the key in the keyhole of the stubborn deadbolt. She let out a small, frustrated groan and pressed her forehead against the door.
"Why won't you let me in?" she wondered aloud, gently punching the old scuffed paint with her knuckles twice.
Her hands trembled slightly as she dropped her bag to the ground and tried again. The long shift she just worked had left her drained, and all she wanted was to collapse into her bed. She'd been standing for most of the day and her legs were feeling it. She also had all the emotional weight of being in the first few days of a new job.
The faint sound of heavy footsteps echoed behind her, and she froze. The door to the stairwell just down the hall from her swung open hard, straining against the mechanical hinge at the top. She straightened, her heartbeat quickening, as a darkly dressed figure came into view.
A well built man emerged in the doorway, his broad frame filling the narrow frame. His grey hood was pulled up, casting shadows over his face, but she caught a glimpse of a bruise painted across his cheek, almost hidden by the darkness of his stubble and the collar of his dark jacket.
She jumped, her breath catching in her throat.
Her lips twitched into a nervous, forced smile as she stepped closer to her door, gripping the key tightly. There was a sense of urgency this time that she hoped the stranger wouldn't notice.
The man stopped a few paces away, his dark eyes flicking between her and the door.
"Everything alright?"
Her fingers tightened around the key. She swallowed hard, glancing down at the lock and back at him.
"I think it's stuck," Ruby managed to say.
She looked away, trying to focus on the lock again, her movements more hurried. She didn't want to linger, especially not with a man she doesn't know standing so close. His presence somehow took up the entire hallway. She wondered if he could hear her heart beat.
She could feel his eyes on her as she continued to struggle for a moment, then he took a small step forward.
With his hand out as if asking for permission, he gestured towards the door, "Do ya mind?"
Ruby hesitated, her instincts telling her to refuse, but her exhaustion won out. She stepped aside, keeping her back against the wall and her eyes on him as he gripped the handle, jiggled the key a bit as he twisted it, and gave the door a firm shove with his shoulder. There was a loud scrape of painted wood grating together and then the stubborn door swung open quickly. She flinched a bit as the door bounced off the door stop on the wall inside, and creaked back towards them.
She turned to him, surprised at how easily he had opened it when it had felt so stuck just moments before. For a short moment, a subtle smell filled her nostrils. It vaguely reminded her of the way her dad used to smell when he'd return from trips to the firing range with his army buddies. He stepped back and gestured for her to enter.
Another tight smile forced its way across Ruby's lips in reply. She lowered her gaze as she stepped past him, her fingers fumbling as she retrieved the key from the lock. In her fatigue, she hadn't remembered her bag still sitting on the floor outside.
The man bent down, picking up the bag with ease. He stepped forward, holding it out to her.
"You forgot this."
She looked at the bag, then up at him, startled. His face was unreadable, his eyes dark but not unkind. She took the bag quickly, murmuring a quiet thanks.
"You just moved in, yeah? The other day?"
She nodded, still unsure of this man and his intentions. She took a small step to the side to put the front door between her and the stranger.
A look she couldn't decipher flashed across his face before he ducked his head down, took a step back, and pointed to the door of the unit right next to hers. He pulled out his keys and moved towards his door.
She gave him a curt nod and a small wave before shutting her door and locking it in quick succession. She exhaled slowly, tension still coiled in her chest, and let her bag slip out of her hand and onto the floor. With her back against the door, she slid to the ground, tugging off her shoes and pulling her knees to her chest. She knew moving across the country to start a new life would be hard, but so far it felt like around every corner was a heart attack waiting to happen.
--------
It had only been four days since moving in, but Ruby was realizing it was an annoyingly long time to be without a working fridge. She was relieved when the landlord had reached out to her that morning, letting her know they'd be able to fix it. She was going to be at work most of the day, and was glad to be out of the apartment when the maintenance man was scheduled to come by and do the repairs. She had given them permission to go in and do the repairs while she was gone.
In the past, she would have been uncomfortable with someone entering her home while she was gone. But as it was, her apartment was nearly bare. She had a mattress (which had been delivered the day she arrived) and three suitcases of clothing, toiletries, and shoes. Aside from the two boxes of books and a couple small items of sentimental value, the living room was completely empty.
It was just past midnight, her shift having ended at 11:30. She hadn't planned on stopping at the grocery store, but she walked right past one on her way back to the apartment building and the idea of having frozen dinners stocked in her freezer was enough to change her plans. Having only grabbed a basket instead of a cart, it hadn't felt like she had grabbed many things as she quickly browsed for the essentials.
Ruby was now wondering how these items felt so light such a short time ago.
The streets were quieter than usual, the city's usual hum dulled by the late hour. Ruby adjusted the handles of the plastic grocery bags cutting into her palms, her arms aching from the weight. Her tote bag felt like nothing on her shoulder in comparison. A chilly breeze swept through the street, making her quicken her steps as she passed dimly lit storefronts.
She wasn't far from the apartment now—just a couple of blocks—but the dark corners and flickering streetlights made her uneasy. She glanced over her shoulder, and listened to the way her footsteps sounded against the pavement. She passed people every so often, friends hanging out, dog walkers, other people carrying groceries home.
She paused under one streetlight, near a couple who were seated on a bench in front of a small dessert shop. She set the bags down, pulled two of the heavier cans of soup from one of the thin grocery story bags, and placed them in her tote bag instead. She pulled her jacket sleeves over her hands, grateful for the warmth they offered from the chill of the winter air, picked the groceries back up with her sleeves for padding, and continued her walk.
From across the street, a man stepped out of the shadow of a building, his hood pulled low. She noticed the movement in her peripheral vision, but didn't acknowledge it.
He hesitated for a moment, watching her pace quicken. Her head turned slightly, eyes darting toward an alley before she looked straight ahead again.
He then crossed the street with purpose, his boots hitting the pavement in steady strides.
"You look like you could use a hand."
Ruby startled, nearly dropping one of the bags as she whipped her head toward him. Once she got a good look at his face, recognition softened her tense expression, but she still took a small step back. He may be her neighbor, but she still knew nothing about him.
"Oh... hi," Her voice was quiet, almost hesitant, but there was a faint note of relief. She shifted the bags in her hands, unsure what to say.
He glanced at the groceries, then back at her.
"Those look heavy." He extended a hand. "Let me take a couple."
She hesitated, the memory of their last encounter flashing in her mind. He had helped her with the door, and though he didn't say much, there was something... steady about him. She couldn't quite place it, but she didn't feel the same sharp edge of unease she usually did around men.
She nodded, "Okay, thank you."
She handed over two of the bags. He took them easily, his grip firm but careful, and nodded for her to keep walking.
As they approached the building, he reached ahead to pull the front door open, stepping aside to let her in first. She felt a wave of comfort at the warm air that greeted her face.
She murmured a quiet "thank you," stepping into the dimly lit lobby. Their footsteps echoed as they approached the elevator, and he punched the button with the up arrow. They stood in a neutral silence until the "ding" sounded and the dented door slid open, revealing an equally dingy interior.
The only sound in the elevator was the rustle of the grocery bags and an unsettling metallic screech that made Ruby question the safety conditions of the metal box just a tiny bit.
While she wasn't scared of her tall and quiet neighbor, she still felt a small relief at the woosh of the door as it opened up to their floor.
Not too far past the elevator was her door, and her and the man slowed to a stop in front of it. She fumbled with her keys as she pulled them from her pocket, and repeated a silent wish in her head for the door to "please open on the first try."
The lock slid over and she pushed the door to her dark apartment open, flicking the light switches as she turned around in the doorway and set her bags on the floor. He wordlessly handed her the bags he had been holding and pulled his own keys from his pocket.
She tucked her hair behind her ear, managing a small, tired smile.
"Thank you for your help. Again," she added, recalling his aid with the door just the day before.
He nodded, face unreadable, "Anytime."
As he turned to his door, she shut hers, but watched through the peephole as he unlocked his door with a practiced ease. As he entered his apartment he disappeared from her limited view of the hallway, and Ruby wondered if the bruise she had just spotted while in the elevator on his browbone had been there during their first encounter, or if the long shifts she had been working the past few days were catching up to her. She shrugged, rolling the stress from her shoulders. There were other things she needed to be more worried about, she decided.