Neighbors; c.d.

Chapter 1. The Boy Next Door

I let out a sigh as the summer breeze blew my long brown hair behind me. I was walking down my street in L.A. with my phone. I was texting my boyfriend, Hudson, as I rounded the corner that led back to my house. Clicking my phone off, I shoved it into my back pocket of my short jean shorts. My white laces from my Converse came up as I took each step, hitting my ankles. 

"Anna! Come on! Mom and Dad are about to start dinner!" I hear a voice from up the street yell. 

I squint and see my brother, Aiden, in front of our long driveway, waving his hands like a maniac. I sighed and ran up the last ten feet to him. I glanced up at him before he threw his arm around my shoulders and we walked up the fifty foot (okay, fifteen foot) driveway. 

Aiden was about 5' 11", but I inherited my mom's short genes which left me at the height of 5' 3". A few minutes later, we were at our large wooden front doors (yes, doors, we have double doors) and Aiden pushed the left one open. 

I followed him inside and breathed in the smell of our always clean house. It was always clean thanks to the maids that we had. I walked from the foyer, after kicking my Converse off and shoving them against a tan colored wall, to the dining room where my parents sat at either end of the long wooden table. 

"Anna, nice of you to join us." my dad said, flipping a page of his newspaper he was reading. 

"For once." my mom added sharply. 

I rolled my eyes as I took a seat at the middle of the table. I had a habit of staying outside for too long, which made me usually miss dinner and end up getting In-N-Out. 

Aiden shrugged at me before sitting across from me at the table. I placed my phone face down on the table as servants came on after the other out of the kitchen, holding silver plates with the little covers over them. 

"Here you go, Miss Booths." Hayley, one servant said as she placed the plate in front of me.

"Thank you, Hayley." I whispered before she left. 

My parents for some reason didn't like us thanking the servants or anything so when I did, I always had to whisper. I pulled the cover off and handed it to Nick, the butler, before looking down at what sat on my plate. 

"Salad?" I asked, making a disgusted face. 

My mom gasped from her end of the table as my dad scoffed. I looked over at him. He was smirking as he slowly placed a small piece of chicken on the assorted greens on his plate. 

I covered my mouth with my hand, trying not to blow his cover. He made eye contact with me before smiling and placing a finger on his lips, telling me not to say anything. I nodded my head, slowly. 

"Can I please eat something else?" Aiden asked across from me. I laughed and then quickly stopped after I got a death glare from my mom. 

"No, Aiden. Eat that." my mom said, pointing at his plate with her fork. 

"Where's Allie?" my dad asked. Allie was my little sister. I was the oldest, being 17, Aiden was 15, and then Allie was 10. 

"She's over at Jasmine's." my mom replied, sticking her silver fork in her salad. 

Jasmine was Allie's best friend who lived on the street over. My dad nodded his head before putting his fork through the small piece of chicken he'd put on there and ate it, making sure my mom didn't see. 

"Anna, Grandma Cathy is coming over tomorrow. She said that she wants to spend the day with you." my mom said, a few minutes later. 

I still hadn't touched my salad and had my phone taken away from me when I tried to text Hudson back. Grandma Cathy was my least favorite grandmother because she always criticized me for not being a true lady.