Tabula Rasa

Chapter 3

Calina hummed along to the tune playing through her earbuds as she entered her apartment building. Of the hundreds of tracks she'd listened to over the past few weeks, she'd found 46 that she'd liked enough to add to her playlist. And of those 46, this one was by far her favourite.

Her favourite.

The concept was still so new and exciting that it made her smile.

That smile dropped when she noticed the resident of 2C shuffling towards the elevator. When the elderly lady had dropped her bag the other day, Calina's first instinct had been to pick it up and help her, but her years of conditioning had blocked the altruistic impulse before she could move a muscle. By the time she'd shaken off her training, another neighbour had already come to the rescue. Calina had been gifted with a sour look from the do-gooder, and she was left with a feeling of shame and guilt every time she encountered the lady from 2C.

Not wanting to share a ride with the source of that shame and guilt, Calina pushed open the door to the stairwell and jogged up the six flights to her floor.

Where she was greeted with another source of shame and guilt - the petite blond woman leaning against her apartment door.

What was she doing here?

The outfit she was wearing was...unexpected. An eclectic mis-mash of colours and fabrics that Calina would never have thought to pair together. Although, to be fair, like her taste in music, her fashion sense was only just starting to evolve. So far she'd struggled to move away from her usual black, but she had developed a fondness for expensive leather and silk and cashmere - sumptuous fabrics that she loved to run her hands over and which felt decadent against her skin. She carried her latest online purchase under her right arm - a satin camisole and a pair of wool wide-leg pants - and she'd been looking forward to trying them on this evening.

But it looked like her plans had changed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked her visitor.

The clothing may have been different, but the cool, assessing eyes that trained on Calina were very familiar. "What? I can't come visit my favourite sister?"

Calina rolled her eyes. "I'm not your favourite." She's wasn't her sister either. But the two of them were bonded by something far more powerful than blood.

"You're my favourite today," was the reply.

Calina raised an eyebrow. "Which means you want something."

"Busted."

"What's going on?" Calina asked.

"Can we talk somewhere more private?"

As if to underscore the lack of privacy, the elevator doors opened and her neighbour stepped out.

Matthew.

The lawyer.

The very attractive lawyer.

And the blind man who could perceive more than he was letting on.

"Let's go out," she suggested to her visitor. "There's a nice coffee shop a block away."

"What about your apartment?"

"It's too messy."

That wasn't true. There wasn't enough...stuff...for it to be messy. But it was her space - a little piece of the world she could call her own - and she was slowly filling it with the things she liked. Making it into a home, and planning her future within its wall.

The thought of her past invading it was...unpleasant.

Luckily, Matthew cut off any objection her 'sister' might have had. "Hi," he said in greeting, his voice warmer that she'd ever heard it. "Are you talking about The Hideout on 10th? I like that place too."