Now Leasing

Chapter 4

Ashleigh was home from school now. I figured that Kevin wouldn't be home for a few more hours since work typically ran longer than school. It was now Allyson and Ashleigh in the house by themselves. I heard running all the way up the stairs. I figured Ashleigh was in her room now. I walked up the stairs and put my eye up to the peephole. There she was, sitting at her desk with her blonde hair in a loose ponytail. She on her laptop, checking her Facebook from the looks of things. I've been a shut-in for quite some time now but I still am aware of the trends of these teenagers nowadays. I heard the "POP!" noise that Facebook chat makes and I notice she is talking to a boy by the name of Brandon. She called him babe on the phone one time so I believe it is safe to assume that this is her boyfriend. My stomach sank a little. Although she doesn't know me and probably never will, I got a little sad inside to know that I will never have a chance with her.

I hear a door open downstairs. Kevin is home. I heard Allyson yell "Dinner!" upstairs. Ashleigh shut her laptop and exited her room. She closed the door on her way out. I took a few glimpses of her room. She had a few posters up. She had a pink bedspread, a 32" tv by my estimate, her desk and laptop, and she had an Xbox. She seemed like a typical girl to me, nothing out of the ordinary. I wished I could get to know her.

Erik was looking out the peephole into the living room. It appeared as if the family didn't do a formal dinner and everyone just did their own thing. Kevin and Ashleigh sat on the couch with their food while Allyson sat on the recliner. They all tuned into the tv and watched it with a zombie like stare on all of their faces. Erik liked to observe people just as much as I did, he just forgot that he couldn't make interactions with them or else they'd freak out and we'd be a lot of trouble. It appeared that dinner not talking during dinner was common for them since nobody said a word to each other. I nudged Erik out of the way of the peephole and stared into it myself. Ashleigh finished eating first. She took her plate and dropped it into the sink. She retreated back into her room without saying anything to her mother or father. I followed her back to her room, on the other side of the wall of course. I peered back into her room. It was near 8 o clock now. I saw that she had an iPhone. She seemed spoiled but I never had anything so I guess I'm not one to judge. I've only ever had Erik. She called her boyfriend. I listened in on her phone call and they were just talking about how much they missed each other. I thought it was gross because they most likely just saw each other at school today. I've never had a relationship though so I don't know it feels.

She then started talking to him about the new house. She revealed to him that it wasn't as nice as her old house, which wasn't too far from here so she didn't have to change schools. She sounded like she enjoyed the house though. A few minutes after that she told Brandon that she was going to bed and they hung up. Ashleigh set her phone down on the desk and checked her alarm to see if it was set. Then she stood still for a while. The hairs on my neck stood straight up. She turned swiftly and started heading straight for the peephole. She bent down, her eyes passed right by my eyes. She stood back up and walked back towards her desk, with her phone charger in her hand. She plugged her phone in and went to bed.

"Goodnight Ashleigh," and then I too went to bed.