Wow, the reviews keep coming in quicker than I expect. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Standard disclaimers apply.

4. Revenge is not Always so Sweet

When we arrived at my apartment building, the guys all wanted to escort me up, but I declined and thanked them all for a nice evening. I looked at Molly and said, "Please call me when you get home, so I know these guys didn't kidnap you and run away with you."

We all laughed at this and I waved to the group and made my way up, looking directly at Carlos before I turned. He smiled at me and mouthed, 'Call me.' I nodded, returned his smile and unlocked the door to my building.

As I waited for the elevator, I thought about my day. Under normal circumstances, when a girl finds out that her boyfriend cheated on her she'd be devastated. I on the other hand, was feeling relieved. It wasn't until now that I was able to fully understand my circumstances. I didn't love Ryan, nor did I really even like him. I was only with him because of my mother.

When the elevator opened, I walked on, pressed the button for my floor and spent the rest of the journey to my apartment trying to figure out a way to block my mother's attempts to get me and Ryan back together.

When I first opened the door of my apartment, I didn't notice anything out of place because I stayed in the hallway. When I walked down the hallway and into my bedroom that's when I noticed that the window was broken and that there was a note on the bed. I picked up the note by the corner and read.

You will regret crossing me Bitch! You have ruined my life so I will ruin yours.

I looked at the letter for a few moments and replaced it back on the bed. I then walked through the rest of my apartment and noticed that many of my belongings were destroyed. I was angry, shocked and humiliated all at the same time, but I didn't know what to do.

My first thought was to call the police, but I needed a friend or two for support. I picked up my phone to call Molly, but saw Carlos' missed call from earlier when he gave me his number. I instinctively called that number and waited while the phone rang.

Carlos answered with a bit of a laugh and said, "I know I told you to call me, but I figured you'd wait a bit longer."

"Carlos, are you guys far away?"

He must have sensed something in my voice because he asked, "No, we're just at the next building. Why, what's wrong?"

"Somebody broke into my apartment. I wanted to call the police, but I didn't want to do it alone."

"We'll be right there. Molly is still with us, so she can get us to the right apartment. Hold tight."

After I hung up, I looked around and made a mental inventory of my belongings. I could see that several things were missing or broken, but I didn't want to touch anything until the police had a chance to look things over. I didn't want to dwell on who had done this. In the back of my mind I knew, but I didn't want to think about it too much. Luckily, I didn't have to dwell for long, because a knock at my door indicated that moral support had arrived.

I rushed to the door and pulled it open expecting to see Carlos, Molly and the rest of the guys. Instead, my building superintendent stood there looking apprehensive and holding a large folder.

"Miss Plum, I have never had the misfortune of having to do this before. I'm sorry to tell you that you have been asked to vacate your apartment by the end of the month. A complaint was filed against you that we cannot tolerate and the owners have decided to evict you."

He handed me the folder, apologised once again and left, just as Molly and the guys emerged from the elevator.

I was still in shock, so when Molly took the envelope out of my hand, I didn't even notice. I just stood there, staring into space. What could I possibly have done that could justify being kicked out of the apartment I had lived in for an entire year? I was a good tenant who always paid her rent on time. In fact, I had paid my next three months in advance.

Molly walked over to me, steered me back inside of my apartment and spoke to me softly. "Steph, it seems that somebody has complained that you are running a brothel out of your apartment. They cite various men coming in and out of your apartment at odd hours, and the owners have deemed you an unfit tenant. You have been evicted and they are giving you 8 days to pack up and leave."

I looked at Molly and then at each of the guys. The events of this evening since I got home were too much to for me to handle, and tears filled my eyes.

Molly put her arm around my shoulder and said, "Come on Steph, it'll be OK. My roommate has left for the summer, so you can stay with me. Let's not worry about this right now. We need to call the police and tell them about the break-in and the threats made against you."

I nodded and let Molly use my phone to call the police. While Molly was on the phone, Carlos came over to me and patted me on the shoulder. He looked at me for a few moments and said, "Do you think the complaint that got you evicted is related to the note left on the bed?"

I thought for a moment and said, "It might be, but whoever made the complaint must have done it much earlier today. The owners live in Europe and are 6 time zones ahead of us. I don't see how it could be related because the complaint must have been sent around the same time that I pressed charges against Ryan. My initial response when I saw the note was that it was Ryan. If the complaint and the break-in are related, I don't think it can be him."

Molly, the guys and I were all huddled in the hallway when the police arrived ten minutes later. They asked everyone but me to wait in the hall, and then walked through my apartment with me.

"Miss Plum, I'm Detective Carter. You filed a complaint against your boyfriend earlier today. Do you think this is related?"

I looked at him and said, "I'm not sure. I haven't seen Ryan since I pressed charges against him. I don't know if he is even still in town. His original plan was to head back to Trenton earlier this evening after our exam. His father owns a law firm there, and he was going to work for him over the summer."

"OK. We still haven't found him to arrest him for your complaint, so we'll check with Trenton PD to see if he is there. Can you go through your evening, so we can get a timeline of events?"

I nodded and started to explain how I came here after the exam to find Ryan in the apartment. He assaulted me and then Molly and Christie arrived and we went to the police station. Afterwards, we went to Grifters and met up with friends.

"Were you or your friends drinking?"

"We were drinking non-alcoholic beer because none of us is old enough to drink legally. We sat around and talked most of the evening."

"Did anything out of the ordinary happen while you were at the bar?"

I thought for a moment and looked over at Carlos who was standing at the door listening to the detective and me. He gave me a barely perceptible nod, so I said, "As it turns out, Ryan cheated with the girlfriend of one of my friends. She turned up at the bar to yell at her boyfriend and accused me of stealing Carlos away from her. She attempted to hit me and I defended myself by blocking her arm and kicking her in the shin. My friends told her to leave and she did."

"What time did this happen?"

I looked around the room and saw that my friends had come back in. Molly broke the silence and said, "It was around 11PM. I remember looking at my watch just before Lucida walked in."

"What time did you arrive home at your apartment?"

"I arrived here just before midnight. We didn't stick around after they rang the bell for last call and it's only about a ten minute walk from there to here."

"OK, we will have to talk to this woman. Can you tell me her name?"

Carlos spoke at that point and said, "Her name is Lucida Martinez. She lives in the first year campus housing."

"Thanks. I am going to call the forensics team to come and dust for finger prints. That will likely take a few hours, so I'd suggest that you find somewhere else to stay for the night."

I nodded and was about to walk out the door when Molly walked over to the cop and said, "There's something else that you should know about. Stephanie was just given this when she got home this evening." She handed him the folder and I watched as he read the contents.

He turned to me and asked, "Is there any truth to this allegation?"

I laughed and said, "Of course not. I have a full class load and spend all my free time in the evenings in the computer lab at school or studying with friends. The only men who have ever been in this apartment before tonight were my Father, the Super and Ryan. I also have a very low bank balance at the moment, which would not be likely if I had that sort of income coming in on a regular basis."

"Do you think these are related?"

"I'm not sure. As far as I'm aware, the owners of this building are living in Europe. There's a 6 hour time difference between there and here, so if they were truly involved, this eviction complaint was filed long before the confrontation with Lucida and within moments of me pressing charges against Ryan."

"Can I keep this letter from your landlords? I want to contact them and discuss this situation. I can't promise that they'll change their minds about evicting you, but I think somebody is trying very hard to make your life a living hell.

If you come to the station tomorrow morning, you can sign your statement and we will have a plan on where to go from there. For now, please give me your phone number so I can contact you in the event that we find something before seeing you in the morning."

I wrote my number in his notebook, thanked him for his help, and left with Molly and the guys. We walked in silence for most of the journey, but when we approached Molly's apartment, Carlos said to the group, "I think we should all go up to ensure that Molly's apartment did not receive the same treatment as Stephanie's. If all is clear, we'll leave you ladies to rest and we'll head home."

We all agreed, so the 8 of us squeezed into the elevator and rode up to the 6th floor where Molly lived. When it was clear that Molly's apartment was safe from intrusion, the guys bid us good night and Jimmy kissed Molly on the cheek before leaving.

Once alone, I sighed and sat on the nearest chair. Molly came over and sat beside me, handing me a glass of orange juice. She looked at me and said, "We'll figure things out Steph, you don't have to worry. Even if you do have to leave your apartment, you can stay here as long as you need. I don't really get along well with roommate, so I'm sure she would jump at the chance to find somewhere new. She's actually friends with your roommate, so maybe they can find a place together."

I groaned at that comment. I never even thought about my roommate. She was gone for the summer and was expecting her apartment to still be there when she returned. We got along alright, but probably because neither of us spent much time there. She will be furious when I tell her that we've been evicted because of a false claim that I'm selling sex out of our apartment. I shook my head at it all and decided to head to bed when Molly said, "Come on Steph let's get some sleep. We can't really do anything tonight. We might as well get some rest so we can tackle things head-on in the morning."

We each took our turn in the bathroom, and despite the day's events rattling around my brain, I fell asleep moments after my head hit the pillow.

As per usual, I'll publish the next chapter after sufficient reviews. Let me know what you think.