by S. Cole

Created on: March 05, 2010

Bed Bugs

“You’re a lardy, miscreation of a woman. Chunky in all the wrong parts. It’s sensible for him to’ve got rid of you.”

“What did you say?” Lila asked, mortified.

“I said the carpet comes as-is. We hope to get ‘em all replaced, here ‘ventually.” The building Super replied, sliding his shoe over the subtly soiled carpet beneath them. He seemed not to notice the horror in her voice.

“Bathroom.” He said flicking on the light of the dark space as they entered. 

 A stark light slapped her in the face and began to buzz. The sudden unpleasantness jerked Lila from her dormant emotional state and she began to feel that familiar accumulation of wet sorrow collecting in her eyes. Her nose ached at her attempt to hold back threatening tears.

“Good size.” He noted, scratching a speck of something off the grayish wall.

“Bedroom over here.” He revealed another sullen space to her. A tiny naked window lent a cloudy illumination over the otherwise unlit room.

“I understand you were probably looking for something more…” The Super trailed off as he read over the paperwork, already beginning to fill in information.

“But this is the only unit available, ‘n the fact that it even opened up so suddenly is just lucky.”

“I’m taking it.” Lila said, tired of trying to seem pleasant with a stranger in her drained state.

She took the pen from his hand and filled in the two copies of the lease that he had already begun for her before she’d accepted. Desperation, she learned, seemed to be permeating from her soul for some months now. It’s not surprising even this old, paint-speckled superintendant had noticed the reek of it.

Lila watched as he read over the paperwork through cheap reading glasses.

“Huh. You’d think of someone beautiful when you hear a name like Lila.”

“What?” She demanded.

Again her tone missed him and he repeated himself.

“I said I’ll put the paperwork through tonight ‘n you can stop in the office tomorrow evening for your keys, Lila.” He said reading her name from the page.

“Oh. Fine.” She said, keeping it short so despair or insanity wouldn’t sneak in.

The two walked into the hallway, and he locked the apartment with a key ring holding so many keys they pressed together forming an obese blade of a circular saw.

The

• 1
• 2
• 3
• ...
• 14
• Next Page >>