It was already more than five minutes past eleven-thirty when Heidi’s hunched figure, wrapped in a hoodie, finally appeared at the corner of the large pool. Ted silently raised his tablet to signal that he was filming and didn’t intend to disturb the girl smoking and listening to music. Naturally, he had come with a plan—he was determined to get some answers out of her. But first, he had to act like he had no intention of talking to Heidi at all. They both stretched out on sun loungers, leaving two empty ones between them.
Ted was willing to do practically anything to achieve his goal. Stepping out of his comfort zone to this extent didn’t even bother him anymore. In the past, he could never have imagined himself babysitting a rebellious, chain-smoking teenager. He didn’t like kids at all. He disliked the little ones because they couldn’t express themselves clearly and the older ones because they simply refused to. The thought of having children of his own had never even crossed his mind.
He decided to wait for half an hour before making a move. Just to be safe, he put on a movie he had already seen and found terrible—he didn’t want anything to distract him. He even plugged in his earphones but muted his device. Patiently, he waited for his moment.
Only one thing unsettled him—the eerie silence and stillness emanating from Bernard and Noud’s house. Ted knew his neighbors’ habits well. They weren’t the most social people, but every now and then, the two young men went out to have fun. Sometimes, they didn’t return until the next morning after a long night out. Once, they had even gone on a short trip and informed the building manager beforehand. But this time, it was different. This silence was getting on his nerves—more than screaming children, the lazy maintenance guy, or even Perla, who was still peeing all over the place. Out of the corner of his eye, he kept watching the house, as if searching for forgotten clues. His gaze flickered to the upstairs window, hoping to catch a glimpse of their silhouettes.
“Ted! My friend,” Carlos appeared with a smug grin, watching with amusement as the self-appointed guardian of Heidi’s face contorted.
“Carlos,” Ted nodded reluctantly.
“It’s so noble of you to take on the role of watchman.”
“It’s nothing,” Ted muttered, annoyed that his plan had been disrupted.
“Don’t be so modest, neighbor! I even told that good-for-nothing Uwe that he should take a page out of your book.”
“Oh, please…”
“No, no! He should be here, after all, it’s his sister we’re talking about.” Carlos suddenly fell silent, narrowing his eyes as he peered toward the other end of the courtyard. “There he is,” he pointed at the approaching figure before clicking his tongue in satisfaction.
“Who?”
“Uwe!”
“You called the other kid here too?”
Under the glow of the lights, it wasn’t obvious that Ted’s face had turned a deep shade of red as anger surged through him.
“Of course! If this girl is so scared, it’s her brother’s damn duty to watch over her.”
Ted buried his face in his hands.
“I see you’re exhausted,” Carlos purred in his usual sickly sweet tone. “Go ahead and get some rest. I’ll stay a little longer with the young ones. I’ll talk to them and reassure them that there’s nothing to fear in this complex.”
“More like they shouldn’t fear those lurking in the dark…” Ted muttered mockingly.
“Pardon?” Carlos asked.
“Nothing, nothing. I’m off to bed. Now that Bernard and Noud have finally left for a long trip, I can finally have some peace.”
“What?” The old man jerked back in shock.
“They didn’t tell you?” Ted shook his head with exaggerated surprise before dropping another bombshell. “I’m surprised. I thought you guys were really close.”
The man with Coke bottle glasses slowly, deliberately pushed himself off the sun lounger. Grinning at his now visibly nervous neighbor, he patted him on the shoulder.
“Thank you so much for taking over, Carlos, my friend. That’s truly generous of you.”