Neighbors

Chapter Sixteen: Old Friends

The one condition of me seeing Ian was that I had to move back home. I also had to inform my mother where I was going and how long I'd be gone every time I left the house. If I was going to be longer than what I said, then I had to call her. I also had a curfew for midnight every night, ten if I was with Ian. I think the worst part was that I couldn't stay the night at Ian's anymore.

Well I guess that was the price I had to pay.

"A curfew?" Nikki huffed in disbelief. "She set a curfew for you. Oh gosh. She means business."

Thanks to all of these newly established rules, I tried to spend less time with Ian. I felt like my mother was silently judging me every time I said I was going to hang out with him. God only knows what she thinks we're doing when I'm over his house. She probably thinks we're just having sex constantly. I mean she made it clear that she thinks Ian is a pervert. I think that's why she insists on me being home at ten when I'm with him.

"Ten o'clock if I'm with Ian," I continued. "I preferred when he and I were sneaking around. I could stay as long as I want and do whatever I want. I didn't feel guilty about it either."

Nikki laughed. "Well mothers have a way of ruining everything."

"She even made me get tested for STDs," I sighed running my fingers through my hair. "As a precaution."

Nikki shrugged. " Typical Mom behavior. Come on - Let's forget about her and do something fun. What do you want to do?"

I stood up from the grass, brushing the dirt off of my pants. "I have to go home. I have to re-organize my room. We should hang later on though."

She laughed. "Yeah if you're not already with Ian."

I rolled my eyes as I walked back next door. My mom was in the kitchen, baking. She had been baking a lot lately. I think it was a coping mechanism for her. When my dad died, we had pies for weeks. Cherry - It was my dad's favorite.

"I'll be in my room," I muttered sarcastically as I stomped upstairs. I could hear her sigh as I slammed my bedroom door shut. I tossed all of my clothes out of the bags, and onto the floor, sorting them into my drawers. Ian was good at organizing things. I, on the other hand, was not. Eventually I got sick of organizing, and starting shoving things where they fit. I mean as long as I knew where it was there was no problem.

Just as I was half-way through, my laptop chimed. I was getting a Skype call. I tapped my mousepad to see it was Jeremy. This must be a mistake. I hadn't heard from him in weeks. I thought he was still pissed at me.

Should I answer it?

I chewed on my lower lip as I hit the answer button. My heart skipping a beat as Jeremy appeared on the screen. He ran his fingers through his platinum blonde hair, his blue eyes fixed on his TV.

"I didn't think you were going to answer," Jeremy replied pressing numerous buttons on his Xbox controller. I swallowed the lump down in my throat, a smirk crossing my face.

"I almost didn't to be honest - I thought it was a mistake," I answered. "Does this mean you're not pissed at me anymore?"

Jeremy scoffed. "I'm still pissed. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But I miss you, Ry. And I don't want us to not be friends."

I nodded. "I miss you too, Jer. I'm sorry about how things ended between us. I really am. I care about you. And shit, a lot of stuff has been happening, and I really wanted to talk to you. You were the first person I thought of, but then I remembered how much I fucked everything up - "

Jeremy groaned, placing his controller down for a second, his eyes meeting mine. "It's okay. I get it. You know the entire time we were dating, a part of me knew you still cared about Ian. I knew this would happen. So how are you?"