My Bully, My Neighbour

Chapter 8 (Edited)

We watched all three movies back to back, which meant that I left Leo's house only around eight in the night. "What are you doing for dinner? Because I'll be meeting my college friends for dinner. You can join us, I'm sure they won't mind." Leo said before I left."I don't know. I'll probably make myself something. You have fun, okay? Goodnight Leo." I said. "Goodnight, princess." Leo said and pulled me into an unexpected hug. I loved the feeling of his arms around me- strong and reliable. But I pulled away knowing that I couldn't stay.

I went home and looked around in awe. Trevor had indeed done an amazing job. The hall was completely set up. The short shelves were put under the TV, the sofa set was in place and so was the coffee table. The kitchen was on point. I went to my room and saw that everything was in place, just the way I wanted it. I could begin to unpack now. I opened my suitcase on my bed and began to arrange my clothes in my closet. At ten o'clock, I had finished unpacking my suitcase and had begun to change sheets on my bed. The curtains were dismal, but I decided against it, seeing that I was alone.

I realised that I needed to hire a housekeeper if I was to settle down by the coming week. I couldn't keep relying on Leo to leave everything and help me set the house up. I sat on my bed and went through the list of important contacts papa had sent me. I was positive that there was the number of a housekeeper. Her name was Johanna. I texted her, requesting a meeting tomorrow and set my phone to the side.

I had lied when I told Leo that I would cook myself something. I only had cereal in the shelves of the kitchen. I debated going to bed hungry, but that seemed stupid. I remembered that Java's had a dinner menu too. I pulled on my coat and grabbed my phone, keys and wallet. I walked down to Java and ordered their fried chicken dinner for take away. I paid and went home with my packet of food. As I waited for the elevator, I held the bag up to my nose and took a deep breath of deliciousness. I was so busy treating my nose to the amazing aroma, that I didn't notice the elevator doors open and Leo step out. "Make yourself something huh?" Leo asked and I jumped. "Hi!" I said with a bright smile. I tried to hide the bag behind me, but it was useless. He had obviously already seen it.

"You lied." Leo said seriously. "Well, I did get food for myself." I said in my defence. He took the bag from me inhaled sharply. "You went to Java's, got a packet of fried chicken and didn't tell me?" Leo looked at me as if I had committed a crime. "They're that good?" I asked and Leo gave me a look. "Duh." He sounded very American when he said that. "I'm ditching the guys. I want fried chicken, not sushi." Leo said and I followed him into the elevator. He messaged someone that he wasn't coming and resorted to discreetly sniffing the bag.My phone beeped once, indicating that I had a message. I brought my phone and saw a reply from Johanna, who had agreed to meet me at eleven tomorrow. "Oh awesome." I remarked as I quickly texted her a thank you message.

"Who's that?" Leo asked. "Papa had given me a list of contacts so that my shifting could be made easy. I just spoke to a housekeeper and she agreed to meet me tomorrow." I told him and he smiled. "That's good." Leo said. "Yeah, at least you don't have to keep everything at bay just to help me." I said. "What do you mean? I would do it everyday. I love helping you." Leo said dismissively. He didn't realise that his words had made it a little hard for me to breathe. Did he just say that he would drop everything to help me?

I opened the door to my house and let Leo. "Woah! That Trevor dude has done an amazing job!" Leo remarked as he sat on the sofa. I smiled at him as I brought out two plates from the cabinets and divided the food amongst the two of us. I handed him a plate and joined him on the sofa. "This is very comfy." I said as I nestled myself in one corner of the sofa. "So wanna watch something?" Leo asked. "I don't have any connection." I reminded him. "Oh yeah. So let's just talk." Leo said.

It was surprising, how comfortable I felt with Leo. I had met him just yesterday and I already felt like I had known him forever. Our conversation never had any awkward silences, we always had something to talk about. It was interesting to raise risky topics with Leo because he had an opinion on everything. I loved observing him when he spoke about soccer or physics, because he was so passionate about it. His eyes would become wide and he would wave his arms all over the place. IF I could, I would watch him forever. I realised that I had been staring, so I looked down and concentrated on my food which I hadn't touched.

In the middle of our conversation Leo's phone rang. The caller id showed 'Rudy'. "Just a second." Leo excused himself and went to the kitchen to answer the call. "Hey love!" I heard him greet the person who had called him. I ate in silence, hearing the muffled sounds of him talking.

After a few minutes he came back, his face lit up with happiness. "You look like Christmas came early." I teased as he sat down. "Not Christmas, but someone is coming home early and you have to meet her." Leo said excitedly. "Her?" I asked, confused. "Just know that there is this amazing person you need to meet and she'll be here soon. No more information, princess." Leo said. "Okay." I replied. I didn't bring up the topic till it was time for him to leave.

"Are you sure you don't even want to give me a heads up about who I'm supposed meet?" I asked, leaning against the door. "Nope. I said no more information." Leo said. He patted my hair and wished me goodnight. I said goodnight and locked the door after him. I changed into my pyjamas and brought my laptop out. I had a message from my cousin, Kaityln. She had tried to call me, but I wasn't there to pick up. She sent me a message that simply read- "BIG NEWS! CALL ME AS SOON AS YOU CAN!"

I checked the time. It was half past eleven which meant it was barely seven in the morning back home. I decided that I would call her tomorrow morning, as soon as I woke up. Apparently tomorrow was going to be a day of surprises.