Boy In The Rain

Chapter 4: Lake

Ash POV:

Watching the birds fly around the trees gracefully, I feel a sudden gaze on me. I felt someone was watching me which put me on edge. I looked behind me to check if it was a family member, but nobody was there. Just my empty reasonably clean room. I clean my room as a hobby, because I don't go outside that is. Right as I went to turn to look back outside, I saw something move out the corner of my eye... Turning around I notice that the people next door had shut one of their curtains. The person probably changing or something like that. I've never seen our neighbors, but I guess they've never seen me before. I've heard someone from that home talking to my parents before and all I know is that it's a single dad with two sons. From the guy's perspective 'we' just have a daughter.

The rain seemed to have stopped now and my room began to become incredibly warm. I wanted to open my window, but it's locked from the outside. I go to turn on my ceiling fan, but it didn't turn on. I noticed I would have to sneak outside through one of the main doors. I opened my closet and peered around for something that could hide me easily. I decided on a black hoodie and although I can be seen easily in the light, but the sun is setting in a few minutes so I can blend in then. I pulled in on and made sure to pull up my hood. 

I opened my door as silently as possible and looked around. My sister's light was on in her room, door closed, and I could hear her ear-melting pop music through the door. I looked down the stairs and saw my parents weren't in the living room anymore, so I slipped a bit more and saw them in the backyard looking at something. I made a quick but silent run to the front door and got out. Looking up at the sky, now turning a pastel orange and pink colour. I always enjoyed sunsets but currently I had other things to worry about. 

I snuck around the side of my house not wanting to draw attention or look like a creep. So, I pulled my hood over my head as far as it could go and moved across the right side of my home. I was practically touching the house next door, due to the small gap between each house (with fences still of course) I didn't want the guy next door to see me, nor did I want my parents to hear me walking around. So, I sort of crouched and ran until I was behind both houses. 

Riley POV:

I closed my curtains the moment he turned back around. God- My Neighbour is really that guy I just met in an alleyway?! And why have I never seen him before? My father told me that he went to chat with them and said they were incredibly nice people with a beautiful daughter. I'm guessing the girl I saw walking that way was probably his sister. But why had his parents never mentioned him?

'Das ist traurig' (That is sad) I muttered to myself. Sometimes my thoughts are German as I am half of one. My father's side was incredibly German but most of them were nice to me. See, his family absolutely hated my mother. She was pure English but treated my father like shit. She was nice to me and my brother but they both complained until a year ago when she offed herself out of hatred for my father. "I would rather die than have to live with your stupid Deutsch activities!" She would yell every night, until she died. The night she died she added to her phrase with "I would rather die than have to live with a 'Deutsch Hund' like you! Be happy you won't have to deal with me anymore!" If you didn't know Deutsch Hund means German dog.

I returned my gaze to Ash, who had now vanished from his room. His curtain still open, so I could peak in. Even though my curtains are closed, they're one sided so I can see out, but nobody can see in. I then noticed his parents chatting outside and looked like they were discussing changing it or something like that. I saw movement near the front and had to push myself right to my window so that I could see him as he was right in between each house. It looked like he had snuck out as he had a hoodie on and was practically touching the grass. Even with his hoodie I could tell it was him due to little blonde strands creeping out of the front. 

I then saw that I was now right up against the window, like my face was rubbing against it just to see where he was going. I recognized the direction he went after he got past the houses. He was probably going to the lake. I had to get a closer look, I slipped on some shoes and grabbed a jumper. The jumper was padded with wool on the inside for cold weather. As it was currently 5°C (41°F) outside. I pulled the hood up and walked downstairs. My dad laid asleep on the couch, so I just walked out the backdoor and through the gate in my backyard. I walked the way he had gone, but quietly so I wouldn't disturb him.

Ash POV: 

I moved quickly through the mini forest behind the homes of my street. Each tree got progressively smaller and smaller until eventually ending. There was mostly a path through here now that I fixed up ever since the person who walked here before me had stopped coming. I walked and walked; I heard a few leaves crunch somewhere behind me, so I stopped. I hoped I wasn't being followed as that would lead to many problems. I turned around to see nobody, I'm either hearing things or whatever it was hid before I turned.

 I continued strolling through the emptiness and looked up at the sky. It had become mostly purple now and it definitely looked beautiful. I could feel a few shivers go around me, but I didn't know if it was the temperature or the fact that someone might be following me. I stopped and noticed I had made it to my destination. A lake. The lake was beautiful, it went for as long as I could see, and the sun set made it look perfect. When I saw the lake, I heard a small gasp behind me. I quickly turned around this time to see someone standing there looking at the sky. It was that boy from earlier today. 

"Hello?" I said to him, with an almost 'go away' voice. He shook and noticed that I saw him. "Hi- Sorry I had to see what you were doing." He said with an apologetic tone. "Why did you follow me?" I said just wanting him to explain himself. He had followed me for 5 minutes all the way probably from my home and then doesn't elaborate about it? "I- Um." He said with so much stutter that I started questioning my own stuttering. He had lifted his hand to block his face, most likely out of embarrassment. "Sorry, Hi. It's me Riley" he said, it didn't really answer my question, but it was a fair go. "You see... I saw you sneaking out of your house and headed out this way, I had to make sure you weren't going to do anything stupid." He said putting strength in his voice to almost sound strong. 

His voice lingered in my head, 'Something stupid?' I thought, what stupid thing could I do at the lake? It's literally just water and a pretty sky. "What the hell would I be doing at a lake to be called stupid?" I blurted at him; his eyes seemed to avert to the dirt ground below us. I followed his eyes to see where he was looking. Nothing particular just dirt. He looked back up to me, I lifted my head - which shifted my hoodie slightly off my head, revealing more of my face. By now you could definitely see the bandages, I just hope he didn't notice. 

"It's just..." He tried to say, stopping himself immediately. He was looking in disgust at the floor now and I wondered what he was thinking. "Yes?" I said, with the most serious but curious voice I could possibly make. He looked like he just caught hay fever or something because he turned red in the cheeks. "Sorry, ignore the rest of what I was going to say." He said looking me dead in the eyes with a sad but somehow thankful smile on his face. I'll never know how his smiles turn on a light inside me!! 

(1500 Words!)