The House Next Door

Chapter 1

A/N: So I haven't been on Wattpad in ages and I went on the other day and thought this would be a good release to get me away from the stress, so I just decided to write this. It may take me a while to update as I'm busy but I'll try my best for any readers that I get. I know that this probably won't get many readers but I hope that in the future it provides a release for other people reading it as it provides a release for me writing it.

---

The sweat rolls in waves down my face, washes over my body. I look up at the sky, at the never-ending heavens, and its unstable state between light and dark. This is my favourite time of the day, the point where the darkness isn't completely gone, but the light is starting to pull through. The point where time seems frozen, the Earth stops turning and you can live in the moment. That precious minute where you can live in a world you can never grasp, because it's only a tiny glimpse of the day ahead, and only a brief reminder of the night that passed. I look to the sea, as I keep running, at its calm, grey waters, and I feel calm as well. I am in my element. And then the light breaks through, the harsh sun is up, and my fantasy world is shattered.

It's funny how a place so familiar can feel so strange. It's only been a year since I've been gone, and yet everything seems to have changed. This was the moment I'd been waiting for, my chance to come back home, to be reunited with my best friend, basically, to have the summer break of my life. Well, I've reached the moment, but it doesn't seem so great as is once did. I've built it up for so long now in my mind, that it became something unattainable and I lived my expectations so high, that nothing could ever meet them. Really, nothing has changed, but in another sense, everything has. My memory of the past, my expectations of the future only faintly resemble what's in front of me today.

This is how I pictured coming home: I'd walk in the door. My parents and brother would all be there. We'd smile, we'd laugh, maybe even cry. We'd have a family night, all of us reunited, and for the rest of the holidays, we'd finally be able to bond as a family again. The girl who was my best friend from when I was 5 years old, Riles, would arrive the next day and when I would see her car pull up at the house next door, I would sprint towards her and we'd reconnect instantly, despite it being a year since we've last seen each other. Everyday, I would be going somewhere with her, exploring every minute change in our suburb, South Ridge, gossiping about our new lives, catching up with people from high school. We'd press play and continue our lives together.

This is reality: I arrived home 5 days ago. I walked in the door. My parents were there. We smiled, we laughed, we cried. I asked where my brother was. He was on a basketball tournament, he wouldn't be back for over a month. I'm disappointed. I mean, I'm happy for Jake, but it's not the same without him here. We haven't had a family night yet. Mom and Dad promise we will but they work every other day and it's always "I'm too tired". Riles arrived 4 days ago, right on time. But I didn't watch her car pull up and I didn't run next door. Her parents moved to North Ridge halfway through last year, the neighbouring suburb yesterday. I didn't know that she had arrived until two days ago, when she finally replied to my text, 'Hey! U home yet?' We saw each other yesterday. She insisted on meeting in North Ridge. The reunion I had imagined fell apart. I ran to her, screaming "Riles!!". She stayed where she was, with this other girl, both of them carrying high-end bags, raising their chins, sporting the latest clothes and with skin verging on orange. She said "Hi Emily". And then there was the awkward small talk. The "Hi. How are you? That's good. What are you doing with your life now?" kind of small talk. We chatted for a bit, and then she said "Come on, Gina, let's go" and they walked off swinging their hips as they walked through North Ridge, and I went back home. I call her Ryla now.

So, it's been 5 days, and already my summer seems to have collapsed. I run the rest of the way home, go upstairs and flop onto my bed. This is going to be a long summer. I hear the doorbell ring downstairs and look at my alarm clock. It's 7:30am. I wait for the familiar sound of the opening door, before remembering no one's home except me. I walk down the stairs, to the door, sweat dripping down my face, bed hair made worse from the run, and collapsing legs, and realise that great expectations only ever lead to great disappointments.