Chapter 25
Lane (June 2023)
...
After grocery shopping, Lane returned home and carried the heavy paper bags up the stairs to their apartment. The building's elevator was still out of order, so Lane had no choice but to drag their groceries through the stairwell. They placed the bags down as they reached into their pocket for their keys and then unlocked the door. Lane brought the bags inside and then let out a sigh of relief. Once Lane had finished putting their groceries away, they changed into comfy clothes, retired to the couch, and decided to watch a new show they'd been meaning to give a chance on their laptop. Lane thought about purchasing a TV but decided that it wasn't necessary at the moment. They still needed to save up for other things before they could even think about spending money on a new TV. Their thoughts kept swimming forward, distracting them from the show they were trying to watch. Lane kept going through a checklist in their head. "Groceries, done. Laundry, I'll get that done later tonight. Should I buy a TV? No, no, I need to save up my money a bit more." Lane placed their laptop to the side and got up to go into the kitchen. They drank a glass of water and placed the empty glass in the sink. There weren't many dishes waiting to be washed, just a plate, fork, and now the glass. "I'll wash those before I start the laundry tonight." Lane was grateful that the building had a laundry facility that was functional and clean. They loved that Phoebe was an attentive landlord who truly cared about the building and tenants. Lane opened the refrigerator but didn't find anything they wanted to eat at the moment in there. They opened the cupboard and saw a box of crackers that they had just bought. "Oh yeah. I bought crackers." Lane took the box and went back to the couch to try to go back to watching their show. They got comfortable, placed the laptop on their lap, and popped the box of crackers open. Eventually, Lane fell asleep and found themself waking up a few hours later.
When Lane opened their eyes, they stretched as far as they could. They looked down at the laptop that moved from their lap and was now on the opposite side of the couch. The box of crackers fell on the floor and a few of them had spilled out of the box. "Crap." Lane rubbed their eyes and slowly got up to get the broom and dustpan from the kitchen. They came back and cleaned up the small mess they had unintentionally made. After Lane returned everything in its place, they slumped back down on the couch and checked their phone. Lane went cold when they saw they had a text from Atlas. Lane hesitated for a moment before pressing on the notification and when it opened, their eyes went wide. Atlas had sent Lane a picture of them shopping at the grocery store a few hours before. From the angle, it looked like Atlas was following them and hiding in one of the aisles. "What the fuck?" Atlas had also texted some creepy things as well that sat under the picture in their messages.
"I've been watching you."
"It was easy finding where you worked."
"I still love you."
"I know the bus route you take home now."
And the last text message scared Lane the most and made them feel like they couldn't breathe.
"I know where you live now. Can I come over to talk?"
Lane saw that the last text was sent 5 minutes before they had woken up. "Oh shit." They had a feeling that Atlas was there at the building and Lane hoped that Atlas wasn't able to get inside. Even if he did, Atlas didn't know what floor or what unit Lane was in but even so, Lane was beginning to panic. They got up and went over to the window to see if they could see any sign of Atlas but the window led out to an alley and they had no view of the front of the building where Atlas was probably waiting. Lane's phone started to ring and when they looked at the screen, Lane wanted to cry when they saw Altas' name lurking like a ghost.
The phone continued to ring and Lane let the phone sit on the coffee table. They didn't answer the call and it kept ringing and ringing until it went silent. The screen went dark as Lane stared at their phone but shortly after the phone started to ring again. Atlas' name appeared on the screen again and this time, Lane pressed the screen and sent the call to voicemail. To no avail, Atlas began calling again right after. Lane knew that he wouldn't stop calling and it wouldn't end until Lane picked up the phone. So Lane answered.
"What do you want?"
"You're not gonna invite me up?" Atlas' voice sounded like how Lane remembered. He was trying to be sweet. He was trying to sound smooth.
"Why would I do that?" Lane replied.
"Because I know you still love me."
"I really really don't, Atlas."
"Well, I love you."
"You don't."
"But I do. And I want you home," Atlas said calmly. "I wanna see where my baby is living now. It's definitely not as good as the house."
"You're not coming in," Lane swallowed their nervousness and spoke firmly. "I left for many reasons, Atlas. You are an abuser. I told you I was done."
"You wanna act like you're better than me?" Atlas said. "My friends are all asking what happened between us and you know what I have to tell them? That you just fucking lost it. That you're lying about all of the shit you've been saying. Why would you lie?"
"You're the fucking liar," Lane replied, their voice elevated.
"Why don't you just let me up?"
"No, Atlas. I'm not putting myself in any situation with you ever again."
"I know what apartment you're in."
Lane laughed nervously. "No you fucking don't."
"You're in apartment C7," Atlas said slowly. "Floor C. Apartment 7."
Lane felt their heart drop. "How do you know that?" The call ended and Lane was left staring at their phone in disbelief. Lane fought back tears as they dialed 911. They told the 911 operator that they were being stalked and threatened. When the police arrived, they searched outside of the building, as well as inside. There was no sign of Atlas. That night, Ophelia came over so that Lane wouldn't be alone. They both wondered if Atlas was nearby, lurking and waiting to fight his way into the apartment to see Lane.