Chapter 4- Don't Use A Fork

We were too late. The front door of number 121 stood wide open, revealing the scene inside. It was an identical mess to my apartment: place trashed, nothing taken, family gone.

I found Lukas on his knees in one of the bedrooms, probably Lydia's. He was holding a broken photo frame and his shoulders were shaking. I knelt next to him, waiting for him to speak.

"It's the same here, Wren. They're gone. H-how? Why?"

I spoke gently to him. "Well, looks like it's up to us to figure it out. Still think we should call the police?"

He slowly shook his head.

"Exactly. Let's look around. See if there's anything here."

"Wait. Let's do that in the morning, I'm seriously exhausted right now and I'm sure you are too."

"Yeah but... should I just go back to my apartment?"

His brow furrowed. "Why don't you sleep here for now, in Mum's room? We can go back to your apartment in the morning."

I frowned, but I couldn't think of any better options. Going back alone tonight was a bad idea.

I gave in, saying "Ok sure Lukas. 'Night."

He had already left the room.

I sighed and began cleaning up the room in order to make it habitable again. I gave up after cleaning the bed and (most of) the floor. Slumping onto the four poster bed in exhaustion, my last thoughts were of how I has wound up sleeping in a stranger's bed before I dozed off.

***

I awoke to the cliched sound of birds chirping happily outside. A sliver of sunlight escaped through the curtains. The events of yesterday replayed in my mind as I flung the covers off and sat up. The goddamn birds only got louder. Why were they so happy while my life is a mess?

The smell of burning assaulted my nose. I panicked. Slipping on my Adidas sneakers, I ran through the hall to make sure the building wasn't burning down. After a quick investigation, I had concluded that we weren't in mortal peril.

We? Oh right... Lukas. Wait a second, where is he anyway?

Having checked everywhere except the kitchen for some reason, I strolled there to find Lukas using a fork to get toast out of the toaster.

I stopped him before he could electrocute himself. "Stop! Don't use a fork. Haven't you ever played Dumb Ways to Die?" I took the toaster from him and turned it upside down causing the offending pieces of burnt toast and a LOT of crumbs to rain down on the counter. "So that's what was burning," I mused.

Lukas stared at me incredulously. "Dumb Ways to Die? Really?"

I shrugged. "It's a classic."

"Right." Lukas' stare was now directed at my hair, which I obviously hadn't brushed, given my luck. But not quite. His gaze was at me. I turned around in embarrassment and busied myself in making the toast properly.

The toaster was connected by a long wire trailing across the room to an electrical outlet on the wall. Pushing the bread into the toaster, I spun around to get the jar of jam from the counter only to trip over the wire. I felt something land on me as I fell. My head hit the ground with a loud thunk, bringing a wave of dizziness over me. As the dizziness subsided, I noticed that there was a lot of weight on me; it wasn't a something but a certain someone.

"Why hello there. You rather like this position, don't you?" Lukas teased, his face too close to mine. Unnervingly close, I thought. My heart was throbbing, and I was hyper aware of every movement. The teasing smile was gone from his face; there was an expression there that I couldn't recognize. I could see the faint scar more clearly, as well as a lot of other distinctive features. It was like both of us were holding a breath for a full moment before he moved closer. As he leaned closer, I bit my lip apprehensively, my heartbeat accelerating.

DING!

The toast popped out of the toaster, startling us. Lukas immediately got up and practically ran to the toaster. I sighed in disappointment or relief, or maybe both.

I stood up and brushed the dust off my clothes. Then I noticed the state I was in. The crumpled, dirty clothes certainly went with my crazy morning hair. I definitely need to shower. I checked my pocket as I went to the from door. Noting that the two crucial items, (now dead) phone and key card were indeed there and hadn't run away in the middle of the night (don't you dare roll your eyes, it could happen!) , I called out a cheery "I'm going back to my place! Bye!"

I closed the door before I could hear his response.

Since it was so early, the complex was completely deserted. Even the receptionist wasn't at the front desk in the lobby. As I pressed the elevator button, I thought of how I'd been in this lobby more times in the past 24 hours than I had in the past year.

The metal doors opened with a mechanical groan. I stepped inside. Still deep in my thoughts, I hardly noticed the doors closing until an arm shot through the gap, effectively blocking it. I barely suppressed a scream as the doors took centuries to open. Relief shot through me when I noticed it was just Lukas. A surly Lukas. Wordlessly, he joined me inside and pressed the button for the eleventh floor. Here we go again.

***

The ride was spent in awkward silence. I could feel the knife cutting tension in the air, but true to my nature, was stubbornly determined enough to not say anything. I strode to the apartment door as soon as the elevator had stopped. I heard Lukas follow me in and shut the door behind himself not-so-quietly. Ignoring the mess, I went straight to my room and closed the door. Setting my dead phone to charge, I surveyed the damage to my generally immaculate room. Well, almost immaculate. I sighed and set to work like I had nearly a full day ago. Damn was it gonna be a long day.