My old apartment. Ellen. She’ll take me back, if only for a short time. Even if she’s got a new roommate we can work something out. She might even still have my old car. The Lexus’s powerful engine smoothly speeds me on my way. I turn the radio on and hum along with the music. Get to the apartment and everything will be fine.
The transition from country to city jars me as much as when I was delivered to the estate. The large lots and open fields give way to drab buildings and crowded streets. Cars honk and jockey in front of me, people jostle each other on the sidewalks. I squeeze the steering wheel, my knuckles white, and promise myself I won’t be here long.
Sooner than I think, I’m near the university. I turn down my familiar street, finding an empty parking spot in front of my apartme
