The Girl Next Door

 Chapter Three

“You can’t run forever,” his voice sang as I ran through the halls, looking for somewhere to hide. 

I reached for a door handle and pushed as I turned the knob, shutting it softly behind me before locking it and pushing a dresser in front of it. I took a few deep breaths as I watched the door.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, Baby!” The voice continued. I attempted to stay as quiet as possible as I searched the drawers for anything to use as a weapon, finally hearing those heavy footsteps I dreaded. They stopped directly in front of the room I was in. 

All of a sudden I was in an empty room. No windows, but natural light touched every wall. The only thing around the barren room was a door that slowly opened.

“No! No!” I screamed, sitting up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. As I pushed myself up farther on the bed, feeling my breathing pick up, the door to the bedroom was pushed open. All I could see was the silhouette of a tall man. I tried to scream or yell, beg, anything, but the panic had set in and I was beginning to hyperventilate. 

The man rushed to my side and turned the bedside lamp on, but between the tears in my eyes, the panic attack, and my head still stuck in my dream, I couldn’t tell who it was. I moved toward the opposite side of the bed and ended up falling off, my breath catching in my throat.

“Aleks, hey, it’s okay. It’s Jared. It’s okay,” he cooed, getting up to come around. I had backed myself into the corner between a shelf and the bed. I tried to get smaller as he crouched in front of me. “You’re okay. You’re safe. It was just a nightmare.” 

I stared at him as he talked me through breathing exercises, continuously telling me it was just a bad dream and that I was safe. Slowly I came down from my panic attack and uncurled myself from the ball I was in. 

When I finally got barings, I wouldn’t look him in the eye. I thanked him and told him I should probably get home, not knowing what time it was.

“Aleks, you’ve only been in bed two hours. It’s not even 4,” he said gently. I shook my head.

“I should get home. I’m sorry I woke you and that I fell asleep.” I went to stand, but teetered a bit. Jared caught me before I fell and I looked up at him. 

“You’re tired, Aleks. You just had a panic attack after a nightmare. Please, get some more sleep,” his voice was stern but his eyes were filled with concern.

“No, it’s fine. I need to get home and finish my rough draft, anyway. My editor needs it by tonight,” I gently shrugged out of his grasp and grabbed my belongings. I kept my head down as I attempted to weave my way through his house and to the front door, Jared following two steps behind. 

“Are you still coming for breakfast,” the giant asked as he reached for the door knob. I just idly nodded as I walked out, thanking him for his hospitality and fun night. I sluggishly made my way through the lukewarm air and across the street to my house. 

Once I was in and the door was locked, I finally checked my phone. A few texts from my parents, a missed call from my best friend, and a plethora of emails, messages, and comments on my various social media platforms. I set my phone down on the table next to the door and shuffled my way to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I wasn’t getting any more sleep. 

With my mug finally filled with coffee and in my hand, I started typing. The words seemed to flow so easily, but I knew it’d be choppy. This last part would have to be rewritten to say the least, but it didn’t matter. I typed, deleted, and edited what I wanted. The only breaks I took were filling my mug and making more coffee. By the time I had finished my first draft and sent it to my editor, it was 9 A.M. I thought about what to do next. 

I decided on a run, just to clear my head and to think. I ran to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and hair. I threw my hair up in a high pony, which only brought it up to my butt, but I didn’t care. I then changed into spandex leggings and a black tank top. Slipping my shoes on, I walked out my front door to see Jared doing the same. My eyes widened as his eyes met mine. He jogged over smiling.

“Keter!” he said, smiling up at me as he got to the bottom of my steps, “I was just about to go for a run, care to join me?”

“Sure,” I breathed, not sure how to handle the situation. I followed him and matched his pace throughout the run. 

We stopped at a nearby park to catch our breaths before the run back home.

“You’re cutting it real close if you’re doing breakfast at ten,” I hummed, staring at the children running around the playground, taking note of the baskets, used in disc golf, scattered around the large semi forested area. 

“You’re cutting it close for saying you’d make it to breakfast for ten,” he replied in a slight mocking tone. I just rolled my eyes and looked up at him. Noticed and continued, “I wanted to let Jensen and Misha sleep a little longer. They woke up and came to ask what all the noise was.” I looked away and sighed.

“I’m sorry, Jared. I really didn’t mean to fall asleep at your house. I was hoping to be home before I fell asleep.” 

“You have no reason to be sorry. Everyone has nightmares. Sometimes they’re too vivid to realize that they’re just that, nightmares.” He smiled down at me, squeezed my arm and started to run back toward our homes. I sighed and went to catch up with him.

When we got back to my house he asked if I was coming. I told him to give me like half an hour and I’d be over for breakfast. I intended on apologizing to Misha and Jensen. 

We went our separate ways for the duration of half an hour. As soon as I got in my house and locked the door instinctively, I ran to the bathroom to strip out of my sweaty clothes and to shower. As I stood under the water, letting my hair stick to my slender frame, I let the warm liquid wash away the sweat, grime, and thoughts of the night prior before I actually started to clean myself. As I shampooed and conditioned my hair, I imagined all the negativity and hurt being rinsed out of my body, feeling lighter with every imaginary black drop of liquid flowing down the drain. By the time I was washing my body, the black was faint in the water and I was feeling the best I had since before I had moved down to Austin. 

I got out, attempted to towel dry my hair the best I could, and then hooked my phone up to my speaker in my bedroom and opened Spotify. I turned on a playlist filled with a bunch of songs from a band called Radio Company, that quite a few of my followers had sent me, asking me to learn and play some of their songs. 

As I was getting dressed, I listened to the words, the instrumentation. It was gorgeous and bluesy. I had no idea what song it was, but I didn’t really care either. I’d figure it out later. After getting my bra and t-shirt on, I threw my hair up into a terrible high pony and wondered if I should have blow dried my hair. I decided that it was too late for that. I slipped on a pair of camo shorts and ran out the door, making sure to lock it again before I ran across the street for breakfast. 

I knocked on the door and Misha opened it. He smiled at me widely and pulled me inside. I could hear the sound of a guitar flooding through the halls as Misha dragged me toward the kitchen. Once in the doorway my eyes were greeted with Jared cooking and Jensen playing guitar, sitting on the island. As soon as he opened his mouth to sing, Jared turned around and wacked him upside the head.

“Get your ass off my island and sit on the stool like a normal person, Jen.” The shorter brunette grumbled and moved from the island to the stool under his feet. He finally looked up and saw me.

“Aleks!” Jensen exclaimed, resting the guitar on the stool as he got up to meet me. Jared turned around and smiled at me.

“Glad you could make it, hun,” the taller man said before turning around to make sure he wouldn’t burn anything. Jensen gave me a hug and I tensed a little before hugging him back.

“Misha, Jensen, I’d like to apologize for waking you both up. If I’m being honest, I didn’t mean to fall asleep here last night and I definitely didn’t mean to wake anyone up,” I explained, rushing my words, embarrassed and upset that I woke them up. They both just brushed me off and said pretty much the same thing Jared had. 

I took a seat at one of the chairs sitting  at the dining room table and Misha and Jensen took their seats in their respective spots. The short haired brunette picked up his guitar and started playing again. A different song this time. The bluesy one I had listened to while I was getting dressed. I listened to him as he sang, my mouth slightly agape the entire time.

“Jensen,” I breathed as he finished. He looked up and smiled.

“Yeah?”

“What’s that song called? I listened to it this morning beforeI came over. I had a bunch of followers send me songs from the band that plays that song,” I questioned eagerly.

“‘Truly Forgotten’ by Radio Company. Do you like it?” he replied, while softly playing different chords.

“I did! I really liked it. It was gorgeous and the instrumentation was amazing. I’m thinking about making a cover of that song,” I smiled at the guitarist as he finally looked up at me.

“I can’t wait to hear it, Aleks.” We sat there and stared at each other for what felt like years, silently bonding.

“Alright kids, breakfast, come make a plate,” Jared said, breaking our gaze. I glanced up at him to see Jared glaring at his best friend. 

Everyone went through before me. I picked up a plate, took some eggs, and a pancake. Jared had set a lemonade at the seat I was at before sitting across from me. We ate in silence, aside from the soft music playing in the background. I hummed to the songs I knew as I ate. 

The three of them were on their second plate of Jared’s amazing cooking while I was still on first. I ate slowly, lost in the music and my thoughts when I heard my name. I hummed in response.

“You look a little lost in thought, you alright?” the tallest of the three asked me. I smiled at the long haired brunette and nodded.

“Just enjoying your cooking.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Jared replied before continuing to shovel fork fulls of food into his mouth.

“Yes, these pancakes are amazing, Jar,” Misha said with a mouthful, scrolling through his phone. Jensen hummed in agreement. 

After breakfast, Jared’s other two guests went outside while I cleared the table and started doing his dishes.

“Aleks, you don’t need to do those. I’ll get them later.” Jared rushed over to me getting ready to take the sponge and dishes away from me. “Go, relax.” 

“Jared, you invited me over twice in less than 24 hours and I woke you up, it’s the least I can do,” I glared up at him before returning to the pot I was currently scrubbing. 

“Let me dry them at least.” I nodded while rinsing the pot out. I handed it to him and continued onto the next pot. 

As we stood there doing the dishes together, Jensen was outside with misha, playing the guitar again, singing. It was calming. I suddenly felt safe, but thoughts in the back of my head told me this wouldn’t last. Jared was just trying to be a friendly neighbour. He felt bad for getting into an argument with me. I shook my head. I wanted to enjoy this while it lasted. 

Once the dishes were done, we went outside as well and sat there with the other boys. By that time, Jensen had put the guitar away and was making small talk with Misha. 

“What’s on the agenda for the rest of the day, Mr. Padalecki,?” Jensen said in a fake accent.

“Well, I do believe that’s up to you and Mr. Collins,” Jared replied in the same accent. I sat there quietly and listened as they planned the rest of their day. From what it sounded like, the two shorter men would be there for a week at least. 

“What about Aleks?” Misha blurted out and my eyes widened.

“No! Don’t worry about me. Really, I’ve enjoyed the past 24 hours, but I don’t want to intrude or be a burden,” I replied, my eyes darting between the three of them.

“Nonsense!” Jared and Jensen exclaimed at the same time. I blushed a little.

“You liven us up with your… youngness” Misha explained and I couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Fine, if you guys want me to be a part of your stuff, that’s cool, but I will need some ‘me’ time as well. As much fun as I’ve had, I am pretty introverted and you guys are exhausting,” I stated. They nodded, understanding. 

“Well, why don’t you run home, get some of your ‘me’ time, and we’ll come get you at about eight tonight to go see a movie?” Jared offers. I smiled a little and nodded.

“That sounds good. Please don’t bust down my door if I don’t answer right away though.” The three of them laughed a little. 

We said our goodbyes and I showed myself out and walked across the street. I got into my house and flopped onto my bed, feeling absolutely exhausted.