My Best Horrible Story
The Apartment
As part of my investigation, I volunteer to empty out Janey's apartment. I don't expect to find anything saying that my cousin didn't die of an overdose, but if it would put my aunt's mind to rest, I'd go with the whole charade.
In her last year of high school, Janey fell into the wrong sort of crowd. At first she just went to a lot of underground concerts, which were cool. I went to quite a few with her. Then right after high school she moved out
and that's when we all pretty much lost contact with her. She even stopped talking to me, last I heard she was waiting tables by day, singing in a band by night.
Her apartment was in just about the shittiest part of town, the whole place seemed like a death trap. From the water damaged wall paper and vomit colored carpet to the ant infested kitchen and the yellowed, broken tiled bathroom.
All her stuff is chaotically scattered around the apartment on every surface possible, but she's always been like that. Convinced that life was too short to spend putting everything in its proper place, guess in her case she was right. With a hefty stack of boxes and ton of garbage bags I get to work emptying out her apartment.
"Hey you." someone slurs from the doorway, I guess I'd forgotten to lock the door, "You the new neighbor?" this woman had to be at least 5'9, all legs and skinny as a toothpick. Her dark skin was a major contrast to her bright red lips.
"Uhh."
"What happened to that other girl, Janey?"
"She passed away." I say quietly.
"Oh damn." she says crossing her arms, her slur clearing up and her posture improving, "I'm gonna miss her."
"You knew her well?" I ask as I box up some of Janey's clothes for Salvation Army.
"Sorta, she'd always look out for me and stuff when I'd get all crazy." she says uneasily, "I'm Keisha by the way."
"Zoe." I say shaking her cold sweaty hand. Her arms are all marked up; syringes.
"Cool." she says looking around, she picks up a bandanna, "Can I have this?" I nod.
"So was Janey into uhh," I look down at her arm, then back at her eyes, "that stuff." I tap my arm in the same place she has syringe marks.
"Janey? Oh god no, weed, beer and cigarettes, that's all." Keisha says shaking her head, "Wouldn't even go for some snow at parties and stuff, she liked to keep it clean."
"Really?" I say and something triggers in my mind, "So she never did any drugs?"
"Ha, that would be the day." Keisha half laughs, "We used to make fun of how clean she was, for a place like this."
"Why do you think she was living here?" my journalist instinct kicking in.
"God knows, she was a waitress I think, I bet she could've afforded to live elsewhere."
Maybe my aunt was onto something, if she had been a regular hard drug user like Keisha, I'd have finished up emptying out the apartment and been done with it. But no, there was no history of drug use, and I hadn't come across any drug related items in her apartment either, just a single bottle of beer in the fridge.
I look around the crowded apartment, finding out what happened to Janey was going to be more than a two hour whammy. With that I made an determinative decision.
"Keisha, who's the landlord?"
"Ohhh, ummm." she says holding up a pair of Janey's pants.
"You can have those." I say before she can even ask, "Landlord?"
"Right, uhh forgot his name, I've got his phone number somewhere in my apartment." she says putting the pair of pants over her arm.
"Can I have it?" I ask when I realize she isn't in any rush to go get the number for me.
"Oh right, okay." she giggles, "C'mon."
Keisha's apartment is cleaner than I expected but it still takes her a good five minutes to find the phone number from her kitchen junk drawer. Meanwhile I wander around the apartment and take a look around.
On the coffee table it her stuff for cooking up and one of those free magazines they give away at subway stations. There are also a couple of prescription bottles. I pick one of them up and read the label to see that the pills inside are Thorazine. I memorize the name instantaneously before putting the bottle down.
"Here y'are." Keisha says slapping a piece of paper into my hand, "That's the landlord."
"Thanks." I say leaving her apartment and going back to Janey's.
In her last year of high school, Janey fell into the wrong sort of crowd. At first she just went to a lot of underground concerts, which were cool. I went to quite a few with her. Then right after high school she moved out
and that's when we all pretty much lost contact with her. She even stopped talking to me, last I heard she was waiting tables by day, singing in a band by night.
Her apartment was in just about the shittiest part of town, the whole place seemed like a death trap. From the water damaged wall paper and vomit colored carpet to the ant infested kitchen and the yellowed, broken tiled bathroom.
All her stuff is chaotically scattered around the apartment on every surface possible, but she's always been like that. Convinced that life was too short to spend putting everything in its proper place, guess in her case she was right. With a hefty stack of boxes and ton of garbage bags I get to work emptying out her apartment.
"Hey you." someone slurs from the doorway, I guess I'd forgotten to lock the door, "You the new neighbor?" this woman had to be at least 5'9, all legs and skinny as a toothpick. Her dark skin was a major contrast to her bright red lips.
"Uhh."
"What happened to that other girl, Janey?"
"She passed away." I say quietly.
"Oh damn." she says crossing her arms, her slur clearing up and her posture improving, "I'm gonna miss her."
"You knew her well?" I ask as I box up some of Janey's clothes for Salvation Army.
"Sorta, she'd always look out for me and stuff when I'd get all crazy." she says uneasily, "I'm Keisha by the way."
"Zoe." I say shaking her cold sweaty hand. Her arms are all marked up; syringes.
"Cool." she says looking around, she picks up a bandanna, "Can I have this?" I nod.
"So was Janey into uhh," I look down at her arm, then back at her eyes, "that stuff." I tap my arm in the same place she has syringe marks.
"Janey? Oh god no, weed, beer and cigarettes, that's all." Keisha says shaking her head, "Wouldn't even go for some snow at parties and stuff, she liked to keep it clean."
"Really?" I say and something triggers in my mind, "So she never did any drugs?"
"Ha, that would be the day." Keisha half laughs, "We used to make fun of how clean she was, for a place like this."
"Why do you think she was living here?" my journalist instinct kicking in.
"God knows, she was a waitress I think, I bet she could've afforded to live elsewhere."
Maybe my aunt was onto something, if she had been a regular hard drug user like Keisha, I'd have finished up emptying out the apartment and been done with it. But no, there was no history of drug use, and I hadn't come across any drug related items in her apartment either, just a single bottle of beer in the fridge.
I look around the crowded apartment, finding out what happened to Janey was going to be more than a two hour whammy. With that I made an determinative decision.
"Keisha, who's the landlord?"
"Ohhh, ummm." she says holding up a pair of Janey's pants.
"You can have those." I say before she can even ask, "Landlord?"
"Right, uhh forgot his name, I've got his phone number somewhere in my apartment." she says putting the pair of pants over her arm.
"Can I have it?" I ask when I realize she isn't in any rush to go get the number for me.
"Oh right, okay." she giggles, "C'mon."
Keisha's apartment is cleaner than I expected but it still takes her a good five minutes to find the phone number from her kitchen junk drawer. Meanwhile I wander around the apartment and take a look around.
On the coffee table it her stuff for cooking up and one of those free magazines they give away at subway stations. There are also a couple of prescription bottles. I pick one of them up and read the label to see that the pills inside are Thorazine. I memorize the name instantaneously before putting the bottle down.
"Here y'are." Keisha says slapping a piece of paper into my hand, "That's the landlord."
"Thanks." I say leaving her apartment and going back to Janey's.
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