Moving On

Chapter 1

The door to a small studio apartment opened. A young woman entered and locked the door behind her. She was thankful to be home and away from her soul crushing job as a cashier. It wasn't exactly what she expected to do with her life. When she was younger she had grand ideas of becoming a teacher. Helping young people to learn about the world and what they could do to make it better. She even had aspirations of a loving family. Though, her dating life was nothing to be desired. Sex was the only thing on men's minds. Oh, how she wished she learned that sooner.

Her keys clattered against the counter as she dropped them, not caring where they landed. 'Another day, another dollar,' she thought with a sigh. She was content with her life here, but she hated being so alone. After high school, her friends kept in contact for a few months, but contact slowly dwindled to nothing. Maybe a like or two on Facebook posts. When they did talk, it was like they were completely different people. Her mother did her best to console her, telling her that's what happens when people grow up. They grow apart.

She wouldn't mind growing apart from her friends if she could ever manage to keep a new one. Coworkers would have a get together and parties for all sorts of things, but she was never invited. Her mannerisms were generally quiet around others. She would be so nervous to act foolishly that she wouldn't act at all. Giving the impression that she was never interested to begin with. While she was sum what aware of this, she was stubborn. 'If they don't like me for me, then screw 'em!' she would think. She never stopped to think about how she was acting wasn't the real her at all.

The first thing she did every night after work was get into more comfortable clothing. Removing her khakis and blue button up shirt, she opted for black leggings, and a dark red hoodie that was two sizes too big for her. She didn't mind though, it was soft and conformable. Removing the wretched contraption known as a 'bra' was also a must. So restrictive, and after a long day, she didn't need that kind of negativity. Going to the bathroom she looked into the mirror, taking in her red hair that had been put into a short ponytail. She released her hair and gave it a thorough brushing, when she was done she could see the natural curls start to lift. She really did like her hair, it matched her light blue eyes in a way that just made sense.

Retiring to the couch, she grabbed her laptop that had not moved from its spot on the cushion. The good thing about no roommates is no one touches your stuff. A few clicks later and she was watching some YouTube videos. At the time she was binging on one of her favorite series, 'Will It?' by Good Mythical Morning. As she listened to the sounds of Rhet and Link eating questionable food, she held her phone, occasionally looking up to see a part she wanted to see for the millionth time.

She browsed her phone and her eyes hovered over the text message icon. She rarely got texts from anyone. With not too many friends and a family who didn't even use smart phones, it was a surprise that made her heart skip a beat in excitement when she did get one. Sometimes she wished she could be like the girls she knew in high school. A huge circle of friends and loved ones to help and support you. But, she would push that thought aside, for all she knew they were now just as lonely as she was.

After a time of scrolling through Facebook and laughing at Link's outbursts, her phone buzzed and the text app got a notification. That familiar excited feeling was there in an instant, but just as quickly as it came, it left when she saw who it was from. Jacob.

She read the simple text that only said, 'Yo.' Did he not know any other way to say hello?

After a moment of thinking whether or not to respond, she opened the message and sent a simple one word response. 'no.'

She didn't want to continue with his games or get caught up in any drama. He already caused enough havoc in her life and she didn't want more. She remembered her collage roommate at the time telling her, 'Have fun! See where it goes, maybe he's the one for you! Never know unless you try!' Naomi was kind, but very naïve. Though, so was she, because she took Naomi's advice. It ended up being one of the decisions she regretted most in life.