Misunderstood: Inspired by the Neighbor from Hell Series (A Neighbor from Hell YA Book 1)

by R. L. Mathewson

  “And I could always tell Mom that a bear dragged you off into the woods,” Sebastian bit out.

  “Come on, it’s not like everybody doesn’t already know,” Cole said, chuckling.

  “This is true,” Jonathan murmured only to frown when their tent flaps were suddenly shoved open and Mikey came in, dropping her bag and shoes by the door before dragging her sleeping bag behind her and grumbling as she made her way over to Sebastian’s side only pausing long enough to step over Jonathan. Once she was there, she dropped her sleeping bag down, kicked it to straighten it out, and with one last muttered grumble that sounded suspiciously like, “Stupid boybands,” she laid down, folded her arm over her eyes and slowly sighed.

  “You do realize that this is the boys’ tent, right?” Braxton pointed out.

  “And you do realize that all the girls are talking about is makeup, boys, and boybands, right?” Mikey shot back, not bothering to move her arm.

  When Braxton opened his mouth to say something else, she cut him off with, “And you’re welcome to take my place,” as she blindly gestured toward the opening in the tent.

  “And we were just talking about girls before you came in,” Jonathan pointed out, teasingly.

  Without opening her eyes, she gestured for them to continue with a mumbled, “I don’t care.”

  “So, you wouldn’t care if Sebastian was talking about another girl?” Cole asked, making Sebastian narrow his eyes on his cousin as he realized that he really didn’t have a choice.

  He was going to have to beat the crap out of him, too.

  “Not even a little bit,” Mikey mumbled around a yawn, sounding bored and making him frown.

  “Why’s that?” Braxton asked as Sebastian glared down at his best friend.

  “Because I’m his favorite,” Mikey said with a shrug that had Sebastian grinning hugely.

  That is, until she stole his pillow.

  Then he was glaring at her as he tried to take it back.

  “God, some people are just so rude,” Mikey said with a sad shake of her head when he finally managed to steal it back and she was forced to roll over onto her side and steal Jonathan’s pillow.

  “Oh, come on!” his brother whined, but Mikey simply ignored him as she once again settled in for the night.

  “That’s much better,” Mikey murmured with a satisfied sigh only to follow that up with, “I’m starving,” a few minutes later with a groan.

  “How can you be hungry? It was like a never-ending buffet,” Braxton asked, looking confused probably because of the insane amount of food that they had available all day.

  Opening her eyes, she leveled a glare on his brother and cousin. “Because they,” Mikey said only to pause to point a damning finger at Jonathan and Cole, “kept taking turns stealing my food all day!”

  “It was delicious,” Cole said with a satisfied sigh.

  “It really was,” Jonathan seconded with a dreamy sigh that had her eyes narrowing dangerously on them.

  “We are no longer speaking, sir,” Mikey said, nodding slowly as she shoved the sleeping bag open, grumbled, glared, and crawled back toward the tent opening, pausing only to knee Jonathan in the side and making him laugh before she grabbed her shoes, grumbled, and crawled out of the tent without another word.

  “Where is she going?” Braxton asked, frowning after Mikey.

  Grinning hugely, Jonathan and Cole shoved their sleeping bags aside and scrambled to follow after her as Sebastian shoved his sleeping bag open with a resigned sigh and muttered, “Pat’s.”

  Chapter 34

  “Here,” Jonathan said as he shoved a handful of crumpled bills into her hand, which was followed by Cole doing the same, along with a list of their demands.

  Blinking down at the list in her hand, Mikey said, “You planned this,” as she turned an accusing glare on the boys who had taken great joy in starving her today.

  “Obviously,” Jonathan said with a snort and a gesture for her to get on with it.

  When she simply stood there, glaring at the boys that she would make pay for this betrayal, Cole reached over, gently grabbed Mikey by her shoulders and turned her around so that she was facing the infamous Pat’s, the country store that sold everything from penny candy to the best pizza in a fifty mile radius. It was also one of the many places that had banned the Bradford family, which she still hadn’t found out why.

  Not that she really wanted to know…

  Still.

  “Did it ever occur to either one of you just to ask me to do this, instead of starving me?”

  “We weren’t willing to take that chance,” Cole said as he gave her a gentle push to get her moving.

  “I hate you both,” Mikey mumbled sadly as she headed inside.

  “You can hate us all you want just as long as you don’t forget the fries,” Jonathan called after her, earning a murderous glare as she reached for the door only to have Braxton beat her to it.

  “Here,” he said, opening the door for her.

  “Thank you,” Mikey mumbled absently as she sent one last glare at the traitors only to frown when she spotted Sebastian glaring at something behind her.

  She followed his gaze to find him glaring at Braxton. Not really sure what that was about, she sent him a questioning look as she headed inside. Making a mental note to ask him about that later, she paused in the doorway to count the money they’d shoved in her hands and quickly calculated how much she was going to need to cover everything on their list as well as her fee, of course.

  “Did that sign really say ‘No Bradfords Allowed’?” Braxton asked, sounding confused and reminding her that he hadn’t grown up around his cousins.

  “Yeah,” Mikey said absently as she shoved the money back in her pocket and headed toward the lunch counter where Pat was waiting.

  “Are they going to stay outside?” Pat asked as he watched the boys settle on one of the picnic tables outside.

  “Yes,” Mikey said with a reassuring smile as she placed the list on the counter, hoping that it was enough to make him overlook the fact that he had three Bradfords outside waiting to pounce.

  Nodding, he glanced back at them only to narrow his eyes on Braxton. “Is he one of them?”

  “No, he’s not a Bradford,” Mikey reassured him, but Pat didn’t look convinced.

  “What’s your name, kid?” Pat asked as he glanced from Braxton, who looked confused, to the boys outside and back again.

  “Braxton Taylor.”

  Pat considered them for a moment before nodding. “Okay,” he said, turning his attention to their list.

  “Can I get an order of fries while we wait, please?” Mikey asked, knowing that this might be her only chance to eat something before the boys attacked.

  With a nod and one last look at the window to make sure the boys were keeping their distance, Pat headed toward the back to start their order.

  She really should have known the boys were up to something, Mikey thought, sighing heavily as she grabbed a handbasket and handed it to Braxton, who took it as he glanced back at the boys. “What was that about?”

  “You really don’t want to know. Trust me,” Mikey said as she grabbed a handful of chocolate bars and dropped them in the basket before heading toward the chips.

  “Probably not,” Braxton murmured in agreement as he followed her around the store. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Just as long as I’m allowed to do the same,” Mikey said, biting back a sigh as she debated asking him if Sebastian had been talking about another girl, but…

  This was stupid.

  Who cared if Sebastian was talking about another girl? It was none of her business. Although, as his best friend one would think that he would tell her if he liked another girl. But this was fine. More than fine, Mikey thought as she grabbed a bag of his favorite chocolate chip cookies off the shelf and added it to the basket only to rethink that decision and put them back on the shelf because he didn’t deserve cookies.

  �
��How can you stand them?”

  “Stand who?” Mikey asked only to sigh as she grabbed the cookies and placed them in the basket because apparently, she was a pushover.

  “Them,” Braxton bit out coldly, drawing her attention to find him glaring at the boys.

  With a shrug, she said, “I mean, I know that they can be annoying, but they do have their moments.”

  Rolling his eyes, he said, “Not them. I meant all the Bradfords,” making her frown.

  “Why wouldn’t I like them? Mikey asked, having trouble figuring out what he was talking about.

  “Because of how they treat my great-grandmother,” Braxton asked, shaking his head in disgust.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, somehow even more confused than she had been a minute ago.

  “They’re all using her,” he bit out angrily.

  “No, they aren’t,” Mikey said as she wracked her brain trying to figure out where this was all coming from.

  When he opened his mouth, most likely to say something that was going to piss her off, she stopped him with a sigh. “No one is using your great-grandmother, least of all the Bradfords. All of them consider her family. I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but from what I’ve gathered over the years, Aunt Haley and Uncle Jason won’t even let her pay rent.”

  “They built the in-law apartment for her so that they could help her and so that she could spend more time with her great-grandchildren. Aunt Haley won’t even allow her to spoil any of her children. No one in this family wants or expects your great-grandmother to give them anything. They actually like and care about her,” Mikey finished as she grabbed some snack pies for herself only to grab extras for the boys and tossed them in the basket before heading to the next aisle.

  It wasn’t until she grabbed a twelve-pack of Coke out of the cooler that she realized that Braxton hadn’t followed her. She walked back to see if he was grabbing another basket and–

  “That’s not what I was told,” Braxton said as he reached back and rubbed the back of his neck with a heavy sigh.

  “Well, it’s the truth. You can ask your cousin if you don’t believe me. Your great-grandmother offered to buy him a car for his birthday next week and he ended up in a glaring match with her because he doesn’t want anything from her. None of them do,” Mikey explained even as she couldn’t help but wonder what his family had been filling his head with all these years.

  “What about your boyfriend?”

  “What about him?” Mikey asked, sighing heavily because she just really wasn’t in the mood to explain that Sebastian was her best friend, again.

  “What’s his sudden interest in her?”

  “Please don’t make me hurt you,” she said with a heavy sigh and a helpless shrug. “Sebastian doesn’t give a damn about her money.”

  “How do you know?” Braxton asked as Mikey moved onto the next aisle.

  “Because I know him,” Mikey said, grabbing a few more candy bars as they made their way back to the counter. “Why do you call her Great-Grandmother? Why don’t you just call her Grandma like the rest of your cousins?”

  Shrugging, Braxton placed the basket on the counter near the register before joining her. “That’s what my family calls her. Only Aunt Haley’s family calls her Grandma.”

  “Why?” Mikey asked, hopping up onto a stool just as Pat placed a large basket of French fries in front of them. “Thank you,” she said as she reached for the ketchup.

  With a nod, Pat headed back to the kitchen as Braxton sat down next to her. “They’re the only ones allowed to call her that.”

  “Have you ever wondered why that is?” Mikey asked, popping a fry in her mouth.

  For several minutes, he didn’t say anything as they sat there while she nibbled on French fries, wondering what the odds were of her getting a slice of pizza without one of the boys stealing it from her and then…

  “I know why,” Braxton said quietly and before she could respond, Pat was walking out of the kitchen with their order.

  “All set,” Pat said as he placed the large stack of pizza boxes on the counter along with a couple of large brown paper bags and rang up their order.

  “Thank you,” Mikey said as she pulled the money out of her pocket and paid for everything. Once she had her change, she grabbed the stack of pizzas while Braxton grabbed the bags and headed for the door.

  Before she reached it, the door swung open and Jonathan and Cole were relieving them of everything. Once her arms were free, Mikey quickly made her way to the bottom step where Sebastian was waiting, his back already turned so that she could climb on.

  “Did you save me any fries?” Sebastian asked as he waited for her to get settled.

  “Are you going to tell me why you were glaring?” Mikey countered as she wrapped her arms around him.

  “I don’t like the way he looks at you,” he said as he watched Braxton head back to their campsite with Cole and Jonathan.

  “And how does he look at me?” Mikey asked as she laid her chin on his shoulder.

  After a moment, Sebastian said, “I just don’t like him.”

  “Duly noted,” Mikey said, gesturing for him to hurry up before the boys helped themselves to her snacks.

  Chapter 35

  “Stop being such a big baby and get out here!”

  “No!” came the response that had Sebastian narrowing his eyes on their tent as he debated the best way to get the little brat out when Jonathan took care of it for him.

  He watched as his brother walked over to the tent, pulled back the flaps and threw something inside. Whatever he did was met with stunned silence that quickly morphed into a surprised gasp, a rustling in the tent and Mikey crawling out the back, quickly racing around to the front, muttering, “I really hate him,” as she raced toward him so that she could jump in his arms.

  Once he had his arms around her, Sebastian glanced back in time to watch as his brother leaned inside the tent, grabbed something and–

  “I really do hate him,” Mikey mumbled as they watched the snake that Jonathan tossed into their tent wrap itself around his arm.

  “Isn’t he cute?” Jonathan asked as he held up his arm to give them a better look at the snake.

  “I know you do,” Sebastian said to Mikey even as he resigned himself to snake duty tonight, knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to go back inside until he checked for snakes every hour on the hour. But that was fine, Sebastian decided as he tightened his grip around her and moved to join the rest of his family.

  “I don’t want to go,” Mikey grumbled as she laid her head against his shoulder.

  “I know you don’t,” Sebastian said, biting back a smile that he knew she wouldn’t appreciate at the moment. “Would it help if I told you that it will be over before you know it?”

  “No, because I know you’d be lying to me,” Mikey said only to gesture for him to put her down.

  After making sure that Jonathan wasn’t planning on sneaking up behind her and scaring her with that snake, he placed her on the ground and–

  Sighed, just freaking sighed when she tried to make a run for it. Before she managed to make it two feet, he grabbed her by the arm, yanked her back, and after another sigh, picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, wondering why she was being such a big baby about this.

  “Just so you know, we are no longer speaking,” Mikey grumbled as she settled more comfortably over his shoulder.

  “I already figured that out,” Sebastian said absently as he made his way down to the pond.

  “If I drown–”

  “I thought you weren’t talking to me,” Sebastian said, mostly because she wasn’t going to drown.

  “I’m not.”

  “Then what are you doing?

  “Trying to give my last will and testament, but some big jerk keeps interrupting me!” Mikey snapped, making his lips twitch only to clear her throat and say, “Now, where was I?”

  “You were professing your undying love for
me!” Jonathan yelled as he ran past them.

  “You know that I’m going to need help getting rid of his body one day, right?”

  “I already have the perfect spot picked out,” Sebastian told her as he carefully made his way down the narrow path that led to the pond.

  “You’re a good friend.”

  “I’m the best,” Sebastian said absently as he took in the last two boats and–

  “Damn it,” he said, sighing heavily as he watched his brother quickly climb into the boat with Cole, Joshua, and Mathew.

  “What is it?” Mikey asked as his attention went to the last boat.

  “It’s going to be a long day,” he said when he spotted Braxton standing by the last boat, looking just as unhappy as Sebastian was about the boating arrangements.

  “Because of my drowning?” Mikey asked, making him roll his eyes as he glanced out at the pond to find his father and uncles already fishing.

  “You’re not going to drown,” Sebastian told her as he considered going to see what his mother was up to only to decide against it knowing that she would be pissed if she found out that they ditched Braxton.

  “How do you know?” Mikey asked as he reluctantly headed toward the boat.

  “Because you can swim?” Sebastian pointed out, already regretting his decision to leave his iPad behind.

  “I really can’t though,” Mikey mumbled sadly, making him frown.

  “What are you talking about? You grew up on the beach,” he reminded her as he headed for the last dock where the jerk that they were going to be stuck with all day was waiting for them.

  “Why are you always judging me?” she asked on a heavy sigh as he moved to put her down only to rethink it and carry her to the boat.

  “Why are you always such a pain in my ass?” Sebastian countered as he carefully stepped into the boat, noting that everything they were going to need was already waiting for them.

  Instead of answering him, she asked, “Would this be a bad time to tell you that I have to use the bathroom?” making him sigh.

  “Why didn’t you go before?” Sebastian asked as he turned around, ignoring Braxton’s questioning look and stepped back onto the deck.