The Boy Next Door

by Heather D'Agostino

“Yeah…I’m having fun,” Hannah smiled up at him.

  “Something wrong?” he cocked his head to the side. He could sense that something was bothering her, but he wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with him.

  “Can we talk?” she glanced up at him. “In private,” she nodded in the direction of Katie and Patrick, hoping he’d take the hint.

  “Sure,” he stopped walking and then shouted in Patrick’s direction, “We’ll catch up. You go ahead.”

  “Ok,” Patrick nodded as Katie turned around and grinned at Hannah.

  ***

  Matt pulled them to the side and walked down an alley between two buildings.

  “Is this private enough?” he glanced at Hannah.

  Before she could chicken out, Hannah bounced up on her toes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. When she pulled back, she turned away, embarrassed for her forwardness.

  “What was that for?” Matt looked at her puzzled.

  “I just…oh, this is so embarrassing…I want you to know that I want to,” she continued to stare at the ground. “You know…kiss you,” she whispered so quietly that he could barely hear her.

  Matt grinned and then sobered his face, “Can you look at me please?”

  When Hannah lifted her eyes to meet his, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I want to, too, but you deserve better than me.”

  Hannah’s eyes bugged out, “Better than you? You’re a good guy Matt, I know you are. I’ve seen it.”

  “You’re the only one, other than Patrick I mean,” he sighed and ran his hand down his face.

  “I know that you don’t have the best reputation, but I’ve always believed that people can change if they want to,” she smiled up at him.

  At that moment, Matt realized that this was the real deal. She really did see what was inside him. She wanted to be with him and was willing to put herself out there. He promised himself that he would change for her. He would be the guy she saw in him. He would be the man that deserved to be Hannah Montgomery’s boyfriend.

  Before she could walk back out to the street, Matt grabbed her by the upper arm and spun her to face him. He leaned in, brushing his lips across hers in a light kiss. As she leaned into him sinking deeper into the kiss, he released his hold on her arm and wrapped his arm around her back. The other hand trailed up her side and cupped her cheek, effectively holding her in place. A slight moan escaped him as backed her into the building beside them. When she felt the cool brick press against her back through her t-shirt, she wound her arms up around his neck, pulling him closer. Matt opened his mouth to deepen the kiss and ran his tongue along the seam of her lips. When she felt him beg for entrance, she opened up to him. She was baring herself, showing her trust in him. Before the kiss could go deeper, Matt pulled away, breathing heavily. He knew that she deserved better than to be mauled in an alley.

  “Wow,” Hannah panted. “That was…”

  “Yeah,” Matt ran his hands down his face, trying to calm himself. “I think we should head to the ice cream shop before they come looking for us.”

  “Sure, if that’s what you want,” Hannah shrugged at him feigning indifference.

  “Not what I want,” he groaned. “It’s what I should be doing.”

  He reached for Hannah’s hand as she moved to stand beside him. “You deserve to be treated like a lady, and I plan to do right by you. No one’s ever looked at me the way you do.”

  “You’re not as bad as you think Matt,” Hannah leaned into his side as he led them back to the street.

  As they walked hand-in-hand to meet Katie and Patrick, both knew that this was the beginning of something special.

  Chapter 21

  May 2019 - 2 years later…

  Katie flopped back on her bed and glanced around her small loft style apartment. She had been insanely busy lately. After two years of summer classes, a full load during the school year, and working part time-at Boston Memorial in the summers, she was finally ready to graduate from Columbia University.

  “I can’t believe you did it,” Hannah squealed as she watched Katie throw her arms over her head. “It’s finally here.”

  “Please, no more deadlines! I can’t take it!” Katie whined, glancing once again at the envelope in her hand.

  “Well you need to open that to see if you’re moving back to Boston,” Hannah cocked her head to the side. “You and Patrick need to find a place to live.”

  “I know,” Katie sighed. “I just want to enjoy the fact that I’m finished with classes and I’m getting married in three weeks.”

  Katie had spent the last two years throwing herself into her studies. She’d gone to summer school both years and taken a full class load. Because of this, she was able to finish her undergrad classes and graduate a year early. She and Patrick could start medical school together.

  She’d moved out of the dorms when she’d returned her sophomore year. Eden had gone back to Colorado to finish school in Denver. She had made no attempt to keep in contact with Katie. Katie really hadn’t expected much after Eden had told her that she wanted to leave New York behind. Hannah had filled in the void Eden had left and Katie really hadn’t missed her. Eden was not the same kind of student as Katie. Katie hadn’t realized this until she had gotten away from the situation. Eden was the partying type. Katie was trying to settle down and grow up. She knew she needed to take school seriously if she had any hope of finishing early. Marrying Patrick and getting into Harvard Medical were at the top of her list.

  She and Patrick had applied to medical school at Harvard and Columbia. They both figured they could stay in New York if they got into Columbia, and if it was Harvard they’d be near their families. Katie had already heard back from Columbia with a resounding “yes.” She was still waiting to hear from Harvard, at least she was until today. There in her hand was the answer to her future. She really hoped she’d gotten in. As much as she loved NY, she was secretly hoping that she could move back to Boston. Her family was there, and she’d always felt bad that Patrick had given up his dream of attending Harvard to be with her.

  “Well?” Hannah plopped down beside her. “Are you going to open it?”

  “I think I’m going to wait for Patrick. He’s finishing up his last final and then he’s coming over. We can open it together,” she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “We’re thinking about going out to dinner tonight to celebrate. You can join us if you want to?” she tossed her head to the side and looked at Hannah.

  “I don’t know. This should be special for you, don’t worry about me,” Hannah sighed as she sat down on the bed beside Katie.

  Katie rose to a sitting position, “You know he’s an idiot, right?”

  “Yeah…I know…his loss?” Hannah slowly nodded as a tear trickled down her cheek. “I thought it was supposed to get easier after time. It still hurts so much,” she swiped at the tear and huffed.

  “It will,” Katie began rubbing her back. “Just look at what happened between Zach and me. I was heartbroken when he moved away, then Patrick came along.”

  “No offense, but you were a kid then. This is different,” Hannah glanced at Katie out of the corner of her eye.

  “Well, not to upset you more, but I do need to tell you something,” Katie mumbled.

  “What?” Hannah turned slightly in Katie’s direction.

  “Patrick asked Matt to be his best man. Since you’re my maid of honor, you guys are going to be paired up a lot at the wedding…pictures, toasts, and all,” Katie bit her lower lip waiting for Hannah’s reaction.

  “I figured as much,” Hannah sighed defeated. “I’ll be alright. I can’t avoid him forever, right?”

  “Yeah well…I didn’t want to make this harder than it had to be,” Katie looked at Hannah with sad eyes.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Hannah slowly rose to a standing position ready to flee.

  “He’s bringing Megan and Charlie,” Katie mumbled.

  Hannah’s mouth dropped open
as a pained expression spread across her face, “How can he be so cruel? I guess I never really knew him at all, huh?”

  “I’m beginning to wonder if Patrick ever knew him at all. I mean, at this point I feel like ripping his dick off and shoving it down his throat,” Katie growled and crossed her arms over his chest.

  A small smile began to pull at the corners of Hannah’s mouth, “I’d pay to see that.” She sat back down and turned toward Katie, “Ok, we need to talk about something happier, or I’m gonna have to leave. I’ve got finals to study for, too, ya know. Vet school isn’t the easiest to get into.”

  “Ok,” Katie tapped her chin as if she were deep in thought.

  “So, three more weeks, huh?” Hannah cocked her head to the side. “You nervous?”

  “About what?” Katie glanced at her and wrinkled her brow.

  “You know exactly what,” Hannah nudged her in to side. “You and Patrick. What it will be like?” she twisted her mouth. “You guys haven’t, have you?”

  “What? No, we haven’t,” she sat up and placed her head in her hands. “I can’t believe that I’m talking to you about this.”

  “Well, it’s me or Mom,” Hannah rose up beside her. “Although, Mom is probably the better person to be having this conversation with, seeing that she probably had the better experience.”

  “Better experience?” Katie’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

  “Yeah,” Hannah dropped her head in her hands and suddenly began to sob.

  Katie blushed, “I’m not sure I can talk to her about this. We’ve always been close, but this changes things.” She averted her eyes from Hannah, “Did it hurt? When he…?”

  “Yeah,” Hannah whispered. “But not in the way you think. It was a good kinda hurt.”

  “Good kind?” Katie cocked her head.

  “Yeah, you don’t notice it that much when it happens. Too many other feelings in the way and all,” Hannah shrugged. “It’s after it’s over that you feel the most…when you come down from the high.”

  “Were you nervous?” Katie glanced at Hannah. “I mean for him to see you naked?”

  Hannah blushed, “Ummm…yeah, but there weren’t any lights on in the room when it happened, and it was only that one time.” She turned more toward Katie, “I thought you said you guys had fooled around before, just not gone all the way?”

  “We have, but we’ve always been covered by something,” Katie swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. “So it was only one time?” Katie looked up at the pained expression on Hannah’s face.

  “Yeah…one time, then it all fell apart. So much for being together forever, right?” Hannah threw her arms up and gave a sarcastic laugh. “I mean seriously, you have no idea how much I’ve been beating myself up over this. I wish someone had walked in and stopped it, then I wouldn’t feel like this.”

  “This?” Katie wrinkled her brow.

  “Used and betrayed,” Hannah huffed and bit down on her trembling lip. “I told him I wanted to wait. He had me convinced that we were in it for the long haul, so I gave in,” she shook her head. “After it was over, he told me that it would get better. That the more we did it, the better we would be at it. Being innocent and new to a sexual relationship, I believed him. I loved him…” she trailed off. “I still love him.”

  “Oh Hannah, I’m so sorry,” Katie leaned over and hugged her sister. “Why am I just now finding out about this?”

  “I didn’t really want to broadcast it to the entire family,” Hannah gave her a watery smile.

  “I feel awful sitting here worrying about my issues with my wedding night with Patrick,” Katie sighed.

  “Don’t,” Hannah returned the hug. “I’ll go with you to the doctor if you want.”

  “Wait, what?” Katie glanced over at her.

  “You need to go to the doctor, you should know that… being a future doctor and all. You don’t want to end up like Megan, right?” Hannah’s eyes filled once again with tears.

  “No!” Katie shook her head wildly before flopping back on the bed and once again covering her eyes. “I can’t do this right now. When is the stress going to end?”

  “Well you’ve got what, medical school, then residency? Sounds like it might be awhile,” Hannah giggled through the tears. “I’ve got to go,” she moved toward the door. “Talk to Patrick about that letter,” she pointed to Katie. “Good luck!”

  ***

  Hannah left the small apartment and Katie began cleaning up. She had stuff everywhere from the last few nights of studying. Chinese takeout and notes from class were strewn everywhere. She and Patrick had stayed up late into the night for the past three days studying. The loft style apartment was so small that the slightest amount of clutter made the place look awful. She didn’t have the funds to stay anywhere fancy, but she had wanted to get out of the dorms so bad.

  Patrick, on the other hand lived across town. He had moved to the Upper East Side and rode the subway to school daily. He’d found an apartment that was being sublet for a student who went abroad. It had come furnished and was in a nice area. All Patrick had to do was be out of it by the end of the month. Katie’s lease was up in a week. The plan was to decide if they were going to be in Boston or NY and then find a place to live. Katie would move in with her parents if they were living in Boston. Patrick would get a place for the two of them, and then she would move in after the wedding.

  As she was opening the door to carry the trash out, she found Patrick standing there. Dark circles were under his eyes and a ragged t-shirt hung haphazardly on his body. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in several days.

  “Wow, you look awful,” Katie sympathized.

  “Gee thanks,” Patrick chuckled. “I’m done. I thought I’d come by and say hi before I went home to crash.”

  Katie moved out of the way and let him in. She set the garbage bag outside of her door and led him over to the couch.

  “I’m glad you stopped by. This came today,” she showed him the letter.

  Her fingers were trembling as he gripped the envelope, “Is this what I think it is?”

  “Our future,” Katie whispered and nodded.

  Patrick had gotten in at both Harvard and Columbia, and this was truly their future that she held. She tore the envelope open and pulled the paper out. Her hands were shaking as she began to read the words that blurred together on the page.

  Dear Miss Lewis,

  We are pleased to invite you to join Harvard Medical School’s class of 2021. Fall classes begin in September. Please submit your request for hospital placement. We look forward to seeing you.

  Sincerely, Dr. Arthur Smith

  Dean of Medicine

  “Oh wow. I did it!” she squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Patrick, this is where I want to go. I want to go home.”

  He smiled and kissed her softly, “Are you sure? You wanna work with your mom?”

  “Yes,” she giggled. “More importantly, I wanna work with YOU and my mom.”

  “Boston it is, then,” he sighed.

  “Do you still wanna go out tonight? I asked Hannah if she wanted to join us,” Katie began walking around the loft picking up trash as she went.

  Patrick sensed an anger in Katie and couldn’t figure out what had caused such a drastic shift in emotions after she’d just found out about Harvard.

  “You ok?” he grabbed her arm as she whizzed by him.

  “Yeah, why?” she stopped and looked up at him.

  “I don’t know…you seem angry about something.”

  “Not something…someone,” she growled as she thrust a piece of paper in a nearby trashcan.

  “What’s wrong?” Patrick put his hands on her shoulders and held her in place.

  “Did Matt tell you what he did to Hannah?” she put a hand on her hip and glared at him.

  “What do you mean?” he cocked his head to the side.

  “I mean…he convinced her to sleep with him,” Katie snapped.
/>   Patrick hung his head and shook it, “I’m gonna kill him.”

  “So I take it you didn’t know. You know things went downhill not long after her first time, right?” Katie lifted his chin. “She feels so used and betrayed, Patrick. I don’t know how she’s going to stand being around them at the wedding.”

  “I’ll talk to him. Tell him Megan can’t come,” Patrick sighed. “You know I’m gonna lose my best friend, don’t you?”

  “Hannah’s gonna be your sister, Patrick. Don’t you think you should stand up for her?” Katie’s eyes went wide. She couldn’t believe he was thinking of taking Matt’s side over Hannah’s, especially after everything that had happened over the last two years!

  “No, I just knew back when all this started, that it wouldn’t end well,” he huffed.

  “Alright…so dinner. You wanna meet me here at say…six?” she cocked her head to the side.