Laura looked around her new one bedroom apartment that was now filled with a few bags and boxes full of her stuff.
The place was nothing special, it was quite old and there were definitely things that needed repairs and it was in a bad neighborhood, but it was now hers.
She didn’t buy it, she could not afford it, but for the first time in years she had a place to call home.
When she came to Twilight clove at the age of twenty, she was staying around cheap motels before she finally found a place with a roommate.
Now she was twenty four and she finally decided to get her own place because she just couldn’t stand her asshole roommate anymore.
At least living with that guy brought something good to his life – June, a girl that became her best and basically her only friend. June and Her roommate used to date and that was how they met, and even though the couple broke up two years ago, Laura and June remained friends.
For four years Laura has been working different jobs just to get by, she had only graduated from high school so it was tough to find something decent without a college diploma, but she could not really complain.
Now she finally had her own apartment, it was just a room with a small, old kitchenette, one wardrobe and few drawers and a decently sized bed. Of course there was a bathroom too, very small and the tiles looked like they might fall off the walls any minute, but the apartment was clean, there was no mold or anything of that sort, so that was enough for Laura .
She was used to a modest
note poor
lifestyle after all, she had survived like this for the past six years.
She started unpacking, she didn’t have many things, most of it were just her clothes and shoes and a few personal things like a few framed photos and a favorite mug, she was quite happy that she managed to find this place where furniture was included and even the kitchen was equipped with the basic appliances and dishes.
She was interrupted by a ringing phone and she didn’t even have to look to know who was calling.
She didn’t have many friends, so it was almost always June , except for when her boss sometimes called her. She was currently working in a grocery store, mostly just stocking shelves, which was actually one of the better jobs she has had.
“Juneie , love of my life, how are you?” She said cheerfully as soon as she picked up and put the phone on speaker so she could continue unpacking while she talked to her friend.
“I should be the one asking that question, how is moving?” June wondered. “Good, I am almost unpacked.”
“You need to show me the place, you got it quite quickly and I haven’t had the chance to see it yet.”
“My door is always open for you, June, you know that. You can stop by anytime you want, you know the address.”
“I am not that happy about it, it is in a bad and dangerous neighborhood,” June grumbled.
“You don’t live in a fairytale kingdom either,” Laura snorted: “Besides, we are in Phoenix, dangerous neighborhood is not a term I’d use.”
“You out of all people should know how dangerous here can be,” June lectured her: “I did some research and this neighborhood is pretty notorious for home robberies and selling drugs and even prostitution.”
“I don’t care about prostitution or selling drugs, I don’t judge,” Laura shrugged: “As for a robbery, they can try to come here, what would they take? I have nothing.”
“Don’t even joke about this,” June grumbled.
“Cheer up, Juneie, I can take care of myself, I have been in worse situations. I am just happy that I finally moved out from your shitty ex and I can enjoy my freedom now.”
“If you are happy, I am happy too,” June sighed:
“But be cautious and always have a knife on you or something when you go out, okay?”
“I am not gonna stab anyone,” Laura chuckled:
“Come this weekend, you can check out my apartment and then we can go out to eat. Maybe if you see the neighborhood, you will be calmer, it is really not that bad from what I’ve seen so far.”
“Okay, yeah, we can go out this weekend,” her friend agreed. They chatted for a while longer before Laura hung up.
She looked again around the place, smiling to herself. It felt like a new start, like she was just entering a new phase of her life.
At this moment she had no idea how much was going to happen and change in the next months and it was going to start very soon.
