change • alex kralie x reader

[1]

⇾ONE
beginnings

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Your first day on earth, as you liked to joke, met it's beginning with the gentle squish of gravel beneath your worn tires. Giddy goosebumps glided up your arms as you set the machine into park, pushing open your door. A growing smile lit your tired eyes as the lovely combination of light rain and lavender invaded your lungs.

This feeling, this is home.

You fought the urge to race up the steps and fawn over the houses every detail as you gathered a few suitcases from the trunk. This was the moment you'd yearned for since your mother's incident; approximately the pinpoint of realization that your aunt's house was no home to you at all.

Through your eyes, every flaw made the homey little duplex before you a little more perfect. With it's coaxing wooden steps, dainty Christmas lights that stayed up year round to double as a lamp for a half-wraparound porch, eggshell white trim hugging the faded yellow paint, and cozy vines snaking up it's four sides; how could you not obsess about moving in. From the moment you'd found out half of the divided house was open you'd been pinching pennys, making ends meet with three jobs and sleep deprivation.

Six months of exhaustion met it's rewarding end with you unlocking the front door with your own keys for the very first time. The inside still smelled like the lemon scented cleaner you remembered from the open house, black and white crossed tile of the adorably sized kitchen floor sparkled with newness. Utterly lovely.

You abandoned your bags at the bleak bedroom doorway, letting yourself fall victim to the warming calls of the bare matress. Its soothing foam carried you off your aching toes, you wanted nothing more than to sink into a peaceful dreamland after the screaming match that was your declaration of independence. In other words, confessing to your wet blanket of an aunt that you'd me moving out; you'd waited til the last minute, putting the encounter only a few hours prior.

Though even that couldn't shake your spirit, and as tempting as dreamland seemed, you had some unpacking to do.

With an exhausted huff, you forced yourself from the bed and hoisted a suitcase onto it's surface. Might as well start with your clothes. You pushed open the louvered closet doors, guiding the escape of more than a few flies. You took a step back to avoid contact with the tiny creatures, narrowing your eyes at a small metal military style box sitting promptly in the middle of the closet's floor.

It reeked of death.

"What the hell.." you muttered softly. It hadn't there when you'd came to scope out the place before forking over your down payment last week. You tapped it with your foot before kneeling down and cautiously sliding the box towards you. A pad lock sealed the hatch, but as soon as the icy metal met your skin it clattered to the dark wood flooring. Someone had already cut it.

You slowly opened the box, a stronger wave of the retched stench shooting at you as you gasped in horror.

It was a rather sizable dead rat. Mangled and decaying, maggots swarming it's stiffened body.

"Jesus Christ.." you remarked in shock. Someone had really done a number on this poor creature, it was littered with open wounds and it's eyes were missing entirely. You held in a shaky breath, almost sympathizing with the animal. No living creature deserves this sort of cruel fate.

You started to shut the box, pausing when you noticed something taped to the underside of its lid. A Polaroid photograph suspended with thick black electrical tape. You hesitantly picked it off for a better look.

It showcased a young man and woman, standing together proudly in some sort of pavilion with their hands laced. The blonde woman had thick jagged sharpie over her face; a circle with an x over it. You recognized her still, she'd introduced herself as your neighbor in the shared duplex. You'd also had a few classes together before you dropped out of college, though you'd never spoken to her before last week.

Her name is Amy.

The man next to her you'd never seen before. The cameras flash illuminated his rigid square glasses, he wore a navy long sleeve undershirt and had short brown hair with a slight widows peak. He wasn't smiling nor looking at the camera at all. Though you couldn't see his eyes, he seemed focused on something behind the camera man.

A sudden draft sent an army of shivers down your spine, you thought you heard a door slam next door. After placing the photo on the nightstand you sealed the box and said a silent sorry to the animal inside as you carried it down the barren hallway. You considered burying it, but it was only a dead rat when things boiled down.

You walked outside, tossing it in the big plastic trash bin outside by the curb. You felt a twinge of guilt as you turned your back on it, you'd owned a few rats growing up. You reminisced on their sweet faces, and how they liked to snuggle up on your chest while you read fantasy stories to them aloud. Their image in your mind quickly morphed into the eyeless one you'd just tossed.

Rounding the corner of the porch, you jumped when you noticed a figure at your door.

"Amy?" She turned around, her heavily lined eyes crinkling at their corners when she smiled. "[Y/n]! I noticed your car in the driveway, but I didn't think you were coming til tomorrow." You shifted your weight from one foot to the other, "Aha yeah, couldn't keep me away once I had the key." you responded dryly. In truth you couldn't stay another night on your aunt's seventies couch, springs evident through its numerous holes.

"Well I brought you these, a little housewarming gift. They're boring old chocolate chip, my grandma's recipe." She said proudly, handing over a decorative Christmas plate topped with homemade cookies and clear wrap. Their warmth sunk through the glass, seeping into your hands. You exposed an honest smile. Your old neighbors had never been this thoughtful. "Thanks! They look amazing!"

"Well, I try." She responded, looking away sheepishly. A few seconds were consumed with the two of you sharing an awkward smile. She broke the tense moment, "Um, I know your new to the area, so just let me know if you need anything!" You twisted the doorknob, nearly knocking the plate from your grasp but quicky recovering. "Will do!" You called after her, walking inside. Her nature was too sweet, it overwhelmed you.

You set the plate on the glossy black electric stovetop, sinking your teeth into one as soon as the door was closed. They were pure ooey-gooey excellence, to say the least. You fought the urge to devour every last crumb. They remind you of your mother's cookies.

You glided across the living area's carpet, finding yourself at the back window. Running your delighted hands over the sheer curtains, you surveyed the backyard. It was comfortably small, but there was an empty chain link fenced area for a garden. It looked just big enough to bury a body in. Your plant loving self jotted a mental note to ask Amy about that later.

A passing dragonfly carried your gaze to the yard's edge, where it was lined with thick bushes and trees further back. A flash of dull yellow caught your attention, bringing along a sickly feeling. The figure knew they'd been spotted, darting off into the woods.

You blinked, closing your attention on the undisturbed space the figure had just occupied. That was certainly strange, but it didn't take long to convince yourself you'd only imagined it. Sleep deprivation is one hell of a drug.