Neutral Through Chaos

Chapter 4: An Unexpected Apology

A dilapidated apartment building stood in front of me, bricks missing from the walls, windows smashed and moss growing around its crooked eaves. From an outside perspective it appeared to be completely abandoned, but I knew otherwise. This was my home, finally I was here after tonight's events.

I pushed the weathered doors open, walking through the empty and trashed halls. Noise could be heard on either side, a couple arguing and someone blaring music. I had gotten used to it at this point, the walls were thin after all. The stairs groaned beneath me as I began to climb them, after going past more floors I reached my room in the attic. Relief struck me as I opened my door and flung myself onto the bed. It was a fitful sleep, full of tossing and turning. Vander had an agreement with them, the people who had caused me and many others so much pain and suffering. The image of the enforcer tossing me against a wall kept replaying in my mind, that moment of complete panic. No one deserved to be in that situation, I had to help my friends, they couldn't get caught.

The morning light struck my eyes, somehow I had fallen asleep during the restless night. Yawning, I stood up, ducking underneath the arched ceiling. The apartment was small and not in the best condition, but I had done my best to make it cozy. A tattered rug of my favourite colour lay on the floor, and some dying plants sat on the windowsill. There wasn't much time to water things when you had a schedule as tight as mine. Going about my morning routine, I thought of the others. My friends were at risk, I needed to help them before it was too late. My clients could wait, I needed to be with them.

Then, there was a knock at my door. My heart pounded in my chest. Could it be the enforcers? It had to be. They were back to get me, I knew it.

"Y/n! Answer your door," came a familiar voice.

It was Ekko again, he had to stop sneaking up on me like that. I unlocked the door to see him smiling up at me.

"You scared me, little man," I said, shaking my head, "How do you know where I live?"

"By following you of course," he replied casually, as if that was a regular thing to do, "Are you free at all today?"

"Yeah I'm actually free all day, I was planning on meeting Vi and the rest."

"Cool! I think I need to help Benzo out with something, but I'll catch you later Y/N."

With that, the boy ran off.

Minutes later I was making my way along the streets, people were getting ready for the day, business owners were opening their shops and traders were assembling their stalls. I smiled to myself, this place could be quite beautiful at this time of day. The nighttime brought about the unknown, however in the daytime everything felt clear. A past client greeted me and I waved back, continuing on until I got to my destination, The Last Drop. Opening the door I was met with Vander standing, cleaning an empty glass with a rag. He looked up at my unanticipated entrance, scratching his head.

"Y/n, I wasn't expecting to see you here," he concluded.

"I'm taking a day off work today, do you know where everyone is?"

"I think they headed out to that old arcade," he replied, his eyes looking oddly guilty.

As I thanked the man and turned around to leave, he finally spoke up.

"Wait y/n."

"Yes?" I said, turning back around to meet his regretful stare.

"Sorry about yesterday kid, that was tactless of me. I was there that day, I know what happened to your family," he looked down at the ground, "Claggor told me you were upset, if you ever need anything let me know."