Remembering Sunday

The entire night was rough and not to my liking.

Clouds had moved in overhead at one point and brought with them an ocean of raindrops, drenching me in their cold stabs. All my bags were soaked, but amazingly my three pictures of Seth stayed perfectly preserved and didn't run colors. I sat up slowly from the bench, my body shaking violently as a breeze blew by, wrenching the drizzle sideways.

It was morning, but I had no idea what time. The sun was hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds, making it seem as though the sky was colored white and dark gray. Down into the neighborhood, I watched people exit houses in a blinding hurry and flee into their cars. At the house closest to me, I noticed a woman and a little girl with a Lamb Chop stuffed animal in hand run and jump into their Honda. Both of them noticed me, but made no sort of contact. It was silly that they ran to theor cars; they were shielded by the massive trees above them. Hell, I was fucking sitting in the rain.

I pushed my soaking wet hair back and pulled my equally drenched hood up. I grabbed all my bags, slung them onto my shoulders, and trudged my way through the London neighborhood to the city. Barely anyone was on the streets yet, and if they were, they had an umbrella guarding them. Cars zipped by and the tracks were free of the train. As soon as pedestrians were allowed to cross, I ran across to the other side where there were tons of large, white buildings. They had to be apartments judging by the multiple windows on every floor and the balconies on some of them. Surely they were too expensive for me now that I was dead broke, but maybe after I got a job I could get one. However, I decided to look anyway.

I entered the first building I came to that had an "APARTMENTS FOR RENT" sign on the door in orange letters and a black backrground. Finally I was out of the icy rain and in warm, normal temperature room. A lady with curly blonde locks sat at the front desk, whom looked startled at my appearance. Well, I was drenched and there were probably black rings under my eyes from my make-up. With a heavy sigh, I walked to the desk and offered the receptionist a smile.

"Um, may I help you?" she asked. The nametag on her shirt read "Amanda".

"I'm looking to rent an apartment," I said nervously. She nodded and lifted the phone, quickly pressing the first button.

"Sir? There's a possible tenant here looking for a place," Amanda said into the phone. She nodded a bit, then hung up. "The landlord is in his office," she said, pointing to the door to her right. I smiled in thanks and headed into the landlord's office. The plush, off-white carpet that was in the lobby continued into the office, as did the beige walls. A large, wooden desk was placed in the room with piles of paper and other objects stacked across it. Sitting behind the desk was a handsome, well-built man with shaggy brown hair. As soon as he heard me enter, he lifted his head to reveal his emerald green eyes and the few freckles dotting his nose and cheek bones.

He was incredibly familiar.

"Ah, hello there," he greeted, flashing a brilliant white-teeth smile. "Please, have a seat."

I smiled sheepishly and took a seat in one of the black plastic chairs that were placed in front of his desk. He stared at me oddly, obviously thrown off by how I looked from my lousy night just as the receptionist was.

"Got rained out, eh?" he joked with a soft smile. I sighed and wiped the black rings under my eyes off with the sleeve of my hoodie and pulled my hood down. I knew that crude humor from somewhere, but where? Probably just a movie character.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," he apologized.

"It's okay," I murmured.

"Ah, how rude of me. My name is Mr. Stanton, landlord," he introduced himself. "And your name is?" He extended his hand out to me.

"Laura," I replied, giving his hand a quick shake. "Stanton . . . I've heard that name before."

"Maybe you've heard of my father, Aaron Stanton. He's famous for his apartment complexes and granted me landlord position for one."

It hit me.

"Aaron Stanton . . ." my voice trailed off.

"Yes, Aaron, he--"

"Billy?" I asked. No, not him!

He stared at me incredulously. "How'd you know my name?"

I felt like I was going to throw up.

"You don't remember me?" I asked dubiously.

"No, I can't say that I do," he said. "Have we really met before?"

"Yeah, we have, and I'll give you a hint," I said angrily. "The high school bet."

Recognition flooded his eyes and features, and his mouth dropped open.

"Laura? Laura Reynolds?" he asked.

"Who the fuck else?" I snapped quietly.

"Oh man, Laura, I--"

"Save it," I murmured as I stood up. "The damage is done." I turned for the door. I wouldn't be able to stand living here knowing the landlord was the man that broke my heart. I heard the chair Billy was in move, and with his same football player agility, he swooped in front of the door to block me.

"Let me out," I demanded.

"Laura, just listen to me, please," he said, putting his hands on my shoulders. I quickly shook them off and took a step back.

"I'll call rape," I snapped.

"Laura."

"I don't want to freaking hear it, Billy. Now let me out."

"No." He leaned against the door.

"RAPE!" I shouted. Billy gasped quietly and cupped a hand across my mouth, which I was quick to rip away. "You'd best not mess with me right now, Billy."

"Can you just give me a chance to talk to you?" he asked.

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm sorry!"

I stared at him and shook my head. "Sorry? You think that's going to fix the way you played me? You really are as stupid as you look."

"What do you want me to do? I was a stupid teenager and I made a mistake, okay?"

"Well, now you're a stupid adult, thinking you can fix the past."

Billy sighed heavily. "Laura, what could I possibly do to make this better?"

"There's nothing you can do. Ever."

"Laura, please. There has to be something. Do you need a place to stay? I can give you one of the nicest apartments at a discount," he offered.

"Won't make a difference. I'm broke," I whimpered. My voice cracked on the last word. I needed to get out of this office as quickly as I could before Billy saw my tears.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gently touching my shoulder. I jerked my head up to glare at him.

"Do I look okay?" I snapped. "This past month has been hell for me and I'm in the worst condition possible right now."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. I shook my head and looked away. To stay or to go? I was in desperate need of a place, but the thought of Billy as a landlord irked me.

"It's not your fault, but my first heartache was," I said.

"I know," he muttered. "But I want to fix it. I really do, Laura."

"As much as I hate you, I think you're the only person I can get an apartment from." I sighed. "But I have no money."

"I can't give you an apartment for free, but I have another idea. However, you might not like it much," he said.

"What?" I asked hesitantly.

"You could stay with me in my apartment," he offered.

Normally I'd say no to such a vile offer, but it was my only hope at the moment.

"It's only going to be temporary," I muttered. Billy smiled happily and embraced me in a hug. I groaned and pushed him away.

"Right, sorry," he apologized. He cleared his throat and stepped aside, allowing me to exit the office first in order to lead me to my new, extremely temporary home.

My stomach flipped, and I was pretty sure even my baby wasn't going to be fond of this living arrangement.