Enemy

Nosy Neighbors

I sat in the car. "Can I go to a new school?" I asked my Mom. I didn't expect her to say yes. "Maybe. With all these reporters chasing us around. It might be safer." Wait, what? "You mean new house and all?" I asked. "No, not new house. We could stay in another house, though. I could get a job in the fashion industry and we'll make a new name for ourselves until your father gets back." She said it like it was no big deal. I would miss Havyn, but nothing else. My Mom parked in the driveway, then pulled out Zillow. "This house is cute." She said. I nodded. "We can go check it out now." I wasn't so sure about this whole bouncing lives thing. But I had suggested it. We backed out of the driveway and got to the address. It was small but cute. It was enough for two kids and a Mom to live. "I'll make arrangements with the public school," She said. I hadn't expected Mom to take action this quickly. But I was all for it. I mean, there's no reason I can't hang out with Havyn after school.

Two mornings later, I woke up in my new house all safe and cozy. Havyn didn't like the idea, but our moms said we could hang out 3 times a week. Chris walked into my room. "Let's eat. Mom made buttermilk panca-" Before he could finish, I had already zoomed out of my room and into the kitchen. Chris picked at his pancakes. "What's up?" I asked him. "Why did we move? I won't see Tyler and the boys anymore." He complained. Mom flipped a pancake and said, "We'll go back to our normal life eventually. We'll just be here for a bit. The doorbell rang. Oh, goodness. I thought. "Meadows, your name will be Rylee. Chris, you'll be Jonah." Mom said before she opened the door. "Hello!" She said. I walked over to the door. A lady and her daughter were at our front door. "Hello, new neighbors!" The lady said. Mom smiled. "We brought fresh pie. It's our tradition to give a treat to new neighbors. I'm Janet Guidry and this is my daughter, Venus." Venus waved at me, and I nervously waved back. "Nice to meet you girls. I'm Jennifer, and this is Rylee." Mom said. Ms. Guidry smiled and mouthed the word hi. "Has your daughter started school yet?" Mom shook her head. "No, she and her brother start next week." Ms. Guidry put her hand on her chin and brushed her blonde hair with her fingers. "Ahh. Where are you moving from?" Mom stiffened up. "Uh, just around the area. Not far." Ms. Guidry seemed confused. "What school did they go to?" Mom tensed. "Uh, some school. Can't think of it right now. It's on the tip of my tongue I just-yeah." Ms. Guidry nodded slowly as if she didn't believe Mom. "Welp. Gotta get back in the kitchen before this pie gets cold. Heh. Nice meeting you." Mom said as she waved and closed the door. She sighed. "Nosy neighbors." I laughed. "Finish your breakfast." Mom said. "I'm going to the store." She grabbed keys and left. "Chris? You wanna go to the park?" I asked. He ignored. "Chris? Earth to Chris!" He swallowed his pancake. "Jonah." He whispered. "Jonah," I sighed. "Do you want to go to the park with me?" I asked. "Sure, Rylee! I'd love to!" He said sarcastically as he put his plate in the sink and went to change.

We met up outside. "Are you sure we should be doing this? We didn't ask Mom." Jonah worried. "It'll be fine. We're just exploring our new neighborhood!" I said. Jonah sighed and followed me down the block. We reached the orange and white park, where the two neighbors from earlier were. Ms. Guidry hadn't noticed us, and I wanted to keep it that way. I didn't want to end up spilling more info. I grabbed Jonah's arm and yanked him behind the rock wall. "Don't make eye contact with that lady." I said. "When have you ever been this paranoid about meeting strangers?" Jonah asked. I shook my head and peeked. Ms. Guidry had an airpod in one ear and was writing everything down in a journal. Meanwhile, her daughter, Venus I think it was, was sitting on the bench next to her Mother. "Mom, should we be doing this?" Venus asked. "It's nothing. I'm just doing a little background check on them." She said as she quickly scribbled a few other things on the paper. "I mean, the Carver thing. Maybe you should let him go." My heart started to beat quicker. What Carver thing? Did she have my Dad? Oh, when I get close to her... My thoughts were quickly disturbed when Jonah tapped me. "Did you hear that? She knows where Dad is!" He whispered. "Shh! Not so loud!" I said. "You know what, just stay out here I'm finishing this inside." Ms. Guidry said. She picked up a blue Stanley cup that was sitting on the bench and walked into one of the houses. Venus sighed. "Let's act like we just got here." I said. "Why? Let's confront here since that lady left!" Jonah argued. "No. She'll become suspicious and tell her Mom. Let's play it cool until we have enough information and can report them to the police." I motioned for Jonah to move up. We walked from behind the rock wall, and Venus got a little startled. "Oh, how long have you two been there?" I looked at Jonah. "Not long. Just got here 5 seconds ago." I lied. As much as I wanted to whack Venus upside the face, I had to keep cool. If I let my anger out it would cause a bad problem. Remember, you're not the violent approach one. Chris is. I thought. "So, you go to the public school?" She looked at me wildly. "Everyone I know goes to public schools. You went to a private one?" She got closer. Her green eyes threatening to pluck out the truth. I thought about that quote my Dad had made up once when he tried to get me to confess that I took the cookies from the cookie jar when I was 5. He had said, 'Beautiful eyes hold the most secrets.' I wanted to cry. "No, uh. Just asking. 'Cause, ya' know. Been going to private schools all my life." I said. I looked away and rubbed my neck. Why did I do that? This is so embarrassing. I thought. "So, school starts for you in two days. How do you feel?" We started a conversation, and I had even lost track of time. Until our black Audi screeched to a halt in front of the park. "Jonah, Rylee, time to go home!" Mom called. I nodded. "I'll see you on Monday, I guess." Venus waved as she retreated to her house. I got in the car. "I don't want you hanging around those neighbors." Mom said. "Okay." Normal me wouldn't have agreed. But now me would. I mean, Venus and her family probably had my Dad locked up in their basement somewhere. But I had to be her best friend. That was the only way to get any closer to finding my Dad.