Chapter 2 Shocked

"Marissa," Alex whispered in shock.

"Is everything alright here?" Suddenly, Steve, Marissa's neighbour, came out of nowhere.

"I... um..." Marissa was having difficulty forming words.

"Are you new here? I have not seen you before." Steve asked the unknown man who was standing opposite Marissa.

"Yes. I have just shifted here." Alex told him after composing himself.

"And let me guess, the sudden and loud music from this apartment brought you here?" Steve asks him with amusement.

"You could say that." He replied with an uneasy smile.

"Well, let's say our little Marissa is illiterate when it comes to electronics or any other technology," Steve joked, and Marissa sighed

nervously.

If she was not in shock, then Steve would have definitely earned a glare or, better, a smack from her.

"Well, anyway, I am Steve, and I live next door." He introduced himself.

"I am Alex. The apartment is just above hers." They both shook their hands.

"Nice to meet you, man, but don't let this girl make you run away with loud music or any strange accidents happening here because of

her incompetency. Anyway, I will meet you guys later. Have a date to catch up." With that, Steve left.

"I... I should probably go." With that, Alex rushed upstairs to his condo, and so did Marissa, who closed the door behind her and took a

deep breath.

'No, he is not here. It is just my imagination. Even if he is here, he doesn't have any say in my life. We are nothing. He just stays in the

same building as me. That's it. It is not like we will meet each other again.' After a few more words of assurance to herself, Marissa went to do her work.

She cannot let Alex distract herself. It had been three years since she had last seen him. Every string which was attaching them together had been cut and thrown away. She should be quite surprised that Alex even remembers her, never mind remembering her name.

Even if Alex wanted, he could never forget her. This had to be destiny, which was binding them together again. He was glad that he finally came across Marissa and found her. Not a single day had passed in the last three years when he didn't think about her and how unfair he had been to her.

He had never been tongue-tied unless you count the first time when he actually understood how wrong he was of her. He had to make

things right with her; make things right between them, apologize to her for his uncalled behaviour and the crass image he had of her back

then.

When Alex went to bed, all he could think about was his new neighbour downstairs. From last what he had seen, she has definitely changed

a lot. Her face looked more content and carefree. He had never seen her wearing any shorts when they were living together.

Marissa always came across as a reserved girl, but today there was something different about her. He wanted to know everything about her,

especially after what he had made her endure. If only he was sensible before, he would have already known everything about her, and she

would never have had to condone the injustice he did to her. With that thought, he went off to sleep.