Page 58 of Forced Into Your Arms
MILAN RIVERS
Iwoke up confused about where I was.
For a few seconds, I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling before everything from the day before came rushing back. The bullet. The note. Vice coming as soon as I called him. The police. The cameras being shut off. It only took a second for everything to come back to me. I was in a hotel suite that was probably bigger than my first apartment, and I was suddenly wide awake.
I reached for my phone and checked the time, seeing it was almost two in the afternoon.
Considering I’d worked all night and hadn’t gotten to the hotel until hours after my shift ended, I should’ve still been asleep. Instead, my mind immediately went back to my apartment and the fact that somebody had been inside it.
That was the part I couldn’t get past.
The bullet scared me. The note scared me even more, but knowing somebody had walked through my home without me knowing bothered me in a completely different way. I kept wondering what they’d touched, how long they’d been there and whether they’d gone through my things. Nothing was missing, but that didn’t make me feel any better.
My phone showed several missed calls and text messages. Most were from my sister and Nia. I wasn’t ready to explain everything to everybody yet. The police had told me not to post anything on social media or discuss details with people who didn’t need to know, which wasn’t a problem because the last thing I wanted was my entire family panicking—or Nia.
I texted my sister first to let her know I was okay and promised to call later. Then I opened Nia’s messages.
Nia:You home?
Nia:Milan?
Nia:Girl, if you don’t answer this phone.
Nia:I’m calling you one more time before I start looking for you.
I called her before she had a chance to make good on that threat.
“Where the hell have you been?” she answered.
“Good afternoon to you too.”
“Don’t good afternoon me. I told you to text when you got home.”
“I know.”
“So why didn’t you?”
I sat up against the headboard and rubbed a hand over my face. “Because I never made it to bed.”
There was a pause. “What happened?”
I didn’t know how to say it without making it sound as bad as it was.
“Somebody broke into my apartment.” The line went silent. “Nia?”
“I’m here.” Her voice had changed completely. “What do you mean somebody broke into your apartment? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Where are you?”
“At a hotel.”
“What hotel?”
I looked around the bedroom before answering. “The Blackwell.”
Another silence followed, but this one felt different.
