Uncaged
Patrick
She was a breath of fresh air. A light in the dark.
He had known her for the five years he’d been living next door, but he’d never actually looked at her. She’d still been in high school at the time, and he had been happily married.
But now? Now his life had turned to shit and she was no longer in high school.
He had also just figured out that he could see into her bedroom from the window of his ex-wife’s nearly empty home office. (It was nearly empty except for the desk chair she didn’t want and a box filled with framed pictures of the two of them.)
He now sat in that office chair, watching the high schooler turned college student as she sat cross-legged on her bed typing furiously on her laptop. Her brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail and she was wearing a tank top and a pair of pajama shorts.
As he continue to watch, her typing slowed and then stopped. A minute later she was shutting the laptop and setting it on the bed. She stretched her arms above her head and the tank top rode up, exposing a strip of her flat stomach.
Patrick spun the chair around suddenly, running a hand through his already unkempt hair. Was he really doing this? Was he really going to be the pervy neighbor who spied on the younger girl next door?
He stood up and promptly left the room without a glance backwards. He shut the door behind him, and only then did he turn around.
Shame from what he had been doing made blood flow to his face and he pressed his warm forehead against the cool wood of the closed door, letting out a sigh. He knew then that he needed to avoid this room from now on.
But what harm was he really doing by watching her work on her laptop? It’s not like he was watching her undress. And sure, she was much younger than him, but she wasn’t underage.
Patrick hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning away from the door, further ashamed from where his thoughts had gone so quickly.
He knew nothing good would come from him spending any time in that office. Patrick knew that if he allowed himself to go back into the former office he would easily rationalize what he was doing.
He vowed then that he would forget all about Corinna Finch.
He had known her for the five years he’d been living next door, but he’d never actually looked at her. She’d still been in high school at the time, and he had been happily married.
But now? Now his life had turned to shit and she was no longer in high school.
He had also just figured out that he could see into her bedroom from the window of his ex-wife’s nearly empty home office. (It was nearly empty except for the desk chair she didn’t want and a box filled with framed pictures of the two of them.)
He now sat in that office chair, watching the high schooler turned college student as she sat cross-legged on her bed typing furiously on her laptop. Her brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail and she was wearing a tank top and a pair of pajama shorts.
As he continue to watch, her typing slowed and then stopped. A minute later she was shutting the laptop and setting it on the bed. She stretched her arms above her head and the tank top rode up, exposing a strip of her flat stomach.
Patrick spun the chair around suddenly, running a hand through his already unkempt hair. Was he really doing this? Was he really going to be the pervy neighbor who spied on the younger girl next door?
He stood up and promptly left the room without a glance backwards. He shut the door behind him, and only then did he turn around.
Shame from what he had been doing made blood flow to his face and he pressed his warm forehead against the cool wood of the closed door, letting out a sigh. He knew then that he needed to avoid this room from now on.
But what harm was he really doing by watching her work on her laptop? It’s not like he was watching her undress. And sure, she was much younger than him, but she wasn’t underage.
Patrick hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning away from the door, further ashamed from where his thoughts had gone so quickly.
He knew nothing good would come from him spending any time in that office. Patrick knew that if he allowed himself to go back into the former office he would easily rationalize what he was doing.
He vowed then that he would forget all about Corinna Finch.
♠ ♠ ♠
Ok, totally revamped this story. We'll see if I like the direction I take it this time. This is a short start, but I'm trying to get back into writing so please be patient with me.I was gonna try and at least get a few chapters written before I started posting, but honestly that never works out for me.
Let me know what you think!
~Sally