SANCTUARY FANFIC
By Paul Berriman
Chapter One
There was nothing special about the apartment block, twenty floors, two elevators and a stairwell. The front glass doors were guarded by an African doorman who would always greet residents and guests with a bright smile showing all his white teeth. He stood completely still, watching a cab pull up at the kerb.
Meg stepped out of the cab as it came to a halt at the sidewalk right outside the apartment block.
"Thanks, keep the change" she said, passing the driver a twenty dollar bill. The doorman gave her his trademark smile and opened the door for her as she entered the building. Meg pressed the button for the lift and waited as the dial counted down to the ground floor. The bell dinged but the doors didn't open.
"Great!" she said sarcastically. She tried the other lift, but it too wouldn't open for her. She saw a man standing at the mailboxes and called out to him. "Excuse me? Do you know what's wrong the elevators?"
The man didn't answer. He just stood there staring that the mailboxes. She
thought she recognised at first, noticing something familiar about the dark
blonde hair.
Turning towards the stairs she decided it wasn't important and started her ascent, her feet throbbing with pain with each step.
The last time Meg had walked up these stairs was five years ago. With Will. They had come home from the theatre at midnight and a fight was breaking out in the lobby. The path to the lifts was blocked so they ran to the stairwell, laughing and hoping the angry mob wouldn't come after them.
She missed Will sometimes. Missed his sense of humour, his company on late cold nights. She missed his eyes, his lips, his hair… His hair. After spending the night at her place he would always spend half an hour in the bathroom putting product in his hair.
Meg stopped on the third floor landing picturing the man she saw in the lobby. Specifically trying to remember his hair. It had looked exactly like Will's. But it couldn't be him. Could it?
She came to her apartment and but the key in the door, ready to crash on the couch and giver her feet a rest at last. As she stepped inside she thought she heard a crash come from downstairs but she was too tired to bother walking back down to see what it was. If was anything; she could have been imagining it, she was that out of it.
Letting out a long breath, Meg slouched on the couch. She put her feet up on the coffee table and closed her eyes. The hair was what she saw. She opened her eyes quickly but the image of the man's hair was still in her mind's eye. She looked over at the window but the photographs on the credenza caught her eye. Photos of Will and her.
Why was this happening? She had only just begun to get over him completely; accept that they were over as a couple for good. And now it was as if he was actively trying to force himself back into her life. Maybe it was him down there, come back to her after all this time. Meg leaned forward and took her mobile phone from the coffee table. She scrolled through her contacts until she came to Will. Even though they had broken up and she had been angry with him, she could never bring herself to delete his number. She dialled it.
No answer. She threw the phone down in frustration. Though even if he did answer, what would she say? Were you in my building today? Do you want you meet up sometime? She banished the thoughts from her mind and lay back down on the lounge. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, letting her mind wander to anything but Will Zimmerman.