The Caretaker

The soft spring sunlight cast bright rays across the crumpled bed sheets, slowly heading up to Audrey's eyes. The redhead groaned and sunk back under the covers to avoid the brightness, wishing for just a few more minutes rest. Realising that it was only going to get brighter she gave in to consciousness, cracking open two bleary crimson eyes against the hideously warm light. Her head was pounding much worse than her usual hangovers.

"Must've been a good night." She murmured under her breath, rubbing some feeling back into her face. As her eyes grew accustomed to the daylight her breathing grew sharper, something was wrong with her room. Sure, it looked pretty much the same, but it was almost completely bare. Where were the posters she had plastered on her walls, the full length mirror she had attached to her closet? Where was her fish tank, with her Mariana and Camilla?

This wasn't her room.

The sound of movement from beyond the bedroom door caused her to snap back to normal, someone was coming. She gave the small room a once over for anything she could use as a weapon, finding nothing she settled for one of the pillows. Audrey was kneeling up on the bed with her soft shield at the ready when the movement stopped right outside the door.

"Are you awake in there?"

Audrey's breath caught in her throat, the voice wasn't one she recognised and worse yet it was a man's voice. She had spent the night in a man's bed.

"I'm coming in, is that OK?"

Her throat was too dry to reply, so she clung to her pillow as the door opened. She quickly realised how useless it would be as the face behind the voice entered. She was stunned by his height first off, having to duck slightly to pass the doorframe; he must have had a good eighteen inches on her. Shaggy black hair and dark eyes stood out even more due to how pale he was, and long lanky limbs only added to the creepy look.

"I'm guessing you feel pretty rough right now." He offered a small bottle to her. "Try to drink a little, it'll help."

Audrey took the bottle carefully, to shocked and tired to put up a fight. It was a bottle of water, still sealed and cold to the touch. She tore the top off and tried to drain it immediately.

Bad Idea.

Tilting her head back sent a fresh wave of nausea up to her brain; bringing with it last night's delights. She covered her mouth with her hand and glanced around for a place to let loose.

"Bathroom." He instructed, pointing her towards the second door it the room. She rushed for the toilet bowl, slamming the door closed with her foot.

Once her stomach was empty she flicked the latch on the bathroom door, grateful for the little bit of privacy it afforded her, and began to fill the sink with cool water. She didn't have her bag with her so phoning for help was a no go, best start fixing this mess. Rubbing some more life back into her face she braved the mirror, and regretted it straight away. Her makeup had all but rubbed off, leaving only her smudged mascara helping the bags under her eyes stand out against her pasty skin. The tips of her hair, previously a frosted white against the rest of the crimson, were covered with a crispy greenish-brown coating; she must have thrown up last night as well. The vile trail continued down her dress, she could only turn up her nose against the smell.

She dropped the ruined dress to the floor and let out a massive sigh of relief, her underwear was still there, she hadn't made any mistakes. She grabbed a towel and began trying to remove the last stains of her makeup, then jumped into the shower to get her hair clean. When Audrey stood checked the mirror again she was more pleased with the results. Her eyes were still a bit darker than normal and she didn't have any foundation to cover up with, but she could show her face in public again. The bigger problem was her dress. She really didn't think she could stand putting it back on; the stench was already making her eyes water. She wrapped a fresh towel around herself, happy with the cover it provided, and prepared to make a dash for her phone. Tiffany would know what to do, she always did.

She cracked open the bathroom door, peaking into the bedroom. Empty. She spied her bag next to the bed, next to a lumpy paper bag. She almost dived for it, desperate for her phone.

Dead, it had to be dead. Her heart sunk slightly, but she would not be bested. She dug through the rest of her bag for, well she wasn't sure but something would surely help. Her heart sunk further when she realised her purse was missing. She retrieved her cigarettes and dumped the now half empty clutch onto the bed. As she considered lighting up her foot brushed the paper bag on the floor. She emptied it onto the bed, slightly confused at the mass of loose black fabric inside. Laying it out revealed a gigantic hoodie and oversized sweatpants. Both seemed to be clean so she discarded her towel in favour of the massive sweater, the pants were a lost cause though, they almost came up to her chest. Happy with the cover the top provided (probably more than any dress she'd ever worn) she grabbed her bag and the paper bag now housing her filthy dress she braved outside the bedroom, hoping she could sneak out quickly.

The living room was open plan, with the kitchenette and dining room all combined into one, exactly like her apartment. It was just as bare as the bedroom with only two couches, a small T.V and a record player as decoration. Her mystery man was busy in the kitchen, but even with his back to her she wouldn't be able to sneak past.

"Feeling a bit better now?" The sudden noise gave her a start. "It's Audrey, Right?" He glanced over his shoulder, not leaving whatever he was doing at the counter.

She was ready this time though; it was time to let him know what he was dealing with.

"Listen, you fucking creep, I don't know what game you're playing, but you try anything and the cops'll on you harder than you can believe." She brandished her dead phone in the air, hoping her bluff would work. She was Audrey fucking Belrose, and she took no shit.

"I'll take that as a yes." He turned from the stove and rested on the worktop; Audrey couldn't help but be irritated at how calm he was. Facing a redheaded firecracker half his size probably wasn't much of a concern.

"You were in a bad way last night, left a nice present on the rug as well." He nodded to a damp patch on the carpet, a sign of recent cleaning. Audrey spotted a blanket bundled on the end of the couch, he'd probably had to sleep out here. He grabbed another bottle of water out of the refrigerator and held it out for her.

"Craig, by the way."

She snatched the bottle out of his hand, sipping a bit more carefully this time. Her legs were starting to get a little shaky, she still wasn't at 100% yet, but that wouldn't stop her. It was time to put this asshat in his place.

"I don't give a flying fuck who you are, why the fuck am I here?" She almost hissed at him. She was going to get an explanation one way or the other.

"You were almost passed out in the hall last night and didn't seem to want to go to the hospital either, can't think why. Sit." He gestured at the table, brushing off her questions. Audrey hesitated for a second before sitting; as soon as she did he slid a plate in front of her. She could only stare at the mess before her.

"Poached egg and toast, it'll sober you up a bit. Good for the stomach too." Craig took the seat opposite her. "I'm guessing this'd be why you feel like shit right now." He produced a tiny bag filled with white powder. Audrey Immediately snatched it out of his hand, she was sure she'd hidden it deep in her purse.

"You went through my bag!" She was ready to burst at this point. "You...y...You piece of shit!" Every second he didn't react just made her madder, but he stayed just as calm as when she'd started.

"Reckon you had a bad reaction to it, should be out your system by now though." He leaned back in his chair. "Relax, I don't care where you got it or if you use it, but you might want to get checked for any other problems."

Audrey was fuming, but he did make sense. She'd only tried a few ounces yesterday after that Lillian bitch got hold of some. It was the only thing different she could think of anyway. She prodded the gooey mass on the plate with her fork.

"You still went through my bag." She wasn't going to let this go.

"Had to check for any medicines, or anything else you might be on." He nodded at the little plastic baggie. "Worst thing you can do is let someone on meds pass out."

She just glared at him, taking a test bite of the eggs. She wouldn't comment on the flavour, especially since it was actually decent. She had to plan her next move, but the only thing Audrey wanted was to get back to her apartment. She pushed the plate away, stood, grabbed her stuff and walked to the door.

"If you think you're getting any thanks keep dreaming. You're lucky I don't go to the cops. And if I ever see you again I will." This would be settled on Audrey's terms.

"Yeah, go tell 'em about the coke as well." He was completely unfazed by her threats as he cleared the table with his back to her. "See you."

Audrey was lost for words for the first time she could remember; she tore the door to the hall open.

"Shit."

The hall looked familiar, scarily familiar, especially the 104 of the opposite apartment. Sure enough right next to it was 102, her place. She checked the door she was about to slam, 105 stared back at her.

She only relaxed once she was back in her own apartment, with her phone charging and a fresh dress. She put some music on in the background as she fixed some fresh make up, it was Friday, that meant coffee with the girls. Her phone started buzzing steadily with missed messages, Audrey checked them as they came, it was mostly just Tiffany wondering if she was okay. As much as she loved her best friend the goody little cheerleader could be overbearing. She fired back a quick response to keep her happy.

Am fine, C U in 30.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The café was fairly quiet on Friday afternoons, and Audrey had no problems finding her two closest friends in their usual spot. With a clean dress and coffee in hand she was her usual, fabulous self.

"Sup hoes?" she took her place at the table, ignoring the pile of wrappers in front of Nikki and the empty mugs next to Tiffany. "Been waiting long?"

"Oh my Gosh, Audrey are you okay?" The blond was on her case straight away, always the perfect little angel, and the red and white school uniform with pigtails was just icing on the 'girl next door' cake. Besides, hadn't she told her she was all right?

"Leave it Tiff, she's obviously fine." The smaller girl spoke without looking up from her phone, she was probably texting her girlfriend or something. Audrey actually had a lot of respect for the little blue-haired nerd; it took a lot of guts to come out to your friends, and she was really grateful that Nikki trusted her that much. She wouldn't let Nikki know though, that'd be a sign of weakness, and Audrey didn't show any weakness. She did however show her contempt for the younger girls' wardrobe; she hated Nikki's apparently endless supply of baggy sweaters and hoodies.

"Of course I'm fine Nik, my phone was just dead after last night." Audrey cleared a space for herself, happy that her friends were satisfied. "Had a bit of a rough morning as well."

They sat chatting among themselves for a while, about how Tiffany's cheer routine was going, about Nikki's girlfriend, about their plans for next week, eventually coming to a comfortable lull. It was Tiffany who broke the quiet.

"So, how bad was your morning Audrey?"

Audrey sighed as she told them her morning's ordeal; she put extra effort into showing how much of an asshole that Craig guy was.

"I don't know Audrey, seems like he did you a solid."

She could only stare at Nikki aghast; did she not hear anything she just said?

"Hey, this Craig, was he tall, kinda skinny, dark eyes?" Tiffany looked deep in thought.

"Yeah, why?"

"I think he's in a few of my classes, he usually keeps pretty quiet."

It made sense that Tiff'd recognise him then, she knew the names of almost everyone at Glenberry U. It'd also make sense that he knew what he was talking about if he was in Tiffany's classes as well, it'd put him on a medical course right along with the future 'Dr Maye'.

Audrey just wanted to forget the whole thing.

"Whatever, hey, are we still on for next week?"

The other two girls exchanged glances, neither were big drinkers or partiers, but they were usually good company when Audrey wanted to go wild. They each gave slight nods.

"Great, and Nik, tell Celeste not to wait up. I'm gonna get you to have fun no matter what."