So much for being friendly.
My guard goes up as I watch him walk away, wondering if his nice guy, gentleman act might have been just that—an act.
“All right, who’s ready to see the new house?” my dad announces as he gets out of the truck.
He’s cleaned up a bit since I last saw him. Or, well, at least changed his clothes, which is considered cleaned up for him.
“Where the hell have you been?” I demand as I stride toward him.
Between having to break in last night to waking up to dealing with our new neighbors, I’m feeling a bit testy. And his blasé attitude about ditching us last night is only adding fuel to the wildfire.
“Picking up the keys for our new place, getting the power and water turned on, and finding a job.” He pats my shoulder. “Thanks for taking care of things last night.”
I grind my jaw from side to side. “I had to break into a house I wasn’t even sure was ours, just so we didn’t have to sleep in the car. Where were you all night? Because I know you weren’t getting the keys for this place and finding a new job at two o’clock in the morning.”
He scrubs his hand over his head. “I was taking care of some other stuff.”
“You mean, finding out which bar lets you open a tab?” I question. “Or which bar has the most inattentive bartender so you can hand him a fake credit card, and then stiff the bill altogether?”
“That’s not what I do.” But his guilt is written all over his face.
“I know your scams, Dad.” I back away, shaking my head. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the one who’s had to go down to the bar and pay your outstanding tabs, or convince the bar owner that you just forgot to pay the bill and weren’t trying to take off.”
“I wasn’t scamming anyone over last night,” he bites out. “I really did have some stuff to take care of.”
I don’t believe him. I’d be stupid to.
“So, where’s your new job then?”
He shrugs, scuffing the tip of his boot against the dirt. “Around here.”
“Mmmhm.” I roll my eyes. Sure it is. “And what exactly are you going to be doing?”
“Stuff.” He tosses me a set of keys before hiking to the back of the truck. “It requires me to be gone a lot. I might even be gone for a week at a time, so I’m counting on you to take care of your sisters.”
“I always do,” I mutter.
God knows what the hell he’s actually doing for work. Probably something illegal. Or he might even be lying about having a job altogether. Wouldn’t be the first time.
The last time he pulled a stunt like that, he pretended to go to work every morning, only to go spend the day at the bar, spending what little money we had on whiskey. It took me three weeks to catch on after I realized no money was coming in. I ended up tailing him and, sure enough, discovered his dirty little secret.
After that, I started keeping an eye on him. That was also when I got my first part-time job. I was fourteen and lied about my age to get a job waitressing at a café. I’ve been working part-time jobs ever since. So do my sisters. It’s how we buy food, school clothes, and other necessities, and pay the bills when needed. It’s never enough, though, hence the constant moving. It doesn’t help that our dad is always either borrowing money from us or stealing it when we refuse to give him any cash.
After Dad drops the tailgate, Bailey and I start helping him move stuff inside the house. Eventually, Londyn and Payton return with a can of tire inflator.
“What happened to your tires?” Dad asks as he follows me with a box in hands.
“The neighbors,” I answer as I set the can of tire inflator on the hood of my car.
He blinks confusedly. “They flattened your tires? Why?”
I lift a shoulder. “We got off on the wrong foot, I guess.”
He shifts his weight. “Do you want me to go talk to them?”
I quickly shake my head. “No, I can handle it.”
Adjusting the box underneath his arm, he scratches his head. “I think maybe we should keep our distance from the people around here.” When I give him a puzzled look, he adds, “I just don’t think we’re going to be here very long, and I don’t want you girls getting attached to anyone.”
“We never do.” A bit of annoyance rings in my tone.
He doesn’t seem to notice, giving me a pat on my shoulder before walking into the house.
I start to turn back toward the truck to grab some more boxes when my gaze magnetizes toward the neighbors’. Blaise is standing on the front porch and leaning against the railing. His face is mostly shadowed, so I can’t see it very well, but I can feel his stare burning into me.
And I stare right back. He doesn’t look away. Neither do I. The air starts to burn, scorching hot, as I refuse to let this asshole intimidate me.
“Hadley.”
I flinch as Bailey nudges my foot with hers.
“Huh?” I blink at her.
“I asked which room you wanted?” She frowns, her eyes traveling to the neighbors’ house. “What were you staring at over there?”
I dare a glimpse back at Blaise, only to find him gone. “Nothing.” I shake my head, trying to clear the unsettling feeling that I somehow just lost a silent battle with Blaise when I looked away.
I shouldn’t be worried, though. They’re just guys. Nothing more.
And I’ve handled worse.
Six
My sisters and I spend the rest of the night unloading boxes and furniture into the house and making a quick trip to the grocery store to buy some food. Our dad helps for a bit, but eventually goes up to his room and passes out, probably hungover.
The house has three bedrooms, so Londyn and I bunk up in one and Payton and Bailey in the other. We don’t have much for furniture, just some mattresses, bedframes, and a couple of dressers, so organizing doesn’t take too long.
Once we’re finished for the night, Londyn climbs into bed, while I stare out the window at the next-door neighbors’, playing guard basically. The lights in the house are off, but the back-porch light is on, highlighting all the cars in the backyard.
“So, what do you think about Dad already having a job, but not telling us where he’s working?” Londyn asks, fluffing her pillow.
“I’m not sure.” I sit down on the dresser and continue to stare out the window. “He could’ve been lying, or he could be doing something illegal.”
“Where do you think he was last night?”
“I have no idea. Probably at a bar.”
“All night?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Yeah, but … didn’t he seem sort of, I don’t know, evasive about everything?”
“Isn’t Dad’s middle name evasive?” I remind her. “While I spend a lot of time trying to keep an eye on him, I feel as if I barely know him.”
“Me, too,” she mumbles through a yawn. “One day, maybe we’ll have to do some detective work and figure out what he really does.”
“Wouldn’t that be funny?” I muse. “To use the detective skills he taught us when we were younger to bust his ass for doing something illegal.”
“It would be pretty funny. He’d probably get pissed off.” A beat of silence drags by. “Had, if he ever hits one of us again, I think we should report it to the police.”
My fingers drift to my cheek. “I thought about doing that, but at the same time, if the police try to intervene and social services gets called, we might be separated.” My hand falls to my lap. “But if he hits any one of you, I’ll do it.”
“I wish we could just gain guardianship of each other.” Londyn yawns again. “You’re almost eighteen and way more responsible than Dad.”
“I wish I could, but I’m not sure I can.” No, unfortunately, if our dad ever does lose guardianship, my sisters are probably going to end up in group homes, even though I’ll be a legal adult in just a month.
I remain sitting on the dresser for a few more minutes, staring a
t the neighbors’ backyard, listening to Londyn breathe heavily as she dozes off. Eventually, my eyelids grow heavy and I move to my bed, deciding playing guard all night isn’t possible. But the moment I hop off the dresser, a large SUV pulls into their driveway and parks near the porch. The headlights click off, and four figures hop out.
Clicking off the lamp, I hunker down as the figures move toward the house. When they step onto the porch, the porch light casts across their faces, revealing the four figures are none other than Blaise, Alex, Jaxon, and Rhyland.
They appear to be having a heated argument. Blaise is in Alex’s face, his hands balled at his sides as he reams into him. Alex stands stiffly with his arms crossed, his lips never parting, while Rhyland and Jaxon watch.
As Blaise continues to bite Alex’s head off, his gaze suddenly darts to my bedroom window. Panicking, I crouch down lower, even though there’s no way he could have seen me.
With Alex’s gaze fixed on my window, he nods once. Then Blaise nods, visibly relaxing and giving Alex’s shoulder a pat. He says a few more words, and then the four of them head into the house.
My stomach twists with uneasiness as I tiptoe to my bed, climb in, and spend half the night lying in bed, worrying, before finally falling asleep.
Seven
I wake up the next morning feeling as though I spent all night throwing back shots.
I really need to work on getting better sleep.
Combing my fingers through my hair, I shove the blankets off me. Londyn’s bed has already been made and her boxes are emptied out. She must have gotten up really early in order to finish unpacking. Or I just got up late, I realize as I check the time on my phone.
It’s almost noon. I never sleep this late, unless I’m hungover.
Frustrated with my laziness, I drag my ass out of bed and tear open the box where all my clothes are stuffed. I dig out a black T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and turn to take a shower. But my attention gets snagged by the house next door.
I spent half of last night stressed out over if they’d do something else to me. And now I’m exhausted because of it.
I need to stop stressing about stuff so much.
Forcing myself to stop thinking about the neighbors for now, I go to the bathroom to take a quick shower, get dressed, and secure my hair into a high ponytail. Then I head downstairs to get some lunch, since it’s already past noon.
When I enter the kitchen, my dad is at the counter, dressed in a jacket, jeans, and work boots, and he’s stuffing a sandwich into a baggie.
“Where are you going?” I wonder as I collect a cup from a box and grab the juice from the fridge.
“To work.” He tosses the bagged sandwich into a lunchbox and adds a water bottle.
“It’s Saturday.” I take a sip of my juice.
“Yeah, so? People sometimes have to work on Saturdays.” He zips up the lunchbox and collects his truck key he got made the other day from the local hardware store. “The job I got actually requires me to work seven days a week.”
I nearly drop my cup. “So, you’re going to be working every day?”
He nods, crossing the kitchen toward the door. “It’s called a full-time job, Hadley.” He exits the house, slamming the door behind him.
I hurry across the kitchen and open the door, stepping onto the small porch. He’s already in his truck and backing down the driveway. He turns right on the road, heading in the opposite direction of the main part of town. I make a mental note of that, wishing my car was functional so I could tail him and find out where he’s working.
“How far of a drive is it?”
Voices float from next door as Rhyland, Blaise, Alex, and Jaxon file out of their house and down the front porch. Like yesterday, they’re dressed all in black, some with studded belts, some with chains on their beltloop. Rhyland even has studded suspenders hanging from the waistband of his jeans.
“I’m not sure.” Alex tosses the keys to Rhyland.
Jaxon sighs tiredly as he reaches a black SUV with tinted windows parked out front. “I don’t feel like going to a party today.”
Rhyland rounds the front of the car and opens the driver’s side door. “It’ll be fun. And it’s by the lake. You like going to the lake.”
“I don’t like the lake,” Alex grumbles. “Can I stay home?”
“Nope,” Blaise says in a cold tone as he grabs the door handle. “You’re already in deep shit over that little stunt you pulled with….” His eyes stray toward my house, quickly finding me. He fleetingly stiffens.
Alex tracks his gaze and his lips tug into a smirk. “Gentlemen, we have an audience.”
Four sets of eyes lock on me. But that four hastily turns to three as Jaxon yanks open the door and climbs inside the SUV so swiftly you’d think looking at me burned his retinas or something.
“Hey Hadley,” Rhyland greets me with a smile.
“Rhyland,” I reply in a formal tone.
He smiles amusedly, dragging his hand across his mouth.
“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 the middle finger.
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.”
“Maybe I should train the asshole out of you,” I quip, flipping him off.
His gaze is full of fire as he starts to step toward my house. “I think it might be time—”
“Blaise,” Rhyland cuts him off. “What’re you doing? This isn’t like you.”
Yeah, that statement seems like the biggest lie ever.
Blaise quickly slams to a stop. “Nothing, let’s just go.” He throws one final glance at me, seeming a bit unsettled then gets into 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 and 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 as them but their dad.”
“Who’s their dad?”
“I’m not sure.”
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 come help us out if we needed help moving in stuff.”
“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 t
he 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 had 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.
Eight
The next week passes by swiftly and surprisingly, without any more drama. We get settled into the house, 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, though, and I have a feeling I’m going to be bumping into them in the hallways.
Once my alarm goes off, I get up, take a shower, then pull on my favorite pair of black jeans, a black tank top, and top the look off with a plaid overshirt, a velvet choker, and a pair of thick boots. I leave my hair down in wild waves, swept to the side, and then trace my eyes with kohl eyeliner.
Usually, I’m a bit more nervous about starting a new school, but since it’s the beginning of a new school year, it’s not quite as stressful. Plus, it’s the start of my senior year. The start of my very last year of high school. Then I get to go off to college.
I fist-pump the air before turning to walk out of my room, running into Londyn in the hallway. I follow her downstairs where Bailey and Payton are munching on granola bars and waiting for us.
I hurriedly grab a couple of granola bars for myself then usher everyone out the door, knowing we have a long walk ahead of us.
“Do we really have to walk?” Bailey gripes as I lock the door.
I nod, stuffing the keys into my pocket. “Sorry, but until we can come up with some cash for new tires, we’re going to be trekking around on foot for a—what the hell!” I sputter as I catch sight of my car.