You pulled into the parking space and quickly parked before running up the stairs and banging on her front door. Knowing her it would scare the absolute out of her to hear the knocking on her door this late at night, but right now you really needed her to nut up. Finally a few minutes later her door cracked open and she peeked out at you and sighed once she realized that you weren’t a threat. She opened the door wide and you pushed your way inside.

“What in the world are you doing? And where have you been?!” she shrieked at you

“It’s a long story and I can’t really talk about it, I just need to crash here tonight while I figure some things out” you confessed hoping that she would accept only what little you would tell her

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” she asked with wide eyes and then she gasped “Are loan sharks or gang members after you?”

“No, nothing like that. I just can’t go home right now, I’ve got too much stuff going on and I needed to get away” you lied hoping she’d take the bait

“okay” she nodded before she turned to the hall closet to pull out a pillow and a blanket for you. “here you can use these” she handed them to you and you smiled at her

“thank you” you said quietly

“hmm… I’m going to bed I’ve got to be up early tomorrow” she said while yawning and walking back to her room

When she finally made it inside her room and she shut her door you let out a huge breath of air and plopped down on the couch. You finally closed your eyes for a moment and just allowed the silence to consume you before you had to think about what you were going to do next. You didn’t have your phone, keys, money or clothes. You were utterly screwed and you knew that you would eventually have to go back and get your things but you also knew that you weren’t desperate enough to go yet.

You settled into the couch and tried desperately to close your eyes and focus on the appending sleep rather than what was happening outside of the four walls of your friend’s apartment. And soon enough your adrenaline dissipated and your eyes fell shut.

You woke up the next morning to the sound of rummaging through the apartment and your heart immediately began to race. You became hyper aware of your surroundings and you jumped off the couch into a defensive position.

“What are you doing?” your friend asked you

“oh…” you immediately relaxed and tried to come up with a good excuse “You just startled me and it woke me up” you explained without telling her everything.

“whatever. Stay in as long as you like, just be sure and lock the door behind you.” she said tightening the lid to a thermos and walking towards the front door, ready to leave for work “oh and by the way, I left my key to your place on the bar. You didn’t bring your keys with you so I assume you’ll be needing it.” She smiled at you and then stepped out of the apartment

God bless that woman

You turned and looked at the key sitting by itself on the bar and you battled with yourself if you wanted to go to your place or not. You knew that if Taemin had half the brain that you knew he had the first place that he should go looking for you at is your apartment. And a small part of you wanted to see him, but the images of him and Minho fighting so brutally constantly flashed in your mind making you paranoid of what the future would be like. Could things ever be the same again after such a dramatic fight?

And then your mind began to wander even farther.

How did the fight end? Is Minho in a million pieces? Your heart started to hurt at the thought of him being hurt or worse but when you imagined Taemin being possibly hurt your heart began to race and a sting came to your eyes making them water up. You didn’t want to think about either of them being hurt after such a fight with each other, but you imagined that it didn’t end well with Taemin’s territorial tendencies towards you.

You thought of returning to see what happened. To leave that key on the bar and go back and see the damages of the two powerful men fighting each other head on. But if something did happen you didn’t want to see the bloody aftermath.

You glanced back at the key and let out a sigh. You couldn’t stay here and hide forever! And if you ever wanted to get your life back you would eventually have to go back. You got up and stalked around the kitchen cabinets to find a pen and a pencil in the junk drawer that you knew she kept a note pad in and quickly wrote down a thank you note. You folded up your blanket and placed it neatly on your pillow before you grabbed your key and headed for your apartment.

Once you locked and closed your friend’s apartment door you peeked around the parking lot to see if there was anyone outside and made a b-line straight towards Taemin’s car. You jumped inside revved the engine and sped off towards your apartment. If he was there waiting for you then so be it. You just wanted to get everything over with and know that he was okay.

You pulled into your parking lot and let out a shaky breath before you worked up the nerve to climb the stairs and go into your small apartment. The climb up felt like a hike and when you slid the key into the door your heart began to race. You took a quick breath and then unlocked and opened the door as if ripping off the band-aid.

Your eyes quic