He's My Neighbour

24: Something's Not Right

A/N: Hi everyone, so the story is getting on now and I'm so happy we're not far away from 1k! I don't have a lot to say in these Author's Notes, but please read and stay patient. Thanks a lot. Just so you know, Amy's dad didn't kill Jake's dad. It's just a coincidence that one's a murderer and the other's dead.

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Chapter 24: Jake's POV: Something's Not Right

I did nothing wrong.

All I did was beg to go bowling, then try to lighten the mood, but as per usual, Amy didn't hesitate to judge. So I took the nearest coat to me, which I haven't worn since moving here, and left. She's constantly trying to tell me what to do, what to say, but she doesn't even care that I'm trying to figure all of that out for myself. Times like this, where I needed an escape, I'd probably just scatter off to Mindy, but even though Amelia drives me up the wall a lot of the time, I couldn't do that to her... not now that I liked her this much. Truth is, I'm terrified too. Not just because of the police, but because of myself. Inside of me, something feels out of the ordinary, a feeling I've never felt.

Dammit, who would've thought this could happen to me?

I left to forget her for a short while, but she flooded my thoughts all the more.

I didn't want to bowl anymore. Throwing a spherical object down a lane to knock out skittles wouldn't distract me... Nothing could. Walking down endless, unrecognisable streets felt like my only option- I didn't have anywhere else to go.

It was my fault.

I guess she was only acting so uptight, because of what she's been through over the past week. Sam was possibly dead, and if he was, we both knew the blood was on our hands. If anybody figured it out, immediately they'd link up the cases and everybody would know about Amy's secret- her dad. She's ashamed of him, and he doesn't deserve anything more than a kick in the teeth, but I can't imagine wishing that your own father wasn't your dad. Within a blink of an eye, I'd bring back my dad from heaven, but I'm positive Amy would send hers to hell if she had the chance. I can imagine how she'd react if anybody ever found out, and that's why I intend to keep that diary safe at all costs.

But I was done thinking for the night.

I couldn't go back, and the more roads I walked down, the darker and darker the night grew. One night out wouldn't hurt. By morning, I'd be back at Amy Gran's with no harm done.

God's sake, I didn't even have a phone on me. This was going to be one hell of a night for me.

In hunt of perhaps an old packet of gum or loose change to go buy myself a snack before the nearest corner shop shut at nine, I rummaged through my old leather jacket's pockets, perching on the first step on a flight of grungy-looking stairs. The atmosphere was so nostalgic- not in the exhilarating sense like the scent of pudding on Christmas, but the area I was in certainly threw me back to a good few months ago. The spray paint along every single brick wall in sight reminded me of the times where the rest of the old gang from my old town would coat the walls with layer after layer of the stuff. Drinking out in the clubs with fake ID's, despite the fact that we were barely teenagers. They were always the same, and were far beyond help; you couldn't just leave them either. You were with or against. I guess I just got in with the wrong crowd- don't get me wrong, Caleb, Zac and Tyler aren't exactly role-model students, but turning down a few cigarettes and receiving multiple detentions is nothing compared to what my old friends dragged me into. I mean for Christ's sakes, they'd bust up cars for fun! Anyway, being back in the streets with nowhere better to be just reminded me of those days when we refused to sleep in our own beds at home for the sake of a lousy, 'bad-boy' reputation.