Malediction or Blessing? » Places

         

Brea Mitchell

Brea bit her lip nervously as Deen thought pensively. She couldn't tell if he was thinking about whether it was safe to go back at all, or if she was stupid to ask if he'd go back with her. She was cursing herself internally for a minute or two when he said, "Can't you go to your friend's place for the night? It would be more safe for you to be with someone else and not in your apartment that he knows where it is." She shrugged and shook her head.

"No, I...I only really have one friend close enough that I could do that and she doesn't get back from vacation till next week," she said, speaking of her best friend, Rachel. Rachel was the only person who had reached out to her during her first week at the office, and she had instantly taken a liking to her. They had gone out for coffee and had been inseparable ever since. I wonder what Rae would do if she knew what had happened these past few days... She thought with an internal laugh. She could just picture Rachel throwing a flabbergasted fit at the fact that Brea had actually talked to someone of the male variety for more than a minute and not just a "hey".

Brea looked up as Deen began to speak again, oblivious to his internal conflict. "I can stay with you for the night, if you allow me... but don't worry! I am not going to do anything stupid! I can stay up all night so you can be assured of your safety and rest. My house is rather far anyways... Of course, it's just an offer, I understand if you're uncomfortable with it," he said, seemingly just as nervous as she was. She stayed silent, mulling it over, and Deen must have taken it as a refusal because he excused himself to call a taxi. She thought about it, listing the pros and cons in her head:

Pro: protection against Cam if necessary
Con: Deen at my house
Pro: chance to further our friendship
Con: DEEN at my HOUSE
Pro: not having to stay alone all night fretting in my bed
Con: Deen LITERALLY at my HOUSE with all the broken glass, old photos, spilled wine, etc.
Pro: just...Deen.

She sighed, knowing that she had in no way come to a conclusion, but by the time Deen had finished calling the taxi, she decided, what the hell? and walked over to him. "I can't promise a comfy couch or cleanliness since I left before he was finished with his rampage...but yeah. It would be nice if you stayed tonight. The taxi arrived and she waited for Deen to slide in first this time since he was closer to it, and then she followed. She gave the taxi driver directions to her apartment and when they arrived, she took a deep breath and climbed out.

"I'm on the fourth floor and the elevator is broken, sorry," she said with a backwards glance at Deen. She didn't really want to look when he saw the peeling paint on the walls and the door that still had tape on the glass from when someone broke in last week. The apartment was shit, but it was all she could afford. She climbed the stairs with haste, pausing ever few moments but she was used to it so it was mainly for Deen's benefit just in case he wasn't. Reaching the fourth floor entrance door, she took a deep breath and looked at Deen. "I'm sorry in advance. It's not pretty and it's actually more messy now because I'm sure he went through and broke a lot and I had been having...a few...glasses of wine before and the bottle had spilled before I had a chance to clean it up. I swear normally it's clean for company but well, you know. So, yeah. Sorry." She bit her lip and opened the door, walking down the hall to her apartment and finding the door wide open. Sighing, she walked in and stepped over the broken photo that had been hanging on the wall before he had shoved her against it, and turned left into the kitchen. It appeared as though he had left, but judging by the flipped over couch cushions and broken glasses, he hadn't left happy.

She opened the broom closet and pulled out a dustpan, sweeper, and vacuum. Walking to the kitchen, she began to sweep up the broken glass. Looking to Deen, she pointed to her right, "The lou is that way, and I'm pretty sure I have some of my dads old t-shirts and sweatpants somewhere in my dresser. I can get those for you in a moment. Once I fix up the couch it can be okay, but I'm totally fine with taking it instead if you want to sleep in the bed. It's no trouble, really," she said. She was nervous and mad at herself for not making a good first impression of her home, but there wasn't really anything she could do about it, so she didn't dwell.