Chapter 3
N ora
“What’s up with him?” Cheryl says as we both watch my new angry neighbor striding toward his house. His shoulders are rigid, steps heavy. With hands clenched into fists, he disappears inside the house.
“He got mad.” That much is obvious.
“You think?” she asks, turning to me with a quirked brow.
I wave her off. “I was just messing with him, and he was pissed but not mad mad. Something shifted in his energy.”
“When I warned him about being charged with assault,” she notes carefully, returning her attention back to my neighbor’s house.
“Yeah,” I reply mindlessly, trying to listen to my intuition but coming up short. The man, despite his giant size and ragged appearance, doesn’t give off any warning vibes. At the same time, he also lacks any welcoming ones, which makes him a total enigma for me.
When I came here this evening, I wasn’t ready for anyone to come out of the house.
I figured someone had moved in when I returned from work and saw the lights on for the first time in years.
I was happy because this house has been falling apart but also sad since our solitude at the dead end of our lovely street would be no more.
And I like our solitude and quiet. It gets a bit scary during long winter nights sometimes, but those months are not long enough to justify sharing our wonderful space with a grumpy stranger.
After talking to people at work all day long, I want to relax in silence, alone with my own thoughts for a change. We live in a cul-de-sac with no neighbors around. And now we have one. A big grouch.
Quite honestly, I didn’t expect him to come out.
It’s midnight, so I’m not sure why he wasn’t in bed sleeping, because everything around here is long asleep by that time.
Including me. I have to open the diner for breakfast, so my nights are usually cut short too.
Today has been a planned exemption due to the full moon—I wasn’t lying.
So when I was sitting here, minding my own business, and he strode toward me like an angel of fury with a dark cloud behind his back, I was surprised for a moment.
His walk was angry. His posture too. His body was coiled and ready to attack like a cobra.
And yet, I didn’t feel scared as I should have been.
In fact, the opposite. The more aggravated he became, the funnier it was for me. Until it wasn’t.
“Why were you naked?” Cheryl’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
“I wasn’t planning on it.” I chuckle. “Grandma said I need to try cleansing my energy. It might be the reason everything doesn’t work as it used to.”
At the mention of the cleanse, Cheryl’s eyes roll so far backward, I fear they’re stuck there now. Drama queen.
“Grandma says bathing in moonlight during specific times can help cleanse one’s energy and prep it for new beginnings. The more moonlight can touch your skin, the better the clarity. ”
Her sigh is loud enough to let me know what she thinks about my plan.
This is why I always got along better with Grandma than with her—Cheryl and I have always been like fire and water with nearly zero understanding.
It has never stopped us from loving each other though—thanks to our grandma who cultivated that understanding in two young, orphaned girls.
“But honestly, I saw him only when he was already like right next to me. It was too late to be modest.”
“Could have thrown the sheet over yourself,” she says sarcastically. “You know, if you really wanted to.”
“It was closing in on midnight, and Grandma said it has to be the exact time for the rays to hit the right way.” I try saying it convincingly so even I believe it. The truth is that somewhere along the way, I started enjoying our little yelling match a little too much.
A heavy silence speaks volumes about what she thinks about my antics. I’m used to it though. Some time ago, it bothered me. When I was younger and had just returned to Big Love. But not anymore. I own who I am and don’t pretend to be something I’m not just to make everyone around me comfortable.
“I’m going back to the station. Can you please try to refrain from going onto his property again?” Her gaze dips to the sheet covering my front. “Especially naked.”
“Can’t promise,” I tsk. “Too tempting.”
“Nora,” Cheryl growls. “I’ll have to book you if you keep trespassing. Or he can shoot your ass. He looks like a guy who knows how to use a gun. And probably has one.”
I let out a loud snort in response—I imagine him to be more the type to go in bare-handed for the sake of a brawl.
She walks up to me and stares in my face with narrowed eyes. “You really enjoyed messing with him, didn’t you? Haven’t seen you like this since Dick. ”
Feeling my mood plummet, I say through gritted teeth, “Thanks so much for bringing it up.”
“Sorry,” she whispers softly. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s fine.” I wave her off. “I won’t go onto his property.”
She watches me for a few more moments before she walks away to her cruiser, waving me goodbye. “I’ll stop by tomorrow for a coffee and bring something sweet.”
“Yep.” I wave back, not very enthusiastically, and head back to my house.