Chasing Daylight

Chapter One

Hey everyone this is my attempt at sharing some of my work! I hope you all enjoy! Feel free to post comments as I would love to get to know you all! I plan on updating every Wednesday and Friday!

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When we first dropped our bags on apartment floors
Took our broken hearts, put them in a drawer
Everybody here was someone else before

-Taylor Swift

Maria

I stood in front of the apartment door anxiously staring at the flaking white paint. I bit my lip and finally built up the courage to knock on the door. I heard someone grumble inside and then the sound of heavy footfalls made their way closer.

The door flung open and I was faced with a pair of angry brown eyes. "What?" The man, with curly blonde hair and dozens of tattoos asked. I stood in shock for a moment. "What do you want?"

"I was asking around about apartments and I heard that you were looking for a roommate," I said biting my lip. "Are you still looking?"

I desperately needed this to work out, clearly desperate enough to sign a lease with someone I had never met before. It was either that or start at a new school while still sleeping in my car. My back protested at the idea giving a spasm as I stood in front of the intimidating man awaiting his answer.

"Sure," the man shrugged.

"Great, oh that's so great because I've been looking all over..."

"You want to live with me?" The man laughed. "You don't even know me."

"Look I'm desperate," I said running a hand over my forehead. "Classes start tomorrow and I really need a place."

I just prayed I wouldn't end up getting murdered by this strange man. Hopefully my desperation wouldn't lead me into living with someone I would regret.

"Whatever," the man said. He didn't seem to care whether I was there or not. I just hoped he took that same approach when we lived together. I was going to have plenty of things to keep me busy and the last thing I needed was fights with a roommate. 

"Can I move in today? I mean I still need to sign the lease, but..."

"Whatever," the man replied. "Just try not to get in my way." 

He was already walking away from the door and I nervously stepped in behind him, hoping to at make a good impression and learn a little bit about my new roommate.

"Sure," I nodded. "Thank you. I'm Maria by the way."

"Max," the man replied before stepping into the hallway and disappearing from my view. It wasn't even a few seconds later that I heard a door slam closed. I had a feeling we weren't going to be close friends and I was definitely okay with that. He was a little too intimidating and gruff for my taste anyway.

The next few hours were spent officially signing the lease and unpacking the belongings that had taken refuge in my car the past few months. As I looked around the room admiring the few decorations I had put out, I gave a smile. It finally felt a bit like a home. 

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Max

When I heard the girl leave, I finally felt safe to leave my bedroom. I did need a roommate, but I had been hoping I could find another guy who would leave me the fuck alone or a hot girl, who would fuck me anytime I asked. At this point, I was fairly certain that girl was neither. Her bright smile and innocent blue eyes told me she was far from the sleeping around type. Ideally our short conversation had made it clear I was not a people person and there would be no conversations shared over our morning coffee before class. 

One look around the apartment confirmed how different we were. There were yellow pillows and a pink blanket sitting on the couch. There was a picture of a flower sitting on the shelf and a couple of potted plants sitting next to them. When I made my way to the kitchen I found her touches. There were placemats on the table. There were matching plates and bowls in the cabinets. One of my cabinets had been filled with only mugs. Why did she have so many mugs?

How had she only been in this apartment for three hours and the apartment already had her little touches everywhere? Every girl I brought over was immediately going to know there was a woman in this house. If these decorations stopped me from fucking every girl in sight, I was definitely going to have a problem. My new roommate was going to find her shit in the garbage. For now, it was fine, but one comment, and it was all gone and I may have to throw her ass out too. 

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Maria

I walked back into the apartment to find it silent. I set the bags on the counter and started to unpack them. The fridge was practically empty. I couldn't imagine how anyone could live in this apartment before I had moved in. It was empty and bare. I would have felt so lonely. I knew it wasn't the smartest thing to move in with a guy I didn't know, but I had been so desperate to find a place. I had arrived in Washington a week ago and since then I had been living in my car. I couldn't sleep in my seat for another night. My neck felt like it could hardly move. When I finished with the groceries, I moved to my room to organize my school stuff for the following day.

I was nervous to start my junior year at Washington State across the country from home and everyone I had ever known. I was glad to have a fresh start.  knew this was what I needed. No one knew me and that was a blessing. As I labeled my folders and studied my map of the campus, I heard Max walk through the door- well stumble through the door.

"Fuck you're so hot," I heard a girl's voice say. Their breathing was heavy. I heard them walk past my bedroom door and Max's door closed loudly. Of course, we shared a wall, so I could hear every tiny sound. I heard them collapse onto the bed, so I plugged my headphones into my phone and turned on some music to tune them out. I finished organizing my things and got ready for bed. They were still going at it when I turned out my lights. I woke up to the front door closing at two am. I just hoped that wouldn't be a common occurrence. 

Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of Sunshine on a Cloudy Day! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! I am so excited to share this story with all of you!