What a weird day.
Kagome stepped out of the apartment manager's office and walked over to her stepbrother's unit. The complex wasn't the best-kept place in the world, a far cry from her sweet little condo in Western New Jersey. The desert sun seemed to weather buildings faster out west, which was probably why the pain was peeling and the shrubs looked dried up and yellow. It really wasn't that bad; after all, she'd planned to stay here to save money before she ended up in a free room at the Shikon no Tama. She still wasn't sure how that had all happened. Not that she minded that swanky hotel; she just didn't want to be beholden to Kikyo Taijiya, especially if she had something to do with Sota's disappearance. Yet for some reason she'd meekly checked into the hotel and hadn't really come out of whatever fog she'd been in until she unpacked her suitcases.
Must be more tired and stressed out than I thought. Jet-lagged, too.
She searched out unit twelve. If she knew her stepbrother, there were probably more dishes in the sink than the cupboard and nothing but old Chinese containers in the fridge. Maybe she would straighten up the place while she searched for clues to what had happened to him.
Walking toward the door, she dug in her pocket for the key the land lord had given her just now when she'd paid Sota's overdue rent. She hadn't counted on spending that much money—this trip was supposed to be on a shoe string budget—but she couldn't let Sota's place get rented out from under him, even if he skipped bail and left her own living place in jeopardy. She'd give him an earful when he came back. She could hear the conversation now; she'd try to scold and he would thank her for helping him, giving her those puppy-dog eyes and that lopsided smile. Probably swear to pay her back, too, though she doubted she would ever see a dime. Still, whenever he said he wanted to pay her back, she knew he meant it. It just never seemed to happen.
But he was family, and family looked out for one another.
She started to slide the key in the lock, then paused. The door wasn't quite closed. It stood open a crack.
Had Sota come home? She nearly bolted through the door, then paused. What if it was someone else? Someone who was after Sota? As quietly as she could, she reached into her purse and pulled out the pepper spray that she had shoved in the bag before heading over. Fingers trembling, she eased open the door and silently stepped into the living room.
Dun Dun Dun! Lol So sorry for the late reply! I've been caught up in school again… grrr… I even took a break from Homework just so that I could finish this chapter… So yeah… I know it's been soo long but yeah… please forgive me? Aha… not to mention I must retire to my part time job now… but please rest assured to know that I'm still thinking about this beautiful story~!
~Rosie~
