Ethan awoke early the next morning, his head pounding and his stomach churning. He groaned loudly as he tried to sit up, eventually settling for rolling off the couch when he found his lethargy so overpowering that doing a sit-up in his state was like trying to bench-press an adolescent hippo after it finished eating an entire gazelle. Oddly enough, that also illustrated the pain he felt in his temples and in the back of his head. Why he had thought it would be a good idea to literally drink himself stupid was beyond anyone's comprehension, though he knew exactly why. Eventually he would kill enough brain cells to forget what had happened, what he had lost and what he'd never have again. Eventually he started to straighten out off the floor, forcing himself to stand and lean back to stretch. The light filtered in between the curtains, giving his left shoulder a warm glow, though he did not notice.<br/><br/>Shambling to the kitchen area, Ethan dug around, looking for something to soothe his savage stomach, finally settling on a few slices of bread and a bottle of water. As he passed the counter his hand grazed the bottle of pills. He caught them before they fell to the floor, then noticed the note that had been left. It was a short message, but with it came a flood of memories from the night before. He stood for a long moment to make sense of everything, then scarfed down his bread and went to take a shower and clean up. He may have been a mean, brutally honest individual, but that didn't mean he had to look like and live in a pigsty. He threw on his favorite jeans and a t-shirt once he was out and clean-shaven, did the rest of the morning routine with the notable exception of morning PT, then set to cleaning up his place. It wouldn't be immaculate by the time she arrived, but he thought it looked considerably better by the time she arrived.<br/><br/>The knock came to Ethan's door just as he had finished throwing away the last bit of garbage and putting the next load of laundry in the wash. There was plenty to fold, but he'd get to that later.<br/><br/>"Yeah. It's open," he called, expecting it to be Charlotte. But when he heard more than one set of footprints cross the faux wood threshold, his mood quickly soured.<br/><br/>"You really should keep your door locked, man. You never know who's going to want inside." The voice behind him was smooth, with a bit of a smile hidden beneath it. Ethan recognized immediately who it was, and it was not going to be a joyful reunion. The man speaking was his landlord, Mr. Jacob Harrison. He owned the whole building, even the units with different names on the leases. He ruled the building similarly to the Sheriff of Notingham in the eyes of most of the residence. But no one dared speak against him, lest they be cast out into the street with nothing but what they have on them at the moment. You were lucky if you lived on the first floor.<br/><br/>"Mr. Harrison. I'm actually glad you stopped by. I have the rent."<br/><br/>"Oh do you? All $2400?" There was enough arrogance in Jacob's voice to turn his words into a powerful venom.<br/><br/>"$2400? That's double my rent!"<br/><br/>"Well you're a month late almost. Rent's due again in a week."<br/><br/>"I can't come up with that kind of money... you know that. C'mon give me a break. Work's been scared lately." Ethan hated to beg like that, but he didn't have much of a choice. He was lucky to find a place that would rent to him, given his history. "If you give me till the end of the month i'll give you$1600."<br/><br/>Jacob approached, his eyes dead pan as he scanned the room. Two large men flanked him, then circled around Ethan, which brought a new sensation to his stomach. This one was dread, for he knew what was about to happen. It'd be worse if he fought, so he psyched himself up and prepared himself for the beating. He was no slouch, in fact, Ethan was in great physical condition. But these were very large men with bats and brass knuckles, and they wailed on him for several seconds before Jacob intervened, effectively stopping the beat-down.<br/><br/>"I like you Ethan. You're my best tenant. Don't make me kick you out... you're a long way up." With a smirk, the three men left the apartment, leaving Ethan to recover.