The Boy Next Door

by Heather D'Agostino

  “You sound just like your sister,” Austin chuckled. “You know Joe missed you two,” he winked.

  “I can’t wait to see him. I promised him we’d spend some special time together seeing that there’s a new baby in the house. I promised Mom that I’d help keep him out of her hair, too,” she grinned.

  “I’m sure she’ll appreciate that. Cora’s doing better…sleeping through the night and everything,” Austin opened the door and climbed out of the truck, grabbing one of Katie’s bags at the same time.

  ***

  As soon as Katie got through the door, Joey came barreling around the corner.

  “Ka-tee!” he screeched. “You home!”

  “Yeah, little man. I’m home. I missed you,” she laughed as she picked him up. “Ugh, you’re heavy. What have you been eating?”

  He giggled and placed a wet kiss to her cheek, “Momma says I a little man now.”

  “You sure are,” Katie laughed and placed him back on the floor just as Melanie was rounding the corner.

  “Hey honey,” Melanie smiled. “You guys made good time.”

  “Yeah, Dad seemed to be in a hurry,” she giggled. “Something about getting back here to his two princesses…”

  “Well, it’s nice to have you home,” Melanie embraced her in a hug. “Why don’t you go unpack, dinner will be ready in a little while.”

  “Sounds good. Where’s Hannah?” Katie glanced around, wondering why her sister had yet to make an appearance.

  “She’s over at Sam’s. They should be back shortly. I know she wanted to have Sam and Anthony stop by once you were settled in. She also said something about hanging out with Matt later. You wouldn’t know anything about that would you?” Melanie turned and headed back to the kitchen with Austin hot on her heels.

  “No,” Katie answered sheepishly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she called in the direction of her retreating form.

  ***

  “So…” Austin crept up behind Melanie and whispered in her ear, “Our daughter thinks she’s in love,” he grinned at her.

  “Oh really, and she just told you that, huh?” Melanie smiled.

  “Yep, wanted my advice, I think,” he chuckled.

  “Patrick’s a good boy,” Melanie mused. “I like him. It could be worse, you know?”

  “Oh, I know,” Austin laughed. “She could be interested in Matt. Speaking of which… what’s this about Hannah hanging out with him tonight?” he cocked his head to the side.

  “They’ve been getting closer,” Melanie patted him on the arm as she moved to grab a glass. “Tea?” she tried to change the subject.

  “No, and don’t do this,” he scrunched his face up.

  “Do what?” she smirked at him.

  “This,” he waved his hand at her. “Try to change the subject when we’re talking about my daughter.”

  “Oh, so she’s only my daughter when you’re ok with her decision, but when she wants to do something that you don’t like…she’s only yours’? So you get to lay down the law and I don’t get a say in it?” Melanie scowled as she poured herself a glass of tea.

  “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean…I don’t like him and I don’t want you encouraging her to hang around him,” Austin huffed and slumped against the counter.

  “Nobody will ever be good enough for her in your eyes. She’s smart and you raised her well. Let him pursue her, she’s not going to let any guy walk all over her. You did a great job teaching her…trust that!” Melanie leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Now about Katie being in love with Patrick…what do you know about that? You think she really knows what love is?”

  “She’s a smart girl. She’ll make good choices. Hannah told me that Zach came back to town and was sniffing around for a while, but Katie wasn’t interested,” Austin huffed.

  “Yeah? I’m kinda glad that didn’t work out. I mean he seemed to have a lot going on with him. Patrick seems more grounded, you know?” she cocked her head to the side.

  “Yeah, I know,” Austin turned and tossed his arm around her shoulders pulling her into his side.

  “So, what did she want to know?” Melanie glanced to the side.

  “Oh you know, the usual,” he grinned.

  “No, I don’t know,” she smirked.

  “She asked me how I knew I loved you. How I knew you were the one,” he smiled.

  “And what did you tell her?” she giggled.

  “I told her that I was never so sure about anything in my life. That I loved Abby, but being with you was different. I never felt about Abby the way that I do with you,” he leaned in and placed a soft kiss to her lips.

  “Good answer,” she sighed as she kissed him again.

  ***

  When dinner time had rolled around, Hannah had made it back home and brought Anthony and Sam with her. Seeing that this was the first time they had seen each other since Christmas, Melanie had agreed to let them stay for dinner. After dinner, they retreated to Hannah’s room. Katie’s room still had all the stuff from her dorm scattered about, and you could hardly move in it.

  “So are you glad to be back?” Sam glanced over at Katie.

  “Oh yes, more than you ever know. I love school, but living in a room the size of a shoebox with another person drove me nuts,” she flopped back on the bed.

  “I bet having Patrick next door again is also a plus,” Sam giggled.

  “Well yes, there’s that, too,” Katie blushed.

  Hannah smacked her in the side and laughed, “You act like it’s no big deal. You know that you can’t wait for him to get back home, too.”

  Katie rolled her eyes, “You know I’m working with mom this summer on that internship. I doubt I’ll have a lot of time on my hands. I mean, look at how much she works.”

  “You do have a point. I guess I shouldn’t move the bucket that’s outside your window, huh?” Hannah laughed. “Maybe you should ask Mom if Patrick could get a job with her, too.”

  “I think Patrick’s going to have enough on his hands with his dad this summer. You know he’s not happy with Patrick’s transfer right?” Katie sighed.

  Anthony settled himself on the floor, “What’s he so upset about?”

  “Oh, you know,” Katie mumbled, “he thinks we’re too young to be this serious. He wants Patrick to concentrate on school more. I don’t know what he wants though. I mean Patrick is already a year ahead of the rest of us, making perfect grades,” she waved her hand in the air.

  Hannah leaned over toward Katie and gave her a sideways hug, “Don’t worry, he’ll come around. Patrick loves you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

  “Enough with the sappy talk. I’m still stuck on this whole ‘bucket thing’? What’s that about?” Sam tossed a pillow at Hannah.

  “Ask Katie,” Hannah giggled.

  Sam turned in Katie’s direction, “I’m waiting…what’s the whole bucket thing about?”

  “Well…” Katie stalled. “Back when Patrick and I were just friends, he used to come over and watch movies in here. We put a bucket on the ground under my window so he could reach the sill. We thought we were being all secretive,” Katie giggled. “He would come over here at night, tap on the window, and climb in. Having the bucket just made it easier. Little did I know that Mom actually saw the bucket one afternoon when she was in the backyard. She never said anything to us, because she knew we were just friends. She trusted that we were behaving ourselves. Once we started dating…Dad took the bucket and put it in the garage. Said something about Patrick needing to use the door,” Katie grinned as she looked over at Hannah. “When we were home over Christmas, Hannah found it and set it in the side yard. Patrick never again used it to climb in here, but he did come over to tell me goodnight a few times.”

  “Oh wow! How romantic,” Sam sighed. “I wish a guy would do that for me.”

  “Yeah, romantic,” Hannah giggled. “I’m sure he wishes he could climb in here and stay the nig
ht.”

  “So…I want to know what’s on the agenda for the weekend,” Anthony sighed.

  “I’m not sure, my mom won’t tell me anything,” Katie huffed. “I mean, I’m turning nineteen. It’s not a big deal.”

  Anthony and Hannah grinned at each other and Sam snickered.

  “You all know something!” Katie squealed. “Tell me!”

  “We can’t. We promised your mom we wouldn’t say anything,” Anthony shrugged.

  “Just trust us when we say, you’re going to have fun and it’s nothing big,” Hannah glanced over and shook her head. “I knew if you found out that we knew something, you’d torture me.”

  “Well, it’s getting late. We better go,” Anthony and Sam stood and made their way to the door. “We’ll by stop tomorrow, maybe we can go to the mall or something.”

  “Sounds great, just text one of us,” Hannah shouted as they walked out the door.

  ***

  “Well, I’m headed to bed,” Katie yawned. “I’m sure mom will have me up early soon enough when I have to go to work with her.”

  She walked out and crossed the hall into her room. She could see the soft glow of the TV coming from the family room where Melanie and Austin were snuggled on the couch. Light from Joey’s nightlight peeked out from under his door, illuminating the hallway where his soft snoring could be heard. Cora had yet to utter a peep, and Katie was hoping that she would stay that way. She wandered into her room and noticed her phone blinking on her bed. It was alerting her of a message. When she clicked on it, she saw it was from Patrick.

  IceKing: Hey, I’m so excited to be home for the summer. I’ll be in sometime tomorrow. Want to hang out?

  BoSoxBabe: Sure. Supposed to be going out with the gang. You can join us.

  IceKing: Sounds great. You can ride in my new car if you want.

  BoSoxBabe: Why don’t we save that for a ride up the coast, or something…?

  IceKing: Sure, whatever you want. I love you!

  BoSoxBabe: I love you too. Goodnight, I’ll see you tomorrow?

  IceKing: Yep, tomorrow, Goodnight to you too!

  She clicked the phone closed and tossed it on to her dresser. Glancing around the room, she looked at all the pictures and memories from her childhood that had been left behind for the past year. Smiling, she climbed into bed. It sure felt good to be home. The summer held so much promise, she couldn’t wait for it to start.

  Chapter 17

  May 2017 - Happy Birthday

  “So are you ready for tomorrow?” Patrick leaned into her ear.

  “Sure, I just wish someone would give me some sort of clue. I don’t like not knowing,” she whined.

  They were sitting on the back deck at Melanie and Austin’s after Patrick had come over to join them for dinner. Katie’s birthday was the next day, and Patrick was teasing her about the plans.

  “So, are you coming tomorrow?” she glanced up at him teasingly.

  “Of course…what kinda guy do you think I am? I can’t miss my girl’s birthday,” he chuckled and leaned into her.

  “Will you at least give me a clue?” she begged as she slid her hand around his waist. She knew he had a ticklish spot on his side, and she was trying her best to reach it undetected.

  “Nope, I can’t,” he chuckled as he reached down clasping his hand around her wrist effectively putting an end to her assault. “Your mom would kill me. I promised no clues or giveaways,” he shook his head. “Nice try though,” he nodded in the direction of her hand that he still had clamped in his. “Just wait until tomorrow. Your parents have put a lot of thought into this and have a great day planned,” he smiled as he released her hand and draped his arm around her.

  The sun was setting, and there was a slight chill in the air. It was so quiet sitting in the back yard that one could almost forgot they were in the city. Fireflies were just starting to make their appearance and crickets were chirping.

  “I miss this when I’m at school,” she sighed. “You never really know what you’re missing until you come home.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel like I’m always rushing around at school. Then I come back here, and it’s like time stands still,” he leaned into her and placed a quick kiss to her cheek. “Come on,” he stood and offered her a hand up.

  “Where are we going?” she cocked her head to the side.

  “Nowhere, just out in the yard. Come on. I feel like a little kid again this time of year. Watch!!!” he laughed and took off running into the grass.

  Katie giggled at his childish antics and went chasing after him. Patrick swatted in the air and captured a firefly in his hands.

  “When I was little, I used to spend every night outside doing this very thing. Didn’t you ever catch fireflies?” he smiled at her.

  “Well yeah, but not in a long time. That’s something that little kids do,” she giggled.

  “So… if you can’t act like a kid around me, who can you?” he shrugged. “Don’t be embarrassed.”

  “I’m not,” she stomped her foot on the ground.

  “Well, come on then,” he waved into the yard.

  Katie blazed past him, laughing, and ran to the oak tree that was near the dividing point of their yards. She jumped up and grabbed a low branch and flung her feet in the air. She scampered up two more branches before settling into a comfortable spot. Patrick laughed as he ran over and stood under where her feet hung down.

  “What are you waiting for?” she giggled.

  Patrick took the challenge and began climbing up. When he arrived next to her, he huffed, and wiped his forehead.

  “Well, that took some work,” he huffed. “Hey, you can see right into my room from here,” he looked at her with amusement.

  “I know,” she blushed as she glanced at her lap. She couldn’t believe that she was letting him see her secret spot. No one, other than Melanie, knew that she came out here and sat on this branch.

  “Wait… did you ever spy on me?” he looked wide eyed at her with a grin on his face. Male pride surged through him as he thought about her watching him in his room but was quickly replaced by embarrassment as he thought about some of the private things he did at night that she might have observed.

  “Let’s just say that after school every day I used to see a great workout,” she mumbled as the blush on her cheeks went from pink to red.

  “Katie Lewis, I can’t believe you!” he grinned. “Did you enjoy the show?”

  “Well… I was a fifteen year old girl who was in love with a guy whom I thought didn’t know I existed,” she looked at her hands, which were twisted in her lap. “I used to admire you from a distance in hopes that one day you would see me as more than the girl next door who was your friend. I never saw anything more of you without this,” she flicked his shirt. “My mom made sure I wasn’t out here at night,” she laughed.

  “Well, I’m glad,” he blushed and sighed with relief.

  “So… back to tomorrow,” she cocked her head to the side, not wanting to give up just yet. “Please tell me what’s been planned. I’ll give you a kiss if you do,” she smiled sweetly.

  “Nope, I can get those without telling you,” he chuckled.

  “Oh really,” she challenged.

  “Yep,” he grinned.

  “Well, it’s getting late. I better get inside before someone comes looking for me,” she sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she began climbing back down to the ground, ignoring the look Patrick was giving her. She was strong-willed like her mother, and Patrick had just challenged her. She was not going to give into him.

  “What? No goodnight kiss?” he forced a pout onto his face.

  “Nope,” she responded, popping the P. “You won’t give me any clues,” she shrugged and headed toward the house, holding her resolve.

  “Ouch! That hurts!” he shouted at her retreating back as he jumped to the ground.

  She laughed as she disappeared into the house leaving him alone in the yard.

&n
bsp; ***

  The next morning Austin came and knocked on Katie’s door.

  “Morning, birthday girl,” he smiled at her as she rubbed her eyes. “Time to get up and get this day started.”

  Katie sat up and smiled as she took in her surroundings. The sun was shining brightly through the window, and she could hear the birds chirping outside. When she glanced over at the windowsill, she noticed a Dunkin’ Donuts bag along with a paper coffee cup sitting in the sill. Stretching, she slid out of bed and made her way over. Upon opening the bag, she found a sugared jelly donut inside with a crinkled up napkin. When she removed it, she noticed writing scrawled across it in Patrick’s script.