Chapter 2

We arrived in Philly a little after 11 p.m. It would have taken us a lot less time to get there had we not stopped for dinner, took several pee breaks and got lost in the city looking for Ag's friend Gemma's apartment.
For being only an hour before Dick Clark counted down the seconds to drop the mirrored ball at Times Square, the streets surrounding Gemma's place were bare. I guess everyone had already made it to their destinations by that point.
Gemma's, where we'd be crashing for the weekend, was on the third floor of an old building mostly occupied by law students attending Drexel University located just a few blocks away. The muted green hallway carpeting was stained with dirt and worn in several places. The trim that lined what used to be white walls was chipped and dingy. I silently prayed Gemma's place was at least a little nicer inside.
We finally heard signs of life as we made our way to the third floor. We could hear television sets tuned into the festivities at Times Square and the faint sound of a few party whistles blown in an apartment down the dimly lit hall. As we reached #315, I was glad no commotion was coming from inside. I really wasn't in the mood to party.
I haven't been truly happy at all since Evan died. It was almost like I wouldn't allow myself to even smile. It sort of made me feel guilty inside, that I could still enjoy things. That I could go on living.
Agatha knocked loudly on the door, her arms weighed down by two duffel bags and a folded up air mattress she brought for me to sleep on. Between the two of us, we probably had enough luggage to stay in Philly for a month.
Gemma opened the door with a whoosh and immediately threw up her arms to hug Agatha.
"Oh my God, it's so great to see you!," she said.
For some reason, Gemma was nothing like I pictured her. Ag told me she was Asian, but that was the extent of what I knew to base a mental image on. She was tiny...a few inches shorter than Ag who I had a good four or five inches on. Her chocolate hair was up in a messy bun on top of her head and she wore gray sweatpants and a fitted white t-shirt. She wore little makeup, but was gorgeous nonetheless.
"Hi Garnet, nice to finally meet you. Ag has told me a lot about you," she said grabbing some of our luggage to help haul it all inside.
"You too. Thanks for letting us stay here for a few days," I replied.
The apartment was on the small side, but was much nicer than I expected. Polished dark hardwood floors spanned the entire place and two comfy-looking couches filled most of the living room. Aside from that, there was only one bedroom, one bathroom and a tiny kitchen, but it beat staying in a hotel.
After we got ourselves situated, Ag and I plopped ourselves on the couch with Gemma. I half-watched the annual Rockin' New Year's Eve special as the two of them caught up for a while with gossip about mutual Philly friends.
"I wonder how old Dick Clark is now?," I said to myself. "He's gotta be a robot."
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I admit that at first I wasn't wild about sleeping on an air mattress for two days, but I was actually pleasantly surprised by its comfort. I was so tired at that point from driving all day anyway that I could've probably fallen asleep on hot magma.
I pried myself out of my clothes and stepped into a pair of sweatpants and pulled a tank top over my head. I grabbed my iPod to drown out the television on in Gemma's room and settled onto the blue latex mattress.
I fell fast asleep rather quickly, but only about two hours passed before I was woken up again.
The room was completely dark and silent when I opened my eyes, but I felt like I wasn't alone.
I turned on my side and waited a few moments for my eyes to adjust when I noticed piercing blue eyes staring at me.