Falling for a Player

The Boy Next Door

I starred out the window taking in the new neighborhood. It's bland. It haven't even gotten out of the car yet and I can already tell it won't even be able to compare to New York City.
The city.
I miss it already.
"Are you nervous Britt?" whispered my older brother Dylan from the drivers seat next to me.
"About what?" I asked without looking back at him.
"You know... to see mom again after so long?"

Our mom hasn't really been around a lot throughout our childhood. After the divorce, she moved to California and we stayed in New York to live with our father. She claimed it was because 'we would have better opportunities there'. It was really because dad had more money than she did and she knew he could take better care of us. That was true up until last month when he lost his job. Since then he hasn't been the same. His girlfriend left him shortly after he was fired and he began to go on a downward spiral. One night he went out, as he had gotten into the habit of doing, and then he didn't come back. We got a call from him a couple days later saying he was in Miami and wasn't planning on leaving soon. He told us it would be best if we called our mother and went to live with her. I begged him to let us just stay at his flat in New York, but he was already planning on putting it up for sale. And just like that, our stable parent became the unstable parent, and we were forced to move across the country.

"I think she will be the same... Just like she was a few years ago when we came over here that summer. She still loves us, that's all that matters."
I lied. I'm so scared to see my mom. Even though Dylan is my older brother, I still feel like he needs me to support him more than I need him. I was only 13 when we spent the summer with mom a few years ago, but I was old enough to tell she wasn't ever sober for more than 15 minutes before she would get another drink.

415, 417, 419... "Ok stop here Dylan 421."

Dylan pulled the car in to the drive way where my moms red mini van sat. It was more run down than the last time we were here, and it had a few dents in it that weren't there before.

I grabbed my stuff, walked up to the front door, and rang the door bell.
No answer.
I knocked, and still no one came. I looked at my brother, he shrugged and looked towards her car. She had to be home... I rang the door bell again.
Still no answer.
"You know she keeps a key under the mat." Someone said from a distance.
I looked to where the voice came from and it was the neighbor next door standing in his front yard. I assumed it was the man who owned the house, but as I looked more closely at the stranger's face I could tell he was just a boy who couldn't be much older than my brother. He was tall and seemed lanky but I noticed there was strength to him as I looked closer and noticed the width of his shoulders. He had golden blonde hair and icy blue eyes. His skin was perfect and youthful, which was what allowed me to discern his age. When he noticed I was starring he smirked and his dimples became noticeable.
"I'm Blake." He says and smirks again.
"I'm Britt and this is my brother Dylan" I respond quickly before turning my attention back to the door to try and knock again.
"I haven't seen you two around before... I didn't know Lorel had any kids."
"We live in New York with our Dad... well... I guess 'lived' in New York."
"What do you mean by 'lived'" he questioned as he made his way over into my mother's front yard.
"We are moving in here." I said looking the house that is supposed to now be my home up and down with a frown.
I looked back to Blake and he was just smirking.
"What?" I ask.
"Well I guess that makes me the boy next door."