The New Girl

The Grasshole Across the Street

I then head into my bathroom. It is a very decent size, consisting of a glass shower, a sink with a large mirror above it, and obviously a toilet.

I step out of the restroom and move back over to the bench, sitting down. I begin planning in my mind where I would place my furniture, when the doorbell rings. I quickly stand, walking slowly over to the stairs. 

"Hello, welcome to the neighborhood!" A strong accented feminine voice sounds at the bottom of the stairwell.

"Thank you! Come on in," my mom invites. Multiple footsteps enter our house and echo in the empty corridor. I make my way down the stairs.

"We saw your van pull in, and figured you might need some help unpacking your boxes. We decided to come over to welcome you to the neighborhood and help out if you would like." The woman says just as I reach the bottom step.

"That would be absolutely marvelous! Thank you!" My mom exclaims. She spots me and waves me over. "This is my oldest daughter, Ashlynn. My other children, Alex and Jenna are in the kitchen. Oh and I am Colleen."

"Nice to meet you Colleen and Ashlynn. My name is Alicia Francez. This is my son Aidan and my daughter, Febe." I glance over at the boy, who looks to be around my age. I am just going to point this out now; Aidan is very hot. His hair is dark brown, almost looking black. His skin tone is a very light tan, not as dark as his mother's skin. The one thing that I really notice about him is that he doesn't look thrilled at all. But if he doesn't want to be here, it is not my problem.

I glance back at Alicia and smile. She smiles back, looking back at Aidan, who is leaning against the wall playing on an iPhone. She frowns.

"Hijo," she whispers. Aidan looks up and I immediately notice his green eyes and strong, beautiful face. What am I saying?

"Don't be rude," she finishes. He sighs and puts his phone in his pocket.

"Nice to meet you," he says unenthusiastically, the slightest hint of an accent. 

"You too Aidan. How old is this young lady?" Mom says, looking at the young girl hiding behind Alicia.

"Febe is seven. How old is your younger girl. Jenna, is it?"

"Yes, Jenna is six. I'm sure the girls will get along well!" Mom exclaims.

"Yes, I am sure they will." Alicia agrees. "Maybe even these two will." She points to Aidan and...me?!

The women giggle and my mom wriggles her eyebrows at me. Cue the embarrassment.

"Mom!" I yell and slap her playfully. Aidan smirks at me and I look at him, a blush brushing across my cheeks and nose.

"Come with me Alicia and I will introduce you to my other children. There was a little incident before you got here, so they are making up in the kitchen. Ash, why don't you two get to know each other." Mom says and winks. I am about to protest but mom gives me the "be nice" look, so I shut my mouth. The ladies exit the room, leaving me with tall, dark and gorgeous. He takes out his phone.

"Um... I'm Ashlynn," I introduce shyly, knowing that he already knows my name. He nods in response still looking at his phone. "I already know you, because of your mom. Uh...yeah."

"Do I make you nervous or something. Or am I just to hot for you to handle?" He asks not even looking up from his phone. I look at him unbelievably.

"Definitely not the second one," I proclaim, earning a questioning and upset glare. Sorry?

"Seriously, blondie?" He says, taking my words way to seriously. "What makes you think you can talk to me?"

"Well, for one, my name is Ashlynn. And two, I am actually trying here, when you are probably texting poor innocent girls trying to get in their pants. So I am so sorry for trying to get to know someone."

"Maybe I should get your number, so I can you show you exactly what I text girls. I bet you would like it," he says, winking playfully. I send him a disgusted glare and then roll me eyes.

"Typical cocky grasshole," I mumble.

"What was that? Did you say something about my coc-"

"Oh my god! Heck no!" I exclaim. He laughs and my face heats up from anger and embarrassment. My mom yells my name (thank the lord) and I hurry into the kitchen, knowing I would find her there. Alicia is taking a look around at the empty corridors while my mother is leaning up against the kitchen counter. She sashays over to me and leans in, staring right into my silvery-blue eyes and putting a small smirk on her face.

"How is it going in there with Aidan?" She asks, leaning in closer and putting her lips right next to my ear. "I don't need to buy protection or anything, right?" I jolt backwards, gasping and smacking my mom on the arm playfully. She laughs uncontrollably and I, once again, turn as red as a tomato.

"Oh that was a good one!" She manages to get out, wiping a few tears from her eyes and lightly panting from her laughing fit. I admit, it was funny, but it kind of hit me a little at home. The joke was the type of joke that reminded me of a certain someone. Someone I wanted to forget.

"What I really want to tell you is that the moving truck should be here in a few minutes, so we can begin unloading. Get it, got it?"

"Got it," I say embracing her into a tight hug. She hugs me back, acting as though she didn't want to let go of me. I am about to pull away when I feel a cold drop on my shoulder. I untangle from my mom and see she is crying slightly.

"We will be right back Mrs. Francez." I say to Alicia. She nods understandingly.

"Take all of the time that you need," she replies. I smile at her and drag my mom all the way up to my empty bedroom. When we reach the room, I turn to her and envelope her into another hug.

"I am so very thankful for this new house, Ashlynn. Are you?" She mumbles into my shoulder, letting go of some of the tears that she had been holding onto.

"Yes momma, I really am," I reply, a few of my own tears escaping my eyes as I speak.

"I promise you that that boy will never hurt you again. And if he even thinks about getting close to you, I will personally rip his balls off and cut it into a million pieces so he cannot hurt you or anyone else ever again." I laugh into her shoulder. We release each other and she wipes the tears away from my eyes, and then does the same to her own.

"Is my make up okay?" She asks me. I nod and she smiles, kissing me on the forehead before exiting my bedroom. I watch her as she walks down the hallway and disappears back down the stairs. Once I know that she is gone, I take a deep breath and sigh. It was finally time to forget about the guy that hurt me so much.

It was time to forget about Tyler Johnson.