Living on the Outside

Chapter 2

I've been in New York for three years now. Once word got around that I was there, I was invisible. I was practically erased off the face of the Earth. Everybody was afraid of me. Afraid I would hurt them. They thought I was ruthless for killing my best friend. Nobody new that it was all lies. I couldn't even get a job in New York. Every time I walked into a building, everybody stopped talking. Those who dared to talk only whispered. It was horrible for a while. I wanted to talk to somebody. But I got used to it. It's kind of nice, I don't have to deal with any idiots.

For about a week I was living in my car, eating out of dumpsters. I know, it's disgusting. But it was my only choice. I usually went to a dumpster immediately after a restaurant dumped their trash out. Half eaten food, or food that was never served. That was all I could get.

It didn't take long for somebody to help me out. I didn't think it would ever happen. He was a millionaire, rich as could be. He never even told me his name. But that didn't matter. The only thing he is important for is money. The first thing he did, was buy an apartment for me under his name. I didn't have to pay rent. And he took care of any taxes I may have. He was one of the few people who believed me. That I didn't kill Josh. He told me how he could see the innocence in my eyes every time I appeared on television.

The apartment was small, but I didn't mind. It was on the top floor of the building too. The fire escape was the only way I entered. The fire escape also led into an alley. Nobody dared to even look in that alley. I didn't even have a key to get in through the door. Only he had one. Every Monday I would find $100 on the kitchen counter. It didn't seem like much, but it did the job. Luckily people acknowledged me if I wanted to buy something. But they wouldn't say anything. The silent treatment is what I got.

I wear the same outfit everyday. Well, sort of. I wear black pants, a black shirt, black converse, and a black jacket. I have seven of each, minus the jacket and shoes, which I only have one of. Each item is identical to the ones similar to it. They were all bought at the same time. Every Saturday night, I take my clothes and wash them in my private washer and dryer. And when sleeping I wear black sweatpants and an extremely comfy black shirt. It all goes well with my natural black hair. My jacket is probably the best piece of clothing I own. The zipper never gets stuck. There's pockets on the outside, along with secret pockets on the inside.

I'm just like everybody else. I wake up, eat breakfast, run around town, come home, eat dinner, and go to sleep. Each day brings me something new. I never know what will happen. That's the beauty of it. I always wake up while it's dark out. I climb to the roof and then watch the sun rise. It's beautiful. All of the colors bending around the skyscrapers. I can't describe the feeling I get. But I do feel the start of a new day, that something will change. Not like it really matters though.

Central Park is where I spend the most time. I like to watch the kids playing with whoever. Sometimes somebody will have their dog. The only things I have friended are the pigeons. I bring bread every day. I've spent so much time with the pigeons that I can tell which is which. They all look very similar, but very different. And there are a lot of them too.

One day while I was at Central Park, a little girl was playing with her dog. He was a beautiful beagle. He looked like the one I had before I was arrested. The poor thing passed away while I was gone. I had walked up to the little girl, her mother wasn't in sight. She didn't know who I was. She just giggled at me while her dog sniffed my long legs.

"Hello," I had said.

"Hi," she said back.

"What's your name?"

"Amanda, what's yours?"

"Mathew."

"Do you wanna pet my doggie? His name is Murphy."

"I would love to pet Murphy."

I had squatted down next to the dog. I was almost to the height of Amanda. She had put her hand on my shoulder for some reason. I put my hand in front of Murphy to let him sniff. Once he was done, I had reached to pet him. I stopped halfway there.

"Get away from my daughter!" I heard a woman yell. I looked up and saw a woman, running straight for us at full speed.

"Mommy, this is Mathew!" Amanda told her cheerfully.

"I know who he is."

When she reached us I was frozen, still in the position to pet Murphy. She immediately shoved he child behind her and grabbed Murphy's leash. She began pulling Murphy away, his fur taunting me. I reached my hand out rather quickly. The woman pushed me down. And with my luck, there was a police officer on the other side of the park. And with even more of my luck, he had noticed the scene and was coming towards me. Luckily, Amanda told the officer what had happened. I was left with a warning.

So you see, my life isn't that bad. But that's enough reflection about the past. I'll put it behind me. Pretend to forget it. But that could never happen.

A/N
Just wanted to let you guys know that these past two chapter were telling you about his past. The next chapters will be in the present. I just wanted to let you get us know so nobody would get confused.