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“Where’s my greeting?” Blaise questions, partially amused, partially irritated, and if I didn’t know any better, a tiny bit hurt.
“Right here.” I flip him off.
Alex snorts a laugh as he pulls open the back door to the SUV. “She’s so feisty.”
“Yeah, I know.” Blaise’s intense gaze sears into me as he nibbles on his bottom lip. “Maybe I should tame it out of her.”
Alex gives him a funny, sort of surprised look.
“Maybe I should tame the asshole out of you,” I quip back, flipping Blaise off again.
Blaise’s gaze is full of fire as he starts to step toward my house. “I think it might be time you and I—”
“Blaise,” Rhyland cuts him off. “What’re you doing? You need to calm down. This isn’t like you.”
Yeah, that statement seems like the biggest lie ever.
Blaise quickly slams to a halt. “Fine, let’s just go.” He throws one final glance at me, seeming a bit unsettled, then gets in the car.
Rhyland offers me an apologetic look, then jumps into the driver’s seat and peels out of the driveway, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
Shaking my head, I step back into the house right as Londyn wanders into the kitchen. She’s wearing a pair of soccer shorts, a tank, knee-high socks, shin guards, cleats, a soccer ball is tucked under her arm, and her hair is pulled into a messy bun.
“What were you just doing?” she wonders suspiciously when she notes how close to the door I am. “And please don’t tell me you were having a throw down with those jerks next door.”
“Okay, I wasn’t having a throw down with the jerks next door.” I say it more as a question, though.
A weighted sigh puffs from her lips as she opens the fridge. “I was thinking about this all last night. While those guys are infuriating, I think we should keep our distance from them.” She grabs a water bottle then bumps the fridge door shut. “You should’ve heard what the clerk at the gas station was saying about them yesterday when I told him where we lived.” She shakes her head, unscrewing the lid off the water bottle. “Apparently, they cause trouble all the time and do some pretty dangerous stuff, but they never get in trouble for it because almost everyone in town is scared of them.”
“Almost everyone in town is scared of a bunch of teenage guys?” I question as I pick up a box of granola bars.
She takes a swig of water. “Well, not so much of them, but their dad.”
“Who’s their dad?”
“I’m not sure. I just heard that he’s pretty sketchy.”
So weird.
I rest my arms on top of the counter. “Why were you talking to this cashier guy about them?”
She shrugs. “He asked me if I was new here, and when I told him I was and where I lived, he started warning me about our new neighbors. He also offered to help us out if we needed help moving in.”
“Hmmm … Sounds like he was hitting on you.”
“No, it wasn’t like that.” But a wistful smile tugs at her lips. “It wouldn’t be so terrible if he was, though. He was pretty hot and seemed sweet.” Screwing the cap back on the water bottle, she starts for the door. “I’m going to hit up the park and do some practice drills. Text me if you need anything.” She waves goodbye before slipping out of the house, leaving me to wonder if the cashier guy’s warning has any truth to it.
Could the neighbors be dangerous?
One thing is for sure. I need to make sure they stay away from my sisters.
8
HADLEY
The next weekpasses by swiftly and surprisingly without any more drama. We get settled into the house, I celebrate my eighteenth birthday with my sisters, just hanging out and relaxing, something I greatly appreciate. Londyn and I find a part-time job delivering newspapers in the mornings, and Bailey and Payton get hired to babysit the neighbors’ kids after school. Not the neighbors’ right next door to us. No, I haven’t seen or heard much from them, which is a relief.
School starts today, and I have a feeling I’m going to be bumping into them in the hallways.
