On My Own Time

Chapter 2

"Diego! Do you have the tape?"

"No, mother! I left it in the kitchen!"

I pushed my box aside and got up to check on my mother. I hated packing but we only had two more days to be out and move to the new house Daniel bought. He'll be stopping by later to help us start moving things to the house so this place won't be filled with boxes and boxes. I found my mother in the kitchen looking for the tape. Her dark brown hair pulled up into a messy bun to keep out of her face.

"Diego, honey, I can't find it."

I chuckled and grabbed the tape from inside a drawer that she accidentally skipped while looking. She smiled and grabbed the tape from me, kissing my cheek and thanking me. My mother was a sweet lady. She was 5' 5" and had dark chocolate brown eyes that matched her hair. She was the most beautiful woman ever and her personality matched.

"Can you help me tape up these boxes, honey? I need to go pack up some more clothes of mine."

"Of course, mother."

She gave me one more smile before heading off to her room to pack. My room was mostly finished with only my bed and covers left. My mother, however, had much to pack from her room. I began to tape up the boxes and organized them to be against the wall to not disturb.

"Knock, knock." I looked over to see a smiling Daniel and an angry looking Caden. "We came early because I imagined your mother had a lot to pack from her room."

I offered a smile and said, "Hello Daniel and Caden. Yes, she's in there now actually. I'm just taping these boxes up."

Daniel smiled and made his way to my mother's room. I decided to ignore Caden so I wouldn't bother him any more. He clearly didn't want to be here and it wasn't like I wanted him here either. He was a little bit taller than me standing at 6 foot while I was 5' 8". He had light brown hair and honey colored eyes. Compared to my tan skin, he was a little lighter. In fact, he seemed lighter in many ways when it came to appearances. I had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. We never really talked but mostly ignored each other. It had been about three months from that awkward dinner and from then to now, we hardly spoke a word to each other. He now attended my school but we ignored each other. I wasn't even sure if people knew about our status at home. I told my friends but that was because they kept saying that he was glaring at me the day after Daniel told him about his engagement to my mother.

"Need help?"

I looked up, a look of confusion displayed on my face. He still looked bothered but he also looked genuine. I didn't know if Daniel made him try to help or not. Whatever it was, I didn't intend to talk to him for too long.

"I'm fine, thank you. Would you like something to drink or eat. We have water, soda, chips?"

"No," is all he said and changed his focus to his phone that had beeped.

He began to text, most likely a girl from the way he bit his lip. I rolled my eyes and tapped up the box, pushing it aside and getting the next box. I continued my process but could see him from the corner of my eyes. He continued to bite his lip and he would chuckle every now and then. It was getting quite annoying but I wasn't going to be rude and tell him to stop.

"Diego! Can you go get more boxes from my car please?" My mother yelled out from her room.

I released a sigh and put the tape down, getting up and grabbing the keys. I walked past Caden who was still wrapped up in his phone to notice I left. I unlocked the car and reached for the boxes. However, as I looked out the window from across, I saw our neighbor outside. He was wearing a muscle shirt with black jeans and a snapback hat placed backwards on his head.

Victor Torres.

"What are you staring at?"

I jumped and hit my head on the ceiling of the car, cursing loudly. Caden began to laugh rather loudly, causing Victor and his friend that he was with to look over. I couldn't stop the blush that rushed to my cheeks as he saw me and smiled. Caden was still laughing but began to calm down.

"Thanks for that," I couldn't help but say sarcastically.

"What are you looking at Victor for?" He asked, slight chuckles still leaving his mouth.

I glanced over to see Victor talking to his friend again but noticed him glancing over a few times. I didn't want to get caught so I did what I originally went out to do, get the boxes.

"I wasn't staring," I mumbled towards Caden.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the boxes from my hands, walking back to the house. I sighed and stopped myself from yelling at him. He was annoying and what he did wasn't putting him on my good side. I grabbed the rest of the boxes and balanced them on my thigh while I grabbed the keys to lock the door.

"What are the boxes for?"

"Jesus!" I yelled and dropped the boxes.

I looked over to see Victor there with an amused smile. It didn't help that Caden had seen from the doorway and was laughing his head off. My heart felt like it was going to explode but I forced myself to try to calm down.

"I um. . . The boxes?"

Victor chuckled and bent down, picking them up and handing them back to me. "Here."

"Thank you," I said, grabbing them from him. "Um, we are moving from this house. My mother is getting married and they found a house to move into."

Victor nodded and glanced at Caden who made his way over. Caden nodded his head in acknowledgment to which Victor returned it.

"Well, it sucks we won't be neighbors anymore."

A tiny smile slipped it's way onto my lips but it disappeared when Caden began to speak.

"Bro, did you end things with that one girl? Cause she was fine and I might try to shoot my shot."

I cleared my throat and excused myself from them. I wasn't interested in hearing them talk about girls, especially not in such a disrespectful way. I personally could never use a girl just for sex. I didn't want to call myself a gentleman, but I knew how to treat a girl right. Or even a boy.

I put the boxes down in my mother's room to which she thanked me for. I nodded and went back to the living room, peaking out the window to see Victor and Caden still talking. Eventually, Victor's friend, Alex, showed up from Victor's house and joined in the conversation. A sigh left my lips and I shook my head.

"Diego, I think we are missing some boxes. Can you check the trunk please?"

I didn't want to go back out there but I couldn't say no to my mom. So, I gave her a smile and went back out. I ignored them and passed them to get to the car. I unlocked the car and opened the trunk. I heard them still talking about girls but I couldn't hear Victor's voice anymore.

"Need help?"

I jumped but didn't scream this time. Victor was looking at me with a smile, his arms crossed as he leaned against the car.

"Uh. . . No, I'm fine. I don't want to keep you from them."

"Hey uh, what's up with you and Caden? Is he a friend? A family friend?" I gave him a weird look to which he gave a nervous chuckle and said, "I'm just curious as to why he's here."

"He's going to be my stepbrother. His dad is the man that's going to marry my mother," I explained and balanced the boxes on my thigh before closing the trunk and locking the car.

"It's a real shame you're moving."

"I'm sure you'll be getting better neighbors," I said with a chuckle.

"I highly doubt it," he replied with a chuckle and walked off with his friend.