Boys Next Door: A Contemporary Reverse Harem Romance (Boys Next Door, Book 1)

by Mia Belle

  “Why do you think I wanted to see you smile?”

  I open my mouth, then shut it. The truth is, I have no idea.

  A crooked smile forms on his face. Damn, I think he’s leaning even closer to me. My gaze drops to the ground, then to him. He still doesn’t seem to care.

  “Get back in your room or I’m calling your mom,” I warn.

  He pulls his head in and I sigh in relief, but the next second, he’s leaning toward me again. He’s holding something. The drawing. He stretches it out to me.

  “If I take it, will you promise to go back in?”

  His eyes roll around as he considers it. “Yep. And if you tell me you forgive me for being an ass.” His gaze focuses on me. “But it has to be real forgiveness. Don’t just say it because you’re worried I’ll turn into a human pancake.”

  “You’re insane. Totally insane.”

  That darkness conquers his face again. “Yeah.” His voice is low. “I know.” He’s wearing an odd look, as if he’s remembering something from his past. It causes the darkness to multiply by a thousand.

  I grab the drawing from him. “Okay, I forgive you. Now pull yourself in.”

  The darkness vanishes as he gives me his usual lazy smile. He yanks himself into his room.

  I look at the drawing. Despite being crumpled, it’s still in good shape. The smiling me shines as brightly as she did before.

  “I can teach you,” he says.

  I look up. “What?”

  He nods at the drawing. “To draw. And maybe you can draw me.”

  “What?” I repeat.

  He chuckles. “Kidding. But yeah, I can teach you.” He shrugs. “Or at least I can show you how I draw. Should be interesting, don’t you think?”

  “I guess?”

  There’s a knock on my door and I go to answer it. Dad stands there with his arms filled with Doritos.

  “I wasn’t sure which is your favorite,” he tells me. “So I bought every flavor.”

  I take them from him. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “You love Doritos.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  He bends close and kisses me on the head. “Remember, it’s a school night. No staying up late.”

  It used to irritate me to have the principal as a father, but now there’s nothing about him that annoys me. I’m not sure we could be as close as we were, but I’m willing to try.

  “Okay,” I say. He smiles before walking away.

  I dump the Doritos on my bed. I don’t know how in the world I’m going to eat all of these huge bags myself.

  “Those look good,” Zane says.

  Grabbing one, I step to the window. “You can have some. There’s no way I’ll finish them all.”

  “No way. Your dad got those for you. We can share.”

  I lift a brow. “How? By throwing the bag back and forth?”

  “Why not? Unless you want me to lean over.”

  “No!”

  He laughs.

  I give him a face. “It’s not funny to joke about that.”

  He cocks his head to the side, clutching his heart. “I didn’t know you cared so much.” The humor drops from his face. “Actually…you’re the only one except for the Armstrongs who’s ever cared about me.”

  “That can’t be true.”

  He doesn’t say anything.

  “What about your friends?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “Never really had any.”

  “Why?”

  He’s quiet again. I wait for him to explain, but it looks like he doesn’t plan to. I’m curious, but I’m not going to pry. I know he’s curious about the scars on my wrists, but he’s never pushed me to talk about it. Honestly, I don’t know if I ever will.

  I chuck the bag of Doritos at him. “You first.”

  Grinning, he tears it open and dumps a bunch into his mouth. Then he rolls up the bag and hurls it at me. Because I have no coordination, I miss and the bag tumbles onto my bedroom floor.

  Zane chuckles. “You need to ask Aidan to teach you how to catch.”

  I pick up the bag and glance inside. Most of them are cracked. “Look what you did.”

  He laughs again. “Doesn’t take away from the taste, does it?”

  “Guess not.”

  He motions for me to take a bunch. I grab a handful, then throw it to him. This is how it goes until the bag is empty. I tell Zane he can have most of it because I’m starting to get a stomachache. From the look of those muscles, I bet Zane could eat three bags and still not be satisfied.

  We part a little while later, me to my reading and him to his homework.

  “Hey,” he says as I turn away.

  I face him.

  “Thanks for forgiving me. Means a lot. And I swear I won’t ever hurt you again.”

  I reach for the pull cord. “Don’t make promises you’re not sure you can keep.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Aidan

  The second I enter the school building along with Caleb and Zane, I’m bombarded by girls. I don’t know most of their names, because there are so many and I’m still new. I do know Alexis and Sophie, though. They’re at the front of the group, uttering words I can’t make out. There’s this huge buzz as everyone talks at once.

  Zane and Caleb have disappeared. Maybe they fled from the group. Whatever happened to having each other’s backs? I can’t believe they’re ditching me to deal with all this on my own.

  “Aidan.” Alexis pulls at my arm. “You should have come to the party Saturday! It was the most epic thing in the world.” She goes on to talk about something interesting that happened, and my eyes wander around until they settle on Lia. She’s at her locker, working the combination.

  Sophie adds in the conversation, but I’m not listening to her, either. I know I don’t know her well, and it’s probably not really my business, but I’m very pissed at Sophie. She just abandoned her best friend. I thought she’d hang out with both Alexis and Lia, but I guess she’s not into Lia anymore. Which sucks, because Lia is a good person.

  The girls continue to gush and gush, but I slip away, heading to the girl with curly brown hair, who’s still at her locker. She’s rummaging inside.

  “Hi, Lia,” I say. “Need help?”

  She yanks her hand out. “I lost my pen, but my arms are too short and I can’t find it.”

  “Don’t you have more pens? I can give you one.”

  She shakes her head. “No, it’s special, and I need to find it.”

  I lift a brow. “What’s so special about it?”

  “My mom gave it to me on my fourteenth birthday. All I need to do is switch the ink. The pen itself is fine.”

  “Let me help, then.” I stick my hand into her locker and pat around. “It’s great you have a special connection to her. I can tell you guys had a great relationship. Got it.” I pull my hand out. “There you go.”

  “Thanks.”

  I smile. “No problem. Are you headed to algebra?”

  “Yeah.”

  We walk side by side. From the corner of my eye, I note Alexis and her friends watching us like hawks. A few days ago, I would have done anything to grab their attention. Now there’s only one person whose attention I want to grab.

  “I heard my family ate lunch by you yesterday,” I say once we’ve entered the classroom and sit down. Zane and Caleb are already inside, Zane at the back of the room and Caleb at the front. Lia and I are on the side.

  “Yeah,” Lia says. “Caleb and I spent hours making this huge meal. Sorry you couldn’t make it.”

  I’m sorry, too. “Was the food good?”

  She half shrugs. “That’s what everyone claims. It was all Caleb, though. He’s seriously a master in the kitchen.”

  I laugh. “Sure is. But I bet you’ve got some talent, too. Didn’t you say your mom was good at cooking? You probably inherited that from her.”

  A small, pained smile crawls onto her face. “Maybe. Thanks for saying that.”

>   I want to place my hand on hers, but I curl my fingers on my lap. “Look, I can’t say I understand what you’re going through. I mean, we both lost something we love, but I can’t imagine not having my parents around. But we can talk about that sort of thing. If you’re cool with that.”

  She wraps her arms around herself like she grew cold. “Thanks, but I’m not sure I want to talk about her.”

  “Okay.”

  Heels clack on the tiled floor before Alexis and Sophie appear before us. Alexis’s nostrils flare as she takes in Lia sitting next to me. She and Sophie drop down on the desks on my right and my left.

  “Aidan.” Alexis pouts. “You didn’t hear what happened to me at the party. I mean, I don’t remember it, but everyone told me about it.” She laughs deeply. “I danced on the table in my underwear!”

  “And you’re happy about that?” I ask.

  Her mouth clamps shut. “Yeah, everyone thought it was so funny.” She purrs as she moves closer to me, running her long finger across my arm. “Wouldn’t you want to see me in my underwear?”

  I push her hand off. “No. And you should be careful not to get hammered at parties. It’s not safe.”

  She laughs again, gently slapping my arm. “Aidan, you’re so, so sweet for watching over me.”

  I restrain from rolling my eyes. But Lia does it for the both of us, and I can’t help the small smile tugging my mouth. I’ve known girls like Alexis all my life. Many wanted to date me, the captain of the football team. And I always turned them down. Because I’m looking for a real, meaningful relationship. Someone I could be close to, could trust, someone I could share all my hopes, worries, fears with.

  My eyes flit to Lia, who’s flipping through the algebra textbook. I’m bummed that I missed out on the grand meal she put together, and truthfully, I want to spend as much time as I can with her. But at the same time, I’m glad I met Burke, Blaze, Charlie, and Emmet. Those guys are my guys. They transport me to a time when I was actually someone, not a washed-out football player. Those guys don’t care that I don’t play anymore. I think we could be great friends.

  I haven’t told my parents about them, and don’t plan to. If they knew I was hanging out with them and playing ball, they’d veto it. And really, is it such a big deal for me to play sports again? Dad, Mom, and the doctors are just freaking out. I’m fine. I know I can play again.

  A part of me wants to tell Lia about them. I trust her almost as much as I trust my parents and Zane and Caleb, but I’m worried she’ll also talk me out of it. For now, it’s my secret.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Caleb

  Lia and I sit side by side in history class, working on another assignment. This time, we’re required to choose an important current event topic and tie it to history. Our teacher’s trying to show us how the past and the present go hand in hand. Or something like that.

  I’m trying to focus, but my mind keeps wandering to what my aunt and uncle told me last night. They don’t think it’s a good idea for us to start a baking business right now. We’d have to put in a lot of money, which we don’t have. I’m sure that was an excuse, though. The real reason is because they don’t want me to feel like I need to make money to help out.

  “Caleb?” Lia asks.

  I snap in. Her pen is poised over her paper and she’s looking at me like she asked a question a million times. I shake my thoughts away. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. What were you thinking about?”

  I tell her, and her eyes soften. “But you understand where they’re coming from, right?” she asks. “I mean, you’re only sixteen and they don’t want you to worry about money.”

  “But I spend every free second I have baking. Our freezer’s stuffed to the max. Why can’t we…” I stop talking when it hits me. Of course. Craig and Julia don’t want me to start the business because they’re worried about my safety. If we were to get some press, we might catch my dad’s attention. They’re just looking out for me. That was very careless of me to nearly put us all in danger.

  Why haven’t the cops found him yet, dammit? Why the hell is he so damn good at hiding?

  I used to love that about him. When I was little and we’d play hide and seek, I was never able to find him. It was a challenge for me, and I never got sick of it or frustrated. I was determined to locate him. But I never did. Eventually, after searching for hours, he would reveal himself.

  Damn. I miss those days. I miss when he was actually a dad and not on the FBI’s most wanted list.

  “Caleb?” Lia asks. “You okay? You look like you’re about to pass out.”

  I nod quickly, averting my gaze from hers. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

  She appears like she wants to dig, but I guess she decides not to. Instead, she focuses on the assignment.

  “I’m sorry I ran away last time,” I tell her. “It’s just that talking about my dad is a little…sensitive for me.”

  She nods slowly. “I get that. It’s like me and my mom. It hurts too much.”

  “Yeah, I lost my mom, too.”

  Her face fills with sympathy again. “Sorry. I forgot.”

  “It’s okay.” I force another smile. “No harm done.”

  We resume working on the project, when I receive a text. Phones aren’t allowed in class, but I can’t part with it. I need to constantly be updated on the news. I need to know if they’ve found him.

  Lia curiously watches as I slip out my phone and scan the text.

  Zane: your dad was spotted.

  He sends me a link to a news article, which discusses Maxwell the Magnificent. Apparently, Dad has struck again, killing two construction workers. He was staying in an abandoned warehouse in Ohio. The construction workers found him and called the cops. By the time they arrived there, Maxwell was gone and the two men’s throats were slashed.

  My breathing grows heavy as I dump my phone in my pocket. My eyes get a little blurry when I think about all the people my dad killed. Those two men were trying to do the right thing. They wanted to keep the world safe from that monster. And now they’re dead.

  “What was that?”

  My head springs up. I forgot I’m in class and that Lia is sitting right next to me. I hope she doesn’t notice the tears in my eyes.

  “Oh,” I causally say. “Just a link to a video on YouTube. Zane actually thinks I care about that sort of thing.” I force a laugh.

  She slightly narrows her eyes like she doesn’t believe me. “What do you care about? Other than cooking and baking?”

  “Homework, I guess. My aunt and uncle do so much for me. Give me food and clothes and a place to live. I guess I want to work hard so they’re not wasting their money on me, you know?” I puff out my cheeks. It’s been getting harder for me to focus on my studies, though. I Google him every night. I read as many articles about him as I can. If it was up to me, I’d be out there searching for him.

  Class ends and we hand in our assignment. I’m so distracted with what I read that I have no idea what we wrote down.

  Lunch passes in a blur. I’m vaguely aware of Zane, Aidan, and Lia sitting with me. I don’t know what we’re talking about or even how the rest of the day carries on.

  I find myself in the kitchen with the others. Zane drops his bag on a chair and pulls open the pantry. He snatches a few cookies I made yesterday from the jar and downs them with some orange juice.

  Aidan grabs the carton from him. “Dude, how many times do we have to tell you to quit drinking from the carton?”

  Zane shrugs. “I only do that when it’s empty.”

  Aidan shakes the carton, and when no liquid sloshes around, he frowns. “Thanks a lot, man.” After dumping it on the counter, he heads for the door.

  “Where you off to?” Zane asks.

  “Out.” He shuts the door behind him.

  Zane chucks a few more cookies into his mouth. “How you doing?” he asks me.

  I’ve noticed he’s been a little moodier than usual s
ince we saw that movie on Saturday. I have no idea why, and don’t bother asking because he won’t discuss it. He never lets anyone in. Never talks about his childhood before he was adopted, and I have no clue how he got those scars on his wrists.

  “Caleb?” He whacks me at the back of my head.

  I rub the spot. “What?”

  “Did you read what I sent you?”

  “Yeah. What do you want me to say?” I reach for the carton and squeeze it. “Two more people died because of him.”

  He’s about to say something, when Craig and Julia enter the kitchen. I’m pretty sure they were watching the news.

  Julia gives me a wide smile, clearly masking her true feelings. “How was school?” Her joyfulness is overkill, probably to distract me.

  “We know about it,” Zane says.

  My aunt and uncle exchange a glance. Julia tugs me into her arms, patting my back. I don’t feel it. Don’t think I can feel anything right now.

  Craig rests his hand on my arm. “Come, Caleb. Let’s talk.”

  I shake my head. He gently squeezes my arm. “You know it’s not good to bottle your emotions.”

  I reluctantly trail him into the living room, where we drop down on the couch. I lean forward, my hands raking through my long hair. Uncle Craig just sits there, deep in thought. He’s trying to be strong for me, but I can see the pain eating away at him. Maxwell the Magnificent may be my dad, but he’s his twin brother.

  “I’m fine,” I inform him. Pure lie. But what exactly am I supposed to do about it?

  His eyes dart to me, then flick away. “It’s okay to let out your true feelings, Caleb. If you need to punch something, go to Zane’s bag.”

  That causes me to laugh. Only a little. “The poor bag should suffer because my dad’s a killer?”

  He wraps an arm around me. “Do you need to talk to someone?”

  I shake my head. “I’ll be okay. I’ll put all my anger into a new recipe I’m working on.”

  He nods slowly. “Now that he’s been spotted, we need to be more careful than ever. He’s moving west and I fear…” His voice trails off and he shakes his head. “But we’re safe here.”