I stayed at Elizabeth’s house for a week. She tried valiantly to get me to stay, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Even though it hurt a little to know she wouldn’t be making me breakfast every morning with that soft, sleepy smile and that ridiculous bedhead. And I got far more work done when she was hovering over my shoulders.

But…

I felt like I had to go back to the apartment. As much I was beginning to appreciate living with somebody, I had started to love living in the apartment building, too. I missed Helena’s high, scratchy voice as she sang along to the newest Taylor Swift song. I missed Clint playing his guitar with the amps turned all the way up at one in the morning. I even missed Kisten barging into my rooms with Starbucks and an eager smile as he demanded to know what my next novel was going to be about. Sitting on my couch next to me in comfortable silence when I worked feverishly. Leaving me covered in a blanket and turning my laptop off when I fell asleep.

Hell, I did not want to be missing that irritating brat. Wasn’t it him who sent me running away in the first place? I wouldn’t allow myself to soften so easily; I was hard, I was made of stone, I was-

“Joe!”

I was being called back.

I paused by the front door, my hand on the knob. Elizabeth hurried to catch up to me.

“Alright. You know the rules. Don’t talk to the asshole kid. Don’t get yourself in any fights. At the first sign of trouble, you’re to come straight back here, or I will chain you to the desk in the office and force you to be my slave for the rest of your miserable life.”

I was laughing a lot more after the week I spent with Elizabeth. She’d brought a light into a part of my heart that I had assumed would always be pitch black. “Yes, mom,” I teased.

“Oh, shut up, you’ll make me feel ancient,” she sniffed, but her smile gave her away as she pulled me into a tight hug.

I was still a little stiff. It would take a very long time to make myself comfortable with even Elizabeth touching me, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let anybody else touch me. But I knew by her proud smile that it was enough for her.

“Alright, alright. Let me get home now, please,” I pleaded.

Elizabeth smacked my chest as she pulled away. “Asshole,” she said, laughing at my fake wounded expression.

She stayed in the doorway when I walked out, but she didn’t call me back that time. I fetched the keys to my new car out of my pocket and clicked the button that made the car chirp cheerfully at me. I had let Elizabeth talk me into buying a car, and there was something freeing about the sporty little blue convertible we had picked out together. It surprised me, how much I loved feeling the wind in my hair and the sun on my face.

“I’ll see you on Sunday!” Elizabeth called, waving to me as I reversed out of her driveway.

I waved back at her before putting my sunglasses on. The sunglasses, the top down- all I needed was music. I pressed the button to start the CD, because Elizabeth told me she made me a mix for the journey home.

The first song had me laughing. Elizabeth knew me far too well, and I sang along with a youtube artist’s english cover of Splatter Party. The song, despite the dubstep and the bloody story it told, always put me in a good mood. Hell, anything by that youtube artist did. I might have admitted to a small man crush if I was asked.

My doubt, my worry, my fear- they were washed away by the wind and the sun and the beautiful sound of the singer’s voice in my ear. The drive wasn’t nearly so far when I didn’t have to ride a bus, but it was still far enough away that I got through most of the CD, and was singing along to Pierrot when I pulled up in front of the apartment building.

I had a parking spot, and it was the first time I had used it in the entire time of living in the building. It was usually just reserved for Elizabeth. My poor editor would have to walk all the way from the parking lot across the street to come and see me since I’d finally claimed my parking spot. The thought made me laugh softly as I put the top back up and got out, making sure to lock the door behind me- I’d never hear the end of it if I got the car stolen.

I was whistling the melody of Coward Montblanc as I waved to the man who stood by the front door. His eyes went wide, and for a second I thought he was going to pass out. The poor man had probably never seen me smile before. The trend continued as I made my way to the elevator; it had been so rare to see me come out of my room that it must have been like seeing a stranger walk in.

Granted, I looked far different than I did when I left.

The Joe they all knew was a mess. He had ragged hair he hacked at with the nearest sharp utensil when it got in his way. His clothes were shabby at best, and never fit his form. He never smiled, never showed any emotion at all. His face was blank and pale and he rushed by with his head down and his eyes on the floor.

I was a new Joe. Elizabeth had cut my hair, and I had been amazed at how I looked when I took a little care of myself; I had honestly never thought I could be attractive, but any artist would recognize it even in themselves. I had those blue eyes that women swooned over, and while I didn’t have much muscle, I had a leaner build that Elizabeth said gave me a wolfish air. And maybe she was right. The girls in the apartment building acted like bunnies, shooting me quick glances before looking away, only to stare at me behind my back when they thought I didn’t notice.

“Ah, sir, do you live here?”

God, but the building manager didn’t even recognize me. Then again, I didn’t look like the rest of the people who lived there anymore. With my clothes sleek and tailored, the sunglasses that I’d pushed on top of my head designer, I probably looked like I belonged in the high rises downtown.

“Yes sir. Joe Taylor, 3B,” I told him.

His jaw dropped. “No shit? You’re the shut-in?”

“Yeah, that’d be me,” I said, laughing when his eyes widened and he tried to stammer out an apology. I waved it away, striding across the lobby to the elevator.

It was already starting to wear me down. I may have looked the part, but I couldn’t play it- there were too many people, too many bodies with hands that could touch. The fear was rearing its head with a vengeance as I impatiently waited for the elevator to open. It took forever. My hands started to shake, and I shoved them in my pockets to hide it.

The doors finally opened, and I got inside as casually as possible before smashing the button that would close the doors and praying nobody would run to catch them. They didn’t, too intimidated to try and talk to me just yet.

I could only be grateful for that small favor as I leaned against the wall of the elevator. A relieved sigh pushed past my lips, and I watched the numbers change. The doors whooshed open at the third floor. I stepped out with a new bounce in my step. I was almost home. That door was only twenty feet away, and there was nobody in the hall to get in my way. I tossed the key ring up in the air so I could catch my house key, and picked up my stride.

My door was just opening when I heard a door open behind me. Directly behind me, and that could only mean one thing. I hesitated, wondering what he would say to me.

“Alright, Kisten, alright! I’ll bring a bottle of Fireball back with me if it’ll make you happy!”

That voice. I recognized it. And I froze.

“Hey, and don’t forget the lu-”

I recognized that voice, too, as it trailed into nothing. I didn’t have the heart to turn around and face them directly. But I saw their shocked faces as I turned to shut my door. They were both rumpled, clothes and hair a mess; wide eyed and slack jawed, they stared at me like they had seen a ghost.

Kisten. The boy who had brought me coffee and talked me to sleep when I couldn’t get the characters in my head to shut the hell up. The boy who had pinned me to the couch and kissed me. Who I had almost thanked for sending me running to Elizabeth.

And the second I was gone, he’d shifted his attention to somebody else. An easier conquest.

I should have known better.

“Joe-”

I slammed the door on his words, and my cell phone was in my hand the next second. My hand didn’t shake at all as I hit the speed dial for the only number that was in it.

“Joe?” Elizabeth’s voice was high with worry.

I took a deep breath, before I started to speak. “Yeah, hi. You remember that new apartment you threatened me with? Where exactly was it?”