Chapter 3

I felt like I was in a nightmare, but realized the pounding of my heart surely would've woken me out of even the deepest of REM sleeps.
Here I was lying helpless in a pitch black room, in a seedy apartment building, in an unfamiliar city, with a stranger staring at me through the darkness. I scanned the room for something I could use as a weapon, but didn't see anything promising within reach. I went to scream for help, but the sound just wouldn't escape my lips.
For the first time since Evan died I found myself wanting to live. There were things I still needed to do, wanted to do.
I had to live.
I finally managed to peel myself off the blue latex mattress, sticky with sweat from a combination of the overly warm apartment and my terror, but ended up tripping on the blanket that became twisted around me in the process.
"Are...you...okay?!...," a voice said between chuckles obviously directed at my grace, or lackthereof.
I froze. He was obviously toying with me, like a cat with a mouse before going for the kill, I thought.
He flipped on the lamp that sat on the end table beside the couch. He was smiling at me. Smirking, really.
"Hi," he said, still laughing. "I'm Rory. Gemma's cousin."
I watched him for a few moments, not really sure what I should do. If this was really Gemma's cousin, why didn't she say anything about him being here? Plus, he looked nothing like Gemma. He wasn't even Asian.
As if reading my mind, he said, "I was adopted."
I still didn't say anything.
"Look, I'll show you my license," he said reaching around his right side to the back pocket of his brown corduroy pants.
Finally snapping out of my trace, I mumbled that it wasn't necessary. That I believed him.
"I'm Garnet," I said awkwardly. "Gemma didn't tell me anyone else was staying here."
"Oh, yeah, well, she didn't know I'd be here. I told her I was going to spend the weekend over in Cherry Hill with some friends, but our plans fell through. She told me earlier this week she'd be having guests, so I tried to make plans to stay at another friend's house instead, but the few people I know around here are out of town for the holidays. So, I was forced to come back here," he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I tried to be as quiet as possible."
"It's okay," I said looking at the clock. It was a little after 3 a.m., but I wasn't tired anymore. My adrenaline was still running and I knew it would be a while before I could relax again. Still, I sat back down on the latex mattress.
"I'm really sorry I scared you," he said.
"So, have you been staying here long?" I asked, changing the subject out of embarrassment.
"No, it's only been about two weeks. I'm from New York originally, but had been living in California for a while. I was looking for a reason to come back to the East Coast and the opportunity just happened to present itself, so I asked Gemma if I could stay here for a bit while I test the waters. I really like it. It feels like home to me, even after such a short time, so I think I'm going to look for a place of my own."
I never did fall back asleep. Rory kept me up the rest of the early morning, asking questions about my life, where I was from, etc. I found myself beating his ear off about Pittsburgh, my job as a photographer, my friends and, especially, about Evan. He didn't offer up as much about his own life, but every once in a while, he'd tell me a funny story about California.
There was something about him that I took comfort in. He was genuine and laid-back. He reminded me a little of Evan, even though he looked nothing like him with his messy, brown hair, scruffy face and slight build. He also didn't exude the same kind of joy Evan always had. Though he came off as a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, I saw sadness deep in his blue eyes.
"So, what are you doing here in Philly anyway?," he asked.
Before I could answer, Ag stumbled into the living room, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Rory and looked at me confused. Gemma followed a second later.
"I thought you were going to Cherry Hill?," she asked from behind Ag in the hallway.
Rory introduced himself to Ag and explained to Gemma about his plans before excusing himself to her bedroom to gather some clothes out of his suitcase and headed for the bathroom. I heard the spray of the shower beyond the living room wall.
"I'm sorry, Garnet. He said he wasn't going to be here. I hope he didn't scare the crap out of you!," Gemma said.
"Nah," I lied.
While Rory showered, the three of us decided to get dressed and go grab some breakfast at the small diner around the block. We had plans to visit some of the city's historical sights before the show at McKool's.
Before we headed out the door I called in to Rory to see if wanted us to stop by and pick him up after breakfast so he could come with us.
"Thanks, but I can't," he said, the water from the shower muffling his voice. "I have so much to do today."
"Okay, see you later!" I grabbed my wallet, cell phone and camera from the coffee table and ran to catch up with Ag and Gemma.