Him.

Chapter One

Chapter One

The sudden sound of the breaks on a van woke me. The sounds of car doors shutting and the unwinding of a delivery van door filled the room as I gained consciousness. The clock on the bedside table read “7:02am” I rubbed my eyes reluctantly before propping myself up onto my elbows as the noises from outside continued. My room was still fairly dark as the curtains over the window were drawn and all lights in the house were turned off. As the noises outside persisted, I got out of bed to investigate what was actually going on.

Stumpy removal men were carrying a couch from the van that was parked on the kerb, up to the gate at the bottom of the path to next door’s apartment block. We didn’t live in the nicest part of town, me and my mum, and we weren’t the richest either. The area was known for being quite rough and knowing that someone was moving in next door gave me the idea that they were new in town.

A black range rover with blacked out windows was also parked up on the kerb but slightly in front of the van. It seemed quite odd that someone with such an expensive car was interested in such a deprived area.

That’s when I saw him, for the first time. He strolled down the path of the apartment block and unlocked the range rover as he did so. He was wearing tight black jeans, white converse and a dark grey hoody with the hood place cautiously over his head. His frame stood tall and he came across as a confident person. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see his face but something instantly attracted me to him. He walked with such grace for someone who was so tall and I couldn’t help but stare as he leaned into the back seat of his car as his jeans fell below his waistline and his boxers were on show. The car door was shut and he almost immediately turned round before staring straight into my window.

I dropped to the floor, hoping he hadn’t seen me staring at him but I couldn’t help but feel frustrated that I hadn’t looked at his face properly. My chest rose and fell vigorously as I tried to catch my breath after being caught looking at the new arrival next door. It was as if he knew I was looking at him, like he read my mind, but I couldn’t resist but clamber back up to the window to see if I could catch another glimpse of the nameless boy. Fortunately, he’d gone, but his car was still parked there.

***

I looked over to the clock that now read “08:56am” How could I have been watching for just less than two hours? The mystery boy had not made an appearance for a good 30 minutes and the removal men had already got back into their van and driven away which made me think that their task had finished. I couldn’t help but think about the way he walked down the path and over to his car, how attractive he was, even from just looking at the back of his head.

I persisted to get up and wander downstairs to make myself a cup of tea. I walked into the kitchen where there was a note left on the counter top that read “Darling, I was called in early. Feed the cat please. Will be back at 9pm. Love, Mum. X” Great. Home alone, again. It frustrated me that mum had a job where she was called in whenever they needed her and she had no real ‘routine’. I was forever being left on my own with our cat that was clearly no fun to talk to. I finished making my brew and ambled down the hall to the lounge.

As I passed the big mirror on the wall, it revealed my hair that was an unfortunate mess and my face that was pale and makeup-less. I picked the remote up before flopping onto the couch and turning the television on. Dull. Boring. Nothing. Television nowadays was practically useless unless it was a Saturday night as all that seemed to be on was cooking shows and soap omnibuses.

What seemed like half an hour passed and still nothing was on the television. I was growing more and more aggravated when I heard a prominent knock on the front door. “Mail man” I mumbled to myself whilst ignoring the sound at the door. It repeated and I again ignored. However, the knocking became louder and more restless. I stood from the couch and peered out of the window from behind the curtains, much to my surprise, it wasn’t the mail man. It was him.