Chapter 1
Lane (March 2023)
...
It was raining the night Lane took off with nothing but what they could carry in their backpack. Their shoes were thoroughly ruined thanks to the puddled sidewalks. It would be a few days before the sneakers would be completely dry again. Lane carried their possessions-filled bag close to their chest while wrapping their light raincoat tighter around their body. It wasn't enough to cover the bag as well but Lane ducked down to shield the rain using their body. Cars were speeding by Lane who fumbled with opening their bag to retrieve a set of keys. Once Lane got ahold of the keyring, it slipped through their fingers and fell to the sidewalk. Thankfully, it missed a murky puddle. Lane grunted as they leaned down to pick up the wet keys and they shook them off. The keys jingled and echoed louder than the raindrops pelting the cold concrete. Lane shoved the keys into their raincoat pocket and dug in their jeans pocket to retrieve their cell phone. They struggled to enter the passcode into the phone. The raindrops made it challenging, but once they were in, Lane noticed a string of missed calls. "ATLAS" lit up at the top of the phone screen. Along with a number of missed call notifications. There was also a voicemail. Lane swiped the notifications away.
"No. I can't deal with you anymore."
Lane opened up the email app to check a certain email they had received.
"Okay. What was the address again?" Lane scrolled through the email conversation that they had with a landlord. She was a nice older lady named Phoebe. They had gone over the basics; first and last month's rent, included utilities, pet's policy (to Lane's excitement they allowed pets), and lease paperwork. Phoebe was understanding of Lane's situation. She kept all paperwork electronic for Lane and even personally dropped off the keys at Lane's new place of work. Atlas was unaware of what Lane was up to and as Lane stood on the sidewalk in the rain looking for the address of their new apartment, they were grateful they made it this far without Atlas finding out. He would have been upset.
Atlas had no idea that Lane started a new job, was looking for an apartment, and certainly did not know that Lane was finally putting their foot down and ending the relationship. It was a relationship that was well into its third year. Almost four years together but Lane couldn't be around Atlas anymore. Lane couldn't live another minute in a house with Atlas. Close to four years was enough wasted time on him and Lane built up the courage to leave. Lane snuck out of the house on a rainy night after Atlas had passed out on the couch from drinking. They pulled out their packed backpack that was hidden in the hall closet and quietly left the house they lived in for almost four years. Lane went out the back door and tip-toed carefully around to the front of the house. Then they sprinted off into the night ready to begin their new life.
After Lane found the address in the email, they looked around for street signs. "Oh, okay. I'm almost there." They felt relieved. Soon they could get out of the rain and be in their own apartment. A place just for Lane without Atlas lurking. A place where Lane could exist without Atlas waiting for every possible moment to criticize everything Lane did. This would be a place where Atlas couldn't hurt them. A place where Altas wouldn't be able to hit them again. Lane started walking down the street again after shoving their phone back into their jeans pocket. There was only a short distance left between Lane and the apartment building.
The apartment building that Lane was moving into used to be a hotel. The Sequoia Bay Hotel was once a popular destination. It had a restaurant and hosted large social events. Celebrities would stay there, causing crowds to gather on the street below, hoping to get a glimpse of these stars peeking out of their windows. The hotel was established in 1941 and was popular through the 1950s. In the late 70s, the hotel faced financial ruin and they were forced to close its doors. The Sequoia Bay Hotel sat empty for many years but the new owner of the building was determined to reopen the building, not as a hotel, but as affordable apartments. The building was converted into apartments in the 1990s and has been apartments ever since.
Lane had finally made it to the front steps of Sequoia Bay Apartments. At last, they were under the awning and shook off the rain, letting the beads roll off of their coat. They fished the keys from their coat pocket and looked for the one for the front door of the building. Lane felt a sense of security that no one would be allowed to get into the building unless they had a key. And there was the doubled security of needing a second key to get into the actual unit. Atlas wouldn't stand a chance! Lane checked their backpack, it wasn't completely soaked through and they swung it over their shoulder as they went into the main entrance. The lobby of the apartment building was a grand sight and Lane could tell that it used to be a magnificent hotel. During his email conversation with Phoebe, Lane learned a little bit about the history of the building and also learned that Phoebe's father bought the building after the hotel went bankrupt. She inherited the building after her father passed away. Lane looked around for the elevator and discovered an unfortunate out-of-order sign. They glared at the door that led to the stairwell. "Apartment C7," Lane said. "That's not that bad. At least I'm not on the top floor." Lane pushed open the stairwell door and was met with a brightly lit winding staircase. "Just a little bit of a climb and I'll be home."