FOUR

Drake was awaken by the soft knock on his door.  He sat up,  wondering who it was. He rubbed his eyes wearily,  yawning loudly in the process.  His eyes met the wooden wall clock by the right hand side of his room and he gasped.

The day had fully broken yet he had been in bed and would not have woken up had the knock at the door not came in. He jumped up from his bed, thinking he was late for work only to remember it was a weekend; he sat back, relieved. 

He stood up when the knock resounded again. He had totally forgotten about the knock in his agitation.  Walking into the bathroom to wash his face, he wondered why Nicole was at his house that morning.

Perhaps,  she had decided to pay him a visit instead of calling him as she had promised.  He took the stairs two by two and in a minute, he was at the door.

But it was not Nicole at the door.  It was the lady from yesterday and Drake's eyes widened as he gawked at her. Was she there to pour more insults on him? He wiped his eyes a bit to ensure he wasn't dreaming.  She was dressed in black: her hood covering her face a bit.  As usual, she had her glare intact; her eyes roving around his face. 

"Hey!" She greeted but Drake was too stunned to speak. They stood for a while, staring at each other unwavering.

"Will you let me in or not?" She snorted and his eyes narrowed.  She was back to being rude. 

He opened his mouth to yell at her but no word came out instead, he stepped aside a bit for her to enter into his house. It felt like his legs had a mind of their own. 

It was strange seeing someone else in his house; it had always been Nicole - once in a while.  He fumbled with his button as he stood awkwardly by the door, not knowing what to do while she moved to his sofa and made herself comfortable.  She glanced at him with her brow raised and he averted his eyes.  

"You live like a ghost." She pronounced and his jaw dropped. 

"I thought I was the only one in this street since it was just too quiet and dull." She bit her fingers slowly for a while before fixing her gaze at him.

"Why are you standing like a dummy?" She asked him and his eyes narrowed.  He should be the one having the upper hand and not her. He owned the house yet it felt like he was a slave to her. 

"Look,  if you're acting this way because of yesterday,  then you shouldn't. It is not my fault our first meeting was that stupid." She looked at him and he nodded since he didn't know what else to do. 

"Are you just going to stand there?" She folded her arms, her brows furrowed. He shook his head, making way to the next chair in the room which was quite a distance from where she was - he wanted to be as far as possible from her.

"I came here to talk. These past few days had been hell.  I almost died of boredom. How do you cope?"

"I like the quietness." He responded quietly and she gawked at him.

"Why am I not surprised?" She pronounced and he couldn't help but laugh at the face she made. He turned to look at her then and he noticed a small smile that soon disappeared quickly that he wondered if it had been his imagination, form on her face. He frowned at the thought and decided that he had truly seen her smile. 

"What fun is here to see in the country?" She asked and he pondered on what to say. He was the last person to be asked such a question. He had never taken his time to have fun - or rather,  his definition of having fun was quite different from the general view. He was satisfied with reading books, watching movies and sleeping.  

"Any parties? Clubs?" She peered at him, reinforcing what he had earlier thought. 

"There should." He mumbled and she looked at him. 

"Is there any today? We can go. I really need to get out of that house. It is killing staying indoors with nothing to do." She flicked a stubborn strand which had fallen to her face, behind her ear and leaned into the chair. 

Drake wondered if she knew the history behind the house she was staying. It was clear she was new in the country to have rented the apartment.

The last family that had lived in the house after the death of the old couple, left the following day, complaining they had heard strange voices at night. How long had she been living in that house and had she heard voices? He wanted to ask all these but didn't know how she would react.

"What do you want to ask me?" She blurted out like she could read his thoughts. "Say it. I'm all ears. Perhaps,  if I provide answers to your question,  you'll provide answers to mine."

That was true. She had asked him a question but he couldn't remember what exactly she had asked.  

"When did you relocate to the Geodan?" He decided to ask since she gave him the chance. 

"Two days ago?"

"Why?"

"Why what?" She looked genuinely confused. "The country is a great place. Isn't it?"

"Yes, but most people prefer to live in town where the hustle and bustle takes place and for someone like you who is concerned about clubs and parties,  the town fits you a lot." He mumbled.

"Yeah, you're right. I left town to stay in the country for a while. It's good to change your environment once in a while." She looked at her fingers on her laps.

"So are you going back or you're here for good?"

"It depends." She raked her fingers into her hair through the hood cap and shook her head. "Is that all? Any other question?"

Biting his lips, he asked if she had heard any strange voice in the middle of the night and she stared at him for a while. He bit his lips, mentally scolding himself for asking such useless question, when she  broke into laughter, slapping her lap and stomping her feet.

Though he was embarrassed by her reaction, he couldn't stop a smile from forming on his lip as he watched her laugh heartily like she had heard the most hilarious saying; her eyes crinkled and a tear dropped due to how hard she was laughing and Drake couldn't stop himself from basking in the fact that he had made her laugh.

"Oh my goodness!  Where do you think I live? In a haunted house?" She sneered. "Why would I hear voices?" 

He shrugged. "Dunno."

"You know, I would love to hear voices. It would be such a company.  I really need one. The silence is driving me crazy." She wiped her eyes and he nodded, even when he couldn't understand why she was bothered by the silence he considered comforting. 

 "So back to my question. Any party today?  I really want to go for one."

"I really don't know." He muttered, staring at his fingers on his laps.  A strange feeling settled in his tummy as he watched her face crumble and the hope she had vanished.  

"Well,  what do I expect?  You're the last person I should ask. Like you said,  the town is for people like me and the country is for your kind." 

Drake didn't like the tone of her voice and he felt bad to have disappointed her. Though, he couldn't tell what she was thinking due to her deadpan, he knew she was very disappointed and wished for someone else as a neighbour.  

It hurt that he was getting rejected even without giving enough chance to prove himself.  There were other things that he could be judged from, other than attending parties and all. He could tell her the first ten novelists and their novels if she wanted. 

Not knowing what to say to her, he centered his gaze at the television set which was switched off. He could hear her humming a tune, her fingers drumming on her laps as she did and he listened, wondering why he didn't know the song.  

"You wake up late." She broke the silence and he shook his head.

"I don't. It's weekend." He retorted immediately and she smirked. 

"So?"

"Weekend is the only time I have to rest." He blurted out.

She got up then and he did so too, confused.

"I'll leave you to rest." She smiled and left immediately without waiting for him to at least bade her. Drake stood by his chair,  his lips parted as he raked a finger into his hair. He had said something wrong again, he sighed deeply.