The Boy Next Door by Janell Hart (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) 📖

Chapter 1-- After the Incident

While I was walking down Haven Dr., I was thinking about all the events that happened today…. My ex- best friend throwing a party, Me meeting a senior who I thought was “chill” and “laid-back”, then I got raped by him, I then blanked on my “best friend” and now here I am… LIMPING down the street like a newborn calf all because I decided to take risks for “her”.... All because she was my best friend…. All this time, I thought that she’d look after me but… I guess that didn’t happen. As I was turn onto my street, Snow Ln., I could smell the scent of weed from miles away. While I kept walking, a group of grown men were huddled in some form of a clique and one of them spotted me and said “Hey Lil Mama! Are you lost?”. I turned to them so that they could see my full outward appearance and then another one said “Damn Ma! You look fine as hell…”. I said “Thank you” and I went back onto my walk to my house.

When I got home, no one was there, except me. As I was heading to my room, I came across a note and it said: “Sabrina, Your father and I had to go to New York for an emergency. We won’t be back till tomorrow morning. Keep all doors locked and don’t let anyone in, except Ms. Jones (our neighbor). Dinner is in the microwave. Enjoy and see you tomorrow. We love you! :) ~Mom and Dad~”.

After I read the note, I folded it and went upstairs to my room. While I was undressing out of Nicole’s dress, I heard someone knocking on the door. I looked at my alarm clock and in bright, red numbers “11:45”. Now here’s what I was thinking…. “Who would knock on someone’s door at close to midnight?”. I threw on my Pink Panther housecoat and sloots (a combination of slippers and boots) then I slowly started to walk to the door. As I was getting closer to the door, the knock became more like bangs as if someone was attempting to break inside. I quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife out of the knife rack and I started to walk slowly to the door having the knife ready in hand. I yelled “Who is it?!?!?” and just as I was getting ready to swing open the door and stab someone, I heard an elderly woman’s voice say “It’s Ms. Jones, your neighbor” and very quickly the tension and suspicion went away.

I opened the door to let Ms. Jones in and we then sat on the couch and we were having a full on conversation, Woman-to-Teenager. I ended up telling her about everything that happened today from my ex-best friend throwing a kickback to me getting raped by a senior to me leaving, but in the end, I told her that I would be fine. After our conversation, I walked her to the door and we both said our “Good night”s. After I locked the door, I went upstairs to bed.

As I was sleeping, I had a quick flashback of the kickback at Nicole’s house. I remembered from when the moment that I walked down those stairs, all of the guys were whistling at me and when I was sitting on the couch watching all of the couples dancing, I didn’t know who it was but I saw one boy that looked very pleasant. He had dark hair that was in the form of a side Mohawk and he had a very buff figure. He was wearing a black T-shirt with jeans that were tight in the right places on his body. While I was observing him, he kind of found out that I was looking at him and we ended up making eye contact with each other. I started to bite my lip and he gave me a devilish smirk. But just as I was going to head his direction, another female came and dragged him away and I ended up alone, just until I met that son of a bitch senior. I just couldn’t help but ask myself… WHO WAS HE AND DOES HE GO TO LIBERTY HIGH SCHOOL??? Just as I was thinking about that question, my alarm clock shook me out of my fantasy and I sat up looking shaken as if I had a nightmare. I then got up out my bed and started to get ready for school.

 

Chapter 2-- Imagination into Reality

 While in my Science class doing independent work, I couldn’t stop thinking about that boy that was in my dreams. I often thought that it was a dream and that he couldn’t be real, so I honestly gave the fantasy up. When lunch period came, I sat by myself because I ditched my ex-best friend. While I was on my phone texting my step sister, a strong voice said “hey…. HEY…” and when I looked up, I stopped dead in my text because I honestly didn’t know if it was Déjà Vu or what but a boy across the table in front of me kind of matched the description of that same boy that I saw in my dreams. I was thinking “IT’S A TRAP!!! CAN’T TRUST NO ONE, NOT EVEN BOYS…. WAIT… PRETEND HE’S INVISIBLE!!!”. Just as I was doing what my mind suggested, the bell that ended lunch period rung and I zoomed out of the cafeteria to my class.

Soon enough, the school day ended and I was very much relieved. While I was walking around a corner, I heard a strong voice yelling “Wait!!!! I need to talk to you!!!” and then I realized it was that same voice from lunch. I started to speed walk and as soon as I heard the fast pace of feet hitting the hard concrete, I started to run as fast as Sonic. It seemed as if in 2.5 seconds, I arrived at my house and as I was fumbling through my purse for my keys, something touched my shoulder and I screamed at the top of my lungs. Just as I was getting ready to swing my purse at “his” face, his hand covered my mouth and he was saying “Shhhhh….”.

I was scared shitless and when he took his hand off of my mouth, I quickly turned around and there I was in his sexy presence…. The same description that I had in my dream. Then I suddenly look at his eyes…. They were the most beautiful things that I’ve ever seen. So….. perfect… so…… hypnotizing…. I could stare into his eyes all day. Then just as I was getting ready to say something, a car horn beeped so loud that my eardrum was getting ready to bust. I then told him that I had work to do and that I’d see him around and he said “Ok cutie” and gave me wink that made me feel like Jell-O in my knees and he slowly started to walk away. I then had trouble trying to put the key in the door all because I couldn’t stop thinking about him….. The guy of my dreams….

As soon as I got in the door, I quickly locked it and leaned up against the wall as if I ran a mile run and that I was out of breath. Here’s what I was thinking… “I don’t know who that was but I gotta find out EVERYTHING about him… from his address to his phone number… EVERY FUCKEN THING!!!”. I then went upstairs to my room and a few minutes later, both my mom and dad came through the door. My mom was the very first to walk into my room and hug me and ask how I was doing in both in life and school. I could really talk to my mom as if she was one of my best friends, EXCEPT she made the decisions for me…. And that I can count on her when I need her. I told her that I was having all these De ja Vu moments and she asked “What happened to you that makes you feel that way?”. I then spilled the whole entire situation about the party and how me and Nicole were no longer friends, and then I finally told her that there was a boy at school that looked like a boy that was in my dream when I had a flashback of the kickback. After I told her everything, we had a hugging moment as if we were best friends and then she invited me to come cook with her. Soon enough, I forgot about all the things that were stressing me and I was ready for the next school day. 

Chapter 3-- Neighbor... HOLD UP!?!?!

 So the next day seemed normal, as usual. There was no sign of the guy anywhere, thank the lord. When it was time to go home, I had to go to my locker to put some books in there for the next day. While I was walking home, he didn't seem to follow me either, which was kind of weird but very disappointing to me at the same time, BUT when I got to my house… let me just say…. ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. There he was… on MY porch…. TALKING TO MY MOM AND DAD!?!?!? I steadily walked up to them and as soon as I made eye contact with him, I wanted to slap the shit out of him and then yell at him saying “YOU KNOW MY PARENTS???” but it would make my problem obvious to my mom so I kept my mouth shut. As soon as my parents finished their conversation with him, they all started to act normal in the blink of an eye. When I hugged my dad, I quickly gave him an evil eye and he sent a wink in my direction, which made my evil eye not.. So evil anymore. Then my Dad told me the worst thing that you could ever imagine. My Dad said, word for word: “Sabrina, this is our new neighbor’s son, Sean”. HOLD UP, HOLD UP….. WAIT A FUCKEN MINUTE!?!?!? So you’re meaning to tell me that HE is our new NEIGHBOR????!!!??? “Is