Neighbors

Chapter Fifteen: Late Night Fights

I glanced out the window as my mother trailed up the street in her neighborhood watch outfit. It was her night to be on duty. Conveniently, she and Ian were both on. They were both chatting, while monitoring the activities of the street. I didn’t see the point. It wasn’t like anything ever happened on this street of significance.

I pulled my cell phone out, about to shoot Ian a text, when Ashley’s named popped up on my screen. I had been trying to avoid her, so there would be no more confusion between the two of us. But, I guess she had caught on.

Party at the Lake. Stop by. Please. Victor’s still aching for that rematch. ;)

I chuckled. Well, how could I refuse that? I hadn’t swum in a while, and the look of defeat on Vic’s face would be worth it. It sure beat being home, and spying out my window.  I quickly threw some clothes out, sneaking out the back door, and heading into the woods.

I shoved my hands into my jeans as I headed down the all-too familiar path towards the lake. It was oddly quiet. I expected to at least hear some music. They probably had it down though, thanks to the neighborhood watch. I raised an eyebrow as I exited the clearing, and walked out towards the lake. There was not a soul in sight.

I glanced back at the message on my phone. Just as I glanced up, a fist crashed against the side of my face, knocking me straight to the ground. I quickly shot my hands up, as Victor threw more punches at me, before standing up from the ground.

“Get the fuck up,” he shouted at me. “Get up. You send dick pics to my girl and you think that’s alright? Huh?”

Shit. I quickly stood up from the ground, putting my hands up. “That was a mistake, Victor, I swear to you. I have no feelings for Ashley.”

“Yeah fucking right,” Victor growled throwing another punch at me. I dodged it, quickly shoving him away from me, as he tackled me to the ground. I tried to push him off of me, but he was much stronger than me. For a few minutes, he and I rolled around in the grass, before I heard someone yell out from the woods.

“Victor! Stop it! Stop it, right now!” Ashley shouted hitting her hands against his back. He shoved her off of him to the ground. Just as he turned towards me, I cracked my fist against the side of his face, quickly moving away from him. He clutched his jaw, groaning, as I grabbed Ashley from off of the ground.  I shook the pain off of my fist, as a bright light flashed in my face. I narrowed my eyes as Victor quickly rose from the ground, rushing out into the woods. I glanced up, my eyes catching those of Ian’s.

“What do we have here?” he asked flicking his light off.

“Nothing,” I retorted as Ashley folded her arms across her chest.

“Well, nothing, sure looks like something,” he replied his eyes fixed on mine. “I wouldn’t want to tell your parents.”

I narrowed my eyes as Ashley shook her head. “It’s nothing, Mr. Golden. My boyfriend was just being stupid and jealous. You know guys? You send one nude out and they go crazy. I should be getting home. Ryder, can you walk me?”

Before I could say anything, Ian chimed in. “I’ll walk the both of you.”

Ashley nodded as we walked towards her house first. Ian didn’t say a word. He just stood a few feet behind us. I had a feeling he was pissed at me. I could just tell whenever he was.

“I’m sorry, Ryder,” Ashley said as soon as we got to her door. “Victor was going through my phone. I forget to delete the message. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied. “I’m fine aside from the black eye.”

Ashley hugged me, before walking into her house and closing the door shut behind me. I took a deep breath as I started walking back down towards our end of the street. As soon as we were a distance away from her house, Ian began questioning me.

“So are you going to explain to me what exactly you were doing out at 1 in the morning with that girl? Because I’d love to hear the answer,” Ian asked. “You know what? Save it until we get back to your place. Your mother fell asleep at mine. She took a pill or something. It knocked her right out on my couch.”

I sighed as I opened the door to my house. Ian followed me inside, as I closed the door behind the two of us. He took a seat on the couch, crossing his legs.

“Go ahead, I’m waiting,” he began firmly. I took a seat across from him, nodding.

“I got a text about some party, so I went and it turned out it was Victor, Ashley’s boyfriend,” I sighed. “He wanted to kick my ass because of a stupid message. That’s it.”

“And was this message a nude photo of Ashley?” he asked. I glanced at the floor, nodding.

“And why was she sending you a nude?” he poked further.

“Because I accidentally sent one to her,” I sighed. “I meant to send it to you.”

Ian took a deep breath in, shaking his head at me. “To send to me? Do you know how childish that is, Ryder? Huh? You deserved to get punched in the face. What if she sent that to someone else?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. Who did he think was? My father? I blew him off, standing up from the couch. I wouldn’t sit here and be lectured by him. He was supposed to be my boyfriend.  He wasn’t too keen on the idea of me walking away either. It really set him off.

“Ryder, I’m talking to you,” he huffed as I moved upstairs into my room. I could hear his footsteps trailing behind me. He grabbed my arm as soon as were in the hallway, shoving me up against the wall.

“You enjoy this, don’t you?” he muttered. “Pissing me off? You get a rise out of it.”

“It was a fucking mistake,” I retorted. “What more do you want me to say? Should I beg for forgiveness?”

“You have such a smart mouth, you know that,” Ian sighed.

I jerked my arm away from him, shoving my hands into my pocket. “I never meant to send it at all. I knew you’d have this reaction. My finger slipped it and it sent. That’s the truth, Ian. It’s not like my face was in it.”

“Look I didn’t mean to get so upset – I just worry, ok,” he said running his fingers through my hair. “I’m on edge. All of this sneaking around is driving me insane. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like you and I are even together.”

“I get it,” I nodded as he ran his fingers across my face.

“You should really put some ice on your eye,” he smiled as he planted a kiss on my forehead. “I should go home. I’ll keep an eye on your mother. You know you and her are very alike especially when it comes to flirting.”

“I don’t want to know,” I stopped him there. I did not want to think of my mom being into Ian or hell, being into any guy. She was my mother. I didn’t want to know anything about her attempts at flirting or anything like that. I really wished she would stop making passes at Ian. As much as Ian refused, she just tried harder.

Hopefully, she’d just give up and move on to someone else.