Chapter 9 The next morning Peter pulled up outside Natalies apartment building. He wasn't really sure what he was doing there but the juxtaposition between her zip code and her salary made him curious. The apartment building would be best described as rundown, the exterior looked like it had once been pink but there was so much grime it was hard to tell. The front door was wooden and peeling paint badly. While wondering why he was there Peter saw Natalie come out of her house and get into the black sedan outside and drive off. Not really knowing what possessed him he got out of the car and walked towards the building. Just as he reached the door he was surprised buy it suddenly being opened by a tall, slim women in her 50s with the most unnatural looking grey eyes he'd ever seen. They were almost silver. "Ah, you're here to look at the apartment to rent yes?" she asked Still not really knowing why Peter nodded and cleared his throat. "Ah, yes I am Mr Clark, Sorry I forgot your name." "I am Mrs Norman. Welcome, come in and follow me" she said ushering him inside. Peter hesitated for a moment, realising she had mistaken him for a potential tenant he decided to take advantage of the situation to see inside and ask some questions about Natalie. He then followed the woman up the stairs to the apartment above which she opened and let him into. Mrs Norman had a soft and gentle voice and it was pleasing to listen to as she guided Peter around the apartment. He wasn't really listening to Mrs Norman until something she said caught his ear "And although the lovely lady below has a child you won't hear him, he is as good as gold and the place is well insulated so it blocks out a lot of sound. Poor kid isn't here as much as he should be anyway." She said shaking her head sadly. "Child?" He asked, "How old? Does he stay with his father?" "OH no, he is unwell, and he has to spend a lot of time at the hospital. That's why Miss Lane lives in a place like this. I know she has a really good job but all her money goes on her son's treatment and carers. Bless, i try to help her out but how she manages being a single Mom with her sons condition and a full time job is beyond me. I've never met his father and I don't know the whole story but I have a feeling that Natalie is terrified of him so I don't ask. When she arrived here she was weeks from giving birth, malnourished, rail thin and sick as a dog. It's a miracle she and the baby made it that far after the poisoning." The older woman was shaking her hair and looked distressed at the memory of Natalies arrival. "Sorry did you say poisoning?" asked Peter "Yes. It was terrible. I don't know why she left her old pack but something drastic happened there and while she was fleeing a pack member caught up with her and tried to poison her to death but by some miracle the child absorbed most of the poison and dispelled it. Natalie took a while to recover and was well enough in time to give birth, but the damage was already done to Alex. He has been sick since he was born. The drs suspect his father is a natural Alpha as otherwise he wouldn't have survived the birth." Mrs Norman shook her head sadly. "But don't mention this to Natalie if you ever speak to her. Most of this I know from conversations with the Dr and when she was on strong medication those first few weeks. She rarely talks about her time before reaching California. I've come to love that girl more than I would my own child, if I ever get hold of the swine who did this to her I'd kill them myself!" the lady stated, her tone was cold but anger flashed in her eyes. "Sorry!" she said look at me getting carried away, "Anyway, let me show you out" With that she led Peter out of the building and closed the door softly behind him without even a goodbye. He automatically got back in his car and it wasn't until he was halfway to his apartment that he realised how very strange the whole meeting was. He realised the landlady had never mentioned anything about the size or cost or availability of the apartment or asked him anything about himself. Later in the day as he thought about it further Peter started to wonder if he'd only been invited in so she could tell him Natalie's story, but that would just be plain weird. Right? Comments ப Support' Share ) +15 Bonus