Chasing Forever

19. New Neighbor

     The next day I got dressed in a royal blue button up top, and black pants. I even added a pair of heels and did my hair. Wearing my favorite color top put a bit of an extra pep in my step. I felt the best I had felt in such a long time that I forgot I was able to feel so happy. 

     I walked the short walk to the library, and everyone made sure to tell me how much I was glowing and how much they loved my hair. My confidence kept going up. 

     Around three it hit me that I had made a horrible choice in footwear. What girl decides to wear high heels to a job where they're walking around carrying books and pushing carts full of books all day? I started to feel really irritable, and by the time I left for the day I dreaded every step to my apartment. 

     I considered calling my dad's driver that he had told me to use, but it was such a short walk I didn't want to stoop to that point. Fresh air was good for me, and I made the choice to try to look cute today myself. 

     The walk up to my apartment door from the elevator was almost too much for me, but I resisted the urge to take the shoes off and walk barefoot. All of a sudden, a movement down the hallway caught my eye. 

     A man was coming out of the apartment next to mine. I hadn't even realized anyone lived there. 

     I reached my door, and he gave me a friendly smile when he saw me stop there. 

     "Hey there! Do you live on this floor? I haven't seen you around before." I gave him a friendly wave, and nodded. 

     "I haven't been around too long yet, but I'm still surprised I haven't run into you before now. I'm the door right next to yours, after all. My name is Ever." 

     "I just moved in last week. My name is Tanner. I finished college last year and spent a year working out there, but it turns out when you go to school 3,000 miles away from home, your family starts to miss you. So, now I'm back so that my little brother can be away at school without our dad loosing his mind." 

     "That's very kind of you. Did you miss home, or was this all for the sake of your dad's sanity?" He laughed, and I liked the sound of it. 

     "Okay, you caught me. The tough guy act wasn't working." He shrugged, and grinned even wider. "I guess I missed it a bit. I grew up about an hour outside the city. That's why you haven't seen me around yet. I was visiting old friends out there. I stopped in to see my dad yesterday and he was in rough shape. It made me think maybe I should have told him I was coming home, and maybe he wouldn't have been so out of it." He blushed a bit, and I smiled. "I'm sorry for rambling and getting into my personal life." 

     "No, don't be. It's totally fine. I'm glad you could vent a little bit."

     "So, what's something personal about you to even the playing field a bit? Are you married?" 

     Something about my new neighbor seemed so familiar to me. I felt comfortable enough that I wanted to vent to him, too. I wasn't naive enough to tell my entire life's story to a stranger, though. 

     "No, I'm single. I know you assumed because of the belly..." I trailed off, unsure of how to finish. 

     "I'm sorry for asking. You just look so well put together, I assumed the baby came after a marriage. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a single parent, though. My dad has been doing it alone since I was six. If he can do it, you most definitely can." 

     "What made you want to go so far away for school? You seem like you have a pretty close-knit family...people who come from families like that usually stay close to them." 

     "Honestly? I wanted to be able to party without my dad anywhere near me. It's definitely not something that I'm proud of now but him and his best friend had to come pick my drunk self up all the time in high school. It literally started Freshman year. So, I wanted to be able to let loose without anyone watching. I was super immature...I just started to pull myself together recently." 
     "It's not like I'm going to judge your life choices, neighbor." I motioned towards my stomach. "I'm seventeen and pregnant. I'm lucky and my dad was pretty great about it, kind of likes yours and your partying, I guess." 
     He nodded, and his eyebrows knit together. I turned my head slightly, wondering what he was thinking. 

      "I would never have guessed you were seventeen. So your family lives here?" 

     "Well, I wasn't planning on spouting my life story to you...but why the heck not, right? It's easier than answering a bunch of separate questions, and we are neighbors. My mom died right after I turned sixteen, it was my last birthday with her. After that I came to live with my dad about an hour from here. We were never close when I lived with my mom, but it turns out that we get along pretty damn well. Like most girls, I met a cute guy and fell head over heels. We dated for over a year and it was amazing and then at the winter formal in December he told me he loved me which we had both avoided saying until then. He broke up with me later that night, and moved away a couple weeks later to go to college early. Not too long after that, I found out I was pregnant. I live here alone for now, but my kids with obviously live here when they're born. That's all there is to know about my life lately." 

     "He's an idiot for leaving you." 

     I don't know what I was expecting after spewing all of that information at this total stranger, but it wasn't that. 

     "You don't have to say that. You don't even know him. I knew what I was getting myself into when it started. He had a plan for his life before I walked into it and I don't blame him for that. When you love someone, you want what's best for them." 

     "You are just...too sweet. You might be right and I don't know the situation, though. Where did you move to when you first came to live with your dad before coming to this city?" 

     "Angel Grove." I didn't expect for him to even know where the sleepy little town was, but his face twisted into a weird smile when he heard it. 

     "That's too crazy, that's where I'm from! That's a pretty small town, maybe I know him?"

     He just patiently stared at me, waiting for me to say something. I liked having this easy, open conversation and sometimes talking to strangers was the easiest thing to do. Right now the last thing I wanted was another person who knew Chase. Guilt had been eating me up since I ran into Bobby, and I couldn't handle more people knowing before Chase did. 

     "I...I'd rather not go into specifics about who it was right now..." He nodded, giving me a friendly smile. 

     "It's no big deal. I was just curious. I wasn't trying to push you." 

     I knew you weren't supposed to invite strangers into your home, but he seemed so nice. I didn't feel like being alone until my dad came over to watch movies, so I took a leap of faith. 

     "If you want, you could come over for dinner? I'm really enjoying talking to you." 

     "Yeah, I would love to. Lead the way." 

     I nodded, and unlocked my door. Even though he was an attractive guy, I realized that I only felt a deep sense of friendship for him and nothing more. With a twinge, I wondered if I would ever be attracted to anyone that wasn't Chase. With that depressing thought, I pushed open the door and he followed me in.