The apartment was darker now that the sun had sunk beneath the skyline. Only the fading, flickering bulbs illuminated the place.

Perhaps the condition had worsened since I had been here, or perhaps I had simply forgotten the dire state that the apartment was in. The walls were chipped, and smeared with grey stains; the original white unrecognisable beneath the grime. The floorboards groaned, with splinters fraying off the exposed wood.

The corridor felt more claustrophobic than usual, and seemed to stretch on and on. A couple of rooms had their doors lazily hanging ajar revealing what was inside. From my peripheral vision, I caught a glimpse of gamblers, dealers, cheaters, going about their dangerous business in this dim lit corners.
My pace quickened considerably, eager to take myself somewhere more open.

As I stumbled towards my room, I realised it probably wasn't just this place that was making me so fidgety. I knew that my secrets were no longer mine. Despite this, I still had to find out how much Lexi had discovered. The more she knew, the more I had to worry.

The room was empty when I entered. My section of the room looked how I left it.

I scanned the rest of the room, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was actually looking for. Careful not to change the position of things too much, I cautiously rifled through Lexi's area of the room.

Usually, her laptop, I pod, headphones, and tangles of cables were heaped precariously on top of her drawers. But her space was precariously vacant.

I moved my attention to the cabinet instead, and delved inside.
In her draws, cigarette packets and single smokes were thrown in draws, filling the spaces between old lipsticks, gum wrappers and crumpled receipts.
I looked under the bed, only to find a lost sock and a thick sheet of dust.

I was about to give up, anxious that Lexi could walk in at any moment. But before I turned away in defeat, I saw a fold of black material poking out from beneath her mattress.
I carefully lifted the corner of the mattress, and pulled out the garment to inspect it.

A black hoodie, still damp to touch.

There was no doubt in my mind that it was the same jumper that the mysterious figure was wearing. Although it meant that I wasn't going insane, it also meant that Lexi was someone who I had to be cautious about now, even afraid of.

I stuffed it back where I found it, and rushed back to my side of the room.

Suddenly, a loud ring vibrated through the room.
I followed it, eventually leading me back to Lexi's bed.
I ripped off the covers from the bed, to reveal an unfamiliar phone at the foot of her bed.

Without thinking twice about it, I picked it up and accepted the call.

"Hey stranger."
It was undoubtedly her voice.

The spring in her tone was easy to decipher as completely false. I could almost see the devious smirk on her face.

"Cut the bullshit, Lexi. Don't try and hide the fact that you know."
My words were loud and bold, but my insides were shaking with a bitter clash of anger and fear.

A dangerous laugh pierced my ear through the phone.

"Don't lecture me on hiding things, Tilly. You wouldn't want to be a hypocrite as well as a traitor... would you?"

I ignored her remark.
"Who have you told."

She scoffed.
"You can't honestly believe I haven't told Zona."

My fingers twisted into tense fists, nails digging red trenches into my palms.

If Zona knew. I was done for.

"Why. Why go out of your way to do this?"

"Come on Matilda! Wake up, and stop playing the victim all the goddamn time!" she spat angrily.

"And you're what, a hero?"

"No. I know that I'm not a saint. But I'm the one who has to clean up your mess, so no one gets hurt."

"What I've been doing has got nothing to do with anyone else but myself-"

"Are you sure about that?" Lexi said with a twisted laugh. "You were stupid enough to get caught in the first place; and by some miracle, you found where he lived. But going to Zona would be far to logical for you wouldn't it?"

"I never asked you to get involved."

"Oh Shut up!"

The sheer force of her voice made me flinch, making me pull the phone away.

"There was no way I couldn't get involved! Other than your constant whining, it was bloody obvious that something dangerous was going on. It didn't take a genius to figure out he had information to hold against you. Either that or it was some sick, twisted Stockholm syndrome situation; I wouldn't really be surprised to be honest-"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"For god sake Matilda! Just admit it, you fucked up. You put everyone here in danger."

"He wouldn't have said anything, I had everything under control."

Then silence, only the static crackling resounded from either end.

"Whatever. Go and grovel to Zona, you're good at that."

Then no more. She had hung up.

I looked down at the phone, to see where she had called from. There was no number, no information, no trace. I don't know why I even bothered looking; Lexi was a genius with technology, she could cover anything up.

I let the phone slip from my hand onto the bed. I followed suit, until I was sat on the floor, my back resting against the bed.

I knew that there were small truths in what Lexi had said. I was reckless, and I had put people in danger. But that was when I still considered Jack a potential threat. That really wasn't a concern anymore.

*

I could do it. I could run away.

I could leave this all behind, I wouldn't even look back, I could just forget it all.

No one would miss me. It would be so easy.

And despite the endless possibilities for my future that lay before me, I still found myself waiting outside Zona's door.
Two feet pointing to the direction of my impending doom, waiting patiently for the fateful door to swing open.

A click and a heavy creak sounded. Revealing the dark interior of the room.
Everything felt dead for a moment. The air was still, the silence heavy, and the darkness enveloped and surrounded my limbs.

"I was wondering whether or not you would show your face."

The voice was cold and sly, rippling across my skin like frost.

There she was. Sat behind her desk, chin resting on the back of her hands, fingers laced together.

"Zona." I said, acknowledging her.

She drummed her Crimson nails.

"You haven't been the sharpest tool in the box recently, have you, Matilda."

Her head lifted slowly, until her black eyes bore into my own.

"How much do you know, Zona" I tried to keep my tone as level as I could. There was no room for weakness now.

A tenor chuckle rumbled from her smirking lips.
"I don't think you have the authority to be making demands my dear."

"What difference does it make."

Her eyes glazed over for a fleeting moment, as if in thought.
"I suppose that's true."

She clasped her hands together, "well then, let's see. I know about your friend, and I know where he lives..."

I felt my heart seize at her words. I hoped that she wouldn't know that much, but then it is Zona. And Zona knows all.

"...And I know that you've turned into a little traitor."

Despite the weight of her words, they held no real bitterness.

"I had high hopes for you you know, Matilda."

"I never stopped giving you the money I owed."

"Ah, see that's why I haven't completely obliterated your life, yet."

"I'll give you the rest and more if you leave him alone."

Bribery was never part of my plan, whatever plan that was. But it was the only one I had now.

She sighed, almost in annoyance.
"You honestly think this is about the money?"

I didn't respond.

"The apartment is moving to another city. There have been other, let's say, disturbances besides yours within the company. I need to wipe them out, and this is the easiest way."

"Moving?"

"Yes"

"Where?"

"You don't need to know, because you're not coming." Her tone had now returned to its usual bite.

"So that's it then? You won't do anything to him?"

"Matilda!"
Her hands slammed down on the table, making every object in the room quiver from her angry vibrations.

"I'm dealing with a hundred different things at the moment, each one of them fifty times more dangerous than your boy toy. Why would I waste my energy on that?"
She had stood up now, leaning over the desk, crimson claws digging into the table.

Despite the couple of metres between us, the intimidation she emitted was enough to make me flinch and take a step back.

I clenched my fingers into fists,  to stop them shaking.

"What about Lexi?"

She sunk back into her chair, arms folded over her chest.

"What about her?" She sneered.

"We had a talk before I came to see you."

Zona shrugged her shoulders, "I kicked her out a couple of days ago. She wasn't bringing in enough money, because she was too hung up on your dilemma."

Zona looked bored, as if Lexi never really mattered to her. Though I suppose nothing ever did.

Zona had returned her interest to shuffling through a stack of money, most likely the collection of earnings from this week.

"Goodbye, Matilda."
She said, without lifting her head.

Two words was all she needed. The finality in them hung heavy in the room.

And it was the last I would ever hear leave Zona's mouth.