Within Their Reach

My eyes glanced over the flier posted on the post. I looked at it wearily, already knowing that I wouldn't be able to afford it. But I thought maybe if I went, by God's grace, this would fall into my lap. I need an apartment-badly-but I was having a shitty experience finding one. I was fresh out of college, just scored my first job post-grad which had absolutely nothing to do with my degree, and I didn't get along well with my parents. I got along more with my mother than my father, lucky for me. We just couldn't see eye to eye because he was an asshole, an easy way to put it.

I chewed on the gum in my mouth. I had grown up in Harlem. There was no way in hell I would've been able to afford an apartment on 59th & Lexington. But my job was around there, it would have been convenient. I wouldn't have even needed to take the train in the morning, which would be a dream. I had grown up taking public transportation and completely detesting it. It would've been nice for a change to just get more steps in and at least try and be more active.

"We could always go just for kicks," Lila suggested, trying but failing to sound cheery. Her shoulder length red hair contrasted with her bright blue eyes and pale skin under the warm, hot New York sun.

She grew up in Brooklyn. She wasn't rich, but she wasn't exactly poor either. She could only kind of get my struggle. Maybe not even at all. But that didn't matter to me. Next to Aimi, she was still one of my closest friends. I couldn't stay with either of them because Aimi lived with her parents and Lila lived with her boyfriend, Rafael. There was no way in hell I was going to stay with her and her boyfriend. Their sex lives were very, very rampant. I stayed over once and got little to no sleep. It was a nightmare.

"I would love to see what kind of classist bullshit they'll spew," I chuckled. My eyes moved over the cost of rent. If this was the case, I could definitely afford it. I raised an eyebrow. This was way too good to be true. "I think they're serial killers, Lila."

Her eyes moved to the flier, her eyebrows shooting up. "Maybe they're having a hard time renting it out."

Her eyes narrowed as she got closer. "It does say that there's two of them, looking for a roommate immediately. So maybe that's why it's borderline cheap."

I released a breath. "I don't know. It sounds too good to be true." I shrugged before my brown eyes met hers. "But it sounds nice. Maybe we should go. Hopefully they have free food laying around. I'm kind of hungry."

She chuckled. "Same. That's one thing about rich people, they surely know how to splurge on food."

"At least it's within walking distance," I murmured. "My feet ache from how much we've walked today."

It was cheaper than paying the train fare multiple times. So we walked mostly from 96th street, went on the train, walked more, then hopped on the train all over again. Having a car was pointless when you lived in the city. Except for in instances like this.

"Yeah," she groaned. "Remind me next time you ask me to join in on one of your plans that it actually makes sense. The last time I got this much exercise was in high school and even then, it wasn't this much."

The building was a skyscraper. I stared up, immediately intimidated by its size. I already felt small enough in this city, but the building just reflected my own insecurities. I pursed my lips before I looked over at Lila. She seemed to be matching my reaction.

"Well," she breathed. "Let's try not to look too much like tourists in our own city now."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Let's go inside."

The building had a security guard and a doorman. I had to tell them that I was here because I was trying to rent out an apartment. It was humiliating to say the least. The way the security guard looked me up and down, almost as if he could tell we didn't belong there, made me mildly uncomfortable.

While on the way up in the elevator, Lila and I exchanged eye contact. Mirrors surrounded every inch around us. I had never been in an elevator made up of mostly mirrors. It was eerie.

"This is scary," I muttered. "I'm already unsure about this."

We got out on the eighth floor. I was glad it wasn't any higher than this. I think I would be too paranoid to live on anything past the tenth floor. I stepped out first, Lila following closely behind me while we searched for the apartment number. Once found on the huge floor, it was all the way toward the end of the hall.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked, nudging me. "Knock."

My hand formed into a fist before I knocked hesitantly. There was no answer. I knocked again impatiently. I released a sharp breath in annoyance when no one answered.

"We should probably just get going," I rolled my eyes. It was in that moment that the door pulled open. My eyes moved from my friend next to me and instead fell on the man in front of me. I was sure my eyes widened as I suddenly struggled to breathe evenly. His dark brown hair was slicked back and a little to the side while his fox-like green eyes were hard and trained on me. His jawline was sharp enough to kill, his nose straight and lips pouty and plump. I wanted to take a step backward yet I also wanted to take a step closer but I froze instead.