Love Thy Neighbor (Friend-Zoned)(11)

He looks suddenly nervous and mutters, “About Tasha…”

I cut him off, “Not my business. Next topic of discussion.”

Ghost nods and goes on, “I think you should rethink this avoiding each other business.”

I turn my body so I’m on my side. “Why?”

Ghost turns to look at me and states firmly, “Because it’s selfish of you.”

What the feck?!

“What?” I whisper.

He nods and explains, “For seven months all our friends have been divided and I don’t like it. We live next door to each other, so grow the hell up and get over whatever it is that stops us from talking because I’ve had it.”

Rage coils in my gut.

I shout, “I’m not selfish!”

He nods his head. “Okay, fine. Show me you aren’t. Let’s stop avoiding each other.”

My brain wanders as he says this.

What could go wrong?

I could begin to feel things for him. Gooey, icky things.

Then don’t sleep with him again, stupid.

What are his intentions?

I clear my throat and ask, “What are your intentions, Ghost?”

He turns to face me and looks uneasy. He frowns and sniffs his reply, “I don’t know. Be friends or some shit.” He finishes with a small shrug.

Friends with Ghost.

Friendship.

I can do friendship.

After a minute silence, I respond quietly. “Yeah, okay. We can be friends.”

Ghost blinks and slides off my bed. He turns off my lamp, covers me with the quilt and whispers, “Night, Nat.”

I smile. “Night, Ghost.”

All is right in the world.





Chapter Three

No use crying over stolen milk





Thump.

My eyes open wide and I stiffen. I pull the covers up to my chin and listen.

Thump.

Someone’s in my kitchen!

No one has a key to this place yet, so I come to the conclusion I’m being robbed. I grab my phone and slowly edge off the bed, being careful not to make a sound. I dial 911 on my cell on hold my thumb over the green call button.

Mental note: buy mace.

I peek down the hall and see a man’s body hanging out of my refrigerator. Luckily, the refrigerator door is in the way so he can’t see me. I creep as quietly as I can down the hall, into the kitchen then slam the refrigerator door into the man as hard as I can. The man gets squished and makes an Oomph sound. I run to the door, unlock it, go out into the hall and bang on Ghost’s door as loudly as possible.

My body trembles. I’m scared to death.

I whisper shakily, “Please be home. Please be home.” I lose patience and shriek, “Ghost! Open the door! Please be home!”

My eyes fill with tears.

I’m terrified.

An arm wraps around my waist and I yelp. Just as I’m about to scratch the robber’s eyes out, lips come to my ear and he whispers, “Calm down, pretty girl. It’s just me.”

My body becomes limp with relief and I choke on a sob. I dip my chin and burst into tears.

He turns me, and I lean my forehead onto his chest as he holds me tight. He rocks my body from side to side and coos, “It’s okay, babe. It’s just me.”

When I finally manage to calm down, I lean back and look into Ghost’s face. He looks concerned as he wipes away my tears. I sniffle and he puts on a small smile. Just as he opens his mouth to speak, I punch him.

Right on the nose.

He stumbles back holding his nose and moaning. I screech, “Don’t you ever, ever do that again!”

Then I turn on my heel and storm back into my apartment. I lock the door behind me, run to my room and face plant into my bed. Within seconds, I hear the front door open. I sigh. A few seconds later, I feel the bed sink next to me.

“Who taught you to punch like that?”

I reply a muffled, “My dad.” After a few moments of silence, I lift my face and tell him, “I have two sisters. Dad wanted us be to be able to defend ourselves. All it really did was make us short-fused and dangerous. There were more cat fights in our house than you could count. Nina once stabbed me with a fork because I ruined her sweater. Helena ripped a chunk of hair out of my head when I was in high school, and I had to wear a hat for a year.”

Ghost’s eyes widen. “That’s f*cked up.”

I sigh and smile wistfully. “Yeah. It is.”

“So you don’t get on with your family?”

I scrunch my face and state, “My family is awesome. We’re just a bit hot-headed is all.”

After a moment’s silence, I ask, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Ghost replies without emotion, “Nik, Max and Trick are my brothers.”

That’s really sweet, but I’ll never admit it to him. I find myself curious to know about his family. More importantly, to find out about what makes Ghost the way he is.

I roll my eyes and ask, “For real brothers and sisters?”

He sighs. “No. Don’t have a family either, so can you drop it?”

My eyes narrow. “What the feck were you doing in my kitchen this morning? You scared the shit out of me.”

Ghost rubs his nose. “Yeah, sorry about that. I ran out of milk so I came to borrow some. Isn’t that what friends do?”