Chapter 4

Even with all of her emotions flowing rapidly out of her, it didn't take Audri long to pack what few possessions she had. Her journal, a few articles of clothing, Johnny's letter containing the picture of his house, and a few other necessities were among these items. She threw on her jacket; carefully tucking away the roll of cash her father had so willingly given her. Taking one last look around, she headed out, shutting the door quietly behind her, and smiled.

In the living room, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother had passed out on the couch, the beer bottle on the coffee table, and the cigarette burning to ashes clenched in her hand. Audri knew that it was now or never; once the cigarette burned down enough, it would singe the skin between her fingers, and she would wake up in a rage, looking for someone to hit. She had figured that her father had also passed out, and she was right. She smiled slightly, hearing soft snoring coming from his slumber. Moving past him, she grabbed the car keys from the counter, and left as quickly as she could manage.

Audri felt security already starting to build within her, and she didn't want that feeling to subside. She was almost at a run going down the hallway, passing many doors leading to empty apartments. Her footsteps echoed behind her, sounding like hammers slamming into the floor.

She reached the elevator and froze, her heart almost stopping in her chest.

'It can't be, oh God, not now.' She thought.

Coming up the stairs toward her, from the main floor, were two uniformed police officers. They were whispering something about the building, but Audri couldn't make out their words. She had never wanted this old elevator to open so badly as she did now, but nothing happened. She pressed the button again. This time, she could hear the pulleys going to work as the shaft slowly rose to where she was. Unfortunately, it didn't open in time.

"Excuse me, miss!" one of them called to her.

"Y...yes, sir?" she stammered, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"You don't have to be alarmed. This is my partner Officer Alemar, and I'm Officer Cooper. We just wanted to ask you about a couple we think may be living here. You're the only person we've seen so far, so..."

"Okay, I'll help you."

"Have you heard of the Durant's?"

She hesitated.

"Miss?"

"Yes sir," then figuring she better give a better explanation, she said, "they're my neighbors."

"Oh, I see."

His partner was scribbling down notes on a little notepad, and for some reason, Audri became a little startled. Officer Alemar must have noticed, because he looked up and said, "Just standard procedure."

She nodded.

"Is there a problem officer? I mean, with the Durant's?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, but we received a call just a while ago saying that there might be a disturbance here. A neighbor said it sounded like it was coming from their apartment."

"We've gotten reports before about these particular people causing quite the commotion,"

Officer Cooper finished.

"Yes, I agree."

"Do you know which-"

"419."

"I'm sorry?"

"They live in apartment 419."

"Do they have any children?"

Audri smiled. "Not anymore."

The officers thought nothing of her comment; Officer Alemar scribbled more notes, then tucked the pad away in his breast pocket.

"Thank you, Miss---"

"Douglas," she finished, saying the first name that came to here mind.

"Miss Douglas, thank you for your cooperation."

"Have a nice evening," Officer Alemar said with a nod of his head.

Audri breathed a sigh of relief as they moved on down the hall, and turned the corner. The elevator doors opened, and Audri quietly cursed them. The last thing she heard before the elevator doors closed, was the distant sound of firm knocking on a door.

When the elevator opened at the ground floor, she sprinted out of the building's double doors into the night. To her relief, no one was around, but she could already hear the verbal abuse the police were getting from her anything but sober mom. She fished out the car keys from her pocket and unlocked the driver's side to the car. She threw her small backpack inside, and gasped as a hand grabbed her shoulder.