My New Neighbor. (unfinished)

Leah carried her last box into her new house and collapsed onto the ground. It was thirty degrees outside and she picked today to move in. 

‘No use relaxing now, Leah, you still have to unpack everything.’ Her mother said, unstrapping the boxes. 

‘But mum, it’s so hot!’ 

‘Leah, you’re the one that wanted to get your own place. Deal with your own responsibility.’

Leah screwed up her nose behind her mother’s back and started unpacking. 

‘What do you want done with this?’ asked her mother, Leah turned to see the family photo. 

‘Mum, I told you I didn’t want that.’

‘You can’t forget your family, Leah. I’ll put it right here.’ Her mother placed it on a hook directly in the middle of the lounge room wall. Leah looked at the photo, they all looked so happy there. She remembered that day. It was Liam’s birthday and they were going for ice cream in the food court when they come across a family portrait photographer set up. Her mother convinced the whole family to do it. 

‘Would you look at the time, I have to go cook your father’s dinner now, Leah, and will you be right unpacking everything?’  Leah was still staring at the photo. ‘Leah!’ her focus stopped and she saw her mother tapping her feet waiting for an answer. 

‘Yeah, sorry mum. I’ll be fine.’

‘Get everything unpacked so it’s done okay.’ Her mother grabbed her bag and left. Leah took the chance to relax. She looked around and smiled. She had finally got her very own space. There was yelling and banging from the neighbours, but she expected that from a unit complex. 

Leah had unpacked most of her things and set up the unit how she liked it and set herself one of those microwave dinners and let it cool on the bench. When she got back there was a little cat licking at her food. 

‘Where did you come from little guy?’ she hushed, and carefully picked him up. Leah carefully carried the cat to the balcony. 

‘You’re a cute little fella aren’t you?’ she whispered, scratching him behind the ears, he seemed to like it, purring and moving his head towards her. The yelling from the neighbours was louder and the front door was slammed shut. A young man around Leah’s age came barging out and saw Leah.

‘Marcus!’ he yelled towards her. Leah jumped and took a step back. 

‘Oh I’m sorry to have scared you. That is my mother’s cat.’ He said, reaching out his hands waiting for Leah to hand the cat to him. She patted him one more time and handed him to the young man. Marcus didn’t like the way the young man was holding him and started hissing and scratching, finally it got free and ran inside his house.

‘Stupid cat never liked me anyway, what’s your name?’

‘Leah. What’s yours?

‘Jonathon, but you can call me Jon’ Leah smiled at Jon lifting his chest in the air like a tough guy. 

‘You just moved in?’

‘Yeah, I moved in this morning.’

‘With your parents?’

‘By myself.’

Jon looked surprised she was living alone. He smiled and moved closer, leaning on the small fence dividing balconies. 

‘Do you like the place?’ 

Leah nodded her head and sat on the ground close to the fence. For a while there was a silence, Leah kept sneaking looks at Jon. He was quite tall, and dark. He had dark hair, dark skin and dark eyes. He was the opposite of Leah. She was small and pale. She couldn’t help but imagine him without a t-shirt. 

A woman started yelling from the house to Jon and he looked towards the door and sighed. 

‘I better go. Nice to see ya, Leah.’ He had a very strong Australian accent. Leah waved goodbye and went inside. 

It was so different being alone. Things were quiet, which was a first. She was used to hearing her father’s tools from the shed, and her mother cooking or cleaning something.  Leah went to sleep easily. 

There was a tapping at the window near the front door and it woke Leah quickly. She looked over to see Jon at the window. She slumped off the couch and opened the door. 

‘I got you a moving in present!’ Said Jon, reeking of beer. He lifted a carton, shaking it around. Leah looked at it. 

‘c’mon, you have to drink on your first night! It’s the rules.’ 

‘what rules?’ she answered, rubbing her eyes. 

‘I dunno, just the rules!’ he cheered, letting himself in. he dropped onto the couch and opened two cans of beer and moving one towards Leah. She figured she hadn’t drunk in a while and deserved a treat, so gulped down the first can. More and more came after that. She had lost count after six. They were both completely drunk. 

‘I’m glad I have a drinking buddy now!’ laughed Jon.

‘Drinking buddy? I don’t think so.’ Laughed Leah.  They both looked up to the roof. 

‘So why have you left your parents’ house? I mean, its free housing!’ laughed Jon, opening another can. 

‘I hate my father.’ Said Leah, focusing on Jon. He looked confused. 

‘He doesn’t understand me. When my brother died, he blamed me.’

‘Wow, that’s rough.’ Exclaimed Jon. 

It was silent again, other than the TV on, there was no one speaking. They just sat there watching The Late Night Show. An advertisement selling lipstick came on. A woman kissed four blokes and her lipstick didn’t smudge once. Jon looked at Leah, she was wearing lipstick. 

‘Does yours work like that?’ he said chuckling. 

‘I don’t know, why don’t you find out?’ Leah laughed. After a short while of laughing they stared at each other. Jon leaned towards Leah; she thought whether to kiss this stranger or not. But her focus was shorted when he went straight for the kiss. Before they knew it, there were making out. It started to get heavy. 

‘Bedroom?’ Jon whispered. Leah nodded, and he picked her up, taking her to bed.

The next morning Leah awoke with a throbbing headache. She could barely open her eyes and remembered why she hadn’t drunk in a long time. She went to roll over but realised another body was lying there. A flash of memory came to her mind, she had slept with Jon.

‘Morning’ Jon mumbled, putting his arm around Leah. Leah quickly jerked his arm away and hopped out of bed. 

‘This was a mistake. You are a stranger!’ she yelled. 

Jon quickly got up and got dressed, then walked out. Stuttering to his self; ‘They’re all crazy!’