Something went terribly wrong.

A Story by Patricia W

Character moves into a new apartment, on the surface, the place seemed ideal, but her first night there, something went terribly wrong.

The date is July 6th, 2015. One month ago today, I turned 19. I have just moved into my first apartment. It isn’t the best, but it’s good enough for me. It has wooden floors in the living room and bedroom, and tiled floors in the bathroom and kitchen. Everything is perfect for my first apartment. I have a beautiful couch, beautiful bed with nightstands and dressers, beautiful light fixtures. It’s wonderful. My first day there, I had some noodles and meat for dinner. I then got up and washed my dishes, had a drink of water, then got my stuff ready before hopping in the shower. The shower was warm and it had perfect pressure. I read for a few hours and then went to bed. I slept very good that night.

I woke up the next morning, and noticed a few bumps on my arms. Itchy bumps. I figured I just had an allergic reaction to something and I finished getting dressed. I went to work and everything went the same as always. I went home and decided to wash my bedding in a different kind of laundry detergent. I made dinner, steak and potatoes, took my shower, relaxed in bed reading for a few hours, then went to sleep. I woke up the next morning and noticed I had more of these welts on my legs and arms. I KNOW I’m not allergic to this kind of laundry detergent. What the hell am I allergic to then? I called my friend, she came over to visit for the day.

When she was there, we watched tv on my 40-inch flat screen television. Law and Order: SVU, my favorite show of all time. She noticed my welts and concerned, asked me what happened. I told her I must be allergic to something.

Later that day, I made dinner, showered, then went off to bed. I have work in the morning. I slept pretty good, although I woke up a few times, very itchy. I woke up around 7am and got ready for work. I did something real fancy with my hair. Now off to work I go. The day went slowly, I tried not to itch myself, worried someone might think I have fleas or something. At the end of my work day, I went home. My friend was waiting in her car in my driveway. We went inside together, and she showed me a webpage…

Bedbugs?! There’s no freaking way! We then went into my room and tore my bed apart, and started checking the seems.Sure enough, they were there. How could this happen? My friend told me the whole building must be infested. I washed all my clothing and tied it up tightly in trash bags, along with my laundry. We drove to her house, and as I changed my clothes in the back seat, I threw all the clothing I was wearing out the window. Probably not a smart idea, but I don’t care. That’s disgusting, I got every cent I paid the landlord back, and had to go back to my mom’s after a few weeks at my friends’ house.