"Good morning! I was about to go and wake you up."
Anya froze upon hearing the familiar voice. She tilted her head up and silently prayed, 'Please don't let it be him. Please, not him.'
She heard footsteps coming over. Hesitant, she turned her head and confirmed her worst fear.
Vic stood a few steps behind her.
Anya prayed to the gods for the ground to open up and swallow her whole right that moment. She scolded herself mentally for drinking too much. How could she let this happen?
"Why am I in your house, Mr. Marquez?" she demanded.
"Don't tell me you have forgotten what happened last night?" Vic said.
"What are you talking about?" There was a slight hint of panic in Anya's voice as her hands immediately pulled her blazer close.
Vic rolled his eyes. "You locked yourself out of your condo after entering the wrong code thrice. I tried to help you, then you barged into my unit and crashed on the sofa."
"Why was I with you last night?"
"We live in the same building. On the same floor. In fact—" Vic opened the front door. "I'm your next door neighbor."
Anya saw the familiar door with the metal overlay that said "18A" and was dumbfounded.
"We better go. I'll take you to the security company."
"Vic Marquez! It's bad enough that I see you in the office regularly as my boss, but why the hell are you also my neighbor?"
"I've been living here for a year now. You're the one who just moved in. Aren't you the one who's following me?"
"You wish! It was Erica who bought the unit! I had no idea you were living next to me until now." She crossed her arms in front of her.
"Nevermind," he said, putting on his coat. "We should go. Before she arrives."
Anya gasped, suddenly remembering something. "Oh shit. I noticed the ring on your finger the first time we met—"
"Not her," he said, cutting her off. "Worse."
Before Anya could ask further, the elevator door opened. Out came a small, old lady with gray hair. She smiled widely upon seeing Vic and Anya standing at the door.
"Hello," the old lady said. "Having female visitors so early in the morning, eh, Vic?" She smiled mischievously.
"Hi Auntie Lita. This is our new neighbor from next door, Anya."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Anya greeted awkwardly.
"Such a pretty girl…"
"Auntie," Vic warned.
"What? I just want to invite our beautiful guest for breakfast."
Anya's eyes grew wide with panic. "Uhm.. thank you, ma'am—"
"Just call me Auntie Lita."
"Auntie Lita. I'd love to have breakfast with you but I need to go back to my unit now."
"But—"
"Auntie, I'm taking Anya to the security company—"
"No! No need," Anya said. "I'll be fine."
"How do you plan to go into your condo without a spare key?"
Just then, the door to her unit opened. Anya breathed a sigh of relief. She had sent Lizzie a text message a while ago to let her in.
"Miss Anya? Mr. Marquez, you're here too?" There was a confused look on Lizzie's face. "Is that why you didn't spend the night at home?" she asked innocently.
—-------------------------
"She's pretty," Auntie Lita remarked as she served food on the table.
"It's not what you think," Vic replied, taking a bite of the meat she had placed over his bowl of rice.
"Why deny it, boy? Your auntie is just glad that you finally bring a woman home."
Vic's right hand touched the ring on his left finger almost like a reflex. He pulled on it a little, spinning it around his finger, before putting it back.
Auntie Lita sighed and shook her head. "It's about time you took that ring off your finger and let her go. If she were here, she wouldn't want to see you like this."
"If she were here, I wouldn't be like this," he replied curtly, standing up.
"Why bury yourself in sorrow? Why are you punishing yourself over something you had no fault in?"
"You don't understand, auntie. It was my fault. If I hadn't asked her to meet me that day, none of this would have happened. Thank you for the food, I'll be in my room."
Vic closed the door to his room and sat on the side of his bed. On the bedside table was a framed photo of a woman smiling brightly. He reached out a hand to touch the glass.
"Caitlin," he whispered. "I still can't believe you're gone. Am I wrong to keep hoping?"
—-------------------------
Anya had just finished taking a shower when she heard the doorbell ring. When she got out to check who it was, she found Lizzie waiting for her at the dining table.
"You ordered breakfast?" she asked.
"The old lady next door came by and gave us some food. She said she cooked too much and decided to share it with us."
"Don't just go accepting food from strangers," Anya said, opening a thermos flask to smell its contents. Hangover soup. Seems Vic had told the old lady what happened. "You can never be sure what their intentions are."
"Is it safe to eat now?" Lizzie asked once Anya had checked everything. "Good. I'm hungry."
Anya poured some soup in a bowl, watching Lizzie place a little bit of every food on her plate. "Slow down, no one's going to take them from you," she chuckled.
"You're not eating?" Lizzie asked upon noticing that Anya was still standing.
"Nope, this soup is enough for me. I'm going to get some sleep."
Back in her room, Anya had just locked the door when her phone rang.
"Boss, what do you want us to do with the woman?" a male voice asked.
Anya paused for a moment.
Gertrude had confessed everything, even how she would gamble away the money Curtis would hand her as Lizzie's monthly allowance instead of giving it to Lizzie.
Anya recalled a conversation where Lizzie told her how she ended up starving for a few days because she had no money for food. Thinking about it set her teeth on edge.
"Sell her piece by piece at the black market auction. Let's see how much money she's worth in the end."