"Daya?" Addie whispered, shocked at the sight before her.
Daya Andrews was standing on her front porch, smiling nervously at Addie. Daya was Chase's younger sister, only a year behind Addie in school, and the pair had always been close. Daya would always beg Addie to leave her brother, not wanting Addie to keep getting hurt. She realized she would more than likely lose Addie in the process, but she decided it would be worth it if Addie could find peace.
"Hi." Daya whispered after a few awkward minutes, shocked as Addie took a step forward and brought the girl into a hug. Nick and Alahna were surprised at Addie's actions, standing to the side, waiting for an explanation.
"What are you doing here?" Addie asked Daya, wiping away a stray tear off her face.
"My parents made me come with them to support Chase, and so we can get him back to California." Daya asked, as Addie led her to the living room.
"Wait, how do you know Chase?" Nick asked, confused.
Daya frowned, "He's my brother."
Alahna scoffed, "I'm so sorry girl." She spoke, grunting when Nick elbowed her in the side.
Daya laughed, "No, it's okay. He's a piece of shit." She shrugged, making everyone grin at her.
"She's cool guys, Daya always tried getting me to break up with Chase, but I was young and supposedly in love." Addie rolled her eyes, wishing so badly she could go back in time and listen to Daya.
"So, I can't stay long," Daya announced, "My parents don't know I'm here. But, I wanted to ask if you ever made a move on that guy you liked." Daya grinned at Addie, remembering how Addie had confessed she liked someone back home, but never acted on it.
"You told her about Chris?!" Alahna and Nick yelled in unison, jaws dropped in shock.
Addie nodded, "Well, we're in love now, but we haven't put a label on anything yet." She explained, making Daya's face screw up in confusion.
"Why no label?" Daya asked, before adding, "Because of Chase?" She asked, praying that her stupid brother wasn't the cause of Addie not getting what she wants.
"No, we're just taking it slow." Addie replied, but she wasn't sure the actual reason why they weren't girlfriend and boyfriend yet.
"But you're in love?" Daya repeated, about to question Addie more but was cut off by her phone ringing. "It's my mom, I should probably go." Daya sighed, rolling her eyes.
Addie stood with Daya, pulling her in for a bone crushing hug. "I still have the same number you know, we'll have to keep in touch." Addie murmured into the hug, making Daya squeeze her tighter.
"You can never get rid of me, Adeline. I'll always be your annoying younger sister." She grinned up at the girl, making Addie laugh. If anyone else were to say that to her, she'd be scared, but coming from Daya it was cute.
"Wait, were you at Sally's this afternoon?" Addie asked after Daya had told Nick and Alahna it was nice to meet them and was currently walking her to the front door.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Daya replied, looking to Addie in shock.
Addie grinned, "I felt like someone was staring at me when I was walking back to the car but couldn't find anyone." She explained, opening the door for Daya.
"Yeah that was me, mom wouldn't let me come say hi while my dad was in the dollar tree." Daya laughed, making Addie hum in acknowledgement. The pair stood in silence on the porch for a minute, before Daya started speaking.
"Ads, I'm so sorry for what Chase did to you." She whispered, refusing to look at Addie. "I should've stopped him, I could have gotten our parents involved-"
"Don't do that," Addie interrupted Daya, grabbing her hand, "Don't apologize for a situation you couldn't control. You were 13 Daya, this wasn't on you. This was on Chase, for being a fucking psycho, and it was on me. For being so delusional and falling for his shit."
Daya looked to Addie with admiration clear on her face, "Thank you." She whispered, hugging Addie one last time before taking off. Addie watched Daya leave, wanting nothing more than to ask her to stay, but at the end of the day Daya has to take her brother's side.
Addie re-entered her house, grinning as she watched Nick and Alahna scurry away from the living room window. "You guys were eavesdropping weren't you?" She laughed, "Nosey fucks."
An hour later, the pizza was gone, and the red hair dye was on Addie's hair. The three of them were sitting in Addie's kitchen, eating ice cream on the island.
"How excited are you for school tomorrow?" Nick asked Addie, making her frown.
"I'm so fucking nervous, this is my first time going to highschool." Addie groaned, wanting to run a hand through her hair, but the hair dye prevented her from doing so.
Alahna placed a comforting hand on Addie's shoulder, "Everything will be fine, we'll all be by your side to make sure of it." She grinned at Addie, making her feel slightly better.
"Has anyone asked about me, since I've been back?" Addie asked, not missing the look Alahna and Nick shared. "What is it!?" Addie gasped, assuming the worst.
"Well, it's known you're back in town," Nick started, "But everyone is mostly curious. Nothing bad I promise." Just what Addie wanted to hear, she was going to be the school's latest topic to gossip about. Addie hated being the center of attention, and it seems like she was walking right into it.
Addie couldn't wait.
Nick and Alahna went home shortly after the talk about school, since it was nearing 9 pm. Addie washed and dried her hair, deciding she loved it. She couldn't wait to surprise Chris and Matt with it tomorrow. Addie hadn't received her schedule yet, but she had begged Mary Lou to pull some strings, so she could share most of her classes with her friends. Just this trimester, since she would be new and all, after that it would be fair game.
Mary Lou couldn't promise anything so Addie was nervous, afraid of not having any classes with the people she's comfortable with. Or even the same lunch hour. That one would really suck, knowing she'd sneak off to the library instead of eating lunch, to avoid the awkwardness of having no friends to sit with.
Addie hadn't had to deal with going to school in 2 years, so she figured she should try and go to bed in hopes of getting up early enough to not have to rush in getting ready. Matt offered to take her to school, since both of her parents need their cars tomorrow for work.
After texting Chris goodnight, she laid down, doing her best to shove her anxiety to the back of her mind. She can worry tomorrow.
authors note .ᐟ
only 5 more chapters guys!
(i'm running out of lyrics from the song and honestly i'm ready for this to end )
YOU ARE READING
girl next door ☆ c. sturniolo
Fanfic"Whatever happened to the girl next door? She's all grown up, she don't come home anymore..." Adeline Manson had grown up in Boston up until she was 13 years old, when her family suddenly moved across the country for her father's work. Adeline...
