I SEE YOU

RULES (ASH'S POV)

It's day three of living with River and I come home to yet another mess in the lounge. At this point I find myself getting more exhausted after an already long day at work.

I let out a frustrated sigh as I start picking up my roommate's clothes that are discarded on the floor. I hesitantly make my way to her room and knock lightly, the door opens not long after.

She's only dressed in a sports bra and basketball shorts, again. I force my eyes not to stare at the dark tattoos on her tummy and the few lingering on her neck. I have come to realize River is someone who doesn't like walking around fully clothed, which is fine by me because looking at her fine body doesn't hurt.

I shove her clothes in her hands and she just throws them on the floor of her room. One peak inside and I almost have a full OCD meltdown, I didn't think it was even possible for one to live in such a messy room comfortably.

"Can we go to the lounge, I think it's time we had that discussion on how this whole roommates situation is gonna work." For some reason my words make her smirk.

"Ah ladies and gentlemen, she speaks a full sentence without stuttering." I just grunt and make my way to the lounge, I hear her door shut and her loud footsteps following after me.

River throws herself on the couch and puts her long legs on the table while I remain standing. Her face screams nothing but boredom, which is too bad for her because we are going to have this talk right now.

"Okay, so it's already obvious that you and I are polar opposites. And this living arrangement is turning out to be harder than I expected, so I'm going to put some ground rules that I expect you to follow."

River folds her arms and gives me an attentive look that makes me a bit nervous. Shit! Where was I again??

Oh rules, right.

"Firstly, I would really appreciate it if you stopped leaving your stuff laying everywhere. It's really disturbing.
And after eating, wash your dish instead of just leaving it on the sink. Clean up after yourself, you don't even flush the toilet after using it and that's disgusting as hell.
All I'm saying is, respect our shared space and try to be as tidy and neat as you can. If you want to be messy then do that in your private space, I have no say on the condition you decide to leave your room in. I'd also like it if you stopped playing your music so loud, just use earphones. I can't think when there's that much noise."

I let out a deep breath after saying all this in one go without taking any breaks. My eyes meet with River's and I unconsciously nip at my bottom lip as I wait for her to say something.

"Damn! That's a very long list of rules. Next thing you'll be telling me not to breathe." Her brow rises like she's waiting for me to actually say that, I roll my eyes before responding.

"I know I'm asking a lot from you but please bare with me. I have OCD and I'm autistic, I'm not sure if you know about autism but it means I'm more sensitive to a lot of things than normal people. So unless you want me to faint on you, pass out or even lose my mind, you have to do as I'm asking."

Her features soften and I see something I can't really read in her light green eyes, she slowly nods her head and I find myself letting out a deep breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about your condition."

I just nod my head as a deep exhaustion falls heavy on my shoulders. I fall in the one sitter couch opposite from River. I can feel her eyes on me, stalking my every move but I'm too tired to be affected by her gaze at the moment.

"You seem tired." I sink deeper in the couch and give her a small smile.

"I am, I work at a senior home. And today William died, he's one of the seniors that I was closest to. I always enjoyed the stories he used to tell me about his youth, he always had a good story to tell. This morning I found him in his bed, his body cold and a smile lingering on his lips. I've been working there for ten years and he arrived five years ago, not most folks make it that long. So his death is hitting the hardest even though I know he's probably in a better place now."

I bite my tongue a bit too late when I realize I might have said a bit too much. I mean, what am I doing telling a stranger about my troubles.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Her words take me by surprise and my head shoots up, there's an almost genuine smile on her face and she looks breathtaking. "How old are you??"

Her question and the abrupt change of subject causes me to frown but I answer her anyway. "Thirty three, you??"

She side smirks. "I'm twenty four." My eyes widen and she chuckles, the sound is both rich and smooth in a very pleasant way. "You seem surprised, do I look older??"

I bite back a smile as I shake my head. "Not really, more like you feel older. The air around you says your older than your age. But then again, your as messy as a child."
This time she laughs out loud and I find myself liking the sound more as the seconds go by.

"So you got jokes huh." I shrug my shoulders and wink, I don't even know where I got the confidence to do that.

My face flushes when it registers that I'm nine years older than her. Fuck! Now I feel old, which I kind of am I guess. I'm gonna die alone without a partner and I'll...

I quickly shake my head to get rid of the nasty thoughts.

"Uhm! What do you do?? Like for work."
Alarm flashes in her eyes before her expression goes neutral again, or did I just imagine that??

"I'm a personal trainer."  Well that explains why she's so fit.

"I should really hire you to help me work out. I'm terribly out of shape."

Her eyes scan my body though I can't read anything in them.
"From where I'm sitting, you look pretty good."

My cheeks heat up from the compliment and I chuckle awkwardly as an attempt to act unaffected. "That's not true, your just being nice."

She arches one of her perfect brows, she does that a lot too.
"Me?? Nice?? Have you met me before??"

I can't stop myself from laughing and she joins in.

"Okay fair point. Nice is an overstatement for you."

She rolls her eyes with a smirk playing on her lips.
"Hey, don't understate me. I can be really nice when I want to be, I just have to know I'll be getting something in return."

There's that tone again, and that look. What's with that look?? Am I missing something here??

"Your kind of being nice right now, does that mean you expect something in return from me??"

She shrugs casually and I'm painfully aware of her thick biceps and broad shoulders moving. "I don't know Ash, are you offering??"

I bite back a grin, and she stands up with a smirk plastered on her face.
She looks like she's about to say something but then she just walks to her room and I take in her ripped back.

Okay, so maybe River might not be that bad after all.