Next door neighbors

Chapter 37

*Cassidy's P.O.V*

I managed to beat Markus to the car but I think that he let me win. I waited for Lillian to unlock the car before I climbed in. I stuck my tongue out at Markus as he got in the front seat.

"Brat," he muttered as he buckled up. I buckled myself up as Lillian got in the car, looking between the two of us.

"You two need to behave yourselves," she said with a small smile on her lips. "Especially you," she said as she gave me a pointed look. I pouted at her and did my best to look innocent.

"I am always behaving myself," I said with a small grin.

"Ha," Markus snorted as he looked back at me. I kicked the back of seat causing him to jolt forward.

"Do not kick my seats," Lillian said as she started the car. She pulled out of her parking spot, starting the drive back home. I leaned forward and flicked Markus on the back of the neck, sitting back quickly before he could catch me.

"Flick me on the back of the neck again and I will eat all your cupcakes," he threatened, making me straighten up.

"You can't do that. Lillian tell him he can't do that," I said as I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Markus you can't do that, Cassidy do not flick him on the back of the neck," she said as she sighed, her hands tightening on the steering wheel. I sat silently all throughout the car ride, not wanting to upset Lillian any more. I bit my bottom lip while looking out the window, resting my cheek on the cold glass.

I was surprised when we pulled onto the long road that led to the houses, my eyes widening when I saw a moving van in one of the once for sale houses. "Are we getting new neighbors?" I questioned Lillian since the house was right next to mine with a large stone wall keeping our yards separated.

"It appears so," she murmured. "We should go meet them once they have settled in," she stated.

"What if we took some cupcakes to them?" I questioned.

"Well as nice as that may be Cassidy, we don't know if they have any allergies," Markus informed me.

"Well there's this recipe I've made before and it's gluten, dairy, egg, and nut free. They're also vegan so maybe that way we could take them that since they are good cupcakes and would also be allergy free," I informed them.

"I suppose we could do that," Markus said with a small smile.

"Okay then let's go to my house where I have everything to make them," I said, making Lillian turn into my driveway at the last minute. She entered the password for my gate and it swung open. I unbuckled myself before she pulled to a full stop and jumped out when the car was still slightly moving.

"Cassidy," Lillian said as she stopped the car completely and turned the car off. She got out of the car and approached me, a frown on her lips. I squeaked when she grabbed me by the shoulders. "Do not ever do that again young lady, you wait for the car to stop before you get out," she scolded. I looked down with a blush on my cheeks.

"I'm sorry," I said as I bit my bottom lip. She kissed my head as I leaned my head on her shoulder. She rubbed my back, waiting for Markus to get out. I pulled away and went to the front door, unlocking it. I knew my security system had been set as it usually was an automatic one but sometimes I manually set it just to give myself some reassurance.

I went to turn it off before it could go off and frowned when it said disabled. The second thing I noticed was that it was oddly silent. Diego usually met me at the door and he normally barked at least once but I heard nothing.

"What's going Cassidy?" Lillian asked, making me jump. I looked at her and bit my bottom lip. I hurried to her and went back outside, pulling her with me as I shut the door.

"Someone's in my house. My alarm system's been disabled, normally it just says off. If it's disabled that means someone cut the wires to it and Diego didn't come greet me like he normally does nor did he bark," I said as my breathing started to pick up.

"Okay, okay," Lillian nodded as she pulled away from the house, leading me back to her car. "Markus call the police, someone's in Cassidy's house," she said quietly while holding me close.

"On it," he nodded his head as he pulled his phone out. I collapsed into Lillian, feeling my anxiety start to pick up as Markus spoke to someone on the phone.

"What if they hurt Diego?" I questioned as I bit my bottom lip. "He's my best friend, what if they hurt him?" I asked as I clung to her.

"Hey, hey. I'm sure he's fine," she said while rocking me back and forth with a small hum.

"Excuse me," a man's voice said, making me flinch. "Is this either of your dogs?" he questioned. I looked over and noticed that he had Rosabelle and was holding her by the collar.

"Oh, yes," Lillian said as she opened her car door. "Rosabelle, load up," she said as the man let go of her collar. Rosabelle jumped into the car and Lillian closed the door, opening the driver's side door and turning it on so she could have air-conditioning. "Where did you find her?" she questioned the man.

"She wandered into my family's yard while we were unloading boxes," he said. "By the way, we just moved in next door," he stated.

"It's nice to meet you," Lillian said as she shook his hand. "Markus, I think our house has been broken into as well seeing as Rosabelle was out and about," she stated.

"Okay," Markus nodded as he walked away, still talking to the people on the phone.

"Your house has gotten broken into?" the man asked with a frown.

"Possibly mine but hers definitely has," she gestured to me as I continued to cling to Lillian. "By the way, I'm Lillian and this is Cassidy. That's my husband, Markus," she said gesturing to Markus.

"I'm William," he said. "I should get going now but if you need help or something you are welcome to come over," he said, waving goodbye before leaving.

The cupcakes Cassidy wanted to make are from this lovely website: https://allergyawesomeness.com/the-best-allergy-friendly-chocolate-birthday-cupcakes-gluten-dairy-egg-peanut-vegan/