Hate Thy Neighbor (Completed)

Chapter 3: Noah

Noah ♠️

After leaving Alicia, I promptly walked back to my house with a lot on my mind. My new neighbor could be an issue for several reasons.

Since my wife, Kathy, died by suicide. I'm a different person.

I got rid of the corporate white collar aesthetics and traded them in for, what some people called, the "bad boy" look.

Honestly, I don't give a fuck what people think of me; all of that performative acting to fit in died the day my wife died.

Kathy came from an affluent family and when we started dating, I loved her so much that I was willing to change myself to fit into her opulent circle of friends and family. I even changed my degree in college to "Business Management" so I could eventually work for her Father's company.

Because I loved Kathy, I was always clean shaven, well spoken, and actually cared what others thought of me for the sake of her image, and I was okay with that.

However, the same day I found out that she'd had a fatal car accident, was the same day her family turned their backs on me.

This was the same family I'd changed my entire image to impress.

Sure, I'd always felt like I was never fully accepted into Katherine's circle of friends but she'd always say I was overthinking the microaggressions.

But once she died, it was blatant they blamed me for her taking her own life.

Soon, my attitude and perceptions towards the world shifted drastically.

I learned quickly that people didn't owe me shit!

In fact, no one but my little sister helped me through my depressed days where I used to wish that I could've taken Kathy's place.

I also learned quickly that People were evil; especially the ones you thought would have your back.

I learned that the hard way when Kathy's family took me to court, in the midst of my grief, in order to stop me from receiving all of her life insurance.

So I pushed people away.

Now, people called me bitter but it doesn't faze me.

Burn me once? Shame on you..
Burn me twice? Shame on me.

The only people I owed anything too was my sister and myself; I owed it to us to live authentically.

For the last 10 years since her death, I have been living my truth and expressing myself how ever I deemed necessary with no regrets.

I then turned that white collar degree into blue collar work by opening and managing my own Successful Body Shop.

Sure, no one liked my attitude but they definitely loved my work ethic.

If people have a problem with my tattoos, long hair, and attitude? I don't care.

Fuck them!

That was their problem and not mine.

My mind drifted back to my earlier encounter with my neighbor as I grabbed a few tools and headed towards my Dodge Challenger. 

Alicia intrigued me and that worried me.

In the last 10 years since Kathy's death, I was intrigued by someone enough to want to know more about them beyond their name.

Physically, Alicia wasn't my typical type.

Usually, I'd find a hot blonde or brunette girl, who was a groupie for tats, at one of the local motorcycle bars that I frequented.

The women I typically fucked were usually easy and lacked any critical thinking skills. Additionally, they most definitely didn't stand up to me if they had a problem.

I specifically chose those kinds of women so as not to form an emotional attachment.

Since Kathy, I've sworn off love which has worked for me for the past decade.

But Alicia going toe to toe with me and not backing down like I'd expected, really piqued my curiosity. This made me want to explore how far I could push her before she broke.

My mind was teetering with dark thoughts but I quickly pulled myself out of my calloused state of mind as I watched my sister walk from the garage, towards me.

My eyes turned into slits as I observed the devious smile plastered on her face.

"What? You look mischievous..." I said as I walked past her and headed back inside my garage.

"I saw you talking to the neighbor." Her smile got even bigger as she continued. "She's cute."

I didn't respond as I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge in our garage and took a deep swig.

"So no answer?" More silence charged the air as Khloe's smile faltered. "Why are you such a grouch all the time?...wasn't She pretty?"

I shrugged and furrowed my brows. That didn't mean shit to me, I fucked pretty women all the time.

Khloe stared at me unwaveringly until I finally decided to respond to her.

I took another swig of water before answering her.

"Even if a girl is pretty, that doesn't mean she's worth my time. Plus I'm 34 and she seems young." I stated nonchalantly as I walked back, towards my car.

"What's her name?" She asked curiously.

"How about you go ask her if you're so interested..." I answered with a slight bite to my voice.

Khloe rolled her eyes at me and I smirked at her annoyance.

"I saw most of your interaction with her...If I had to bet money on who would win this weird game of power between the two of you, my bet is on Her. She's not intimidated by you like everyone else around here. I think I like her..."

I sighed heavily before turning towards my sister. I was tired of this Alicia talk.

"If you're so impressed, how about YOU go and try to date her and leave me out of it."

Khloe grinned which pissed me off even more.

"You like her..." she stated matter-of-factually.

I shook my head with more annoyance because this conversation was now becoming exhausting.

"I'm done with this conversation."

Khloe giggled like a school girl at how uncomfortable she was making me before she finally dropped the subject and headed back inside.

I peered towards Alicia's house one final time before slamming the hood of my car shut.

Alicia was a nobody and I refused to even entertain the delusions that Khloe made up in her mind.

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