Nightmare Neighbor

CHAPTER 1 - Maddie

"I swear to God, Madeline, I'll hurt you if you thank me one more time," Meredith said, her eyes hidden behind a pair of huge sunglasses glued to the road ahead. Her rising irritation filled the car like a heavy perfume.

I shut my mouth, swallowing other words of gratitude even though I owed her a thousand more. If it weren't for her, I would go mental in a matter of days. A hotel wasn't a great environment for productivity, and I desperately needed to write for two simple reasons—I was way behind on my schedule, and I needed something to occupy my mind so it would quit reminding me of the colossal disaster that was supposed to be my twenty-sixth birthday party two weeks ago.

Events of that unfortunate night made me pack my bags and leave the comfy apartment in the middle of Sacramento, where I'd spent the past fifteen months. It was one of several properties belonging to my mother. Although she offered I could live there because she wasn't using it anymore and refused to take any money from me, I was suddenly a freeloader. Since I didn't have anywhere else to go, I stayed in the overpriced hotel a few blocks away, hoping to find something permanent soon. I didn't. I toured plenty of places, but nothing seemed right. That's when Meredith stepped in. By a stroke of luck, an apartment in her house in San Francisco opened up, and she was more than happy to rent it to me. I owed her a big time.

"You won't." I didn't doubt she could. She might have been three inches shorter than me, but she also did Muay Thai several times a week. She could snap me like a twig without breaking a sweat. "I'm your favorite client."

"You could still write with your legs broken, you know." She sounded earnest. "In fact, you would probably be a lot more productive. Don't tempt me."

I shook my head, smiling. I'd worked with Meredith since the start of my literary career when she took a chance with my first manuscript and got me a publishing deal in no time. Almost four years had passed, and since we were close in age, we became good friends. Apart from my younger sister, Libby, she was about the only friend I had left. I wasn't crazy popular in high school, being a bookworm and at the top of the class. Things improved in college, mainly because of my now ex-boyfriend Jeffrey, but I lost touch with most of the group we hung out with after graduation.

"Earth to Maddie." Meredith snapped her long fingers in front of my face. "We're here. Get out."

I climbed out of the air-conditioned car into the stroking heat. It was mid-September, and the summer still had a firm grip over the city, the peak day temperatures reaching well over eighty. Today was particularly hot, the sun knowing no mercy. Hiding in the shade of a nearby tree, I inspected the house in front of me. It matched my vision of the typical home in San Francisco to the letter—a two-story Victorian building featuring massive windows and a handsome facade. Its light green color stood out among the red, brown, and beige overflow, and the location was to die for—close enough to the city center but not too busy. Several grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and a small park were within walking distance.

"What do you think?" Meredith joined me by the trunk of her squeaky clean white SUV, which held my whole life packed into four duffel bags. While I instantly turned into a sweaty mess, she embodied pure perfection. Her alabaster skin was flawless, her body curvy in all the right places. Her copper-red hair cascaded down her shoulders in waves, standing out against her beige sheath dress. Oh yeah, and she was wearing bright red lipstick and sky-high heels because who didn't like to drive in heels, right?

"It's perfect."

"I hope you still think that after you find out how much your rent is."

I wasn't worried about money. My first two books sold better than I could ever dream of, and the presales of the third one, which was coming out next month, also skyrocketed. A big part of those earnings was sitting in my account since I didn't have to pay bills while living at my mom's. My personal expenses were pretty much nonexistent, as I was the embodiment of a homebody. "I spent two weeks in a hotel that charged me a weekly food budget of a small family for each night. However much you want, I'm still saving plenty. So name your price; it's yours. I'm willing to give you my spleen if it means I get to sleep in my own bed tonight."