A Hacker's Hope

Chapter 4.0

The next morning I woke up in the chair behind my desk. My neck ached and my body was stiff. I sighed as I shut off my computer and went into the bathroom to go take a shower. The warm water slipped down my aching body and then into the rusty drain beneath me. My head hurt like hell and my vision was blurry. I sat there for a while thinking about my encounter last night with the odd Elliot Alderson who was now my new neighbor. I couldn't stop thinking about him and I don't know why. I got out of the shower and lit up one of the many blunts I had stashed away and walked around my apartment in a towel. I eventually got dressed once I finished smoking. I felt the chemicals swarm through my body. My head was in a haze and I felt numb. This was how I liked to feel. Numb. Why feel everything when you could feel nothing at all? I loved the smoke that circled my head and how I felt like I was floating.

I eventually had to get out and go shopping. I had no food and I knew I would get the munchies eventually. I let my body absorb the chemicals and I eventually came down from my high after a good 45 minutes. I ignored the cravings I was having because the only thing I had in my apartment was liquor and I honestly didn't want to turn to alcohol to reduce my cravings. I threw on a pair of jeans, a dark maroon sweater and my shitty pair of Converse and then threw my purse of my shoulder. I walked out of my apartment, locking my door as I exited. I went to turn around but ended up running into someone. I apologized as I bent down to grab my keys that I had dropped and then stood up straight and looked up only to find Elliot staring down at me with those big blue eyes of his. He looked a lot better than yesterday, his bags weren't as dark and his skin had a little more color than it held yesterday. He was still wearing that black hoodie though and his hands sat where they always sat, comfortably in the pockets of that hoodie.

"Oh hey..how are you feeling?" I asked as I tucked my keys into my purse, looking up at Elliot.

"I'm alright." He mumbled as he pushed the hood off of his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"You look better." I said as I gave him a small smile. He gave me the slightest smile and walked past me. He struggled with his keys and the lock as his hands shook. He eventually shoved them in the door and unlocked his apartment. I began to walk away when he spoke up behind me.

"Would you..like to come in?" He asked as he looked at me and then down at the floor.

"Sure" I said with a little hesitation as I sat and contemplated for a moment but then turned around and entered his apartment. He shut the door quietly and walked over to his couch and sat down. I set my purse on his counter and looked at the corner of his little room. Bingo. I saw a massive computer set up containing two monitors and a very large tower. I stared at it until he caught my attention and attempted to start a conversation with me.

"Why did you move into this shit hole?" He asked in a low, soothing tone as he kicked his feet up on the coffee table in front of him.

"Couldn't afford my other apartment." I simply stated. I stood there awkwardly as he looked up at me from his couch. I ran my fingers up and down my arm as I looked around his apartment. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and started typing away on it. I stood there watching him when I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. I stared down at my phone and it was a notification that someone has tried to hack into my phones system but had failed. Obviously it failed. I created my own system in my phones network that was top notch, even some of the best hackers I knew couldn't get into my system. I looked up at Elliot and it only took me a second to figure out who had tried to get into my phone. I looked up at him with wide eyes and set my phone down on the counter. He looked frustrated but hid his emotion with a blank stare as he casually slipped his phone back into his pocket as if he was just checking something .

"I already have you figured out my friend." I stated as I leaned against his counter. "You know I thought you were smart enough to try and do that after I left..but I guess not." I chuckled bitterly. I could be kind of a bitch when it came to people who tried to outsmart me. Most men think that just because I'm a girl it means that my system is weak. But it is anything but weak. He looked up at me, wide eyes and all. He looked nervous and I could tell he was uncomfortable and I felt that sense of power I loved. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but choked up and sat there looking like a lost puppy. He was sort of cute in a way. No he was very cute actually. The way he sat there, his big blue eyes looking up at me with a sense of desperation and his olive toned skin glowing under the dim light of his apartment. The way his lips had a slight curve when he started to contemplate something deeply and how his hands were always shoved deep into his hoodie pockets as is if that was the only way he felt safe. He was a puzzle. The hardest puzzle I have ever wanted to solve. But I was determined to solve him.