friendly Neighbor

Carissa has made to her apartment and somehow, she feels a though she has been hit with a bus and made it out alive. Immediately reaching for her medicine drawer in the kitchen she takes an Advil pill. Hoping that it will works its magic faster than it normally would. She sighs as he remembers the talk she had with r. Rivers, the way that he demanded that she make a decision. ‘Decisions like these didn’t just take a day, I need like at least a week’ she says to herself.

She thought that by going out she would be able to avoid the unavoidable but she ended up right within his radius. So she had to think of this what was there to loose right, for one she didn’t have a job and she really needed it, she was running low on the money she had. But she could always find another job, there would be plenty of people willing to hire her, with the experience she had and all.

She puts on some music in hopes of making herself feel better, now she had to make the decision and she really didn’t want to but there was nothing she could do. She barely listened to music, always felt like it disturbed her thoughts. It always made her think a million thoughts all at once. And she didn’t like the feeling, not even a bit but now here she was listening to a piano instrumental. Feeling it deep in her veins, giving a feeling a feel peace. Something she hasn’t been able to feel in a while. Slowly falling up to the melodic sounds coming from her laptop.

…..

She wakes up to find that the sun has set, realizing that she had spent the whole day asleep. She gets up from the couch and makes her way into the kitchen. As she always does, she puts the kettle to boil and takes the cup she always uses and puts the teabag in. Waiting for the water she gets a knock on the door. As she rushes to see who is at the door, she gets startled as she hears the voice of someone shouting. Questioning whether she should open the door or not , the person on the other side of the door says ‘ Carissa open up its your neighbor Cole.

Although still hesitant she opens the door, he’s harmless. He was friendly enough the other day. What’s the worst he could do. Opening the door, she is met by Cole’s intense green eyes and his child like smile. ‘Hey’, he says standing awkwardly in the hallway. She notices that there is a ruckus outside a lady that she assumes lives here is shouting at a girl about doing homework. ‘I thought I’d keep you company because I really have nothing to do and I figured I keep you company since you might be lonely.’ The blonde boy says awkwardly. She notices that he had a container and a bottle of wine in her hand.

Carissa is in awe at this revelation but since she doesn’t want to be rude, she paves way for him so he can enter and tells him to come in. ‘This is quite a nice lace you have got’ she says. Although she feels uncomfortable, she responds kindly. ‘It’s really not much and I also have to get more furniture, I think it’s a little empty’. As she takes a deep breath, she prays that she won’t be weird. She has never had anyone in her space, she’s always been the one to isolate herself from the world. Only having one person around her that she can trust. He places the Tupperware container and the wine on the table and makes his way to her couch. ‘Thanks for the food’. I was just about to make something to eat, now you’ve saved me’ she says trying to sound polite. ‘Oh, yeah, it’s nothing I cook all the time’ he says looking down.

‘So, where do you work?’ Carissa voices out to rid of the uncomfortable silence. ‘I work at a record shop, but I would love to be phycologist one day’ he says. ‘Wow that’s great, I don’t have any goals like that as of now but I’m looking for a job’ Carissa tells the man as she goes to the kitchen to plate the food.

‘Have you been doing anything that will help you, prep for that or what she asks. ‘Yeah, I have been taking this online class that pays like 50 dollars per lesson’.

‘That’s great, she says as she pours the wine into two wine glasses. The girl walks over to the boy and sets the plate of hot macaroni and cheese on the table. ‘I didn’t even ask if you like this , I’m so sorry if you don’t want to eat it, its totally fine. ‘Oh, don’t sweat it I am fine with macaroni and cheese, if anything I used to like it as a kid.

My mom…’ she cuts herself off letting her words hang in the air. She takes a sip of the rose wine. She gets up not being able to hold herself from letting her tears fall ‘I’m sorry’ she utters. Carissa feels trapped with the stranger in her house, she tries to stifle the tears that come out pouring. She’s never really been able to move on with her mother’s death, she just thought that as long as she could tuck away all the bad feelings away, she’d be fine.

She hated talking about her to strangers because it made her feel like it was that day all over again. The day that her mother left her alone in this world. ‘Carissa, hey are you okay’ The boy comes to her aid holding her, it’s been long since she’s been held like this. She barely knows what it feel like to be in someone else’s arms, being consoled. ‘You’re alright’ he says to her stroking her hair. Carissa cries her eyes out in her room on the floor. She gets up and goes to the bathroom and reaches for the bottle of pills that she keeps, with Cole following closely behind her. She makes a mess of everything in the bathroom scattering all the things on counter as she falls to the ground. Her tears falling to the ground mixed with snot being mixed together.

‘No, don’t leave me mom, I don’t want you to. Don’t leave me’ she cries out.