I’m free. Daphne signed her name on the lease for her new apartment. No more Trevor. No more being treated like shit. Daphne signed on another spot on the contract. This apartment signals the beginning of my freedom from the life I have been leading, and the beginning of the new one I will craft for myself.

  The interviews for the new manager had already gone out the day before, and Holly had informed Daphne that Holly was going to be interviewed. I’m so excited she’s being considered for the manager spot. Holly absolutely deserves it. Daphne smiled a little as she signed her name in another spot on the contract. Though she’s going to have her work cut out for her if she gets it. She’ll have to hire three new people in order for the department to be fully staffed again.

  Daphne shook her head a little. I don’t envy that position at all. I’m gd I chose to turn the position down.

  “All done,” Daphne said, handing the stack of papers she’d just skimmed through for her new apartment lease.

  I’m lucky I was able to get out of the other lease so easily. It was all thanks to Rose stalking me that I was.

  “Great, thank you so much,” the silver haired woman across the desk said, taking the stack of papers from Daphne. “I have one st document for you to sign, and this one is just that you acknowledge that we are allowed to come into your apartment for any reason, so long as we give you a minimum of twenty-four hours advanced notice.”

  “Understood,” Daphne replied, taking the piece of paper from the property manager and picking up her pen to sign.

  This apartment was such an incredible find. It honestly feels too good to be true, almost like fate…It’s closer to the new office, and Asher’s pce. It’s nicer, and I’m going to have more space for less money just because it’s further out of the city. It feels almost too good to be true. Daphne smiled brightly at the property manager, and handed the st sheet back to her.

  “Alright,” the property manager replied. “I think you’re all good to go.” She handed three keys to Daphne. “Here are the two keys to your apartment, and this one, which is your mailbox. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.”

  “That sounds great,” Daphne replied, taking the keys from her. “Thank you so much for getting me in so quickly.”

  “Of course,” the property manager replied, her voice kind. “Thank you so much for choosing us for your new home.”

  Daphne stood, the keys tight in her hand. “Have a great day!”

  “You, too, Ms. Woods.”

  Daphne turned and left the leasing office, and walked over to the building that housed her new apartment. She trudged up the single flight of stairs to get to her second floor apartment. Daphne turned the key in the lock, and the door clicked open. She entered the apartment, which was only lit by the grey December light coming in from the windows. The apartment smelled like nothing. There was a firepce in the living room, and a isnd in the kitchen that she’d been able to put bar stools at.

  I’ve arrived at my new home. Daphne took in her surroundings.

  Daphne imagined having Maggie and Holly over for a girl’s night, making mixed drinks in the kitchen, and serving both of them at the isnd in the kitchen. She imagined pcing her couch next to her firepce, and curling up with Tanpopo in a cuddle while binge watching a television show. She imagined getting to cook for Asher and serving him at her dining table in the small dining alcove.

  There’s so many possibilities for this new space. So many new opportunities for happy memories. She bit down on her lower lip a bit as a smile began to overtake her face.

  Hopefully Rose won’t know that I’m here. Hopefully I have the opportunity to make even more beautiful memories while living here. Hopefully I’ll get to live in this apartment for a long time.

  A lump began to grow in Daphen’s throat. I know that all of the hopes I have of this apartment ultimately depend on my survival. I know I have to survive whatever Rose might try to throw at me this time around in order to get my opportunity to fill this home with lots of happy memories.

  Daphne shivered from the chill in the air combined with the memories of the truck, Rose’s red lipped smile, and of what was to come.

  I’m scared. I want to live and survive so bd. I want to live so much more than I did the first time around. I want to live so much more than I did when I died. I have so much more to live for now than I did then.

  She pulled her coat on around herself tighter, and walked over to the thermostat, adjusting the temperature.

  Before, I only had Tanpopo. Nearly everything else had been stripped out from underneath me on or before the day of the accident. If it’s anything I can give Rose credit for, it’s her thoroughness. Daphne trailed a finger along the wall towards the two bedrooms.

  Now, I’ve rekindled my retionship with Maggie. I became friends with Holly. Instead of letting Trevor walk all over me, I learned to stand up for myself, and when that didn’t work, I left and found a new job where I could excel and be supported. I still have Tanpopo to take care of, but now I have Vio to help Maggie with as well.

  Daphne let out a little ugh that echoed in the long hallway. And, of course, I have Asher now, too. When I came back to the past, I could never have imagined how much he would come to mean to me.

  Her heart tightened as she imagined the look on his face if he knew how happy she was feeling at that moment. He would be proud of how much I’ve changed in such a short time. My recent life is filled to the brim with happy memories. For once, I actually feel like I’m moving forward rather than just stagnating and treading water.

  Daphne shook her head, watching her feet move down the hall. For once, I actually have a future to look forward to, rather than continuing to buckle down and tell myself that it will get better. Before I died, I could have never imagined that the person who had to buckle down and make things better was me.

  Daphne smiled a little before turning to head towards the apartment’s front door. I have so much to get done and pack to move in before starting my new job. I should probably quit dragging my feet and get started.

  As she walked across the empty apartment, she felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. Her heart skipped a beat, and she pulled it out and answered it.

  “Asher!” she excimed into the phone, a bright grin on her face.

  “Who’s Asher?” her mother’s voice on the other side of the line asked, her voice gravely.

  Daphne’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped a little. Oh no. I forgot to block my mother again.

  “Um, he’s my boyfriend,” Daphne answered truthfully, rather than taking a moment to consider what she might want to say instead.

  “You have a boyfriend?” Kimberly asked on the other side of the line, her voice accusatory. “When did that happen? Why didn’t you bring him with you to Thanksgiving?”

  Daphne’s heart started pounding in her chest. “Um, well,” she answered. “We haven’t really been dating long enough for that.”

  Shit. Why did I have to answer the phone with his name? What a foolish thing to do! I should have blocked her the other day…now, instead, I have to deal with an unwanted conversation.

  “Well, you’ll have to bring him to our Christmas get together in a few weeks.”

  “Sure,” Daphne replied, grimacing. “I’ll see if he’s avaible.”

  Not that I pn on going to your little get together for Christmas.

  “So, what’s up, Mom?” Daphne asked. “Why did you call?”

  “I wanted to get your thoughts on what is happening with Magnolia and Vio,” Kimberly replied airily. “Magnolia is still demanding to know who Vio’s father is, can you believe that? Clearly, it’s Ian, Vio doesn’t look any different than the rest of you kids! What is she thinking? I can’t believe that Magnolia would go so far as to fabricate a DNA test so that she can try to take my daughter away from me.” Kimberly let out a huffy breath. “Doesn’t she know that fabricating test results like that is fraud? Now I’m being investigated by child protectives services. This is going to stain my foundation’s reputation, Daphne. Don’t you understand?”

  Daphne had to pull the phone away from her ear as her mother continued to chatter on about the situation with Maggie and Vio. Of course she’s making this about the foundation. Would her name be Kimberly Woods if she didn’t give more of a shit about her public image than her own children? Daphne shook her head at her mother’s behavior. At least she gave me a heads up that Maggie still doesn’t know who Vio’s father is. I’ll have to talk to Maggie about it as soon as I manage to evacuate myself from this situation.

  Daphne put the phone back up to her ear. Kimberly was still monologuing about the situation. “You know, Mother,” Daphne said, talking directly over Kimberly. “I’m pretty sure I specifically told you that I was going to take Maggie’s side, so I’m not quite sure why you’re calling and talking to me about this.”

  Kimberly let out a short, huffy sigh. “You were serious about that?” She asked. “You’re still serious about that? I thought you were joking.”

  Daphne let out a single, sarcastic ugh. “Of course I was serious about that,” she replied. “Now if you’d be so kind, please stop calling me.”

  “Stop calling you?” Kimberly hissed into the phone, sounding offended. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that I’ve changed my mind,” Daphne replied sharply. “I don’t want a retionship with you.”

  “What the fuck?” Kimberly spat on the other side of the phone. “I thought you wanted to maintain a retionship with me. This is part of maintaining that retionship. Why do you always have to be such a little bitchy demon child?”

  Daphne’s eyebrows raised. I don’t know that I’ve heard her use the f-bomb for a long time.

  “Listen. I gave you a second chance to see if you had changed or not. You’ve only proven to me that you haven’t,” Daphne replied, shaking and having to grip her cell phone tightly. “You’ve done nothing but try to walk all over my feelings and ignore pretty much everything I have said to you. Now I’m supposed to let you just bitch to me about my sister?”

  “Why do you think you’re so much better than all of your other siblings?” Kimberly screeched into the phone. “You’ve always been this way. You’ve always put yourself ahead of everyone else. You’re just a little harlot, you know? You’re not that special.”

  Daphne sighed, slowly shaking her head and closing her eyes, adrenaline rushing through her veins. “You’re something else,” she replied.

  “You ought to be grateful for all of the sacrifices I’ve made for you, and how I’ve gone out of my way to bend over backwards for you. And what do you do? Fuck around and treat your mother like shit!”

  Daphne scoffed. I’m not bringing this woman’s presence into my new home.

  “Goodbye, Kimberly,” Daphne said, before pulling her phone off of her ear, and hitting the “end call” button. “Goodbye for good.”