More Than Neighbors - JM

Sorry For Your Loss|2

I mutter everything my mom ever forbid me to say when I open the door of my apartment. It's 2 in the morning and I'm just done working at the most terrible job there probably is out there. The building is amazingly tall, I live in the middle, not too high, not too low. The people I work with are great, I never had a problem being shy. Just the times you're done are insanely late. I walk to my large window in my livingroom and push my forehead against the cold glass. Huh, refreshing.
Great view over the big city. I smash my bag on the ground and throw my keys on the dinner table, at the same time pulling off my shoes and jacket.

I groan as I hear my phone go off in my bag. My feet hurt from the long hours I walked on them and they heavily protest when I walk back to check who's calling me at this absurd time on a Sunday night. When I see it's Archie I first frown at the strong white light of my mobile beaming in my flushed face. Why does he have to call me, especially at this time?

The rumors about a friend of Reggie seeing Archie with another woman weren't lies. I haven't seen Archie in a week now. Last time we saw each other was the night he came over and acted like a douch. Reggie and Archie never were best buddies, there can only be one alpha male in this group of friends. So there's always fights between those two. The girl Reggie talked about is called Bella, she's apparently an old friend of Archie. She came to visit him, although I don't know what she did in the building I live in. Archie lives a few streets away from me. She had nothing to do here. Or did she?

"Hey Arch, what's up" I really sound tired and I rub my eyes heavily, keeping my shoulder up to push the phone against my ear as I search for my lipbalm inside my bag.
"Hey Ruby, I wanted to tell you something" His voice is thin and I sit down on one of the dinner table chairs.
"Okay Archie, just tell me quick, I'm just done working and I need to sleep" I start to yawn and I hear weird noises in the background. Is there someome with him? Is it maybe Bella?
"I think it's better for the both of us, if we stay friends" His words are sharp and they're hitting me like a truck. My cheeks loose their colour and I widen my eyes. Deepdown I saw this was coming because of that Bella whore but this soon? I scratch some dirt off of my table and notice I really need to clean my house tomorrow before I go to work. I hear a cough on the other line and shake my head like a just woke up from a nightmare.
"Ruby, are you still there?" Archie's voise has no emotion and I'm kinda feeling sorry for him that I'm not heavily reacting now he broke up with me. Maybe I was already mentally prepared for his day. I knew that Bella and her fake breasts were going to bring trouble.
"Sorry to tell you this on the phone, I'm just scared" Archie whispers.
"Yeah it's fine, have fun with Bella" I tiredly mutter and decline the call.

A wave of madness rushes over me and I aggressively throw my phone through the kitchen. "Shit!" I mutter and a sob escapes my mouth. My eyes fill with hot tears and it takes me everything to hold them back. I'm not allowed to cry, you knew this was coming Ruby. From the day you saw her in that elevator, you knew she wasn't good meat. I slam my fist on the table and let out another sob. An uglier one. But who cares, no one can see me. I stand up to find my phone that flew through the room to call someone. Aubree? Reggie? My parents? My brother?
But I realize it's 2:15 in the morning and probably no one will answer me. I sigh, put my phone down to let it charge and walk to my bathroom. A good shower does wonders, doesn't it?

That night I slept horrible. I think I grabbed two hours of rest and the remain time of the night I cried. I fucking cried over that asshole. I make myself some coffee and with my sleepy brain, hair and clothes I take a look into my apartment. It's small, but decent and it has that large window from floor to the top. That's why I bought this place, it's open and fresh and every morning the sun welcomes every single furniture piece in your house. The bathroom is aligned with my bedroom and the livingroom is next to my kitchen. I love cooking and Archie always used to make cakes with me when someone in my family had their birthday. I rub my temples and sigh heavily.
New day, new rules, new chances. Maybe I should clean my house today!

That day I cleaned my whole apartment and it smelled like lemon and cleaning whipes for days.

"Ouch, that's awfull to hear, your dad and I are there for you honey" My mom speaks through the phone. I'm done working a morning shift and now me and Aubree have girls night. Just wachting movies with face masks and tea.
"Yeah you know what Ma, i'm done with it honestly" I tell her truthfully when I apply some daycream. I always shower after work and i'm now getting ready to get some coffee nearby. Yes I know, i'm a sucker for the bitter liquid called coffee.
"I hope you get the mental rest you need and maybe you'll find another boy with charms and a good build!" She laughs and I snicker with her. My mom can never be serious about heavy subjects. I don't blame her, I got that quality from her.
"I still want my grand children to look good and if you date an ugly man, you'll ruin the beautiful genes I gave you" She goes on and I grin.
"If I want to date someone ugly that'll be my business, isn't it Ma?" I laugh and she giggles.
"Of course it is sweetheart. If he treats you well, than that's all Iwant to know and like to hear from you" She says and I hear my dad in the background.
"Do you have Ru on the phone?" I hear him cough and grabbing the phone out of my moms hands because I hear her scream to him to give the phone back.
"Hi Ru, how is my baby doing?" I hear the smile in his voice. Me and my dad are one strong team, we've always been.
"Good, just heaving some mental breakdown here and there, but overall, I'm good" I say. I'm not lying. Of course I cry myself every night to sleep. I'm always scared to see them when I'm outside, scared to maybe see them together. My heart wouldn't survive that. But I'm a very positive person and I have too much distraction from work that I don't even have time to think about his stupid ass, well, most of the time.
"Nice to hear that, sorry for your loss. I hope you'll have a little rest with all that boys drama of yours. Maybe dating women is a lot easier for my heart!" He snorts.
"Maybe, but I'm straight so I guess you need to deal with guys dad" I hear him groan on the other line and I let out a laugh. I love my parents, sadly enough I don't see them often.

My brother is a professional basketball player. He lives in Minnesota because he's playing for their team. I'm the unfamous, basic but boujee sister that lives in NY and has the most shit job ever. My brother is only 2 years older than me and we practically look like twins. Both tanned, both brown hair, both green eyes, both great bodies and both charms mixed with humor and craziness.

I grap my keys and phone, throw on a jacket and I close the door of my apartment. I take the elevator to go downstairs and I get welcomed by the icy wind form outside when I step out of the building. It's rush hour, the city is exploding.