Thick

“Oh, you found it.” I see one of the movers making his way back towards me with his hand held out for his hat.

“Yeah, it was on top of one of the boxes,” I say, handing it to him. He glances at my forehead and fights a laugh.

“Thanks.” He walks away and I hear him laugh as he goes.

I look back at the door across from mine and something pulls my attention to it. I stand there for a long moment with the urge to knock.

So I do.

Chapter Two

Bull

I watch through the peephole as the girl across the hall gets moved in. I caught a few glimpses of her while they were bringing in boxes. But now all the movers are gone and there she stands in the hallway looking at my door.

I moved here about six years ago and don’t get out much. With the internet and delivery services, I don’t really need to. My place is really two apartments combined. It’s part of the reason I got the place so quickly. I could live anywhere, but I didn’t want to live in the city and this was close enough to all the things I needed.

Some people might think it’s hard to be inside all the time, but I like it. When you look like I do, going outside sucks, so staying in my home and being alone is better than getting stared at like a freak.

My mom named me Bull the first time she laid eyes on me. She said the whole time she was pregnant I was kicking up a storm, and then when I came out I was twice the size of all the other babies in the nursery. I set a record in the state for the largest baby delivered that year, and then I kept on setting records until I quit going to the doctor. I didn’t like how everyone watched me like I was about to Hulk smash the building or something.

Sure, I have to duck to go through doors and bend my knees to get under the shower spray, but I’m not a monster. The problem is that I’m not just tall, I really am built like a bull. I’ve got a wide body with thick arms and legs and I’m probably the strongest man in the world. I lift weights but nothing too crazy. My body just wants to be big, so I could pick up a bag of flour and gain muscle.

It’s the reason I stay indoors and the reason I don’t have any sort of relationships. It’s not worth all the questions and looks, and my life is easier when it’s just me. My mom died when I was young and I never knew my dad. As I stare at the pretty girl I wonder if she’s got any family looking out for her. Is she alone, too?

When I first saw her I thought she was someone’s kid sister they brought along for the move. But then I realized she was telling people where to put stuff, so it must be her place. She’s so small that I bet she gets asked about it all the time. I know me being so big gets attention, but I’m sure her being so small does too.

Her dark hair is piled up in a messy bun and some hair has escaped down her neck. Her eyes are dark, but her features are so soft that she looks like a cherub. I can tell even from here that she’d smell sweet and feel delicate all over. How can something so innocent be real?

To my utter shock she takes a step towards my door and raises her hand. I jerk back as her knuckles make contact and then I put my hand over my mouth.

I stare in stunned silence at the door and I can hear the beating of my heart in my ears. How long do I have to stand here before she goes away? I don’t dare look through the peephole again just in case she can see a shadow. If I move from this spot she might hear the floor creak, so I stand there hoping she’ll just go away.

“Hi there,” she says in a sing-song voice. “I’m your new neighbor Teeny.”

I hold my breath as she knocks again and curse myself for being so fucking nosy to begin with. Why did I stand there for so long watching her? I try to reason that it’s because she’s new and lives across from me, but really it was one glimpse and I couldn’t look away.

“Well, my real name is Louise, but everybody just calls me Teeny because of my size.”

I’m dying to see her, so I take a chance and move just a bit closer to the door. The floor creaks and I curse under my breath.