Chapter 10
Lane (April 2023)
...
A buzz went off in Lane's apartment one afternoon. It was the intercom by the front door of the apartment, meaning, someone was at the locked entrance of the building waiting for Lane to let them in. Lane hopped out of their now semi-furnished bedroom and ran over to the intercom and pressed the button to speak.
"Hello?"
"It's me!" a voice chimed from the other end of the speaker.
"I thought you were coming over later? I'm not dressed yet!" Lane laughed.
"Oh, I wanted to surprise you. And please, I'm in pajama pants as we speak! Hurry up and buzz me in. I have a box of cool stuff for you." Ophelia stood down at the front door of the apartment building. She had brought some stuff over to help Lane decorate and carried it in a large plastic crate.
"I'm buzzing you in but the elevator is still out of order. Want me to come down and help carry stuff up?"
"Nah, it's okay. It's just one box," she said.
Lane pressed the button that allowed the front door of the building to unlock. Ophelia stepped inside, making sure the door clicked behind her. She ran up the stairs in the stairwell, already knowing the way to Lane's unit. A week ago she had helped them move in some furniture that they thrifted one weekend. Lane was also able to buy a new and cheap mattress that they placed on the floor by the wall outlet where they charged their phone. Ophelia gave Lane some sheets she had bought but never opened. A couple of weeks after moving in, Lane now had a bed on the floor, a couple of large plastic storage drawers to put their clothes away, a rickety but functional desk and chair, a couch that was in good shape, and a coffee table.
Lane heard a knock on the apartment door and swung the door open for their best friend. Ophelia was out of breath as she dropped the crate of things on the floor. She sighed, "You couldn't have gotten a unit on the first floor?"
Lane laughed. "Nope! This was the only unit available. I got lucky."
Ophelia laughed as she tried to catch her breath, "At least it's only the third floor. Oh my goodness." She took another moment to catch her breath while Lane picked up the crate and placed it on their thrifted coffee table. They began to take out some of the things that Ophelia had brought over. She brought over string lights, some realistic fake plants, books, some dishes, flatware, and a new bath towel with the tag still on.
Ophelia shut the front door and walked over to the coffee table. She looked at the items. "This was all I could carry for now," she laughed.
"Thank you so much. It's all really nice."
"I know last week when we went out we thrifted pots and pans. Did you need to get any more kitchen things?" she asked.
Lane nodded. "Yeah, I think just a few more things. Pretty much have the basics now." They picked up a small stack of plates from the crate and went over to put them in the kitchen cupboard. Ophelia brought over the small stack of bowls and the flatware.
Lane sighed and scratched their head. "Later we can go back to the thrift store to see what else we can grab. I also need more cleaning supplies."
"We can go to the dollar store," Ophelia added. Lane nodded.
Ophelia began to hang the string lights from the ceiling while Lane set the books onto a built-in shelf in the living room. They placed a faux plant on the shelf as well, kept another one on the coffee table, placed one in the kitchen, and put another faux plant on the windowsill in the bedroom.
"You need a cute area rug for your living room, "Ophelia said.
I know," Lane replied. "I need a lot of things. I want to get an area rug and maybe more bookshelves. And eventually a nicer desk, but the one we got is good enough for my laptop for now. I also wanna get an actual dresser or something. The plastic ones always warp after a while. But yeah, for right now everything is really great. I can't thank you enough for helping me get this stuff."
Ophelia pulled Lane into a hug. "Of course, Lane. You're my best friend. We'll get you what you need."
"What I really need right now is a burger and fries."
Ophelia held Lane out at arm’s length and smirked. "We're getting you a burger and fries! I'm buying." They both laughed as Lane grabbed their keys and a hoodie. The pair of best friends left the apartment to go out to lunch at their favorite local burger place. When they got there, Lane ordered their usual, a double cheeseburger, sweet potato fries with honey mustard, and a chocolate milkshake. Ophelia ordered her usual, a plant-based burger with vegan provolone, seasoned curly fries with ketchup, and a strawberry oat milkshake. The pair had been going to this burger joint since it first opened when they were in high school; they celebrated their high school graduation there, as well as Ophelia's college graduation. The restaurant had a special place in their hearts.
"Has Atlas texted you at all?" Ophelia asked as she ate her fries.
"No, he actually hasn't."
"That's good. Maybe he finally got it through his head that you're done with his shit."
"I'm worried that he's gonna find out where I work now." Lane ate the last bite of their cheeseburger. "Hell, I'm worried he's gonna find out where I live."
"Even if he does, what the hell would he do? He knows that all of the stuff he did was terrible. He knew that he was a shithead to you and you didn't deserve any of that. You put up with all of it for a long time."
"I know. And I'm glad I left. It's just hard, you know? I guess I just got used to everything. Like, it was all normal. Life with Atlas was normal and putting everything aside, we had pretty much everything. The house, the nice car, and everything that was in the house. But you know, material things don't matter."
"You're right, they don't. Your health and safety is above all else."
"Ophelia, I'm so sorry."
"For what?"
"For everything. For missing out on things. For letting Atlas get in my head."
Ophelia took Lane's hand. "Hey. It is not your fault in any way. Everything is going to get better, you are going to get better. And yeah, you're starting over, but that's a chance not everyone gets to take. I'm with you through all of it. Don't forget that."
Lane held back their tears and reached for their chocolate milkshake. "I love you. You're my best friend."
"You're my best friend. Now finish your fries before I eat them. We're going shopping for more apartment supplies."
Lane laughed, "You can't eat my fries! I dumped honey mustard on them for a reason!"
"Damn. You're right." Ophelia laughed and finished her strawberry oat milkshake.