Nightfall ✓

Chapter 21

• chapter twenty-one • 

I walked over to a cab. The driver put my stuff in the trunk while I sat in the back. I felt nervous. I'd never, ever taken a cab alone before, because there was a very good chance that I might've ended up being kidnapped, murdered or raped. I thought about calling dad and asking him to pick me up, but I wasn't ready for the million questions he was surely going to ask.

The driver opened the door and sat behind the wheel. "Kidhar jaana hai?"

I told him my address.

The car moved forward. I sat quietly, nervously, worrying that the driver would take a wrong turn and then kill me, but then I decided that I didn't care. What did I have to lose, anyway? I'd already lost the person I loved the most.

I relaxed and stared out the window. The roads were nearly empty, and the car was moving a little too fast for my liking. I remembered the prom night, when Liam was next to me and Zack was driving recklessly, and Ash was constantly worrying about her hair. I rolled down the windows. Cool night air rushed in. For a moment, it was as if he was with me again.

The streetlights flashed by in a blur. I couldn't even see the streetlamps properly. It was just a blur of neon orange, like I was looking at everything through a vintage filter.

We jerked to a stop in front of our building. "Two hundred and fifty rupees, and two hundred and seventy if you want me to carry your bags."

I sighed and got out of the car. My legs were shaky and numb from sitting for so long. The blood rushed down to my feet, and it pricked like a thousand needles. I paid him three hundred rupees and told him to keep the change, and he carried all my bags up to the third floor. I tried to keep him at an arm's length to avoid being touched by him. Even an accidental touch was something I didn't like. When I still lived here, mom warned me to be careful of these men before I went out anywhere. To be careful of any man. And it wasn't even like she was being overprotective. Crimes against women were so common in this city that girls avoided going out alone, and even if they did, returned home before dark.

It was pathetic.

I rang the doorbell and waited, leaning on my suitcase. My broken right arm had healed, and I'd got the cast taken off, but my left arm was still covered in burns, so I'd worn a full-sleeved t-shirt. The high collar hid the scar on my neck.

The corridor was dark. The lights weren't working, probably. Maybe there was a power-cut. That was pretty common. The walls were still yellow with age, and were crumbling. I could see that in the moonlight. The managing committee had said that they would get the walls painted. They had even collected money from everyone, promising to make proper colorful graffiti on the walls to make our apartments more attractive. But I'd known nothing was gonna happen. This city was full of lazy people.

Suddenly, a cold October breeze blew my hair into my face. I shivered. The air smelled like rain. I was reminded of the night when we first entered the sanatorium. The cold air, the rain, the damaged walls, the dark corridor. I rang the bell five more times, and a while later dad opened the door. He stared at me with bulging eyes. "Hazel?"

"Dad... um, can I come in?" He stepped aside and I dragged my bags in.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, giving me a hug, which obviously made me uncomfortable. I hated hugging him. I hoped he couldn't see my dark circles or how tired I looked.

"I... um... I'm very sleepy right now. Can I just... I'll explain everything to you tomorrow."

He looked at me suspiciously and nodded. "Fine. Alright. Okay. Go to sleep," he said and went to his room.