Soul Vine | m.yg

4: Silhouette༄

The dinky little apartment over the grocery store wasn't exactly what Eden was expecting.

She expected grime, rust, mold-something questionable on the surfaces. She expected questionable men hunched over in the living room discussing crime with maps of the city splayed out over the coffee table, men that she would have to threaten to beat with her broom.

But the apartment was completely normal.

Tiny, but normal.

The key to the door felt heavy in her palm. Eden gripped it carefully, making sure not to lose it in the fuss of everything. The owner of the apartment was very clear in telling her how much an extra key would cost her, and unless she wanted to starve, she didn't have that money to pay. Looking around for a noticeable spot to put it, she settled on the kitchen counter, positioning it carefully so it wouldn't get lost.

Now all that was left to do was unpack. It didn't seem like it would take her long, especially because most of her unpacking was just clothes. She dragged her largest suitcase into the bedroom at the end of the hall, kicking it on the floor with a satisfying thud. She started to hum to herself as she unzipped the suitcase and pulled out her clothes. She tucked them into drawers neatly and tossed her blanket and sheets on the waiting bed, deciding not to bother with those until she had a meal.

The last thing you want to do on an empty stomach is fight with a fitted sheet.

Speaking of an empty stomach...

Eden's stomach let out a growl rivaling the snarl of a dog. She put her hand over her stomach and groaned. She needed food if there was any hope of setting up the tiny apartment. She stood to her feet and trudged into the kitchen, looking through the other bags she brought.

Empty.

Against her better judgement, she checked the fridge in the kitchen. The light flickered dangerously as she peeked in, the irrational part of her hoping there would be food.

Surprisingly there was... half of a moldy sandwich.

"Damn, I really live like this?"

Eden sighed and closed the fridge, plucking a couple bills from her pile and deciding to take the trek down the stairs and into the grocery store. She patted her pockets and remembered she left her phone on the bed in the bedroom.

"Eh," she said finally, grabbing the key and slipping through her front door.

The staircase at the furthest end of the hall took her to the employee only room behind the frozen section in the grocery store. She smiled and waved at her landlord who was stocking Hot Pockets into the freezer. Once she was able to slip past him, she shook off the cold and headed to the front for a basket.

The store was mildly active. A few families were gathering groceries for the week, and off to the side was a very sad looking man staring at the alcohol rack. Eden gave him his privacy and stepped quickly past him, making her way to the bakery.

She tapped her foot in thought as she stared at the wall of bread. Potato... or white? She thought, eyes bouncing between the two options. Noticing the price on the potato bread, she grabbed the white bread and shoved it into her basket quickly.

Part of her wished she brought her phone with her for some music, but she made up for it by singing songs in her head. She was partway through an old R&B playlist when she noticed someone tall in her view.