Pinky Promise

ONE

ANA

Parties. Drinking. Meeting friends. Dancing. Taking drugs. Those were the favorite activities people my age did on a Friday night. My favorite activity was climbing out of my window and reading books. Today was just such a day. It was Friday evening. I sat on the fire escape that bordered my window and read one of the many books on my To Be Read heap. Next to me stood a cup of tea and around me, Brooklyn's streets were to be heard, however only muffled, since my window and therefore also the fire escape did not lead directly to the street, but pointed to a side street, where neither cars drove nor people stayed. It was probably one of the quietest places in Brooklyn and that's why it was my hideaway. My Safe Place.
But today it was not as quiet as usual. Below me, I could hear someone playing the guitar. And if necessary a few curses. It wasn't Jimi Hendrix, you could hear that clearly, but it wasn't a beginner either. I tried to ignore it and concentrate on the words in my book. However, my concentration kept going back to the music. Normally I was always alone on the fire escape. All the people who lived in this house spent their time staying behind the windows and not sitting outside on an iron frame like me. But today someone had apparently come up with the same idea. According to the voice that pronounced the curses, it was a male someone or a woman with an extremely rough and deep voice.

At some point, my curiosity became so strong that I had to find out who was playing. I closed the book and put it aside. Carefully I slipped forward to the ladder and tried to see who sat down there and played. I could see legs stuck in black jeans. And a part of the guitar. To see more I leaned forward. The rest of the guitar and also the upper body of the person came to the surface. As I thought, the person was male. He wore a white shirt and had long hair tied in a loose bun. I now had a full view of the stranger. In all those years I had never seen him here before. Maybe he had moved in new. But didn't Jess, George, and Shawn live downstairs? He seemed concentrated and absorbed in playing but suddenly he looked up, as fast as I could I jumped back and hoped he hadn't seen me.
"I saw you!", he shouted amusedly and I put my hands on my face. Great! Would it be better to act as if I wasn't there or should I rather show myself? What would be less embarrassing? "Show yourself, stalker!"
I sighed and had no choice but to show myself. I got up and went to the ladder and took a few steps down and sat down on the steps. I could see him through the steps, he looked up at me and smiled.
"Do you always watch people when you sit here?", he asked me and an Australian accent appeared. Maybe it was British English. His voice was a bit rough, but still, it sounded really likable.
"Normally there's nobody here I can watch.", I replied. "I see you here for the first time." He must have moved in here recently because strangers didn't just have access here, especially to the fire escape.
"I'm Johnny. I moved here about two weeks ago." Definitely from Australia.
"Have you been living here for a long time?" he asked me and put his guitar next to him. He pulled his previously stretched legs to himself and leaned his back against the terrain. So he could look up better.
"Since eternities. Which apartment did you move into?"
"5B."
"You're staying with Jess and the boys?" I had only seen her two days ago, why had she told me nothing about him?
"Yes. She's my cousin."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Do you live in a shared flat as well?", he asked.
"No."
"Alone?"
"No."
"With your boyfriend?"
"No."
"With your parents?", he went on and smiled.
"Ana!", Luke called after me. I looked down at Johnny and shrugged my shoulder. Without saying anything else I waved at him and stood up.
"See you around.", he said grinning and reached for his guitar again. I took my book and the teacup and climbed back through the window into my room.
"Ana?", I heard Luke calling again.
"Coming!", I replied and went into the kitchen. On the table stood lasagna, fresh from the oven.
"Hmm, yummy!", I said and sat at the table. Luke took my plate and put a portion on it. He did the same for himself and then sat down as well. I reached for the water bottle and offered him something to pour in. He nodded.
"How was work?", I asked him and began to eat.
"Oh, nothing special. Everything as always. A lot of customers. A lot of cars.
"A lot of money.", I added and he laughed. "When is Mom coming?" I asked him.
"In about two hours. She has two surgeries today. Or just one. I'm not sure."
"I think she had to step in for someone."
"Yes, that is possible."
"Someone else moved in with Jess.", I told him.
"Really?"
"Mhm, her cousin. From Australia."
"She's from Australia?", he asked chewing.
"No, she's from San Francisco, she said to me at some point. Her cousin is from Australia."
"And he moved in with her?"
"Yes. But it can't have been long ago since I saw him for the first time."
"You saw him?", he asked.
"Yes, he was just sitting on the fire escape in front of the window. He played the guitar.", I told him.
"So he is a musician." As an answer, I just shrugged my shoulders.

After we had finished eating, I cleared the table and Luke put the dishes in the dishwasher. Nobody said anything. It was just quiet, but not unpleasant. It was always that way between us. Luke and I could also just be quiet without it getting weird.
At some point, I had a strange warm feeling in my heart. But it was not an unknown feeling, I was aware of that. However, I felt it for the first time in almost a year and I knew exactly what it meant.
"He is here. He is here!", I said suddenly and interrupted the silence.
"Who?", Luke asked confusedly and dried his hands with a towel.
"Nate!"
"Nate?"
"Yes!", I said excitedly and threw the towel I had in my hand on the table.
"Nate is in London. He'll be back next week."
"No. He's here! I can feel it! He's here!", I said and ran to the door.

Soo... that's the start of my new book! I hope you like it! I would be happy about some feedback! xx