Plucked right from my life... a Camp Nanowrimo Update

I promised a sneak peek at one of the scenes from my Camp Nanowrimo project. Well, here is something that I've been working on. This scene is a special one because the apartment complex resembles a complex I used to live in several years ago. One thing I should mention is that the actual scene with the couple fighting isn't based on anyone I knew, but we did have a couple there that fought in the middle of the night all the time. They'd wake me up even though I lived on the first floor with them on the second floor and 6 apartments between us.

Anyway, jump into Mia and Sebastian's life. Remember, this isn't edited. I hope you enjoy the scene!

As they approached the parking lot of her complex, he frowned and stared up at the three story building. Heat rushed over her face as she took the view of her home in. Faded yellow paint. Each trash can sat overflowing, the fallen trash scattered around its base. Unkempt plants. A dirty pool. At least it looked better at night.

“You live here?” He shifted his attention from the ratty complex to her.

Letting her frown match his, she said, “Yes, why?”

“Doesn’t the casino pay you enough?”

She gave a shy laugh. “It does now. I was on a limited budget when I first got here and didn’t have a job. This is all I could get on my arrival to Vegas.”

“Which one do you live in?” He stared up at the building again.

“Third floor. Wonderful, huh?”

A door opened on the second floor and a female, her arms full of clothing, stomped to the railing and threw the garments over. She turned but didn’t go back inside. Instead, she screamed to an unseen person, “Get out of here you lousy son-of-a-bitch!”

A man finally stepped outside and held out a hand. “Come in here, babe. You don’t want them to call the cops again, do you?” He kept his voice calm and soothing as he stepped even closer to her.

Mia held her breath as she watched the scenario playing out before her. Would the woman go? Probably. She’d heard this couple fight many times since arriving and watched him get hauled off to jail once just to find him back at the woman’s place the following afternoon. But why did this have to happen when Sebastian stood in their parking lot?

The woman took a step to the side, dodging the man’s touch. “Get the fuck out,” she screamed. Doors all around them started opening. Mia’s neighbors either popped their head out, grumbled something before slamming the door shut again or they stepped outside to watch the action. One man asked if she needed any help in which her boyfriend told the guy to fuck himself.

Not wanting to see any more of the fighting and feeling safer behind her locked door, Mia said, “Thanks for walking me home. Have a good night, Sebastian.”

“I’ll walk you up to your door. I have a proposal for you. I was going to bring it up tomorrow but now I’m not sure we should wait.” He kept his eyes on the couple who were just getting louder by the second.

“I won’t even pass by them. My place is over there. What’s your proposition?” Whatever it was, Sebastian needed to hurry up.

“I’m sure how much of the casino you know about, but we run an escort service right out of the casino.”

She held her hand up to stop whatever words were coming next. “If you think I’m going to prostitute, you’re crazier than those people upstairs.”

He shook his head and laughed. “First of all, there is a difference between an escort and a prostitute, Mia. And second, I don’t want you to be one. I want you to be the madam’s assistant. The pay is a lot better and we’ll go into more details if you want the job. Think about it and we’ll meet up tomorrow. Say, noonish? I’ll pick you up and we’ll grab some lunch.” He offered a smile and a small wave before turning toward the driveway.

Stunned by his offer, she headed up the stairs at the far end of the building, adding distance between her and the fighting couple. When she reached the second floor landing, she glanced back at him and found Sebastian at the corning of the parking lot, watching to make sure she got to her apartment safely. Her heart swelled in her chest. Sebastian still cared about her. Still watched over her as he’d done when they were kids. By the time she reached her front door on the third floor, she wished she could invite him in but never would at this place.