Call It What You Want (to be revamped & restarted soon)

Track 1.02 | and we got bills to pay

🦋 + 🐍

(Priyankha's Version)

Priyankha had spent hours sitting with a guitar in front of her, unable to touch it and the only thing that seemed to come out of this futile practice was a hunched, sore back. She managed to find an unconventional sense of comfort when the scorching hot water drenched every part of her skin, slightly burning her scalp and soothing her aching muscles in the process.

There wasn't much she could do when she had willingly moved to a town where it rained almost throughout the year. In a climate that clearly showed signs of onset of a very cold downpour, a warm shower managed to take away all the shivers that she was barely managing to hold, especially when heating was so costly in a faulty apartment like hers. Again, her fault for not factoring in the possibility of a global pandemic, losing a well-paying job and ending up in a town with super expensive rent.

She mentally thanked her immunity for barely escaping catching a cold when his face flashed before her eyes again. This was really not a good time to be having a mental breakdown. She shook her head violently, as if that would help her shake away the haunting image in her head. 

She lathered the shampoo into her scalp and began washing it away when she froze; she could swear she heard something move outside. It was possibly one of those typical shower scares, the kind where you panic over a ghost watching you in the shower the moment you close your eyes to wash your face. It is just paranoia, she mused, but quickly finished her bath and dried her hair haphazardly. Wrapping her hair into a towel, she put on her clothes and stumbled outside only to see someone standing near the sofa.

And she knew who he was.

"Hello there, tenant!" He quickly turned to face her. "So nice to see you. I didn't know you were home. Am I disturbing something?"

She could feel her cheeks heat up in embarrassment and anger, more of the latter. Ignoring her reaction altogether, her landlord peered behind her, as if someone was going to walk out of the shower after she did. When he took a step closer, she spat in annoyance. "Good to know you were here thinking I wasn't home. How often do you do this? Walk into my place when I'm not around?"

He chuckled at her words and scratched the back of his neck. "Not often. Just wanted to make sure you're following the rules-"

"No pets. No nails in the walls. No man in the house." She spoke with her jaw clenched, fighting the urge to slap him across the face or run away forever. "Are you done?"

"Not quite." He smirked and settled himself on the sofa, uninvited, as he scanned her — head to toe — in a very obvious and creepy way and she couldn't be more glad she hadn't left her clothes outside the bathroom today. "Just difficult to believe someone like you wouldn't have a boyfriend."

"Even if I did," Priyankha muttered, knowing it was safer to keep him in the dark than admit she was alone, defenseless in a new town she was still getting used to. "I won't bring him here as per the agreement I've signed-"

He sprung up on his feet, his teeth gritted. If he was trying to hide the rage that stemmed from her lack of denial about having a boyfriend, he was doing a pretty awful job at hiding it. "Good. Also while I'm here, thought I'd remind you about your previous 2 months rent being due-"

"I'll pay it as soon as possible." She couldn't help but plead a bit. "I got a new job so I've-"

"Oh, good. Where?"

She stayed silent, not wanting him to randomly drop by at her workplace. When she didn't answer, his forehead creased and Priyankha was, for the first time, terrified of him.

"You thought I don't know where you work?" He scoffed, shaking his head in disappointment as he laughed out loud. A sound that shook Priyankha to the bones. "Your cute little job won't pay your bills, darling. Go get a second job or something. Pay my rent by the end of this week or get ready to be thrown out."

"I will-"

He cut her off. "But homelessness won't quite suit you, you know? The world isn't a very safe place when you don't have a roof above your head." His voice was a haunting whisper in her ear and when she realized he had dared to cross the distance between them, Priyankha took a step back instinctively in fear. His lips lifted up in a smirk. Clearly, he loved when he had this kind of effect on her. "If you wish, we can come to other arrangements-"

"That won't be necessary." She blurted out, putting on her strongest, bravest facade. "You will get your dues cleared within a week. And while you leave, remember to tell your wife I said hi."

That managed to irk him as he left the house, slamming the door shut and shaking the window frame in the process.

She stood in the same place — affixed in shock — not sure for how long. All she could do was wish, ever so desperately, to run away. From this place. From her lies. From her dark secrets. From her nightmares. From this creepy landlord. But she knew there was nowhere else to go, not if she wished to keep her true identity and story a secret. Not if she wanted people to keep believing she was who she pretended to be.

The only way out was to tell her parents or pretty much the whole world the turn of events that took place. And there was no way she was going to do that. Especially when it pained her so much to come to terms with the truth herself. So much that she kept lying, running away from everything - her own self, her past and the reality that kept haunting her in spite of her denial. It felt like she was constantly playing hide and seek or forever stuck in a wicked game of catch up and in no time, out of nowhere, her hasty decisions would come find her to bite her in the ass.

Now she's got bills to pay, demons to fight and nothing's figured out. And as long as she is stuck in Starlight, all she has to do is pretend she's okay when she isn't fine at all. That couldn't be so difficult, right?

Random Question: Which is your dream city / country to live in?

Let me know if you're liking the story so far :)