Letting Love In

Chapter 3, Part 3

I WAS CURIOUS.

That's all that happened. I was curious. Besides, there wasn't anything else to look at. I always look out the window at night; he just happened to he there.

What's he even doing there? Is Jonny Cooper my neighbor? How didn't I know that? I walked home with him. He walked passed my house and... Well I didn't really look back to see where he was headed, or look across. I just went home and I really didn't care where he went off to. I already had it in my mind that we were no longer friends. I need to stop thinking about him. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

Sundays at our house is family day. We cook together and do family stuff like watch television and anything that includes togetherness. We've done that for since I can remember. Ma would always wake me up on Sundays to help her cook and help clean the house. I always hated it, and in return I hated Sundays. I didn't like spending an entire day inside with the family when I could have been out playing with my friends. I thought my mother was the most boring person in America for keeping me in. Now I still think she's boring but I appreciate the family days  bit more. Sometimes I get tired of seeing my same 'ole friends. Besides, now, in my adolescence stage, I get to be lazy (I don't know how that works but I like it). I'm allowed to sit and relax for a while before I get up and pretend to help around the house.

After everything was done and lunch was finished, we went out back, into the yard, where yet again, I sprawled out lazily in the hammock. My parents were sat on the the chair on the veranda, looking out at our small backyard. We were supposed to be chit chatting with each other, but instead I was away from them, staring around from the hammock, and they were talking to each other up on the veranda. Its usually like this. We sit and listen to the neighborhood -- which is very entertaining.

There's always the rowdy Ricky quarreling with his wife -- not legally: they just had a kid together and suddenly they're husband and wife -- Patricia. I think everyone in the neighborhood tunes in for when they're ready to eat each others heads off. But for some strange reason, they never leave each other. Also, from our back yard we could see when the Star is passing by. Apparently she got kinda very crazy because she took to much drugs as a teen. She just walks our street talking and arguing with herself. Its not anything to laugh at, but it is very funny. And besides the crazies, other neighbors come over to talk or just relax for some time and its all chill. Granted, some spoiled kid always wants my hammock, but that's nothing I can't handle.

My phone is in my room, absorbing the electricity from the wall, so I have nothing much to do until the neighbors start. I noticed from my peripheral vision, that my mother was rushing to me. I furrowed my brows, just as she came to the hammock. She nodded in the direction of our neighbors, which made me look.

"There's your friend, sweetie, invite him over." Surely, Jonny was there, over in his backyard, sitting on the steps with his phone in hand. I sighed softly at my mother. "Ma-"

"Honey, he's your friend and he's alone. Invite him." She spoke over me.

"He's not my friend and he's not alone. He has his phone. Why do you want to see him so badly anyway?" I asked her.

"He's been gone for so long, I wanna know what he's up to. And where his parents are. And why he's-" I stopped her.

"I thought you said you didn't remember him." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Just get the kid over here. Offer him some lemonade."

"I'd like some lemonade." Why give him when I'm right here? I wasn't even aware that Lemonade was being shared. I would appreciate some lemonade right about now.

"After. Now go." She deadpanned. Ma shook the hammock so I would fall out, but I didn't. I kept my balance, then stuck my tongue out at her when she realized she failed.

Despite all that, I still had to hop off the hammock and go across to the fence to talk to Jonny. His eyes were on his phone, solely trained on his phone and I took that time to stare at him. I've seen him, all of him, and its so hard to get out of my head. And now that I'm standing here and looking at him, I'm questioning if I even want it out of my head. I breathed softy before deciding to speak up.

"Hey! Jonny!" I called and watched as he rose his head to look at me. He flashed me a smile before standing up and shoving his phone back into his pocket. "Hey," he said and walked to me and I subconsciously took a step back. Jonny cocked an eyebrow at me and I just cleared my throat.

"Uh my mom wants to meet you." I spoke awkwardly. Jonny glanced behind me, where my parents sat on the veranda, then he looked back at me. He stared and I looked away. How can I look at him knowing I was peeping through his window just last night. I coughed awkwardly. "So...?"

"Uh yeah, sure. I have nothing better to do." He shrugged his shoulders then walked along the fence to the gate that leads into my backyard. I stayed put. When in my yard, he didn't come to me or even looked in my direction, he walked straight to my parents. For some reason, I couldn't move from where I stood.

Jonny Cooper was sitting at the veranda with my parents, well mom especially. My dad was reading a book and didn't seem to even care that Jonny stepped into the yard. Ma on the other hand was on him like white on bread. Her and him began talking and as much as I tried to hear what they were saying, I couldn't. I also couldn't make it obvious that I was eavesdropping. The hammock was the closest I could get and even then I didn't hear much. I knew for a fact that my mother dived right into the juicy stuff because I noticed Jonny's awkward look as he was answering her questions. I can only imagine how much he hates being here right now. That's totally understandable.

I decided to lie in the hammock and stare up at the tree, since I obviously wasn't going to hear anything from those two. I wish I had my headset, or something to distract me from wanting to talk to him. But I don't want to get up from here because then I'd draw attention to myself. He'd look at me as I walk past them and so would my mom, and that's just one too many pairs of eyes on me. So I remained lying in the hammock.

But then my mom called out to me. I craned my neck to look behind at her and Jonny. "Get him some Lemonade, please, hun." That wasn't a request, it as a command, as usual. Now that I think about it, my mother is a very demanding person -- that's probably the reason why her only friend is a pushy woman down the street. Maybe people can't be around her type of energy.

But she's my mom, so I have no choice. I managed to get off the hammock without looking like a complete fool, then walked toward the house, silently grumbling in irritation. I went into the kitchen and quickly took out the pitcher of Lemonade in the fridge, then a glass. I poured it into the glass and took it up to carry it out to him, not caring to put the lemonade back into the fridge or putting ice into his glass. When I arrived outside to them and chucked it into his face, my mother shot me a look that said 'Have some manners and respect!' and I really couldn't ignore her so I flashed him a smile. He muttered a thank you and took the glass.

"I thought you two were friends?" Ma asked us. I stared at him. I have to hate him. How else would I get the images out of my head? I need to replace them with hateful ones.

"Yeah." Were. I turned on my heels and walked back to my hammock.