Freya

Tears of exhaustion rolled from my eyes, I just want to sleep! Sniffling, I slapped a pillow over my head in exasperation. Do those two assholes ever sleep? At least, I suspect there's more than one, but I've yet to see both of them since moving in. It's been three weeks since I've settled into my little one bedroom apartment, and I've barely slept since. I'm working full days, and full nights on the weekends, and I don't know how much longer I can keep doing it running on fumes.

They're never loud enough for me to call the cops over noise disturbance, but they're just loud enough that the constant activity comes straight through the thin walls of my bedroom. This portion of the apartment complex is a one-story building, and they're an end-unit. So, nobody else is subjected to the noise but me. I've called the office countless times in complaint, but nothing changes. Property manager said they "talked" to A101, yet the sound persists. I'd go over there myself, but I suck at confrontation and it gives me severe anxiety. Especially when it comes to loud, obnoxious, shitty neighbors. What if they yell at me? Or slam the door in my face? I'd shrivel up and never be able to face them again. I've lived in worse living situations, but this level of consistent sleep deprivation is a unique form of torture.

"I wish I could unplug my ears like Markus can," I mutter, pulling my blankets up and turning over in my bed. My brother Markus is deaf without his hearing aids, so when he's irritated with the sound of somebody or something, he simply takes them out. I smiled a little, remembering the last time we'd hung out. Our dad’s new girlfriend has an obnoxious voice, so after about twenty minutes or so, Markus “unplugged” his ears and fell asleep. It took Cherri a while to realize he wasn’t listening to her, and while I thought it was hilarious, Cherri did not. Either way, it left me sure that unpluggable ears could be convenient.

Fifteen minutes or so passed, and I noticed a blessed reprieve of silence. The sound of something dense hitting the wall now gone. The absence of noise was oh-so blessed and sweet, and the humming of my fan begins to rapidly lull me into a sleepy state. Shit, the air blowing on my face feels divine. I could feel my body start to finally relax, sleep washing over me like the ocean tide, when….

"DAMN YOU!"

A deep voice cut through the wall and jarred me awake, all my nerves threatening to snap at once. I glanced at my phone and found it was 0145 in the morning. That's when I finally lost it and shoved my face into the pillow to scream. Someone's losing their head tonight! I've fucking had it.

I lob my pillow against the wall in anger, tears burning behind my eyes. I've always cried when I was angry and I hate it, because nobody ever takes me seriously. I quickly wiped them away, and tossed my feet over the side of the bed, marching out of my bedroom with purpose towards the front door. I'm wearing an oversized night shirt, some thermal leggings and fluffy socks. I paused to grab my sweatshirt and slip on my Birkenstocks, then unlock my door, throwing it open loudly. My courage to confront them had to come in the form of rage, because if I paused to think about it rationally, I knew I'd lose my nerve. The exhaustion and afformentioned rage would have to fuel me, because fuck these people.

My heart is now pounding in my ears, and I felt like I might hyperventilate, but I wouldn't stop myself. Something has to change tonight! I need to sleep, and if I don't sleep I'm not gonna make it. I can't skip work just to nap during the day! After hovering awkwardly for a few minutes outside their door, I took a resolved deep breath, and banged my fist against it several times. Silence.

I grumbled, cursing under my breath as I reached up to bang on it again, louder this time and as obnoxiously as possible. Finally, what sounded like a lock clicking behind the door startles me, and the door swings open. It took everything for my eyes not to bug out of their sockets when I saw the man staring back at me. What the fuck? He's gorgeous.

He opened the door wider, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms to observe me. I'd place him at maybe five inches taller than me—what is he, 5'6? He looks rather lean, delicate even, yet powerful all at once. Complete with strong shoulders, a toned chest, and perfect biceps obvious underneath his white t-shirt. He's wearing black joggers, and I couldn't help but see a noticeable bulge below his waist. Whatever. Good for him, I guess.

Deep brown eyes stared back, framed by the most beautifully shaped black eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes. His skin is perfection, bronzed and baby smooth. Ugh, I could only hope for skin texture so flawless! Now I hated him even more. He has shiny black hair tied up in a haphazard knot on his head, with shaggy, inky bangs accenting his stupidly pretty face to perfection. His septum is pierced with an intricately detailed gold piercing, and he has countless other piercings in his ears as well. I was fully taken aback by his beauty, and my face began to burn under the intensity of his gaze. I was starting to lose my nerve! I'd not said anything yet, only stared at him awkwardly while breathing heavily in anxiety like a total creep.

How humiliating.

A cruel smirk tugged at his mouth, while his brown eyes danced in amusement. "Can I help you?" he purred. He dropped his gaze to the nails on his right hand, before folding his arms again and returning his attention to me, smirk never budging. I nodded curtly and swallowed hard, trying to ignore the redness at my cheeks while I drew from the rage that sent me over here. We're under cover right now, but it's 40 degrees tonight and drizzling, the temperature causing me to shiver as I speak.

"I've not slept a complete night since I moved in here because of you." I snapped. "You people are ungodly loud, and I can't fucking sleep. It appears the office manager talking to you didn't change a damn thing, so I'm over here to deal with it myself."

I've never confronted a stranger like this before, let alone at near 2am. My hands are shaking from the adrenaline rush, and I hate it.

He shifts on his feet a bit, and looks me over with a smirk. "...and?" I blinked a few times and raised my brows expectantly for him to finish, but he only smirks.

"And I need you two to shut the fuck up!" I roared, losing my temper. "Some of us fucking work for a living and I'm exhausted. I'm going crazy! Your stupid shouting woke me up and I'd only been asleep maybe two hours!" Tears started to spill from my eyes as my anger took over.

This makes him laugh, lips twisted into a cruel smile at my display. Ugh.

"Oh shush, you're making a scene, human.” That last word came out in a sneer, a dark, cruel energy emanating from his frame.

“…what the fuck? I’m making a scene? If I am its because you don’t let me sleep. You’re the one disturbing the peace!” For some reason I ignored all the red-flags he was throwing, and instead balled my fists with resolve.

“Oh, goodbye, stupid creature…” he mutters with a smirk.

"Wha…what?” I babbled, caught off guard by his speech. Creature, who even says that?

“I said, goodbye female!” He chuckles, waving me off dismissively.

“Un-fucking-believable. I’m not finished!" I growled, jabbing a small finger into his rock hard chest. It hurt unsurprisingly, and I winced, cradling my finger awkwardly. Shitty guy, on the other hand, never even budged! I was regretting ever leaving my apartment when I felt a strong hand grip my neck firmly, and with one swift motion; dark grin spreading across his face, I'm dragged inside.

The door slammed behind me, and before I even have a chance to scream, I find myself being thrown over his shoulder, the action knocking the wind out of me. I'm kicking as hard as I can, wiggling, under an unwavering grip as he walks me into a dark bedroom, tossing me on the bed. He moves quickly to pin me down, but finally getting the air back in my lungs, I unleash the loudest scream I can muster. A deep voice whispers something in a language I've never heard before, his dark eyes fluttering in strange focus. Then, all in an instant the room seems to become a vacuum for sound. I can feel myself screaming, but no sound escapes me.

It's like somebody hit the mute button.

He threads his fingers into my hair, controlling my head with surprising strength. I don't stop struggling though, clawing at his arm with my hands, kicking...and it's then I felt him strike me on the side of the head with something hard and cold. Darkness overtook me.