Chapter Text
You, you were always so independent.
Your father exclaimed so, and your mother periodically repeated it.
You always knew how to land on your feet.
Very knowledgeable about your capabilities.
And so, you knew this move, although very different from what you once knew, was going to be adjustable for somebody likewise yourself.
Exhausted. Yes, exhausted was the precise term that carried with you in recent days.Just so, so desolate of the life you lead.
Your buisness was prosperous, yet despite that you felt unfufilled, like there was more out there for you. It wasn't logical of you, no, but you can't help but feel, feel this....this sentiment that breathed through you.
Or perhaps your chasing futile, something that doesn't exist.
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Residing in an urban apartment, your blinds were slightly drawn.
Stripes of the awakened sun radiated, imprinted pervaidingly through your apartment. The comforter that encased you seemingly persuaded you to stay, stay in this familar society. Don't go. Please don't abandon this.
The tips of your fingers delicately grazed over your eyelids in sweeping motion. Everything felt so diffcult today huh? Creasing your eyes shut momentarily, you ripped the wrinkled blanket off of you with acknowledgment that at one point, you must arise. Your thighs now basked in the sun that arose above, tints of yellow that shot from the window panels, the morning sun reaching out to you.
The gelid atmosphere of the apartment sharply kissed your skin. The shout and the outcry of the city people projected through the glass of the residence.
The people of the city have awoken, so must you.
You strechted your joints, lazily expanding your limbs outwards.
"Mmm....."
You groaned, still not wanting to take on the day.
9:45am. It was 9:45am when you checked your phone on the nightstand.
You certainly still had time to prepare yourself for your secretive trip. This was going to be the last time you rose from this bed, hear the song of the city, and be apart of this lifestyle.
Are you going through an identity crisis of some edition? You've forsaken everything you once knew, for uncharted waters.
Before all this second guessing, you were heavily integrated into the city life. From the day you were born, up til the time now.
Currently you've been residing at a loft apartment. Though, the rent of occupying one of such degree was throughly deranged, you being an successful entrepreneur surely backed it up. Well, before certain circumstances. You reflected back into your years starting up as a buisness owner. Lots of busy days, all nighters, ass-kising, sigh, assumably it was all for nothing.
You stood upwards and ran your fingers through your hair.
A fatigued breath left your lips as you made way towards the suitcase that was fit to accompany you through this foreign expedition of yours.
Quickly throwing your shit together, it didn't matter if it was unstructured and a mess. You just had to get out of the stuffy, urban air. You felt like you suffocated here. Messily supplementing your suitcase with numerous items you deemed a necessity, your hands grasped at clothes, pants, hygienic products, the whole bunch.
After, you went sauntering to the bathroom.
Originally you weren't going to doll yourself up over something as trivial as transportation, but the thought of the people you were due to meet made you reconsider the subject.You preferred to make a good impression on these people you were seeing the first time, correspondingly what they would want towards you.
"...Fine, they win."
Muttered yourself in annoyed tone.
In the aftermath of your verdict, you stepped out the apartment with something more professional, classy. Jet black sleek slacks, paired with a collared blouse that hugged your waist, unbuttoned in a v-neck silhouette. Your feet were adorned with pumps that clacked when you walked, and your voluminous hair done.
Maybe you looked like a try-hard and overly dressed for the occasion. But out of looking under dressed or over dressed, you preferred the latter rather the first. One thing you learned from your career, is that its always best to come prepared.
You walked little distance from your building to the side of the street.
Once your eyes landed on that canary-yellow transportation car, you habitually shook your hand to garter its attention. Grasping the handle of its shiny door,
"To the airport please." You dryly stated, lips softly smiling. You slid over the crackled leather seating while carrying your luggage.
The driver, looking in the rear view mirror, nods in accordance.
The following drive towards the airport was quiet, as the only thing your eyes could stare at was the evanescent metropolis that swayed past you.
Privately, you reminisce.
Outside contained the memories you had made here. Your favorite restaurants, the stores you frequented, and the people. The people who you cared so much about. Your family. Friends. Even exes.
You have never even stepped foot out of this locale in the first place.
Maybe thats what persuaded you to snap and leave.
But really where do you belong? And better yet, what are you doing? You felt like you were disembodied. Like your body moved before your mind even knew what it wanted.
Predestined even.
But you didn't understand why, why you operated the way you did.
It was a matter of conjecture.
What the fuck was wrong with you?
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Subsequently boarding your flight, you took the train to the listed rural settlement of where the property was located.
Of course the town was in the middle of nowhere and was 3 hours afar. Hopping on board, the train itself seemed reminiscent of an older model. Not like the electric metro you spent afoot on so many times.
In the small section you took place in, your body was leaned towards the reflective window that supported you, forehead against the glass peeking out onto the fleeting nature that sweeped by. You saw the look on your face through the reflection that sat parallel, carried with such apprehensiveness.
There was so much to question.
Aboard wasn't an abundance of passengers, yet you still pondered if it was obvious of where your origin was, if you looked like you didn't belong, to a world you knew nothing about.
The heel of your foot resiled as your leg frequently shook anxiously for the upcoming future that was in time, await for you. The thoughts kept bouncing back and forth.
What was your deal? You were flourishing as a buisness, you had family and friends to accompany you, god you just had to slam it all down just on a whim! You didn't even tell anybody about your reticent trip to the middle of nowhere! Your teeth chipped at your nails from these frequetting thoughts that clogged your head. Your current "plan" was to pave out a new start for you in the country side.
Before you took any action to undoubtedly move out, you looked at listing for any buildings made available in this small town. Not much to be frank. However you landed on a run down farm that was put on the market by an old man ready to retire. Huh. That could work out if you used some love and care. And so what do you do?
You pack your bags and move to the country side.
"LAST STOP! ALL OFF BOARD!"
Your frequetting thoughts were cut short by deafining sound of the conductor. His words were with a sharp bluntness, and a thick southern accent that flooded your eardrums as he shouted for all passengers to move off board.
You swiftly grab your adjacent bags and the suitcase from the overboard storage, and make yourself as small as possible for the passengers alongside you to pass.
After you stepped off of the vehicle, you now stood above new territory that you hadn't ever experienced before as you bore into the surroundings of this discovered area, adrift.
The air that that carried throughout was light, refreshing even. It danced throughout your hair and renewed your lungs. The sizable oak trees shaded you from the swelling sun, seemingly more sweltering than back home, well your old home.
It was apparent that the resilient ecosystem was in its prime thrive. Back in the city, the air felt heavy and polluted in contrast.
Maybe the grass really is greener on the other side.
In a certain way, it felt like you were destined to be here. Like a calling.
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You arrived right at the heart of the town, carring your packed luggage.
Glacing above, there was bold, proclaiming wooden letters that stood arched above:
"WELCOME TO BARDFORD."
What came in front of you when your eyes observed the settlement, was on a smaller scale than what you were originally oriented to back in the city.
An undersized street of buildings appeared before you, containing bundles of people that when observed, socialized with a familiarity. Majority of the establishments held themselves with a rustic feeling to them. Small. Cozy. Not like the intimidating skyscrapers that towered over you and shrunk you in comparison.
Eventually, you took the first steps towards a new future.
Some looked and stared at you passing by, and being slightly flustered, you managed to not make eye contact and pretend to not pick up their gape towards you.
While strolling mindlessly distracted, you made sure to make observations of the new territory.
There were groups of people that stood together, chatting. Some vendors out in the street, promoting thier home-made goods, a couple of kids horseplaying. Everyone here seemed to be a close-knit community where everybody knew everyone else. In comparison to your past life, the social interactions that took place here were less, but what they lacked in size, was more intimate, more homley. Majority of the town were made up with elders, not much people around your age seemed to be living here, except.......except....
him.
This wasn't something you had planned on.
Ba-dum
There was him.
You'd forgotten how to think in the first place.
Maybe it was by pure fate.
Maybe this is what happens in fairy tales.
Enamored.
Completely enamored.
It held no poise for yourself.
It held no purpose.
But you couldn't help but give into human nature.
There was him.
He, who stood with a confidence,
He who had sunflower blonde wisps that framed his face.
It was untamed, slicked by beads of sweat stuck to his forehead.
But something so insignificant compared to him didn't matter to you.
His skin was caressed by the sun. A tint of bronze that gleamed when the sweat caught the refulgent light above.
Perhaps the most notable feature he held,
Was how that face carried these intense, yet sparkling eyes with indescribable hues of blue. They carried themselves with an ambition, one that you could only hope to achieve.
A pair of square glasses sat apon his nose, providing his radiant face just the right angles.
Others stood around just to talk to him.
If you were reasonable, you would've been more attentive to the rest.
But it was like he was the star that the others orbited.
He displayed a pearly smile you only saw commercially, towards that group of others that conversed with him.
Basked in his limitless brightness.
He was laughing,
what could he be laughing about?
The man was arrayed in boot cut chinos, with belt that adorned his hips,
as if tailored for his body and only his.
It was contrasted with a fitted western-style work shirt, teasingly unbuttoned ever so slightly to reveal the white t-shit slipped underneath....
It was also evident that he was definitely more country-like.
You were a city girl, adoring a country guy.
Something that struck you was how...how...his build was nothing short of impressive.
Transparently, he was one to participate in physical activity.
It wasn't a lean type of muscular, no, it was one that contained bulk. It was evident with the way his arms flexed effortlessly and those broad shoulders that framed his body.
It was remarkable.
....
Maybe what you enjoyed most of all was that defined curvature of his neck and...
and how he glimmered without trying.
..
Ba-dum....
Fuck......
...........
................
.......................
Fuck!
Just as your eyes were deciphering this man,
you did the unfortunate blunder of looking well into his eyes much more than necessary,
alerting him to do the same.
His eyes, after he momentarily viewed your face, shot you with a overwhelming livelihood; coupled with his, of course, piercing smile that was etched in your mind beforehand.
Nevertheless, this reaction was too embarrassing for you to react reasonably so. Instinctively, you quickly averted your gaze as soon as you could and looked away.
Your heart thrashed, palpatating so furiously. And for a few seconds your hand cletched your chest to the new profound sensation.
...
When was the last time you felt like this?
Slightly, you calmed down from your embarrassed demeanor.
After a couple of long, embarrassingly hard seconds. You deemed you were safe from his strong glance. Suddenly you pressed your hand against your forehead in a mortified manner.
You felt like your face turned a shocking pale.
You gotta be kidding yourself. Is this the type of impression you want to imprint on the first day of your arrival?! Ogling some random ass dude?? Giving him an up down??? Get your crap together! This was totally going to be something you'll dawn on at night.
But you couldn't help yourself.
You slowly put down your hand and looked ahead. Something had shot through you.
Pure, pure instinct.
Your eyes were magnatized to him, irises sliding over to see his.
And when you saw him,
breathing seemed to cease for you.
And when it did come out,
it was..
shaky.
It was uncoordinated, tremblingly unevenly shaky.
The type of shaky that violently shook your throat for all it had.
Secretly, you were hoping for this.
How filthy of you.
You could feel your cheeks glow as your lips pursed together.
Your throat succumbed to dryness and your legs felt unshakably heavy.
Unable to take any other position besides the one you stood in.
He never lost track of the sight of you.
His once unforgettable smile, for a split second, wavered once he had perceived that your eyes trailed over to meet his. Struck by your mutual link.
........
You were staggered by this dynamic.
What you'd assume, was that he'd politely retract his focus from you.
Yet...
Yet if anything, those softly colored cerulean eyes bore deeper, harder, into studying you. The outline of his eyes wrinkled together tightly with resolute. Eyebrows furrowed.
Like he was discretely mouthing,
"Try me."
Perhaps now you could fathom the concept of cupid and then endless fantasies of love about him.
Possibly, you were one of them.
You just knew, knew that he was the only one for you.
You saw his lips part, mouth softly agape and his adam's apple twitch. The mystery man was about to say something to you, and only you. Oh please let it be sweet nothings.
You waited for him to say something, anything, a singular vowel even.
However, that thought never came to fruition.
Precisely before....before he was about to vocalize something, god you could only have wished what,
a woman came out.
A caramel-haired woman who, seemingly was on par with somebody you'd seen on a cover of a magazine. Skinny. Feminine. Stunning. All of it.
Before you could ever meet this rustic man, she happily whisked him away, your eyes certainly didn't forget to notice the fact of how her hands tenderly wrapped around his bicep.
She must be his lover.
Ah.
Of course she was.
That's just too bad for you.
...
Get your shit together.
You're being childish.
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You spotted the older man that you had seen previously online from the listing photo.
There's no time for romance, you needed to get crap done.
It was wrong of you to be messing around with some random man,
and even worse to be fooling around with a taken one.
You had to put priorities first.
Your eyes scanned the scene.
He was located just in front of the local bar. The display of him was short, bit stout, with peppered colored hair and deep set wrinkles that folded ontop of eachother, marking his great age.
"Well ain't cha' the young missy that purchased my farm! The names Henry if ya wondering! Hehe!"
He got up from his chair, giving you a firm handshake. His voice is coarse, and like everybody else in the area, has a definable southern accent.
"Yes," you smiled slightly.
"I'm glad that you decided to take up on my offer. Bardford seems like a lovely place with a strong community from what I've seen so far."
"Ain't that right!" The elder gave you a toothy grin. "I just know you'll adore this little place! Shes gotta lot of charm to her, I always loved this town as a little boy. Ay, if ya have any trouble operating the ol' farm,"
Henry chucked, rasing his eyebrows in delight.
"Just you holler at Alfred! He's the local rancher and now your neighbor, I don't tell a lie when I say that boy's happy to help with anything!"
Henry confidently states, putting both hands on his hips.
You definitely didn't know "Alfred" from the short span you just arrived in. Pondering on what he would be like, your brand new out-of-the-package neighbor. Alfred. Hmm....you couldn't have affirmed you heard that same name back in the city. Sounds definitely country like. Well, in certain time you'll meet him.
You put your hand on your chin, a slight raise to your eyebrow.
"Sir, im slightly curious on why you would want to sell this to me if you have such a strong connection to it?"
"No need to be so proper! Just call me Henry!"
For a second, he thinks.
"Ah...If your wondering why an old geezer like me is selling my most prized possession, well..."
He shifts his melancholic stare downwards.
"Me and my wife, to cut it short, we're getting old. Now, at our old age, we can't handle the tasks of a farm, and y'know we want to retire. Nothin' personal."
He sighed, bits of sadness arose from his voice. "But that doesn't mean that the farm has to retire as well, right missy?" Henry looks at you with an amused expression.
"No, not at all."
You giggled in response of a polite attempt.
"I thought that this would be a good opportunity to have a change of scenery, I'm honored to take care of the farm for you!"
You ensured to add a thoughtful smile at the end of your words.
Your claim wasn't false, no. But it didn't exactly feel throughly true to yourself as well. It felt like you were putting up a front for him, but why?
What is this emptiness that clotted your heart?
"I've been fixin' to find somebody like you to buy the ol' gal! Speaking of which...you've been the talk of the whole town y'know? How's that? Your move has been quite a stir up in the small community!"
He exclaimed in a lighthearted tone, enlarging his already wide smile.
You felt a slight pang of anxiety from this. You were already a bit self-concious from you being all foreign.
"Er, I guess thats the reason why some of the townsfolk was staring at me earlier. I was wondering why." you gave a sheepish smile towards him.
The portly man laughed it off and responded,
"The people ain't gonna bite cha', don't you worry 'bout that miss. They just curious since we've hadn't had an outlander in a long, long while. Most of the people here had families who's had ties to this land for generations, so you, being...well you, it sets their heads a bit cattywampus!"
He exclaims, producing a hearty chuckle as he fondly pats your shoulder.
Your stomach twisted with how apprehensive you were towards this newfound information about the people of this town. The fact that they all have their eyes on you...
What if they had expectations that you couldn't satisfy?
"Every friday, the bars are pretty lively. But I understand that today you should get a bit more adjusted to this place and that you need to unpack. Why don't cha' stop by the bar tomorrow night and get to meetin' the rest of the bunch?"
The sound of that suggestion didn't sound half bad.
Maybe a drink or so could calm your nerves about this whole situation of meeting these people.
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With a couple of conversations and a hug, your small confer with Henry ceased.
He was off to travel somewhere populated.
A place that contained something more for him.
It was funny in a way.
The day he departed from this place was to go to somewhere with a city-esque, and for you, it certainly was quite the parallel. Despite this being your first meeting with him, you could deduct he was a warm man, quite friendly as well. You guess its just southern hospitality, somthing city culture simply does not contain. All you could do now, is hope they enjoy their blissful retirement.
The scene around you darkened. The choir of crickets and cicadas sung from the neighboring greenery, the crisp crunch of the underlying grass blades crackled against your heels, and the sky transformed into a haze of navy.
The other people of this town was seemingly tucked away and off to sleep.
It was just you now.
This experience was something you hadn't found in your previous years of life. The nightlife was something you had recognized containg bright, flashy lights of build boards and LED advertisements. Cars bustling in a compact road, with a multitude of people occupying the street. The nightlife never died in your old place. In this one, the nightlife was lulled to sleep by mother nature.
You inhaled in the dry air that surrounded.
Any normal person would think to themselves that its time to go home, that its too late for someone to be out here alone. But you weren't normal. Instead you thought of him.
It was just....just....
He plagued your mind in ways you couldn't imagine.
What was so striking about him? And why did you feel like shit whenever you thought of her?
What was he about to say to you?
You were just alone with you and these perilous thoughts.
You wanted to shut off your brain and shove the thoughts in a corner where you didn't have to reflect back on them for a long while.
You didn't want to captiulate into him.
You weren't trying to be a homewrecker on your first day here.
The reminders ached. But you must keep moving.
You forced your legs to keep going, to keep proceeding.
Everything's ephemeral, this will pass in due time,
right?
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Your breath was labored as you ran home, legs gliding through the wind as the heel of your pumps etched the pathway to your house as you ran.
Ugh, you were such an idiot.
It completely slipped your mind of how you should've worn something more convenient instead of footwear that abused your feet. Its too late now to be regretting choices.
Your forehead glimmered with beads of sweat, causing your hair to frizz up and strands to stick on your face.
This was horrible.
Firstly, you couldn't see anything besides long, vast fields which was pretty unnerving, and totally looked like somdthing you'd seen in a horror movie.
What was terrible as well, was how you probably looked like you'd ran a marathon with how much sweat your producing, well this might as well be a marathon. And the worst of it all is how your kinda lost,
like maybe really lost.
The once blue sky was fading to a pitch black, and everything was getting harder for you to see. Your senses was dulled due to this circumstance.
The howling of the wind whipped your ears as creatures of the night slowly emerged from nature, wheather it be wolves, insects, bug, it irked you. Your skin pricked up from the temperature, the hair on your arms standing up from the macabre setting you were trapped in. Especially due to your lack of companionship.
Then suddenly, without warning,
"Hey there."
The volume was faint, like you weren't meant to hear it.
However, still your blood still went cold at the noise. This was the unfortunate tipping point of how scared shitless you were of everything.
"AH OH MY GOD FUCK HOLY SHIT!!!!"
Your body jolted upwards faster than you could control it, and rapidly turning behind you,
was a man.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The mixture of both of your screams freaking out bellowed out in the open wilderness.
....It was almost like a blood-curdling synchronization between the two of you.
You manage to fastly spit out in fear:
"HOLY SHIT WHO ARE YOU???"
You shot out, hand over your agasp mouth in apparent fear and caution.
"Guh...!"
The stranger, who you couldn't properly see in this thick layer of darkness, then abruptly started to wave his open hands in rapid anxious motion, it was quite strange. You've never seen a situation exactly like this.
He laughed anxiously and started to fumble and stutter over his own words. He seems just as frightened, if not worse than you.
"Haha...! I-I swear! I swear im not trying to do anything funny...!
The man was very soft spoken.
If your senses weren't as heightened as it was due to the shock, there was good probability you would've not heard him.
He seemed genuine.
Forcing yourself to calm down and be rational, you finally decided to ask about his whereabouts.
You slicked the frizz of your hair downwards using the palms of your hands. You probably looked deeply disheveled.
"Im sorry about this really strange predicament, and uh, the fact that we both freaked eachother out like that. We really did get off the wrong foot."
You attempt to calmly convey, the total opposite of what came out your mouth ealier.
Laced with tones of caution, you inquire.
"....What are you doing out here?"
He huffed,
Then the stranger replied.
"...I was just about to ask you the same thing. I was um..about to visit my brother, you um probably know him, Alfred. And then I saw you running near where his house would be...
I've visited this town before, and I don't think I recognize you, are you new...or lost? Oh! Sorry, I forgot, my names Matthew. I er...I would usually say its nice to meet you but... this is kinda awkward."
Alfred....where did you hear that name again? You swear you heard it from somewhere.
Oh, thats it!
Henry was telling you about how he's your neighbor now, that he was very helpful or something along those lines.
You lightly scratch your head.
"Yeah, maybe a bit of both to be frank. I just arrived here today.. is it really that obvious?"
You bashfully ask him, slightly frowning from the idea that you look alienated from this place.
"Nah, I think its just because I haven't seen you around."
He gives you a slight, gentle smile.
It looks so disturbingly familiar,
where have you seen something like that?
"Well, back to what I was trying to talk to you about in the first place.... I saw you running over here, and I was wondering if you needed a ride?... Its quite dark out."
You let out an heavy exhale as he said that. In your good graces you didn't have to run any further on sore feet to get home.
"I'd LOVE that....sorry, I meant I'd certainly appreciate it. And again sorry for the scare."
You let out a slight laugh while showing a small grin. It was comical how you met this dude, Matthew.
He provides you a light chuckle in exchange, a quiet smiling.
"I think he's pretty close to my house. Someone told me he was my neighbor, so probably he's nearby or on the way to my place. I can give you the address."
His eyes focused on you for a split second.
"Ah, is that so? Just...be careful. He's talkative."
You give an amused smile at his response, it was quite random for him to say something like that, it can't have been that bad.
"Uh, okay? If you insist."
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You click his car door open, and what had presented itself when you had opened the interior was..
..was a McDonald's bag on the passengers seat? From the top of the paper bag, you could see mutiple Grand Macs poking out from the top, an unsettling amount certainly, paired with an extra large coke, twenty piece chicken nuggets, and two large fries.....who is the food galore even for?
"Ah! So sorry about that! Just place it on the floor! My brother wanted me to pick up some McDonald's on the way...annoying fatass...."
"Huh what was that?"
"Nothing! Heh nothing!"
He quickly claimed, rubbing the back of his head anxiously
You didn't believe him, but there was no point in interrogating him.
In the brighter lighting of Matthew's car you could see his features more clearly than out in the enveloping darkness.
.....
....!
Wait....
Is...
Is that...?!?
Oh.
Phew.
Nevermind.
It was nothing.
....
His hair was actually quite voluminous and looked well kept.
A face that held a soft expression and was graced with light violet eyes.
Face abridged with circular half-frame glasses.
He wore something more casual than what you had seen compared to the other townsfolk.
Wearing jeans, and hoodie with the Canadian flag embroidered in the front. The sleeves of the hoodie was colored a bright red, while the torso of it white.
He was dressed down.
Presumably since he's driving over to his brother's house in what seems like in the midpoint of night.
But his face....it's like deja vu. You sworn you saw something kind of- no, exactly like it ealier. You study his face futher, surely you had saw it before.
A silence had hung over the inside of the car. Nothing was being conversed as he drove and you sat.
Truthfully, this was a bit awkward, however you hadn't had noticed due to your incaptivation with figuring out where you had seen that face.
"Um....is something wrong?"
He seemed a bit uncomfortable with your glaring inspection of him. Suddenly you realized the state of your stillness and you urged yourself to snap out of it and speak.
"Have I not seen you before? I swear to god I've seen somebody just like you!"
He expressed a long sough, ostensibly tired of this nonsense.
"Hmmmmpf.....this again...."
"What, did I say something wrong?"
You cocked you head to the side in confusion to his reply.
"No, no. Its just something I get a lot. You probably saw my brother around these parts. He's a total popular douche that I get mistaken for.."
He bemoaned, putting a hand on his forehead, eyebrows furrowed as he drove.
It was clear that Matthew was somewhat agitated at the mention of him, their relationship didn't seem all that fond.
You felt a little bad for him, truly.
"Geez, it must be tiring going through something like that all the time right?"
"Yes! Exactly! Finally somebody understands! Ugh, growing up with somebody like him was so irritating!"
His once soft voice, transformed into more of an bothered tone.
The first depiction you had of him had been obliterated by this suddenly. At first, you believed him to be timid; a bit shy maybe.
But this completely rewritten that concept to you.
You blinked a couple of times, wondering where this bust of energy had emerged from.
He sighed.
"....Sorry....I got kinda worked up huh?"
He returned to his previous ambiance in the car.
"Don't apologize. It must've been a lot to deal with.
But it did definitely surprise me when you lost your calm demeanor."
He gave a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair collectedly. His expression more sound.
"Yeah....I try not to get so mad at my brother sometimes...its kinda hard not to tho."
He stopped to turn towards you.
"Where did you say your house was again?"
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The wheels of the car crunched against the gravel that layed infront of your property.
You faced Matthew, and surprising even yourself, reached over and hugged him.
He looked a little startled and taken aback, yet he still reciprocated fondly, awkwardly patting you on the back.
Well, it was a normal reaction considering your shallow history with him.
You were just glad you got to know at least you knew somebody our here in this new world of yours.
"Have a safe drive Matthew. Thank you for the trip."
Your voice held a sincerity. You didn't know where you'd be without him.
...Probably sweating your ass off.
"Heh, its no problem!"
He quietly smiled as his eyes trailed over to you exiting the car and walking towards your home.
You should be grateful he even stopped by to drive you.
Yet you left with a bitter taste in your mouth.
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As soon as you jabbed your keys into the keyhole, immediately you sealed the door behind you, messily.
Oh god....
Your back slid downwards against the door, and you fell onto the fridgid, wooden flooring that sat beneath you.
There was windows adjacent to the door frame.
Your eyes snuck outside.
There it was.
His car, slowly,
but surely
left to go to the property just outside of yours.
You let your head drop in your hands.
You audibly gulped in an anxious manner.
....
Was....was Matthew his brother?
If so then....
Is he your neighbor?
You couldn't shake the feeling during that conversation with him.
Their eyes....
Features.....
..
You wiped your face with your palms.
No- no it couldn't have been.
Your just being crazy.
Thinking too hard.
Your just....just just too exhausted from this day and just got confused!
Yeah.
Yeah thats it.
It had it be.
Because if it were true,
It sure would be a serious problem.