AN: Apologies for the long, unannounced break I took there! Just graduated university (yay) and getting ready for even more education (yay). Life has been so so amazing, but also taxing. Thank you to anyone who's stuck around :) I hope you and your loved ones are all staying safe. Enjoy
Mei's head was still reeling with confusion and a looming feeling of unease, though she didn't know why. Her heart was pounding and her palms were sweating for reasons unrelated to the scorching weather. She couldn't think straight about anything, aside from the need to flee. It felt almost instinctive, like she was avoiding some terrible danger. But what was that danger?
An impatient honk snapped her back to reality. With a gasp, she barely swerved in time to avoid crashing into the passing car. The blaring beep sounded again, this time like an expletive thrown at her in parting. She faintly registered that the driver was yelling something too, but she chose to ignore it.
Mei turned the corner onto a bumpy road, and almost immediately the scenery changed. Sloppily sealed cracks snaked through the pavement, old empty lots left barren gaps between houses, and the air hung thick with smog from the industrial plants upwind. Mei didn't mind though. The dark lines of sealant were pretty in a way, trailing like brushstrokes over the dull grey canvas of pavement. The empty lots and smog meant there were fewer people - only those who couldn't afford to go elsewhere. It meant they all understood each other, to some degree.
As she neared the house, a familiar car came into view. Her stomach dropped. The bumper of a beige Mustang jutted out from the driveway, straight through the middle. The bastard didn't even bother parking correctly. Mei hastily pulled over to park along the sidewalk, yanked the keys out from the ignition, and rushed to the door. God only knew what was going on inside.
Her fingers fumbled with the keys, but she forced herself to take a deep breath before opening the door. She half-expected to see a bloody mess - her landlord's entrails strewn about the room or some such horrid scene.
She was met with disappointment.
"Mr. Thatcher," she forced through tight lips. "I wasn't expecting you. Did we have a meeting scheduled?"
The man, more energetic and dare she say happy than usual, was sprawled across the couch, taking up as much space as humanly possible. An absurd way of asserting dominance, perhaps. She wished it didn't work. Even the cats seemed to avoid him. Though maybe it was just the smell of tobacco that seemed to cling to him. He might as well have been made of the vile stuff.
Across from him was the serious one, sitting neatly in a quilted armchair. His sharp presence - she could think of no better word to describe him - and collectedness were a stark contrast to Thatcher's condescending languidness. Both made her uneasy in very different ways.
"Calm down, sweetheart. I'm just dropping by. As the owner of this property, I think that's within my right, don't you?"
Mei inwardly seethed. She wanted to punch him in the face.
"You're absolutely right, Mr. Thatcher. What can I do to help you?"
He gestured to the kitchen.
"You? Nothing, except fix us all a cup of joe." He pulled a metal case out of his pocket and clicked it open. Without asking, he jammed a cigarette into his mouth, lit it, and puffed a few times, filling the musty room with clouds of smoke.
When he saw Mei hadn't moved, he looked up at her with his cold green eyes. Cruelty bubbled just beneath the surface - cruelty, but also a flash of annoyance. He paused before speaking more slowly. Insultingly slowly. He knew she understood English. "I'm not here for you. Now how about some coffee?"
She walked on stiff legs to the kitchen. Axel glanced sideways at her silently. She never could read him, though she could hardly imagine he was particularly comfortable at the moment.
Her back turned, she finally let her annoyance show on her face. With no particular care, she hastily prepared the coffee and set the percolator over the stovetop. She tried to listen to the conversation that had continued on without her, but the only thing loud enough to hear was the hideous bout of hacking from her landlord's diseased lungs.
Once the water just started to bubble, Mei wrenched it off the stove and poured the coffee out into small teacups. She hoped the scantness would convey the message she so desperately wished to shout at her guest. Get out now, please.
"… so you understand my position here. It's nothing personal it's - just leave it on the table." He spoke to her as if she was nothing more than a waitress. Or a slave.
Mei wouldn't budge. She set the cups down and sat herself down on the far side of the couch. She was bold, but not so bold as to move any closer to him than need be.
"Mr. Thatcher, you've come all the way here. Surely I can help with whatever it is that's bothering you."
She knew to appeal to his need for reverence.
He laughed. It was a grating sound, accompanied by a puff of smoke that billowed in front of her face. Was he blowing it straight at her?
"What the hell. I'd have to tell you eventually. Suppose there's no harm in letting you in on men's business." He chuckled in Axel's direction, expecting some sort of amusement or agreement from him. Mei held back a smirk when he was met only with steely apathy.
"I'm selling the lot. You have two months to move out."
Her heart seemed to stop working for a moment. Blood stopped, then pulsed in her ears and against her temples. Her voice caught in her throat. When she tried again she could only manage a quiet, "I'm sorry?"
"You know, I've got to admit I'd always had my doubts about this one." He jabbed a half-burned cigarette in her direction. "But I have to give some credit where credit's due. See, I've only ever rented out this place to one at a time. Just like the rest do. But Mei… Mei comes in one day and tells me there's not one, but three tenants in my house?"
He finally turned to her again. She didn't bother masking her emotions this time. He laughed - an awful wheezing sound that was about as pleasant as metal cutlery squeaking against a dinner plate.
"Well, that got me thinking: why stop at three? Why not four? Five? Fifty?"
"Y-you can't —" Mei stuttered.
"I just did! I found the most enthusiastic associate almost immediately. From Wagner's - big company that just so happens to be in the market for real estate. Seemed eager to buy the lot here, God knows why. Filthy neighbourhood, this is."
Mei exhaled abruptly. Where had this come from? Why? Why now?
"He's turning this and the next lot into a complex. Condominium or other. What with rates of immigration these days, good idea don't you think? Somewhere affordable, away from the other neighbourhoods."
When she caught his eye, she only saw pure satisfaction oozing from hateful eyes and a wicked grin. She couldn't find the words to speak up. She just stared back, completely at a loss. He seemed to take it as his signal to leave.
"Well, I've given you plenty of notice. I won't be expecting any problems in two months' time." With a grunt he raised himself onto his feet and shook the ashes from his shirt. The particles landed on the freshly cleaned carpet.
"Axel." He paused so he could say her name in passing. "Mei." She hated hearing her name coming from his vile lips. "I'll see myself out."
With him gone, Mei finally found the incentive to move again. She briefly glanced at Axel as she jumped up from the couch. He looked like he was working something out in his head. What, though, she couldn't possibly know.
The sound of the door opening spurred her into motion. She bolted to the door, just barely catching it before it closed.
"Mr. Thatcher," she cried out. "Mr. Thatcher, please!"
He took his time coming to a halt.
"Please, if it's money you want, we can work something out. I can —"
"You couldn't even meet half of what was offered, not even if you drained your life's savings." He chuckled, then smoothed his ash-smudged fingers over his sloppily shaven face. His eyes trailed over her from head to toe. "Though I'll tell you what."
Mei inhaled sharply as he took a step too close to her, and then another. His rough hand brushed a strand of hair from her face. His fingertips just barely touched her cheek, and his breath burned against her forehead. The stench of smoke was all around her now. It stifled her. She swallowed the lump in her throat with some effort.
"I wouldn't mind working something out," he said in a low voice. She instinctively inched away, but he kept a firm grasp of her hair. Sharp pain prickled at her scalp when she moved too far.
"I'm sure we can come to an agreement, Mei."
Her fingers grasped at his wrist, begging him to let go. He kept her there for another moment, so close that if she moved an inch she'd be pressed against him. She stood completely still. Her eyes were level with his chest, which rose and fell deeply as he held her there. She was too scared to do anything but stand there.
"Such a doll…" He trailed a finger down her cheek, her neck, the collar of her shirt. He stopped there, tracing along her collarbone before loosening his grip.
Mei untangled her hair and eased it from his fingers. He let go of her as if suddenly burned, and in the next instant walked off to his car as though nothing had happened.
"Let me know. You know where to find me."
Mei refused to watch him any longer. She walked as fast as she could up the steps and slammed the door behind her. She waited until she heard the car engine turn and drive off before moving again. It was too much. Her head was spinning and her stomach churned painfully.
A soft scratch at her ankle prompted her to move. With a sigh, she scooped up the cat and hugged it close to her body. Its purring against her chest was a small comfort.
Axel stood facing the window, hands clasped behind his back. She wondered for a moment if he was still breathing, he was so quiet and still. Exhausted, her tired legs gave way and she sunk down into the soft cushions of the couch. She made a mental note to clean up the ashes from the upholstery when she had the energy.
"Everything is alright?"
"Yes, yes it is, all things considering." She absentmindedly stroked the feline now stretched out across her lap. "May I ask what he said to you before I arrived?"
Axel shrugged and peered out the window. "Nothing of consequence."
She studied his face, trying to parse out a lie or some sort of deception. It was to no avail, though she reasoned he would have no reason not to tell the truth. She scoffed. On second thought, of course Thatcher would wait until she got home to bear the news. He was sick like that, taking pleasure in her suffering.
"I apologize for his… well, for him."
He settled himself on the opposite end of the couch. The old springs squeaked under his weight, but he still managed to sit with such strange poise. It was like every movement he made was carefully thought out and executed with precision. It was off-putting - made him feel inhuman.
"Why do you stay here?" His voice cut through the air between them.
"I wouldn't if I had any other choice. Besides, Mr. Thatcher and I have… we have a complicated history."
Axel didn't say a word, but he turned his head to look at her expectantly. Mei sighed.
"This house used to be mine. My parents'." Her throat caught on the word. She swallowed. "They put every hard-earned penny they'd earned into it. Decorated every room themselves too. A place fit to raise a child. It was their great pride, second only to me - though at times I'm sure even it came in first."
She laughed a little to herself. She hadn't realized how long it had been since she'd allowed herself to reminisce like this.
"But then... afterwards, everything fell through." She sat up, suddenly invigorated. "The land should have gone to me - or it should have been reserved for me - I'm certain of it. But it was put on the market, and Jim - Mr. Thatcher - he became the sole proprietor."
"How old?" Axel asked softly.
She gave him a puzzled look, prompting him to continue.
"How old were you when it happened?" He repeated.
Mei let the cat squirming in her lap jump down. It left a cold patch of emptiness. "Sixteen."
They sat quietly as the sun beat down on their backs. A drop of sweat trickled down her neck. She was dressed in a light cotton summer dress, but the heat was still enough to draw beads of sweat from her skin. He, on the other hand, looked bone dry, even with the undershirt and buttoned vest he wore. Mei let her eyes linger on him for a few moments. She wondered not for the first time who exactly this person living with her was.
His head was bowed slightly, and his elbows rested upon his knees. Upon closer inspection she noticed a few flyaways springing out from his sleek head of hair. Fine lines gathered at the natural creases of his face, and she could see the faintest hint of stubble along his chin and jawline.
So human after all, she mused.
She was thankful when the sound of footsteps coming up the driveway interrupted her train of thought. Oscar and Otto soon entered, talking jovially in their native language. At least, it sounded jovial to her. Perhaps that was just the way their language sounded, she thought.
"Welcome back, you two." She did her best to greet them with a smile. The exhaustion that seemed to seep into her bones made it hard to move much at all. The heat only compounded the sluggishness that kept her fixed in place.
Otto shot her back a large grin. He seemed to have taken a genuine liking her, at least. Without a word, he bent to pick up the teacups on the table and carried them to the sink.
She looked over to Oscar, and found him pulling out aluminum cans from the brown paper bag he'd set on the table. She looked more closely at the label, and realized they were cans of cat food. The fancy kind. Mei smiled again, though this time without any effort at all.