本棚
検索
Short
Twenty-Seven Pages of Evidence

Twenty-Seven Pages of Evidence

短編ストーリー · Emotional Realism
作家:  Tree完了
言語: English
goodnovel4goodnovel
9チャプター
1ビュー
読む
本棚に追加

共有:  

報告
あらすじ
カタログ
コードをスキャンしてアプリで読む

概要

Feel-Good Story

Plot Twists

Counter Attack

Girl Power

Independence

Neighbourhood

Revenge

Winning Back the Wife

Face Slapping

The day after I moved into my new place, I baked a batch of my best brownies and went to introduce myself to the neighbor downstairs. As soon as she opened the door, a middle-aged woman gave me a long look before shouting into the apartment. "Honey, come here! This is the girl who was tap-dancing upstairs at three in the morning!" I froze. "There must be a mistake. I worked late last night. I didn't even come home." She pulled out her phone and showed me the residents' group chat. "Everyone's talking about it. Someone said they saw you dancing around your living room in red high heels. Building management has already come upstairs three times!" I was so angry my hands were shaking. I was ready to call the police and ask them to check the security cameras. Before I could, my boyfriend caught my arm. "Just let it go," he said. "We just moved in. If we get on her bad side, it'll only make life harder. Just say you're sorry and move on." I looked at his face. He had that same scared, anything-to-keep-the-peace look. Perfect. We hadn't even had our housewarming party yet, and I already had the worst combination possible—a nightmare neighbor and a cowardly boyfriend.

もっと見る

第1話

Chapter 1

Saturday morning, I carried a tray of freshly baked brownies downstairs to introduce myself to the neighbor below us.

I rang the doorbell twice before the door finally opened.

A woman in her fifties looked me up and down. Before I could say a word, she turned and yelled into the apartment, "Honey, come here! This is the girl who was tap-dancing upstairs at three in the morning!"

I nearly dropped the tray. "Ma'am, I worked late last night. I wasn't home at all."

The woman shoved her phone in my face. "Look for yourself. The whole group's going crazy. Someone said they saw you dancing around your living room in red stilettos. Building management has already come upstairs three times!"

The screen was filled with messages. Someone had posted a photo of my living room window lit up at night. The caption read, "The woman in 801 is still blasting music at three a.m. The old lady downstairs almost had a heart attack."

"Ma'am, this is all a misunderstanding. I really wasn't home last night. My company has attendance records that can prove it—"

"Misunderstanding?" The woman's voice shot up an octave. "Someone saw it with their own eyes! Building management's been here multiple times!"

I swallowed my frustration. "Then let's call the police and pull the security footage. We'll find out who was really in my apartment last night."

The words had barely left my mouth when someone grabbed my sleeve from behind.

My boyfriend, Derek, pulled me back a step and lowered his voice. "Just let it go. We just moved in. If we get on her bad side, things will only get worse. Just apologize and move on."

I turned to look at him in disbelief.

Apologize? I hadn't done anything wrong. What exactly was I supposed to be sorry for?

The woman snorted. "Oh, you're calling the police? Go right ahead. Let's see if they think I've accused the wrong person."

Doors began opening along the hallway. The neighbor across the hall peeked out, and someone next door craned their neck to see what was happening.

Derek tugged my arm again, his eyes pleading. "Please. Do it for me. Can we just let this go?"

I looked at him. His face was full of fear, almost begging. My nails dug into my palms, but I forced a smile and swallowed my anger.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again."

The woman nodded with a satisfied smile and slammed the door in my face.

Derek let out a breath of relief. "See? Problem solved. It wasn't a big deal."

I said nothing.

The brownies in my hands had gone cold.
もっと見る
次へ
ダウンロード

最新チャプター

続きを読む

この作品を読んだあなたへ

関連小説

新刊小説

読者の皆様へ

Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.

コメントはありません
9 チャプター
Chapter 1
Saturday morning, I carried a tray of freshly baked brownies downstairs to introduce myself to the neighbor below us.I rang the doorbell twice before the door finally opened.A woman in her fifties looked me up and down. Before I could say a word, she turned and yelled into the apartment, "Honey, come here! This is the girl who was tap-dancing upstairs at three in the morning!"I nearly dropped the tray. "Ma'am, I worked late last night. I wasn't home at all."The woman shoved her phone in my face. "Look for yourself. The whole group's going crazy. Someone said they saw you dancing around your living room in red stilettos. Building management has already come upstairs three times!"The screen was filled with messages. Someone had posted a photo of my living room window lit up at night. The caption read, "The woman in 801 is still blasting music at three a.m. The old lady downstairs almost had a heart attack.""Ma'am, this is all a misunderstanding. I really wasn't home last night. My
続きを読む
Chapter 2
Back in the apartment, the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Why should I have to apologize for something I hadn't done?I picked up my phone to call 911.Derek grabbed my wrist. "What are you doing?""Calling the cops. Getting the security footage. Clearing my name.""Over something this small?" His voice rose. "We just moved in, and you're already calling the cops? What will the neighbors think?""Why should I care what they think?" I looked him straight in the eye. "You think it's okay for everyone to believe I'm some lunatic dancing around at three in the morning?"Derek's voice softened. "I already talked to her. She won't bother us anymore.""You talked to her?" I scoffed. "When?""While you were in the bathroom. I sent her a message apologizing and promised we'd be more careful."I froze. "You apologized for me?""What else was I supposed to do?" he said. "If I didn't smooth things over, this never would've ended."I took a deep breath. "Let me ask you this. If someone
続きを読む
Chapter 3
When I got back from the management office, the sky was still gray.I opened the door and found Derek stretched out on the couch, playing a video game. He didn't even look up. "So? Is it over?"I didn't answer. I kicked off my shoes, went to the kitchen, and poured myself a glass of water."Hey, I'm talking to you. Is it over or not?""The security footage proved I wasn't home last night." I leaned against the kitchen doorway. "But the camera in the third-floor hallway had been covered. They can't tell who did it."Derek's fingers paused on the controller. "Well, that's good, isn't it?" he said. "It has nothing to do with you anymore.""Yeah," I said. "Now she's blaming you. Mrs. Patterson changed her story. Since it wasn't me, she says you must've been the one making all the noise."Derek's head snapped up. On-screen, his character was killed by the boss. "Why is she pinning this on me?! You know what time I went to bed!""I know," I said. "But building management and the neighbors do
続きを読む
Chapter 4
Late that night, Derek's breathing settled into a slow, steady rhythm. He was asleep.I lay on the other side of the bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark, wide awake.Why would his mom's coworker target me? I'd never met the woman. We had no history and no reason to be enemies. Why would she go to so much trouble for a complete stranger? Covering the security camera. Stirring up the residents' group chat. Making up lies.Unless... someone else had put her up to it.I turned to look at Derek. He was fast asleep. His phone screen lay face down on the nightstand.I sat up slowly and picked up his phone. The passcode hadn't changed. It was still the birthday date I'd memorized long ago.I unlocked the phone and opened his messages. I scrolled through his contacts. Nothing stood out. I tried searching for Patterson. Nothing. I tried "Mrs." Still nothing. I paused for a moment, then typed "Mom."Two conversations appeared. One was Mom. The other was Patty.I tapped in.There weren't many
続きを読む
Chapter 5
First thing the next morning, I posted a message in the residents' group chat."@Mrs. Patterson, I looked into what happened the other night, and it was all a misunderstanding. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, ma'am. I'll be more careful in the future. I'm sorry for disturbing your rest."Less than a minute later, Patty replied, "Good. At least you know you were wrong. Young people need to learn some manners."Derek glanced at my phone and smiled with satisfaction. "See? Isn't this better? One little apology, and everything's settled."I smiled and said nothing.After he left for work, I opened my laptop and created a new folder. I named it "Evidence."I scrolled through the residents' group chat and found Brenda from Unit 602. I sent her a private message, and she replied almost immediately. She told me Patty had a reputation in the building. Rachel from Unit 603 and Bruce in Unit 501 had both been harassed until they finally moved out. I asked Brenda for Rachel's phone numb
続きを読む
Chapter 6
The peace lasted less than three days.Thursday evening, I was curled up on the couch reading when my phone started buzzing nonstop. I opened the residents' group chat. Hundreds of new messages had already flooded in.Patty had posted a photo. It was a picture of me having dinner with a few friends at a barbecue restaurant. We were laughing over drinks, and I was wearing a spaghetti-strap dress. The photo had clearly been cropped. The friend sitting right next to me had been cropped in half, so the framing made it look like I was out drinking alone with a group of men.The caption read, "Take a good look, everyone. This is the girl from Unit 801. She's out partying every night. Who knows what she really does for a living?"The group chat fell quiet for a few seconds. Then the comments started pouring in."Isn't she the one from the noise complaint?""She looks so quiet. Who would've guessed?""Looks like a slut."But not everyone agreed. Brenda was the first to speak up. "Mrs. Patterso
続きを読む
Chapter 7
The third morning, before leaving for work, Derek reminded me, "Don't start anything with Mrs. Patterson today, okay? Just keep your head down. It'll all blow over."Sitting at the dining table, I took a sip of coffee and smiled. "Don't worry. I won't start anything with her."Satisfied, he grabbed his briefcase and left.The moment the door closed, I set down my mug, opened my laptop, and clicked on the folder labeled evidence.I compiled everything into a single PDF. Twenty-seven pages. It contained fifteen screenshots of Patty's abusive messages toward former residents in the group chat; three sets of photos and police reports from Rachel documenting water thrown at her door and locks tampered with; the internal building management report about the third-floor camera being obstructed; a screenshot of Patty's private message giving me three days to move out; and most importantly, a screenshot of the conversation between Derek and Patty, including the line, "Natalie's been waiting for
続きを読む
Chapter 8
At seven that evening, Derek came home to find me packing in the living room. My suitcase was open on the floor. My clothes were neatly folded inside. My makeup was packed away in a toiletry bag, and the stuffed bear from my nightstand was tucked into the side pocket of my backpack.He stopped in the doorway, staring at the suitcase, then at me. "W-What are you doing?""Packing." I zipped up my suitcase and looked him in the eye. "We're done."The air went still for three or four seconds.Then he let out a short laugh, the kind that said he thought I had to be joking. "Come on, what's gotten into you? I know the whole Mrs. Patterson thing upset you, but didn't you already handle her? I saw everything in the group chat. You won. Why would you break up now?""I'm not breaking up with you because of her." I pulled out my phone, scrolled to his text conversation with Patty, and turned the screen toward him. "It's because of this."He glanced down. The color drained from his face."You went
続きを読む
Chapter 9
The day I moved into my new home, the sun was shining brightly.It was a small one-bedroom apartment with windows facing south, so sunlight poured in from morning until evening. The landlord, a woman in her forties, looked up while we were signing the lease. "Living by yourself?" she asked. I nodded. She didn't ask anything else. She handed me the keys and said, "Utilities are due on the first of every month. If you need anything, just give me a call."I spent the next three days cleaning every corner of the apartment. The furniture was old, but once I scrubbed everything down, it looked perfectly fine. I hung pale blue curtains, spread a fresh tablecloth over the coffee table, and bought a plant from the flower shop downstairs to brighten the windowsill.It wasn't fancy, but it was mine.The next day, I texted Brenda. She replied almost immediately. "Probably for the best. At least you don't have to deal with those people anymore. Oh, and did you hear? Mrs. Patterson moved out too."T
続きを読む
もっと見る
無料で面白い小説を探して読んでみましょう
GoodNovel アプリで人気小説に無料で！お好きな本をダウンロードして、いつでもどこでも読みましょう！
アプリで無料で本を読む
コードをスキャンしてアプリで読む
DMCA.com Protection Status