The Boy Next Door

0.1

A few weeks after my mom died, I moved across town to live with my dad. They had separated a few years ago, after my mom found out my dad was cheating on her with some witch who was only into my dad for his money.

As we pulled into the driveway in front on my dad's house, I pulled out my earbuds, turning off the AC/DC song I was listening to.

"Alright, Grace, I cleaned up our guest bedroom for you. I hope it's all right," my dad told me. I nodded, grabbing my bags from the back of the car. I was still mad at him for what he did to mom. I headed into the house, struggling to find the bedroom he told me about. After I found it, I set my bag on the ground and immediately called my best friend Hayden.

Voicemail.

Even though I lived closer to him now, I felt farther away. He never seemed to be answering me anymore. I was losing everyone.

I walked out onto the balcony, trying to see if I could get up onto the roof. I put a small step stool down and climbed up on to the roof. I took a deep breath in, inhaling the fresh air. I was trying to calm myself when I heard a door slam from across the street. My eyes snapped open. I saw the school's bad boy, Luke Hemmings, walking in to his house, followed by 3 other boys. Shit, shit, shit, I thought, they can't see me up here. They'll just call me names and cause me to have another breakdown.

I slowly climbed down from the roof after listening to some music coming from across the street. Their band, as it seemed, wasn't too bad.

"Grace! Dinner!" My dad called up from downstairs. I ran a hand through my purple hair and sighed, walking down the stairs. I pulled a chair up to the table, taking a look at what was for dinner. It was pasta. Out of everything my dad could have made, he made pasta. Way to go dad.

"You know you have to go to school tomorrow, right?" he asked. I nodded, gritting my teeth. That damn hellhole. I didn't want to go back. Then again, I deserved what I got. It's my fault that my mom is dead.

"I don't want to go tomorrow."

"Too bad, you're going. I'm paying for you to go to school and learn, so that's exactly what you're going to do!" my dad started to raise his voice.

"Well maybe you wouldn't have had to pay for it all on your own if you hadn't decided to cheat on Mom!" I shot back. He sighed, running a hair through his hair.

"I'm done. I'll be in my room." I said, and went upstairs, not waiting for an answer. The pain was coming back again, crashing down in waves. It was hard to breathe, and I started to shake. I sank down on to the bed and sobs ran through my body as I shook back and forth.

It was all my fault, all mine. If I had just been home earlier. If I hadn't gone out with Hayden, my mom would still be alive. I should have been there. I wasn't. It's all my fault that she's gone. I deserve this.

Tears fell down my face silently, and I wiped them away as quickly as I could. I wrung my hands together, trying to calm myself down. Somehow it always came to this. I quietly got up and padded down the hall to the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I found some of the blades I had hidden here last time, new lines of red appearing everywhere.

I dropped the blade and quickly cleaned up my arms. Brushing my hair across my face and pulling my sleeves down, I walked back to my room, ignoring my dad's shouts. I changed into shorts and a t-shirt and crawled into bed, pulling the covers around me like a cocoon.