So Grateful

JAMES

I don’t remember much of what happened after that. I didn’t even feel a whole lot of pain. Mostly, I felt sad. Heartbroken, even. Dancer was going to kill me and then who would protect Miri?

I struggled out of the darkness. “Damn.” My words were gargled through a mouthful of blood. I spat onto the ancient hardwood and had a fleeting thought that we’d never get our security deposit back now. On my knees, my vision clearing, I could see the door standing open. I felt the emptiness of the apartment - I was alone. No Dancer. No Miri.

Stumbling down the steps, I noticed Madame Belan’s door shut - something that rarely happened, especially when there was noise to complain about and there was no way she hadn’t heard the fight upstairs. In fact, thinking about it, I was pretty sure she had followed Dancer and I up the stairs. Guess even she had a limit to how involved she would get in her tenants’ business. She was smart to get out of the way.