sick of being poised

Zara looked to the police officer as he opened the door to her new apartment, the place she would call home while she was on the witness protection program. Hopefully, she wouldn't be here long, the trial shouldn't of been too far away, but with the man she'd struggled to get away from for years on probation, she couldn't risk it. "It's lovely." She assured, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, ignoring the look the cop gave her. Whenever people discovered that she used to be a sex worker, looks of disgusting and judgement often followed. "I can take it from here." She smiled, placing her bag down. "Thanks."

Luke had returned from taking Petunia for a walk when something in the apartment across from his caught his eye. A police officer was escorting a young woman inside, and Luke raised his eyebrows in curiosity, wondering who it was he'd be sharing a floor with - was she a criminal? Luke couldn't deny she was fucking gorgeous, but the police officer there put Luke on his best behaviour, no matter how many times he wanted to go and say hello before she shut the door. Unclipping Petunia's leash from her collar, Luke let her enter the apartment first, deciding that later, he'd go and investigate and try his hardest to make his new neighbour feel welcomed.

Michael was heading upstairs with groceries for his apartment, his pace fairly quick, though he’d slowed down when he spotted a police officer with a woman. While he knew running in the halls wasn’t against the law - and he wasn’t even against the apartment building’s rules, - he didn’t want to attract attention to himself and give the officer a reason to start focusing on him. As he watched, though, he couldn’t help but to wonder what was going on. He’d never seen an officer escort anybody to a door unless they were in trouble with the law, but she wasn’t in handcuffs, and he wondered if maybe she’d been mugged or something and the officer was just making sure she got home safely. Or maybe the officer was this woman’s boyfriend - with that thought, Michael couldn’t help but to hope not because, as he passed the apartment, he couldn’t help but to notice how gorgeous she was. Not wanting to interrupt or attract attention to himself, though, he moved to his door, carefully and quietly unlocking it as he tried to eavesdrop casually, but he couldn’t really hear anything, so he headed inside, deciding he’d go talk to the woman the moment the officer was gone.

Raelyn adjusted her bag quietly as she was led to the apartment she was meant to be staying in. The walk had been silent and uncomfortable, but it hadn’t been surprising to Raelyn. The only reason the officer was even doing this was because she was meant to be a witness for the man who’d gotten her in the very situation she was being judged for. If she wasn’t useful, she would have been arrested herself. Coming to a stop outside the apartment, she watched the officer unlock it before he handed her the key. “Thank you,” she murmured quietly, offering a weak smile before she stepped into the apartment and set her bag down, though she moved back to the door. “I’ll be fine from here, and I know the rules. Thank you for seeing me to my door.” Closing the door quietly, she locked it and breathed out anxiously.

Watching as the police man nodded and left without much more conversation, Zara exhaled the anxious breath she didn't even realise she was holding. Biting her lip, she shut the front door, looking around the apartment. She had to admit, it was the most stability she'd ever had, and it wasn't all that bad. The furnishings were beautiful, it was spacious... she could see herself getting comfortable here. Tying up her dark hair, Zara headed to the kitchen, smiling as she saw a coffee maker. Turning it on, Zara went to her bag to grab some pyjamas, prepared to relax for the rest of the day.

Luke set a water bowl down for Petunia, stroking her as he put down some food for her, too. "Enjoy, Piggy." He grinned fondly at the dog. Still, his mind drifted back to the young woman, who he knew for certain was definitely living across from him now. Heading to his front door, Luke peered through his peep hole, seeing the door shut and the hallway vacant. Opening his front door, Luke decided that if not now, then when was the best time? Clearing his throat, he shut his door behind him, knocking on the woman's door, shifting foot to foot anxiously, wondering if he should of grabbed her a chocolate bar or something small as a welcome.

Michael had tried to relax, tried to get the woman off his mind, but his curiosity was getting the better of him, driving him up a wall, and he eventually gave up. Making his way out of his own apartment, he carefully and quietly made his way to the door of the woman’s apartment, and he hesitated for a moment, worried about disturbing her or disrupting anything she was doing, but he lifted his hand to knock on the door anyway.

Raelyn breathed out, trying to get used to her new surroundings, trying to get comfortable when she really only felt on edge in every way. She jolted, though, almost panicking when she heard the knock at the door, and she stared at the door, tense and worried. Had she already been figured out? Was somebody here to deal with her? Swallowing, she made her way over to answer the door, hesitating before she opened it.

Zara smiled as she nursed the cup of coffee, leaning against the counter as she studied her new apartment once more, wanting to memorise every nook and cranny, wondering if after the police investigation was over, she could continue to live here. Hearing a knock on the door, Zara tensed up, placing her cup on the counter before heading to the door, opening the door and blinking in surprise when she saw a man who couldn't possibly hurt a fly. "Uh," Zara offered a sweet smile. "Hi there, can I help you?"

Luke peered up as the woman that was brought in answered the door, and Luke looked on in bewilderment, because seeing this close was incredible, she was so beautiful that he was certain he could never verbally express just how much so. "Hi," Luke offered a sweet smile then, unkempt curls falling into his face, and pushing them away almost nervously, Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, I'm Luke. I live across the way with my dog, Petunia." Why did he assume she cared about his dog? Mentally facepalming, Luke offered another smile. "I just wanted to welcome you to the complex."

Michael offered a small smile as he watched her, though he was surprised that she was so much more beautiful up close. She’d been beautiful from a distance, but she was even more so now that he could get a better look at her. “Hi, uh, sorry, I just wanted to welcome you here,” he said, smiling as he watched her, “My name’s Michael. I wanted to offer to help if you ever need anything.”

Raelyn watched the man for a few moments but she offered a small nod. “Raelyn,” she introduced quietly, shifting a bit, anxious, nervous, but trying not to seem rude. “It’s nice to meet you, Luke. Looks like we’ll be neighbors, so… Thanks… What kind of dog do you have?”