wichita
Junior Member
No matter what house belonged to whom, it was always a new form of territory to Nate, and no matter how many times he had entered someone else’s house, an uncomfortable set of butterflies would flutter around in his stomach. But this house would be different from the rest because one of the residents was still living here this time.
Doesn’t mean that this place has no story to tell.
When Ashlyn opened the door, Nate stared inside before following, taking in what he saw like a cautious animal that was testing the waters. He waited to see if this was all a crazy illusion, or the resulting damage from hitting his head. The air about the place, it felt strange…almost alien to him. Two years ago the home could’ve been his best friend’s house, but at present it was a surprise to his senses.
Taking a step inside, he went by what Ashlyn told him to do and locked the door behind him. Double-checked the lock to make sure it stayed that way.
His eyes moved back and forth between the rooms in the widely-spaced open floor plan, barely able to believe what he was seeing before him. The mentality Nate took hold of seemed akin to that of a deprived child, one who hadn’t seen something so well put together in quite some time. A rare sight the place was indeed.
Finding himself moving about the room in a stupor of some sort, he found himself stopping by a wooden shelf painted black on the wall he was walking by. A few pictures of what looked like a younger Ashlyn sat above him, the frames untouched by dust and age. Smiles seemed to take hold in every photo, smiles that reminded him of the one he’d gotten to know so well. Seeing this caused a smile to spread across his own lips.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen family photos lined up like this, but seeing these in particular and knowing that the person in them was still quite alive, helped draw him into the story of better times.
For some reason he moved his eyes down to his feet and realized that his dirty, torn up, bloodied sneakers remained on his feet and felt a pang of guilt, as if he was defiling such a beautiful, untouched place with his filth. Immediately he kicked said shoes off to the side of the wall and continued on his merry way into the kitchen where Ashlyn bustled about.
Watching her as she place the pot on the stove and ignited the flame, Nate turned around and moved over to the boarded up window the kitchen once possessed. At one time, he imagined that said window gave out a good view of the house in front of hers. He felt inclined to ask Ashlyn if she knew the neighbors across the street from her but quickly realized how stupid a question that was.
A smirk rose to his lips at her comment about the house. “Yeah, it’s really nice.” His voice came off a bit absentminded as he continued to stare around at his surroundings, figuring that it would take him a good while before he got used to being here. “Nice” definitely wasn’t the appropriate word to describe the ground he was standing on.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Nate moved away from the kitchen and towards the living room, taking in the pictures on the wall that gave a black and white centered home splashes of color. Being in her house made him forget about what was going on outside in the world almost completely, like a ghost of the life he once knew well. He now fully understood why Ashlyn reacted the way to the outside, because inside her home it actually felt safe.
Out of the corner of his eye Nate saw his reflection in a small mirror on the wall, and when he turned to look at it he nearly jumped out of his skin. Dirt and grime were slapped over his features like a mask, his hair a giant shag ball that had grown an inch longer since the last time he viewed himself, and his face in desperate need of a shave. The only decent thing about his appearance was the dirt had given his blue eyes a more striking effect. A miniscule plus that did not outweigh the minuses in the slightest.
“Uh…I think I can cope with cold water, that’s fine.” Nate ripped his eyes away from his reflection and looked over at Ashlyn, the displeased and disgusted expression on his face very apparent.
Doesn’t mean that this place has no story to tell.
When Ashlyn opened the door, Nate stared inside before following, taking in what he saw like a cautious animal that was testing the waters. He waited to see if this was all a crazy illusion, or the resulting damage from hitting his head. The air about the place, it felt strange…almost alien to him. Two years ago the home could’ve been his best friend’s house, but at present it was a surprise to his senses.
Taking a step inside, he went by what Ashlyn told him to do and locked the door behind him. Double-checked the lock to make sure it stayed that way.
His eyes moved back and forth between the rooms in the widely-spaced open floor plan, barely able to believe what he was seeing before him. The mentality Nate took hold of seemed akin to that of a deprived child, one who hadn’t seen something so well put together in quite some time. A rare sight the place was indeed.
Finding himself moving about the room in a stupor of some sort, he found himself stopping by a wooden shelf painted black on the wall he was walking by. A few pictures of what looked like a younger Ashlyn sat above him, the frames untouched by dust and age. Smiles seemed to take hold in every photo, smiles that reminded him of the one he’d gotten to know so well. Seeing this caused a smile to spread across his own lips.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen family photos lined up like this, but seeing these in particular and knowing that the person in them was still quite alive, helped draw him into the story of better times.
For some reason he moved his eyes down to his feet and realized that his dirty, torn up, bloodied sneakers remained on his feet and felt a pang of guilt, as if he was defiling such a beautiful, untouched place with his filth. Immediately he kicked said shoes off to the side of the wall and continued on his merry way into the kitchen where Ashlyn bustled about.
Watching her as she place the pot on the stove and ignited the flame, Nate turned around and moved over to the boarded up window the kitchen once possessed. At one time, he imagined that said window gave out a good view of the house in front of hers. He felt inclined to ask Ashlyn if she knew the neighbors across the street from her but quickly realized how stupid a question that was.
A smirk rose to his lips at her comment about the house. “Yeah, it’s really nice.” His voice came off a bit absentminded as he continued to stare around at his surroundings, figuring that it would take him a good while before he got used to being here. “Nice” definitely wasn’t the appropriate word to describe the ground he was standing on.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Nate moved away from the kitchen and towards the living room, taking in the pictures on the wall that gave a black and white centered home splashes of color. Being in her house made him forget about what was going on outside in the world almost completely, like a ghost of the life he once knew well. He now fully understood why Ashlyn reacted the way to the outside, because inside her home it actually felt safe.
Out of the corner of his eye Nate saw his reflection in a small mirror on the wall, and when he turned to look at it he nearly jumped out of his skin. Dirt and grime were slapped over his features like a mask, his hair a giant shag ball that had grown an inch longer since the last time he viewed himself, and his face in desperate need of a shave. The only decent thing about his appearance was the dirt had given his blue eyes a more striking effect. A miniscule plus that did not outweigh the minuses in the slightest.
“Uh…I think I can cope with cold water, that’s fine.” Nate ripped his eyes away from his reflection and looked over at Ashlyn, the displeased and disgusted expression on his face very apparent.