I FOUND A KEY TO A STRANGE APARTMENT HIDDEN IN HIS GYM BAG
My fingers closed around the cold metal key hidden deep beneath the dirty gym clothes. It wasn’t one of ours; the cut was different, the head unfamiliar, heavier than any key I owned. My heart started a frantic drum against my ribs as I pulled it out, slick with sweat from his workout, tangled slightly in a used athletic sock. A jolt of pure adrenaline and dread shot through me.
He walked in just then, towel around his neck, smelling faintly of chlorine and sweat, and saw it dangling from my hand. The easygoing look vanished instantly, replaced by something cold and flat in his eyes. “What exactly do you think you’re doing looking through my bag?” he asked, his voice too calm, too measured, the sound grating against my nerves.
“This was in there. Where did you get this key?” I managed to whisper, the strange metal feeling heavy and wrong in my palm. The air in the room suddenly felt thick and hot, hard to breathe, the familiar scent of his cologne mixed with the gym smell seemed fake, like a disguise. He didn’t answer immediately, just stared at me, that strange, cold smile starting slow on his face. It didn’t reach his eyes.
“Some things are better left alone,” he finally said, stepping closer, his eyes still fixed on mine. His voice was a low growl that sent a shiver down my spine, colder than the key. “You really shouldn’t have been looking in there. That’s not just a key to *an* apartment.”
He reached for me and the lights flickered off upstairs.
👇 *Full story continued in the comments…*The sudden darkness amplified the fear that had already taken root. My breath hitched. The power always flickered in our old building, but the timing felt sinister, deliberate. I pulled back from him, the key digging into my skin.
“What do you mean, it’s not just a key to *an* apartment?” I demanded, my voice shaking despite my efforts to control it. I fumbled for my phone in my pocket, desperate for the light, for anything to break the suffocating tension.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he lunged, his hand closing around my wrist. His grip was tight, bruisingly so. I yelped, dropping the phone. It clattered on the hardwood floor, the screen lighting up momentarily before going dark.
“Give me the key,” he hissed, his face now close to mine, his features obscured by the dim light filtering in from the street. The cold smile was gone, replaced by a raw, desperate intensity.
I struggled against him, my adrenaline surging again. “No! Tell me what this is! Who lives there?”
He didn’t answer with words, but with force. He twisted my wrist, and the key fell from my numb fingers. He snatched it up, his eyes never leaving mine.
“You don’t understand what you’ve gotten yourself into,” he said, his voice a harsh whisper. He released my wrist and backed away, towards the door.
“Where are you going?” I cried, fear curdling into anger. “Tell me the truth!”
He paused at the doorway, silhouetted against the faint light from the hallway. “The truth is complicated. And dangerous. Stay here. Don’t follow me. Forget you ever saw that key.”
And then he was gone, leaving me alone in the dark, heart pounding, with a thousand unanswered questions swirling in my mind.
I spent the next hour pacing, my rational mind warring with the fear that clawed at my insides. He could be involved in something dangerous, something illegal. Or maybe… maybe it was something else entirely. Another woman. Another life.
Finally, I couldn’t stand the uncertainty any longer. He’d told me to forget the key, to stay put. But I knew I couldn’t. I had to know the truth, no matter the cost.
I grabbed my purse, retrieved my phone, and headed out the door, determined to find the apartment the key unlocked. I had a sinking feeling that my life, and maybe his, would never be the same again.