Chapter 24

Evangeline

Finally, the first day of school is over! Club tryouts will be held later this afternoon. Asher takes my bag for me as we walk to the lockers. Ahead, my other stepbrothers are waiting for us. I tug on Lucas's shirt and grin up at him by way of greeting.

A smile curves his lips. "Hey, you're here!"

"Yeah, can we go now?" Chris whines. "Max ordered Chinese for lunch." I giggle. Chris can get hangry sometimes.

-

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Lukey. Don't judge me just because I'm short!" I smack his stomach, but my hand simply bounces off. Ouch. "Now, lemme change and then we can go, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll grab your spikes for you." He leaves the room and closes the door behind him. I lock it and begin unbuttoning my blouse. I shrug the material off my shoulders and turn to the armoire to retrieve my PE attire, when I notice I had left the window to my room wide open. I had been standing in full view the entire time! Shit!

I scramble to the window to draw the curtains. Luckily, there seems to be no one on the opposite side. I sigh in relief. I pause. Come to think of it, I've never actually met the neighbours. Nor have my stepbrothers said anything about them.

I am too lost in my own thoughts to notice that in fact, an audience has appeared in the frame of the opposite window. I hear someone clear their throat.

-

Owen

"Owen Carter Hale!" Orabella pinches the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Go clean your room!"

Penny rubs her wife's back soothingly. "Don't stress, Ora. It's bad for the baby, remember?" She fixes me with a pointed, brown eyed stare. "Owen, you'll do what your sister says, won't you?"

I nod reluctantly and trudge up the stairs to my room.

I have been living with my sister and her wife for two years now. My bio dad was a deadbeat who left once I was born, and Mom was a druggie. She died of an overdose when I was 9, leaving my 18 year old sister and me. Orabella and Penny are expecting a baby soon, which makes me a soon to be uncle. I chuckle. I feel so old now.

I enter my room and begin gathering up the dirty clothes strewn all over the bed, chair and floor for the laundry. As I'm digging out a sock from under the bed, I hear a muffled curse from the neighbour's window. Hold on. Isn't that the empty guest room? Now that I think about it, I haven't been to my best friend's place for the past few weeks. I wonder if Lucas is busy.

I straighten and peer out the window, and I have to do a double take to make sure I'm not seeing shit wrong.

An ebony haired girl in what appears to be a tank top is leaning out of the window, staring straight at me. Well, not me specifically. Her pale gray eyes have a faraway look in them. I clear my throat awkwardly and we lock eyes.

She seems to have momentarily forgotten about her state of undress, and gives me a little wave, smiling sheepishly. As she shifts a little, I catch sight of her midriff. The 'tank top' is actually a bra. My cheeks heat, but the poor kid remains ignorant.

Right now, she's obviously more ashamed of being seen staring into the neighbour's house than getting caught half naked. Geez.

I can feel a blush creeping up my neck. I cough again and gesture toward her. The girl looks down at herself, shrieks and trips on something behind her, grabbing hold of what I suppose are curtains on the inside of her windows.

The last thing I see before the curtains are yanked shut as she tumbles backward onto what I assume to be her bed is a flash of her purple and blue flecked gray eyes...and a foot.