Belladonna (Tom Holland)

One

      I gripped my keys in my hand, breathing a sigh of relief as I stood in front of my first apartment with a flicker of hope. It was a small accomplishment, but a major one nevertheless, I felt much more like an adult now that I didn't live with a roommate anymore. As much as I loved her, she drove me insane. She was either a porn addict or a nymphomaniac and I had no desire to find out, so for the past two years, I pretended that the constant moaning coming from her room never existed.

    "I just need you to sign this, Miss Berry," my landlord spoke and I turned around to see him with a nondisclosure agreement. Scanning the document, I read the fine print and signed my name at the bottom. Only, it wasn't my name. It was an alias. A lie.

    It had been six years since the night at the restaurant and I was reluctant to let that part of me go. It was especially hard when there was a scar on my shoulder reminding me every night of what happened. How my father kissed my forehead and told me where to go. How I only had five minutes to leave my old self behind. I was twenty two now, but I still felt like the scared sixteen year old who had to leave her parents behind.

     My landlord thanked me and left and I was left to my own devices. The first thing I did was unlock the door and scan the empty apartment in front of me. It was nothing and everything all at once. Beautiful and ugly. I gave myself a tour of the apartment, mumbling where I would put what and what would look great where. I imagined a splash of color in the living room like olive green or a deep purple, and I thought of what paintings I could purchase just to hang up. It was a land of opportunities that I was excited to explore.

    However, after three hours of helping the movers set my belongings in, my motivation was depleted as I laid down on the sofa and groaned at my aching feet. It was still daylight out, which meant I had a million errands to run before the sunlight would die, one of them being contacting John, my Marshal. He was the closest I had to a friend and a father since going into the Witness Protection Program. When Lorenzo dropped me off, he decided to raise me rather than drop me off at a random family to get acquainted with. He was technically my adopted father, but both of us tend to forget. He was also one of the only people that would still call me Bella, he did it rarely but it still felt like home.

    After dozing off for what seemed like hours (it was fifteen minutes actually), I removed myself from my couch, put my shoes on, and left the apartment. Greeting some neighbors along the way, I left the complex and hailed a taxi, requesting the grocery store. The ride was silent, which I liked. I was cautious around chauffeurs of any kind, but I hated the chatty drivers. On rides I needed to clear my mind and organize my life as much as I could and I wasn't able to focus when I had to hear about someone's addiction to huffing paint on Thursdays.

    Whilst enjoying the silence, I thought about what I needed at the store. I texted John and invited him over, so being the good adult I was, I decided to make him dinner. So I knew I needed ingredients and food overall. I also needed lottery tickets in case my luck returned and I could revert to my once aristocratic ways. And looking back on my past, I also needed hard liquor to forget just for the night. My parents' anniversary was coming up within days and I didn't feel like reliving the nightmare for the sixth year in a row.

    The driver pulled up next to the sidewalk and I paid, thanked him, and left. The breeze was strong, so I tucked my hands into the pockets of my jacket and walked into the store with my head down. So much for summer, I thought. The temperature in the store wasn't any better, but I expected it. As I walked in, I grabbed a cart and started strolling through the aisles, picking up what I needed. There were fruit on sale, so I picked up as much as I could before realizing I didn't like most fruit and putting it back. Strolling past the bakery, I resisted the urge to buy a birthday cake I didn't need.