The Boy Next Door

Chapter 14

The fantastic smell of Lasagna fills my nostrils when I reach the bottom of the staircase. The sound of dishes clanging, and the oven beeping can be heard from the kitchen just around the corner. "Yum, Lasagna my favorite!" Ava giggles, going past me and Thomas into the kitchen. Thomas looks at me and smiles, then he holds out his hand. "Ready love?" Love? No one has ever called me love before. I actually kind of like it, especially coming from him. I flash him a warm smile and take his hand, "Ready as I'll ever be." We walk into the kitchen hand in hand. On the right side of the room was a full sized dining table, all glass. A few paintings scattered the walls of the dining room, setting off a vivid vibe to the room. On the table were sets of silver wear, napkins, and cups filled with ice water. I look to the left to see the kitchen, which was not huge, but it certainly wasn't small either. Then I noticed his mom, who's back was to the oven, probably getting out the lasagna.

"Hey mom, this is Paige. Alright if she stays for dinner?" She turns her back to the oven, shutting it close with the back of her foot. She holds the lasagna with both hands, wearing pot holders to keep her hands from burning. "Hello Paige! You must Thomas's frien-" She stops, and glances down at our intertwined hands. "Oh, you must be Thomas's girlfriend!" She places the lasagna on the granite counters, and takes off the pot holders from her hands and puts them in a drawer in front of her. "I'm Tasha, Thomas and Ava's mother." She flashes me a warm smile, and extends her hand for me to shake. I put my hand in hers, which is small and warm. She slowly shakes her hand up and down and I follow her move. "Nice to meet you." I smile at her. "The pleasure is all mine." She smiles back, then turns to Thomas. "Honey I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

•

"We just started dating mom." Thomas says, his face was turning a shade of pink. "Oh well congratulations to you both!" Tasha gives a warm smile, then gestures to the plates and lasagna. "Please guys eat, There's plenty for everyone. Salad and bread are now being put on the table." I turn around to see Ava set down a basket of garlic bread, and garden salad. I turn back around and grab a plate from the counter. I put one serving of lasagna on my plate, then walk over to the table to get some salad and bread.

"So Paige." Tasha says, after we've all sat down and begun eating. "Are you in the neighborhood?" Thomas glances at me with a mouth full of lasagna, and gives me a small reassuring smile. "I actually live right next door" I laugh. "Oh really?" She puts down her fork and looks at me. "I never knew that! Well that's awesome." We eat the rest of our dinner in silence, occasionally saying things here and there. After me and Thomas are done eating, we set our dishes on the counter and thank his mom for dinner. "Your very welcome! You two go on ahead." Me and Thomas nod and exit the kitchen, leaving Tasha and Ava who are doing the dishes.

"Gee your moms nice!" I say once we're back in his room. I fall backwards onto his bed, and land with a sigh. "Yeah" Thomas chuckles, "She's always like that with guests." "You never told her you were dating Kati?" I blurt out without thinking, ignoring his response. He shakes his head, "Like I said, it just didn't feel right with her, so why tell my mom when it wasn't something I was comfortable with." "So that time when you said you loved her when I came to talk to you that day, that was a lie right?" "All a lie."

He scoots over closer to me, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me close. "I swear to god I didn't mean that, and you know it. Kati is a bitch who started on me first. Now can we not talk about it, please?" "I'm sorry" I whisper. "I shouldn't of said anything." "Hey, it's ok. You can trust me, ok?" I look up at him and flash him a smile. "Of course I do." We sit there in silence for a while, with his chin resting on the top of my head, until a thought occurs to me. "Thomas?" "Hmm?" He answers back, I could feel the vibration of his hum on my head. "What's your dad like?" "He um, he's on a business trip. Yeah, he's always busy." I could tell there was something off by the way he answered that. But I decided to let it go considering the fact that I don't like people questioning me about my dad either.

•

My phone buzzes, I scoot away from Thomas to grab my phone from my bag. I unlock my phone and go to my messages to see who texted me. "WHERE ARE YOU?" It was from my dad. Shit, he's going to kick my ass when I get back home. Instead of answering back, I drop my phone on Thomas's bed and rush over to his window to look out my driveway. Sure enough, his car is parked right next to my Jeep. "Hey Thomas, I gotta go." He furrows his eyebrows and stands up, "Why, are you ok? What's wrong?" He walks up to me and puts  his hands on my shoulders, rubbing his thumbs in a circular motion which makes my shoulders tickle. "Yeah, I'm fine. My dad just texted saying he wanted me home that's all." I lie, but I don't have a choice. "Want me to walk you home?" "No!" I say, maybe a little too ruff. I clear my throat and soften my voice a bit, "I'm ok, I just need to get ready for school tomorrow that's all."

He smiles a relieved smile, which cause me to feel a pang of guilt in the middle of my stomach. I wrap my arms around his torso, pulling him close to me so I can take in his sweet scent. He wraps his strong arms around my waist, and rests his chin on my shoulder. He runs his hand up and down my back, "I love you Paige, and if there's anything you need me for, I'm right here. Alright?" "I love you too Thomas, I just have one question?" He pulls away from me looking into my eyes, and he smiles. "What is it love?" "Do you trust me?" The smile disappears from his face, and my hopes fade. "Of course I do, but do you trust me?" I do, I trust him a lot, I'm just not ready to tell him about my dad yet. "Of course, you already know that." I reply. And at that moment, I knew I meant every one of those words. Me and Thomas kiss each other goodbye, and I head out the front door, saying goodbye to Tasha and Ava before I close it.

I walk through the front door of my house to see my dad sitting at the kitchen table, head down in his hands. As Soon as I close the front door behind me, my dad shoots up from the table and beings charging at me. He punches me square in the jaw before I have time to react and I stumble back, hitting my head against the wall. He puts his hand around my throat and pushes me up further against the wall. "If you're ever late like that again, I'll have your neck. Got it!?" "G-got it." I gag out. He removes his hand from my throat and without another word, returns back to the kitchen. I run up the stairs, not bothering to take my stuff up with me this time. I slam my bedroom door behind me and lean against it.

•

I could feel vomit rising up in my throat so I run to the bathroom. I hunch over the toilet seat and throw up, releasing every food item I've had today. I look into the mirror after I'm done puking, to see red marks that go around my whole neck, and a blue and purple bruise on my jaw from where my dad punched me. Great, now I look like some homeless ass teenager. I feel tears burn my eyes and it takes every bit of me to not start crying. I decide to ignore my face and go text Thomas since I know he'll cheer me up.

Me: Hey <3
Thomas: Hey :) are you ok?
Me: Yeah, why do you ask?
Thomas: Uh, you sorta ran out fast...
Me: Sorry, my dad really needed me to help him.
Thomas: hey, it's ok. Anyways I want to ask you something.
Me: Sure :)
Thomas: Do you want to do to an amusement park with me tomorrow after school, at about 6:00?
Me: Aw sure I'd love too! Is it the one in town?
Thomas: Yep :)
Me: Great, sounds good :)
Thomas: Great :) hey I gtg shower. Ily and I'll see you tomorrow at school <3
Me: ily too :) night!
Thomas: night.

•

Thomas's p.o.v:

THOMAS'S P.O.V

I walk back into my bedroom with a towel around my waist. I grab a pair of boxers and a gray T-shirt from my drawer, then walk towards my bed to change. I take a glance into Paige's room which is all dark, indicating she's in bed. I quickly slip on my T-shirt and boxers, and throw my shower towel in a corner on the other side of the room. ••• I lay in bed thinking about how I lied to Paige, I love her and I can't have her finding out the truth. I grab my phone from my nightstand and start scrolling through my photos, until I reach a picture of me and my dad. A tear rapidly rolls down my face at the sight of my dad and me. I wipe it away, shut off my phone, and set it back down on my nightstand. I close my eyes, and after a few minutes I fall asleep, thinking about my dad and Paige. But mostly Paige.

-

Left you here on another cliff😏 why is Thomas's dad keep being mentioned...?
Find out as you continue reading😈