The boxes are heavy in your arm, but you kick open the door. Fourth floor, closest door to the windows. A loud thud escapes from under the box as you drop it into the family room area. Well, what you plan to make the family room. It's a large, empty room, and you can see the kitchen just off the side, bathroom and two bedrooms off the side. Not that bad of a place, considering you got it for such a cheap place. Must be haunted or something, you smirk as you step over the box and stalk down the hallway, touching the blank walls as you pass.
Tired orange eyes with dirty blonde hair come to meet you when you look into the mirror, as you sigh and rub a hand against your cheek, feeling the five o'clock shadow taking its toll on your skin. Sighs escape your lips as you lazily unfasten your belt, closing your eyes and letting yourself flow as you realize you're done. You've moved in. Sure, you have to unpack, but this is it, a place of your own. A place where you can pee without having your older brother still bust in on you. A place where you can walk around naked for all you care! Do you care? Not at all! It's your place, you can surely do whatever the Hell you want with it.
Not even put the seat down, as you flush and wash your hands, drying them against your jeans. You go back into the family room and stare at the boxes, biting down on your lip and turning, back into the bathroom, setting the seat down. It was bothering you.
Boxes loiter in their designated area, but all you care about right now is the bedroom. There's already a bed with a frame. While it's a crappy one, it's there nonetheless, and you toss the box on the bed, making it squeak loudly. You wince. Great. You remove the box and lie down on the barely absorbent bed, and it groans with your weight. You wiggle around, shifting your hips, and it only rolls with you, moaning and groaning and you heave a loud sigh, slapping your hands on your thighs and looking out. When you get the money, you might want to get that fixed. But for now, you just want to grab a blanket and sleep.
Nope. You wind up with sheets covering you and a majority of the floor, and you don't know which goes down first. When you were living with your brother it all came naturally, but now it's like opening a box without instructions. Sadly, that 'box' is your new life. Just great.
You'll make the bed tomorrow. For now; Chinese take out.
Tugging on the leather jacket Dave left you, you head out, making sure that your door is locked, turning it stiffly three times.
It's dark out, a little cold, and your fingers twitch nervously inside your pocket as you watch the neon signs shining out about whether or not they're open flash at you.
"Sunny China," You mumble to yourself as you pull the door, stepping inside. You recgonize the song with a smirk, as a familiar Japanese song hums through out the small shop. Surprisingly, a blonde woman is working the cash register, phone cradled between her shoulder and her ear as she jots notes down, yelling at the cooks what the next order is.
Her smile lights up the room as you step up, eyes directed to the menu up on the wall.
"Shrimp Lo Mein," You say, opening your wallet and placing the bills on the counter. She nods, calling out a name, and soon a lanky woman with her hair pulled back in a bun shoots you an evil glare.
"Damz, can you take over? I'm taking my break." The girl, Damz, spits words out between her teeth, but the blonde waves her off, stepping around the corner and standing next to you with another bright smile.
"Can I help you?" The words come out monotone, but she carries on that grin and motions over to sit. You follow and she sits across from you in the red and black booth, with gold dragons on the table.
"You must be new around here," She states. Is she flirting?
"And?"
"I guess wanted to say hey! Welcome!" She sticks her hand out. "Roxy Lalonde."
"Dirk Strider." You shake. She has long fingers with hot pink nails. She's wearing a red sweater and a pair of black skinny jeans that cover up her thin legs, despite how much shorter she is than you. Her hair is blonde and curly, and she has these bright eyes, surrounded by gentle mascara.
"Well, how do you like it, Dirky?" She askes, leaning in, as if you're best friends. You've only known the broad for a few minutes, but you decided to enlighten her.
"It's something," You say, glancing around the store. It's painfully boring, but it's nice for a place to make small chit chat. "Nice cat." You point and she follows your finger to the cat that's nestled up in the corner, on top of its scratching post, that's oddly clean for a cat.
"Thanks, it's the owner's. She gave me one of the kittens." She chuckles. "All of them, actually! But I have this special one, Jaspers. You'll have to meet him someday." Oh, she's a crazy cat lady. Pretty, but crazy.
"Hey! Roxanne! Food, now!" A voice called, and you both turn to see the Asian girl, angrily pushing the plastic bag of chinese towards you. You move to get up, but Roxy's already passing you, then returning with your food.
"Thanks." You take the food from her, and she's digging in her pockets.
"Here," She hands you a little card. "Hope to see you 'round!" She calls, after patting your back and walking you to the door, when you walk back home in the light rain.
You haven't moved a couch in yet, so you sit on a cardboard box, using the chopsticks they provided to stab at the shrimps that are hidden under your noodles. You have Roxy running through your head as you carefully take a bite, when it dawns on you that she gave you something.
The carton falls to the floor as you pat down your pockets, swearing under your breath until you pull out the little piece of paper.
"Roxy Lalonde, 2500 South Jacksonville Road," then what you're assuming is her cell phone number. She must've really taken an interest in you.
Stripping down to your black briefs, you crawl into your cold bed, and it retaliates with a loud groan, but you dismiss it and pull your pillow close. It doesn't feel like home at all. It's quiet up on the fourth floor. Even when you were in the pent house with your brother, there was always noise. You hear the occasional car buzz on by through window, but that's about it.
It's not until you wake up in the morning to piss does it come to you.
She had that number like she knew you were coming.
"Huh," You say, brushing your teeth and yawning. You spit and wipe your mouth on the back of your hand, looking back up in the mirror. You need another shaving, but your ravor's in another box.
Wait.
Maybe she always carries around her address and number.
Maybe she's one of those girls.
Picking up new guys.
You pause and think of all the possibilities. There's no way she could've known you were coming, especially since she lives on the other side of town. She just so happens to work at the Chinese shop that you went to last night, and that's all.
But she gave you her number. Maybe she wants you to call.
You'll do that once you're done unpacking and finally setting up this place.