Page 23 of Tension

This was not the first time the landlord or the cops had shown up. I had to ask myself how I let it get this far.

One of the officers glanced at the cut near my eye, and my hand wrapped around my wrist. The bruise was forming on my light skin. “Do you want to file a report?”

I thought about it. What it would mean. What it would change. Then I shook my head. “No.”

The landlord sighed. “Chris, this isn’t the first complaint. The noise. The smoking. The arguing. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to vacate the unit as soon as possible.”

I didn’t argue.

I didn’t have the energy.

I just nodded.

Maybe something new really would be better. This felt like the end of a chapter. And maybe I was finally ready to start the next one.

I sat in my car for twenty minutes before I unlocked my phone. My hand still shook every time I moved it, the bruise darkening by the second.

Nia answered on the second ring. “Hey Chris, what’s up?”

I breathed before speaking.

“Chris? You okay?”

“No,” I whispered.

I told her everything. Seeing Vel. The yelling. The wall. The cops. My voice shook, jumping around, skipping details, circling back. She did not interrupt.

When I finished, she spoke tenderly. “Chris, you have to file a report.”

“I already told them no.”

“You can still go now. Get a restraining order. This isn’t something to wait on. What if next time it’s worse?”

I stared at the cut under my eye in the rearview mirror. “I’ll go,” I said. My voice was small but steady. “There won’t be a next time. He ran as soon as I went for my gun.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.”

She exhaled. “Good. You deserve to feel safe. And loved for real.”

There was a pause. Then I cleared my throat. “So… Do you have Vel’s number?”

I could hear her smiling. “No, but I can get it. Why?”

“I figured I could check in. I feel bad for pulling him into my mess.”

“You want his number?” she teased.

“Maybe.”

I heard muffled voices, then she came back. “LL said if Brian puts another scratch on you, he’ll need to see him.”

I laughed. Really laughed. For the first time that day. “Tell him to relax. I’m going to the police.”

“Good. And Vel’s still in your city working on gym stuff. He’s at Escapes. Same room you stayed in.”

My stomach flipped.