The Many Problems of Luka Erebi | Sapphic Romance | Chapter 5
Luka is forced into a plan
Luka figured Wren pretty much got the job when she saw Ms. Danaus leading her into the kitchen. What she didn't realize was that Wren would be put to work immediately.
Well, there goes my plan of grabbing lunch with her.
She finished her coffee, and then said goodbye to Wren, who just grunted in response.
“Wow, not even a thank you or anything.”
Luka heard one of her coworkers whisper as she walked out of the cafe. She wasn’t expecting Wren to thank her, so she shrugged it off.
The train ride back home was a little less awkward and intense now that she was alone, but it didn’t make the walk back to her apartment any easier. All she needed was to go back to her room and switch her sling bag with her backpack.
I really should’ve just brought both…
When she got to the stairs, she noticed someone standing at the top. The woman held a laundry basket, probably heading to the laundromat across the street. She still had her plaid apron on, her long brown hair tied and resting on her right shoulder. She saw Luka and gave her a smile.
“Good afternoon, Luka.”
“Hi, Mosca.” She glanced at the laundry basket that seemed over capacity. “How are you?”
“I’m… doing better. Thanks for asking.”
Mosca lived in 206, making her Luka’s next-door neighbor. Although Luka had lived here for almost a year, she never really interacted with Mosca until late of last month. And that was only because chance brought Luka to the bridge towards the eastern side of Locust Town.
The water was really cold back then…
Luka watched Mosca walk down the stairs, observing her fair skin and noting a bit of plumpness compared to last month. The woman, having noticed Luka’s gaze, made eye contact and asked, “Is something wrong?”
“O-oh! Um…”
There wasn’t much Luka knew about this woman, but they exchanged small talk every now and then after the incident. Considering they were next-door neighbors, Luka might as well ask her this, “Have you seen anyone suspicious around the apartment lately? Particularly in the early morning?”
“No, I… haven’t been waking up that early, but I can ask my husband.”
“Thank you. Anyway, I’ll let you go. Bye, Mosca.”
“Bye, Luka.”
Luka ambled up the stairs, thinking about Mosca’s husband. Her only impression of him was how long it took for him to visit Mosca at the hospital. Luka remembered awkwardly sitting in the hospital room, stuck between wanting to go home and not wanting her neighbor to be alone.
I doubt he’s seen anyone, but you never know.
———
Luka saw Ari at the school cafeteria, sitting beside the girl from yesterday… the one she gave the lunch box to. Apparently they were hitting it off.
Ari had her hair in a fishtail braid today, the ends reaching her lower back. She wore her usual grey oversized jacket over a white polo neck and white skinny jeans.
With two wrapped club sandwiches in hand, Luka decided to take a seat far away from Ari and the girl. She didn’t want to bother them. But it seemed Ari wanted to bother her. It only took Luka two bites before Ari sat down in front of her.
Ari pouted, though it was more playful than upset. “You come to get lunch unannounced and now you’re just gonna ignore me?”
Luka glanced back at the girl, who seemed disappointed Ari left. “I didn’t want to disturb you and that girl.”
“Oh, her?” She chuckled. “She really liked that lunch from you. Hasn’t complained about being sick yet.”
“Don’t say it like I made it, and I still can’t believe you gave it to her—”
“So, did you get another one today?” Ari asked abruptly, her expression devoid of the joy she was conveying earlier.
“Uh…”
“You did, didn’t you?” She sighed. “Have you told Bellamy about this?”
Luka avoided her gaze, which was all the answer she needed.
“Why haven’t you told her?”
I really need her to stop reading my mind. And why is she taking this so seriously anyway?
“I was going to tell her yesterday… but things happened and I haven’t gotten a chance.”
Luka took a big bite of her sandwich.
“Bellamy told me you walked with her this morning.”
“Mm!”
It seemed the sandwich went down the wrong hole, and now Luka was choking. A chair scraped against the ground, then footsteps wandered away from Luka before making its way back to her.
Ari placed down a paper cup filled with water, her hand resting against Luka’s back. Luka took the water and drank it down in one gulp. Then she resumed eating, taking smaller bites this time.
“So what was your reason again? You haven’t gotten a chance to talk to her?”
She’s not going to let it go, is she? I should’ve never told her about this…
“Her cousin recently moved in and… I found out she’s someone I used to know when I was a kid.”
“Uh huh. And what’s this got to do with your current situation?” Ari asked, now sitting next to Luka.
“W-well… if I tell Bellamy now, she’s going to tell her cousin… and I don’t want to bother her with my problems. Not when she just moved back.”
Ari groaned, looking like she was over this. “Seriously? Who cares. Your problem isn’t going to magically disappear if you ignore it, especially if you’ve got a stalker who already knows where you live.”
Luka couldn’t argue with Ari. In fact, she wished Ari wasn’t making so much sense right now. More importantly, she really wished Ari didn’t just say that word aloud…
Stalker.
Maybe Ari should’ve just gone back to saying secret weirdo. That sounded less harmful.
Luka ate the last of her first sandwich, and unwrapped the second. She was trying to do anything that wasn’t responding to Ari, but the woman’s red eyes marked her. This entire time, Luka was already caught on her web. No matter how much she wriggled, she wasn’t going anywhere.
So, she chose to go on the offensive.
“W-why do you care so much anyway? You never took me seriously.”
Ari arched a brow. Her index finger traced a circle on the table. Then she made a thin smile.
“You’re right. I never took you seriously. The only reason why I hung out with you in the beginning was because Bellamy kept insisting.”
Luka gulped. She had similar thoughts to Ari, but she would never voice them.
“I thought you were a wimp with the way you duck and scurry from the tiniest of bugs. You weren’t going to be someone I could rely on.”
Okay, now she’s just roasting me…
Luka was close to finishing her second sandwich. Once she was done, she would take it as an opportunity to leave.
“But you know what? When you stood up for me on Christmas Eve… I thought you might not be all that bad.” She now gave what Luka could only read as a genuine smile. “So yeah, I take your stalker problem very seriously.”
Oh. She was going somewhere with this, but…
“You… you say Christmas Eve like it was any regular day.”
Ari’s hands cupped her cheeks, her elbows resting on the table. Her tone turned back to the mischievous Ari Luka came to know. “You’re telling me you don’t like getting your ass beat on Christmas Eve?”
“I prefer not to…”
Luka would’ve never been in that alleyway if Ari hadn’t accidently messaged her. She was never Ari’s first dial. Still, no matter how much Luka’s heart wanted to leap out of her chest that day, she couldn’t leave Ari alone.
“So, here’s the plan,” Ari said, “You need to tell Bellamy. I don’t care if her cousin knows or not. Then you need to set up a camera in case your stalker comes back to give you another lunch box.”
“Oh, um… actually, my landlord doesn’t allow cameras.”
…
Ari gawked.
“What?”
“I-I mean… I can ask…”
———
The sun was on its descent when Luka stood in front of room 101. A breeze blew past, and normally she would’ve found it pleasant. If only she wore her undershirt. There was no use standing here and shivering, so she knocked.
It took at least five minutes for the door to open, revealing a plump middle-aged man behind. He was the landlord, and one who wasn’t very tech heavy. If he was, Luka would’ve just texted him.
He wore a blue polo shirt that was doing its best to accommodate his size. His greying hair sat flat against his head, like it too had given up.
“Yes? What do you need?”
From his tone, Luka figured he was in the middle of something.
“Um… Mr. Holt, is there any chance I could install a camera on my front door?”
His bushy brows frowned, and his dark eyes narrowed. “Cameras are not allowed. We respect other people’s privacy around here.”
Who’s we? Luka kept that to herself.
Instead, she clasped her hands and tried to reason with him.
“W-well, you see, Mr. Holt, I’ve been having a problem lately… I think someone’s been watching me and… leaving me lunch boxes in the morning.”
Upon hearing that, her landlord chortled. “Really? That’s all?”
Luka’s mouth agape, she wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
“Back in my days, I would’ve killed for such a secret admirer.”
“B-but, Mr. Holt—”
“Look, Luka… if you really think it’s that serious, take this to the police and come back with something official. Then I’ll consider it. But from where I stand, you should just accept the gifts given to you and stop complaining.”
Luka’s hands fell to her side. She remained silent, which was enough for her landlord. He closed the door and left her standing outside in the cold.
She sighed, taking out her phone and sending Ari a message as she walked back to her room.
Luluka: My landlord won’t let me do it without a police report.
Ari is a Weaver: …
Ari is a Weaver: Oh yeah. The police will totally take you seriously when you tell them someone’s been leaving you lunch every day.
Luluka: I mean… it’s not every day yet.
Ari is a Weaver: So you’re planning on letting them do it until the end of the week?
Ari is a Weaver: Fuck your landlord. Install a camera anyway.
Luluka: Do you want me to get kicked out?
“Oh, hey, Luka.”
Luka had been so absorbed in her messaging with Ari that she almost bumped into her neighbor. “Ah! Sorry, Mosca. I didn’t see you.”
Mosca wasn’t wearing her apron, letting her plain beige dress flutter alone in the wind. She shook her head and said, “It’s alright.”
When Luka noticed her hazel eyes panning down to her phone, she turned off the screen. She gave Mosca a smile, and was about to head to her door.
“I asked my husband. He said he hasn’t seen anyone suspicious lately.”
Figures…
“Ah. Well, thanks for asking him.”
“Has there been someone weird skulking around?”
She looked around the premises.
“I’m not sure, actually. That’s why I wanted to see if someone else has seen them.”
Her brows furrowed. “Have you reported this to the police?”
“Not yet. I don’t even know if it’s that serious or not.” Luka shrugged. Her eyes dropped to Mosca’s arms, noting an empty tote bag hanging. “A-anyway, are you heading somewhere?”
She followed Luka’s sight, and gasped. “Ah! Yeah, I was going to buy some groceries. I’ll see you later, Luka.”
With that, Mosca headed out. Luka watched her go, her phone buzzing in her hand. When she finally turned her screen back on, the first thing she saw was—
Ari is a Weaver: You want me to call Rose? She’ll stake out your place and kick your stalker’s ass.
Luluka: No!!
Luka had no idea who this Rose was, but the fact that Ari had a go-to person for ass-kicking was a little worrying. She couldn’t help but think back on what happened to Ari on Christmas Eve. What was she doing that got her jumped by those women?
No, I shouldn’t think about that. The less I know, the better.
Ari is a Weaver: By the way, I’m going to ask Bellamy tomorrow if you’ve told her yet. And if she says she hasn’t, I’m going to tell her.
Luluka: Hey! Not cool, Ari!
Luka held in a frustrated squeal, and finally entered her apartment. Talking about this to Ari was her worst mistake, because she was now backing her into a corner. What was so wrong with not thinking about it?
It was just like her landlord said, it was just a lunch box.
Just as she was trying to take the side of her landlord, a deep and guttural yawn crept up. The energy that came from the pure adrenaline of seeing Wren again had worn off. In its place, something heavier settled. A doubt she couldn’t swallow down no matter how hard she tried.
She looked around her living room, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Yet the place was starting to feel like when she first moved in. Alien.
The pre-made lunches she bought were probably expired by now, since she’d been refusing to eat in her apartment since last week. She was already halfway to not being able to fully sleep in her own home.
Was this really something she could afford not to think about?
Tomorrow… I should… no.
Luka took out her phone.
Luluka: Bellamy, I need to talk to you. Meet me at the train station?