Lockdown! 01

Chapter 1

Placing down her glass of Prosecco on the small coffee table in front of her, Veronica Miller smiled and looked up at the clock. It was Friday night, and after a boring week of staring at a computer screen, it was almost time to go out and have some fun.

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With the sound of Adam Levine’s voice, her favourite singer of all time, filling her ears, Veronica reached into her handbag to retrieve her phone.

Seeing three new messages on the group chat with her besties, she pressed her freshly manicured index finger against the scanner on the back. Chuckling to herself, she read through the messages sent by her friend, Anna, talking about how she had almost just fallen down the stairs at the metro station only to be saved by some handsome stranger.

“Typical Anna,” she thought to herself as she started to type her reply. “Always finding drop-dead-gorgeous men without even trying.”

Veronica herself had never had much luck in the romance department. At twenty-three, she had been in a string of failed relationships. Always starting out well but always ending with her Prince Charming turning into a cheating scumbag.

Placing her phone back in her bag, Veronica lent down to take another sip of her drink. It would soon be time to leave, and she was ready to let loose and have a night of dancing with her girlfriends, perhaps even meet the man of her dreams, “there has to be at least one good one out there,” she thought to herself.

Suddenly, there was a rattling sound by the front door. Startled, Veronica leapt to her feet. Where she stood frozen on the spot, her feet trembling inside her new wedge sneakers, and her bulging eyes locked on the front door.

A million thoughts rushed through her head all at once. “Someone’s trying to break in.” “Can I make it to the kitchen in time to grab the bread knife”? “I should call the police.” But there was no time to do any of these things as the door flew open.

Seeing the three smiling men walk in through the front door, Veronica’s mood instantly changed from panic and horror to fury and rage.

“Get out,” she screamed as she stormed towards the three intruders, “how dare you just walk in here”!

Two of the men stopped dead in their tracks, but the third strode forward confidently. “Looking good, Ronny,” he announced with a huge smile plastered across his face. “Love the new hair colour.”

Shaking with rage, Veronica stared into her former fiancé’s eyes. “What the hell are you doing here, Paul”? she spat angrily.

“Oh, come on, baby. Why so angry? I know you must be somewhat happy to see me. Otherwise, you would have changed the locks.”

Balling her hands into fists, Veronica let out a low growl. “You’ve got some nerve coming here like this after what you did, and why have you brought those arsehole friends here”?

Directly behind Paul, stood the two men in question. Kamsi, Paul’s best friend since high school. A self-confessed lady’s man, who was always up for a party. The other member of the trio was Tim. Quieter and more reserved than the other two. Paul and Kamsi had taken him under their wing in college after seeing him sitting alone in a corner of a party. The three had been inseparable ever since.

“Hey, Veronica,” Kamsi announced with a little wave and a smile as Tim just stood there quietly as usual.

“Woah, that’s not a very nice way to talk to your new housemates,” Paul announced with a smile.

“What”! Veronica replied, shaking her head. “Oh no. No way in hell are you moving back in here.”

“Sorry, Babe. I’m afraid, we’ve nowhere else to go. Our landlord just kicked us out. You wouldn’t want to see us out on the streets, would you”?

Veronica’s mouth dropped open in disbelief, “the nerve of the man,” she thought to herself. “I couldn’t care less where you end up, but one thing's for sure, you’re not staying here! Why don’t you hit up that whore you cheated on me with or has she discovered what a pile of shit you are too by now”?

Ignoring the comment, Paul smiled once more. “The thing is, Hun. The way I see it, you don’t really have much of a choice. Now that those girls you were sub-letting the spare room to have left, you’re going to struggle to pay the mortgage payments if I stop paying my half.”

“You wouldn’t”! Veronica yelled, “the bank would take back the place. What about all the money we’ve invested”?

“Small change, Babe. If I can’t stay here, what the hell do I care,” Paul replied with a smug look on his face.

Veronica shook her head and folded her arms, staring Paul down. Tim bowed his head in embarrassment. Even Kamsi, normally cool and collected leaned forward with his mouth hanging open in surprise at the comment.

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You could hear a pin drop as the room fell silent before Veronica finally cracked. “I can’t deal with this right now,” she announced loudly. “Just do whatever the hell you want. You always do. I’m going out. You’ve got three days to find another place. You’re in the spare room at all times until then. And I don’t want to hear or see you, have you got that”?

“No problem, Sweetcheeks. You won't even know we're here,” Paul replied as Veronica pushed past the three house invaders. She fumbled with the lock, huffed, and left slamming the door.

“See boys, piece of cake,” Paul announced proudly, “what did I tell you, easy peasy.”

Looking up Tim locked eyes with his friend. “I don’t know, P. She looked pretty angry. Perhaps we should just get an Airbnb or something.”

“You worry too much, Tdog,” Paul replied, stepping back to place his arm around the Asian man’s shoulders. “It’s cool, trust me. Ronny will calm down. Come on, let’s drop our bags and grab a beer, the game starts at eight.”