The Boy Next Door

One | 12 Months Ago

A new apartment. A new city. A new life.

It all felt like a much needed breath of fresh air.

I stood in front of the door to Apartment 215, my home for the next year. I struggled to balance the cardboard box in my arms while also trying to get the key into the slot. It was heavy and my arms were shaking.

That's when I heard a nearby door opening. And then, "Let me give you a hand with that."

The weight was lifted from my arms.

The voice belonged to a guy, close to my age. He was an inch or two shorter than me and in much better shape. He was carrying the box like it weighed nothing. I could feel my ears warming.

Had he seen how much difficulty I was having?

"Thanks," I said.

When I finally got the door opened, I noticed the apartment smelled stale and a little like fresh paint. The carpet was beige and freshly cleaned. Rows of vacuum lines were still visible.

He set the box against a bare wall. "I'm Sean. I live with two friends next door."

"I'm Daniel," I said.

Sean glanced around. "Are you staying here by yourself?"

"And yeah, I just moved here from a small town in Kansas. It's...different here."

"Well, you're definitely not in Kansas anymore." Sean grinned. "Am I the first person to make that lame joke?"

He said it so endearingly, it was hard not to smile with him. "First, and hopefully last."

That got a laugh from him. "Why'd you move? School? Work?"

"Personal stuff," I said, not wanting to get into it. "I just wanted a new start."

"Well, welcome." Sean paused briefly in the doorway before leaving. "If you ever need anything, feel free to stop by. We're all chill guys so if you ever want to hang."

"Thanks," I said. "I appreciate it."

He was nice. And certainly nice to look at.

Maybe we could end up being friends.

I could imagine it, getting together after work for some beers or maybe just hanging out and playing video games. I let myself hope that the things I'd left behind wouldn't find a way to follow me here.

And maybe this time, things would be different.

Better.

I took out my phone and saw that I had a text from someone with an area code from back home. The number was vaguely familiar.

Unknown: I heard you moved to California. Congrats. You got out.

Daniel Cohen: Who is this?

Unknown: It's Holden. You deleted my number?

Daniel Cohen: Well I didn't think we would be texting anymore...

Unknown: I get it. Just wanted to let you know that I'm happy for you.

Unknown: Maybe I can visit sometime?

I hesitated.

A part of me wanted to ignore him as I remembered how things ended between us. We didn't exactly stay friends after everything.

But in a way, I understood.

He didn't want us to blow apart his life. Having been one of the only gay kids in the entire town, I knew how hard it was. Enough to leave everything behind and start over.

Daniel Cohen: Sure. You're always welcome.

I set my phone on the counter and headed downstairs to grab more boxes out of my car. I didn't bring much, so I didn't think it would take long. I didn't have much.

The decision to move had been spontaneous.

I didn't mull over it for too long—I was sure if I did, I would've chickened out and never done it. I could feel it in my bones that this would be a good change.

There was commotion from behind me.

"Yeah, that's him. Hey, Daniel!"

I turned. "Oh, hey."

It was Sean, and he was with two other guys.

"These are my roommates, Leon and Parker. We figured you could use some help moving in," he said. "And then we were going to go play some ball. You in?"

Leon grinned. "Yeah, I need a teammate. These two assholes are always teaming up against me."

They didn't wait for me to respond. The three of them surrounded my car and started grabbing things from the trunk and the back seat.

I blinked, surprised at how easygoing they were. Things were different in LA.

"I'm not really good at basketball," I admitted.

"It's all good," Leon said. "You can't be worse than Sean."

Parker laughed.

Sean didn't say anything in response. Instead, he picked up one of the pillows in the back seat and lodged it at Leon's head.