Presley

The rest of the day goes by pretty well and when school finally lets out it feels as if it started many hours ago.

After packing up all my things, I head over to Maddy's desk a few desks behind mine. She's dumping her books into her bag, so I look around and the first person I spot is Deon in a corner desk talking with Courtney from our grade. She's the stunningly pretty redhead who's also the captain of the cheerleading team. He says something to her and she nods, giggling. I wish I could hear what they're saying— wait, what?! No, I don't.

Twisting his head to the side, he notices me staring, but before I can look away, he flashes me with one of those smiles of his that I'm increasingly struggling to believe has no power over me, before winking.

Damn! Why is he so cute? Guys like him should always come with a neon warning sign across their forehead saying 'Approach at your own risk'.

I turn away before I get the chance to blush, but only to come face to face with someone worse. Maddy is staring at me, wide-eyed. Oh, shit! She looks past my shoulder before her face breaks into a huge grin and she hugs me, squealing like a little school girl.

"I knew it! I knew you'd fall for each other," she says, letting me go.

"I don't like him." At least...I shouldn't.

"Yes, you do, and he likes you back," Maddy states, twirling a curly strand of her hair around her index finger.

"No, he doesn't," I argue.

"Yes, he does."

"No, he doesn't." I snap.

"Okay, chill." She mimics my tone of voice. "But I really do think that you like him." She pokes me in the shoulder playfully, earning a glare from me.

"Okay, fine. You win." She holds her hands up in surrender and gives me a wicked grin before adding, "For now."

"Hey, don't you have tennis practice now or something?" I say, accusingly.

"Yeah, I do." Maddy narrows her eyes at me, aware that I changed the subject.

"Do you want me to stay until practice starts so you won't get bored?"

"Oh no, it's fine cause Tyler's staying for practice too. He'll keep me company and he's much better company than your boring ass. Maybe he and I could make out in one of the changing rooms after practice."

For some reason I feel the need to dramatize the situation. "That was mean, Mads. I've been with you through far more than he has, so for that I'm unfriending you for the rest of the day," I say before I add jokingly, "Oh. And I will tell on you to Coach Marcus."

"You do know that it would only make him think you're sexually frustrated, and take you to bed, right?" Maddy teases, snickering.

"Ew! Mads, that's gross! Ugh!" A naked image of our school's twenty-five-year-old tennis coach pops into my mind and I blanch, grossed out. I turn to leave, but just as I'm about to, Tyler sneaks up behind Maddy and wraps his arms around her waist.

His chestnut blond hair matches the complexion of his skin, making his light green eyes seem brighter than they are. He is just a tad bit taller than Maddy, and they look perfect together. His well-built, ripped figure is the total opposite of Maddy's thin, model-like one.

"Hi, Elvie. Hey, gorgeous..." he says, kissing her neck. "About that make-out session you were talking about..."

"Get a room," I tease. "Um, how's the new boy?" I ask Tyler out of pure curiosity and to gather extra information to add to my 'What I Dislike About Deon' list.

"Deon?" He looks at me. "Well, he's a really nice guy and he's amazing with the guitar. Not much of a talker, though. I saw him looking at you the whole time during band practice. He asked me about you."

I gasp softly. "What did you tell him?" I ask, curious.

"I just told him you're my girlfriend's best friend. That's all. I think he's into you." He smirks, making me doubt that's all he said about me.

"You know I'm always right, Elle. In fact, I'm great at matchmaking." Maddy cuts in.

"Oh, definitely," Tyler purrs.

"I know, right?" Maddy's cut off by Tyler's mouth landing on hers. They start once of their signature hardcore make out sessions with clashing tongues and teeth.

I groan inwardly.

"Ugh! I'm outta here. Bye, you two." I hear a muffled 'bye' from them as I head towards the classroom's exit.

"Wait!" Maddy calls. "How are you going home?"

"I'm walking. I have two feet that work just fine. Don't argue with me, Mads."

"Fine," she sighs. "But text me as soon as you get home."

"Okay," I call, walking out of our classroom.

My house is less than ten minutes away from school on foot, but Maddy usually doesn't let me walk. I have my driver's license, but I've never driven Grandpa's powder blue VW Bug parked in our back garage because I'm a terrible driver. I've also been reluctant to get into the driver's seat ever since the accident. When I was sixteen Grandpa started pushing me to learn how to drive. He enrolled me in a driving class as soon as I turned sixteen, from which I got my Class G1 license here a couple months ago. I earned my full license too, but I haven't driven a car since.

Right before Mom, Dad and Kiki died, we were going to move here to Westbeach so we would be closer to Gramma and Grandpa; it's where Mom had grown up. We would all come down here every weekend because it's only about an hour away from Leigh Falls. Dad used to drop Mom off at her parents' house and take Kiki and I out for a drive.

I remember how we used to fight over who got to ride with Grandpa first in his old motorbike. We used to scream meaningless words at each other whenever the other one got to go first. Being the younger one, I had always been a little more stubborn. I used to want everything Kiki wanted and to do everything she did. One time she had got permission from Mom and Dad to go to the park with a few of her friends when she was fifteen, and I was twelve at the time. I had asked my parents if I could go too, and when they hadn't let me I'd thrown a huge tantrum and refused to speak to my sister for two whole days. Kiki had been with me and had helped me through everything. She had taught me how to bake and I wouldn't be good at it right now if it wasn't for her. She was the best sister in the world and I hadn't appreciated that...and now I can't because it's too late.

I don't feel the hot tears streaming down my face until I swipe my hand across my upper lip to wipe away a bead of sweat, and I start to take notice of the sobbing noises coming from my lips. I immediately look around to see if anyone's close enough to notice me crying only to suck in a breath at once when I realize my surroundings. I'm back at The Adorned Escape and I hadn't even known where my legs were taking me. Kiki and I named this place the first time Dad had brought us here.

The Adorned Escape is a grass clearing with short little tree stumps that made these zig-zag patterns and led you up to the most wonderful little treehouse complete with a handy wooden ladder. I remember Dad had been disappearing off somewhere for suspiciously long periods of time whenever we came here to Westbeach every weekend for about a month. It wasn't until the first time Dad brought us here that Kiki and I discovered he'd been building us a treehouse the whole time. I used to come out here often, but now, not so much.

Wiping away my tears with the back of my hand, I text Maddy saying 'Mads, I got home safe.' I don't like lying to her, but I send it anyway because otherwise, she would start worrying. Then I hop from stump to stump and get to the bottom of the ladder before carefully flinging my bag and sax case onto the treehouse's wooden floor glad I'm tall enough to reach it now. I climb up the ladder. Dusting off the floor with my hand, I lie down, letting my legs dangle from the edge. I always come here alone, not even Maddy has come here once. I highly doubt anyone even knows this place exists. It's like a maze in here. From the road that connects to the main street, you need to take two lefts, then two rights to get here.

I usually come out here if I need to think about something, relieve stress, or get away from any drama going on in my life. The last time I came here was right after Ryan dumped me. Maddy, Tyler, and I had been outside in the parking lot after school when Ryan had walked up to us and told me he was breaking up with me, and he hadn't given me any explanation as to why he had wanted to. At first, I was really sad, I had cried for a whole hour before Maddy had pep talked me into forgetting about him and made me believe he never deserved me.

Kiki used to love it here. Every time we came to Westbeach, Kiki would come here to read books, and while I love reading books, she loved to breathe, dream and devour them. Between the two of us, she had been the quiet one and she liked solitude. She had always been a hopeless romantic.

After about an hour of just lying down and letting my thoughts take over my mind, I gather all my things and climb down the ladder before heading towards the main street.

I start heading home, but when I see the front of the Jenkins' old house, I balk, my eyes bulging. There's a brand-new-looking white Mercedes-Maybach S-class and a Black Range Rover parked out front in the wide driveway as a silver convertible Bentley backs into it. And there's enough space for two more cars to park. Thanks to my dad's obsession with cars, I can point out almost any car brand out there.

Once the car stops moving, whoever's inside opens the back door and hops out of it onto the light grey stone driveway. I squint my eyes to take a closer look at my new neighbor. Recognition hits me at once and I try to make a run for my house. I don't really run, it's more of a fast walk, the way a crab scurries off into the sea.

I hear footsteps behind me and then he calls out my name. Dang it!

Only because I don't want to come off as stalkerish, I turn around, plastering a small smile onto my face, and say, "Oh, hi."

"Are you following me?" Deon grins, his cute-as-hell dimples showing. His tan skin makes the color of his eyes stand out in the afternoon sun.

"Nope. I happen to live here." So he's cocky too. I try to look composed while also trying to glare at him. "You do know that other people live here, right? It's not just you."

He ignores my passive-aggressive comments. "My family and I moved here a couple of days ago. Where do you live?" I point towards my house, which is the third house to his left. "The one with a lot of flowers?" He sounds surprised. "Did you plant them?"

I shake my head. "No, my mom did." My heart clenches a little—— wait. Why am I answering his questions? Why haven't I turned on my heels, bid adieu and left him in the dust yet? Just why, Presley, why?

I don't exactly know what it is, but something about him just makes me open up to him easily. I need to get away from him. And fast.

"I should go. Or my grandma will start freaking out. I'm pretty sure she'll call 911 if I'm not home soon. She actually did once," I lie.

"Really?" Deon's eyes light up with amusement.

"Yup," I lie again.

"Wait. You live with your grandmother?"

"Yes, I really have to go. Talk to you later," I say in a rush before turning away and hurrying towards my house without so much of a backward glance. When I'm a few feet away from my house, I turn back around to see that Deon's still staring at me with a crooked grin on his face. "Welcome to the neighborhood!" I call before heading for the front door. Why the hell did I say that? Do people even talk like that anymore? Ugh, I'm so cringe.

Once I'm inside my house, I shut the door and lean against it. Gramma, who appears to be knitting something on the kitchen counter, puts it aside. She strides over to me a little nervously and envelopes me in a hug, the top of her head full of grey curls reaching my chin.

"How was school today, sweetheart?"

"It was great, Gramma," I reply as she lets me go. "Except for the fact that there's this new guy from Nashville who's so annoying. His family has moved into the Jenkins' old house up the street."

"Well, thank God, at least they're not there anymore. Let's hope this new family is nicer than Carla and Paulo," Gramma says, but her voice sounds distant and distracted.

"Yeah, I guess," I say, eyeing her. "What's wrong, Gramma?"

"Oh, nothing," she replies, a little too soon to be believed.

"Gramma...you can tell me." I know she's hiding something.

"Oh, alright, but please don't get mad at me, sweetheart." She pauses. "I accidentally put your 'I Love Unicorns' T-shirt in the washer instead of hand-washing it."

Oh no. I gasp, then run upstairs, taking two steps at a time. "Where is it?" I yell.

"It's in your bedroom," she replies from downstairs. I burst open my room door and spy it on my study table. Grabbing my favorite pink T-shirt off the table, I examine it, already knowing what to expect. This isn't the first time this has happened. The sticker on the cotton material is all wrinkled and is peeling off little by little.

"Gramma!" I yell. My room door creaks open slowly and Gramma's standing there with a frown.

"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry. I know how much you love it, and I'm going to give you some extra allowance money to make up for it."

"But that doesn't fix things, Gramma." I groan, angrily.

I wish I had started working part time like every other person my age, but my grandparents didn't want me to. They've always wanted me to solely focus on my studies so that I could get into a good college and they've provided me with everything I've needed.

"I'm sorry, Presley. Is there anything else I can do?"

"No. Nothing. Just...let me be." Gramma nods sadly, before closing the door and leaving me alone.

I flop onto my bed, almost feeling sorry for yelling at her. Gramma thinks this is my favorite T-shirt because of the color, but that's not it. It's because Kiki gave it for my twelfth birthday, and I've only ever told Maddy about it.

At the time, it was too big for me and the shop she had bought it from had a no exchange policy, so I'd kept it with me until it fit me right. Now it's discolored and well-worn. Maybe this is a sign that it's time I finally give it up.

With a heavy sigh, I stand up and grab the cardboard box of things Kiki had given me but I've grown too big for, from underneath my bed. Opening the lid, I fold and carefully place the material of clothing inside before closing the lid and putting it back under my bed. Summoning the will to do my school homework, I take a seat at my study desk and don't move until I'm finished with everything.

I hope y'all are liking my story so far. I'll be updating chapter 4 as soon as possible.
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