TW: This book has a lot of descriptions of abuse and because of how often it is, there are no trigger warnings at the beginning of chapters. Take this as a warning for the whole book.
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Samuel never thought that moving out of his childhood home wo...
This chapter is dedicated to LourdesSituicoCacha. Thank you for reading my shitty books and leaving such sweet comments ♡
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ii. Moving in
A few hours of driving later, I finally got to park my car in my designated parking spot -which I had to pay for- and stretch my legs. I sighed contently as I looked at the apartment building in front of me; this was my new home, a home that I pay for with my hard work. It was satisfying to know that it was me who managed to get this far without much help from my parents.
I opened the boot of my car and pulled out one of the boxes in it, the one that contained my clothes. Right as I got to the door of the building, a woman walked out, a man following right behind her.
The two stopped, looked at me and then to my car before the woman spoke, "Would you like some help?" The man next to her frowned and his green eyes met the ground, shoving his hands into his pockets quietly.
"I wouldn't want to bother you guys. If you have something going on, then-" The woman interrupted me before I could finish.
"Oh nonsense! We don't have anything important going on so we can definitely stay and help. Right, babe?" The woman looked at the man next to her with a smile and his shoulders stiffened for a moment before he reluctantly nodded. He didn't seem to want to help which brought me to the conclusion that they did have something to do that was at the very least, important to him. I felt bad.
"You seriously don't have to help. I can deal with this myself, it's not that big of a deal." I said but the woman wasn't listening. She just waved me off and opened her mouth to speak:
"We would love to help!" she said before pointing to the man, "This is my boyfriend Benjamin and I'm Taylor. We live on the second floor." Taylor gave me a sweet smile.
"Alright. I'm Samuel, I'm moving to the first floor right now as you can tell. It's nice to meet you both." I shook the woman's hand and offered my hand to Benjamin. He stared at the hand and reluctantly slid his own into mine. His handshake was weak and he seemed to be close to running away from me. I figured that he just really didn't like people.
"So since you want to help, would you mind grabbing those boxes from my car? We'll carry them inside and then you can go on your way," I said while pointing to my car. Taylor grinned happily and rushed to take a box while Benjamin's eyes followed her momentarily before meeting mine. His eyes held sorrow.
"I'm so sorry if I bothered you guys. This won't take long so I'm sure if you had something to do, you'll get to it on time." I tried to reassure him with a smile.
Then, for the first time so far, Benjamin spoke while eyeing Taylor carefully: "I wouldn't mind helping, honestly. I'm just upset over nothing. It's not like we had anything interesting," he laughed and I wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself of this or trying to make me feel worse about this than I already did.
After his brief words, Benjamin rushed after Taylor and grabbed a box with careful hands, as if afraid he'd break it. I opened the door and linked it to the metal door stopper before carrying my own box down the hall to apartment #5.
Opening the door and walking inside, I quickly set the box into my bedroom and walked back out to get another box. As I walked out, Taylor and Benjamin walked past me into my apartment to set the boxes down. Taylor smiled at me and I smiled back but I noticed that Benjamin refused to meet my gaze.
I ignored it and continued my trip down to my car and grabbed another box. There was only one more box and my guitar left. 'I need to start playing again.' I thought to myself as I walked back inside.
It had been a while since I last actually played guitar and yet I still carried it around in hopes that my love for the instrument would reignite. Once upon a time, I'd loved playing but after my recent breakup with my ex girlfriend Kaylee, I just didn't feel up to it.
Just as I stepped into my apartment through the doorway, Taylor and Benjamin walked out of my kitchen, Taylor with a grin on her lips and Benjamin with an uncertain smile dancing on his. I smiled at the couple; they seemed like they were great together.
The two rushed out of the apartment and came back with the last box and my guitar that were left in the back of my car. "We closed the boot of your car so you should go lock it now. We'll set these in the living room and meet you outside," Taylor said. Benjamin didn't utter a word as he seemed to struggle a bit with the box in his arms. I nodded and ran out to lock my car.
It didn't take long for the couple to walk out hand in hand. I grinned at the two and spoke, "Thank you so much, guys. I'll make it up to you guys at some point."
I expect Taylor to speak but instead it was Benjamin. "Yeah it's no big deal, man. We're happy to help." I gave him a bright smile. "But we kind of have to go right now so, uhm. Bye, see you later?"
I nodded, my smile never faltering. Taylor hugged me briefly as a goodbye before grabbing her boyfriend's hand once again and dragging him away.
I turned back to the door and made my way back inside. I walked into my apartment and closed the door. Finally, my smile was wiped from my face and was replaced with a neutral expression. I couldn't feel anything.
Stripping off my jacket and kicking off my shoes, I hung the jacket on a hanger and walked into my living room. I sat on the couch and stared at the guitar that rested on the coffee table.
