005. To the Rent Lady
Quickly, Audrey removed the infusion from her hand and placed the porridge William had given her on the table. She then grabbed her jacket, which was hanging next to her backpack, which was hanging behind the door of the large room where she was staying. As she stepped out of the room, she unexpectedly met William, who was about to leave the house.
"Why are you coming out? You still need to rest," William said worriedly.
"I have a sudden need. Thank you for the offer. Let me say goodbye first."
But Audrey was in such a hurry to get out that William suddenly grabbed her hand from behind.
"What happened?" asked Audrey as she looked at William.
"Where are you going? Let me take you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Don't worry, sir. I can go by myself. You don't have to bother driving me."
"I don't want you to be in danger. Let me drop you off. It's late, what if you run into those bad guys again? They must be out there looking for you. If you go alone, I'm not sure you'll get home safely."
William's words made Audrey think about what the man had said.
Maybe he's right. If I go alone, it could be dangerous.
"All right, if you insist, I'll take it. Besides, I can save some money," Audrey said in a low voice, feeling a little reluctant to accept William's offer.
"And one more thing, please just call me William. I'm young and I'm not your father," William said firmly.
Hearing William's words, Audrey's mouth fell open at the man's arrogance.
"Hah, you don't know yourself. Already have a child and still act young. Shame on you."
Don't talk about me for too long. Later, if you suddenly like me, I won't be responsible," William said in a cold tone.
Audrey walked a little closer to William. When they reached the light blue luxury car, William politely opened the door for her. Audrey smiled sweetly at William in return for his kind gesture.
"Thank you, sir. Oh yes, we're going to Jalan Duri perumahan Indah Blok B, yes," Audrey said excitedly as she looked at William, who was relaxed in the driver's seat and fastened his seatbelt.
"You don't have to call me 'sir', just call me William. Where's your phone, just open Google Maps and give me directions," William said without looking at Audrey.
"What is it, sir? It shouldn't be too far from here," Audrey grumbled.
"I told you, Audrey, not 'sir'. And I'm not too familiar with the streets of this city. Especially that place you mentioned, this is the first time I've even heard of it. I'm usually the one who gets driven, not the one who drives people. So do me a favor and open Google Maps properly," William said in a cold tone.
"Duh, how arrogant! Okay, I'll open Google Maps first," Audrey replied irritably.
While Audrey was busy opening Google Maps, William smiled, remembering Audrey's strange behavior.
"I've already found the place on Google Maps. Come on, let's go. Go straight for three meters and then turn left," Audrey said.
"Alright," William replied.
After nearly an hour and a half of driving, William and Audrey finally arrived at a housing development with several rental homes that were already occupied. When Audrey got out of the car, she was shocked to see a devastating sight.
"Ya Allah," Audrey hissed, covering her mouth and widening her eyes in disbelief.
Her rented room was completely destroyed. The walls were cracked and the things inside were in ruins. Audrey could only remain silent as she shed tears of disbelief at what she saw.
"Let it go, girl," a mother said gently as she rubbed Audrey's back.
Audrey, unable to hold back her tears, immediately hugged the mother in front of her. Audrey sobbed. She was very sad to see that, especially since she had no other place to live, the remaining money was definitely not enough to pay the compensation for the rented house that she had not even occupied for a month.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," Audrey said between cries.
"What are you sorry for, kid?"
"Audrey should be home to take care of the house. If Audrey hadn't gone out last night, there wouldn't have been an incident like this. I'm sorry, ma'am." Audrey kneels before her mother, who has been kind enough to take her in all this time.
"It's okay, son. I'm glad you're okay. Your things are still there that I can salvage, I hope you're not too sad. But I'm sorry, my rent is full. Besides, my children are in my house, so I can't invite you to stay here."
"It's okay, ma'am, let Audrey stay at my house. After all, Audrey's condition is not good either," William said, suddenly interrupting the words of the mother of the boarding house where Audrey lived.
"Thank you, Ma'am, for letting Audrey stay here. You're very kind to Audrey, I hope all your kindness is rewarded with something even better than this."
"Yes, son, let's go to my house first. Your belongings are inside, fortunately when we all went home, the people who destroyed this rental did not throw away your belongings."
"Thank you, Ma'am."
"You're welcome, girl."
Audrey wiped the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. She and William followed the landlady into the house to retrieve some of Audrey's belongings that she could salvage.
"You guys sit down first, Mom will go inside to get Audrey's things first."
"Thank you, Ma'am."
After a few moments of waiting, the mother returned with a suitcase that she slowly pushed toward Audrey.
"I put all your valuables and other equipment in here. Again, I'm sorry son, I don't have anything else for you to rent."
"It's okay ma'am, it's Audrey who should apologize to me. This is all because of Audrey, Audrey is really sorry, mom. My rent was damaged because of Audrey."
"I'm sorry, girl, it's okay."
"Take your stuff to the car. After that we go home, I want to talk to this mother for a while." William said.
"What do you want to talk about Wil?"
"You don't need to know, now go to the car and rest. Then we'll go home."
"Okay."
"Thank you, Ma'am. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to say goodbye. Peace be upon you."
"Peace be upon you too, be careful girl."
After making sure Audrey was completely gone, William immediately took out his wallet and business card. He handed both items to the ladies in front of him, who looked a little confused.
"Take this, Ma'am."
"Why, son, I don't need it." The lady handed the money and business card back to William.
"Why didn't you take it?" William frowned and looked at the mother before him.
"Sorry, son, I can't accept it. This money is not your right, just give it to those who need it. You are still able to take the money back." William smiled at his mother's words.
"Take it, ma'am, I sincerely consider this as compensation from me for the disaster that has befallen you. I also believe this has something to do with the person who tried to kidnap Audrey this afternoon."
"Audrey was kidnapped?"
"Almost, ma'am, but it didn't happen because I happened to see her."
"Thank God, but I think this has something to do with the suspicious man in black who was here. After we all left, we came home in this condition, and there were only a few things left that could actually be saved.
"It seems to have something to do with Audrey's abduction earlier. Okay, ma'am, I'll take care of it myself in the future. I'll take my leave."
William said goodbye, but before he actually got into the car, he took the cell phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear.
"Hello, I need your help."