Boys Next Door_A Contemporary Reverse Harem Romance by Mia Belle

Author:Mia Belle [Belle, Mia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Zane

I’m sitting in the window after dinner, my legs hanging off the side of the house, when the blinds next door lift. Lia’s head peeks out. She takes one look at me and frowns.

“Hi?” I say, my pencil making soft strokes. My hand freezes when I remember her face is the star of my drawing. I quickly turn the page. Lia’s eyes curiously follow my fingers. From the look on her face, it doesn’t seem like she glimpsed it. Good. It would be pretty damn embarrassing.

“What are you doing?” she asks, her tone not as annoyed or filled with anger as it used to be. Her eyes are still narrowed, though.

I gesture to the sketchpad. “Drawing. Helps keep me calm.” My eyes meet hers. “Sane.”

She swallows, knowing I’m referring to the shit that caused those scars on my wrists. Her eyes grow dark. Shit. I didn’t mean to bring her demons to the surface.

“How’s it going?” I ask.

The darkness seeps out of her eyes as she scans me. “Where are your shades?”

I lift a brow.

“Your window shades,” she explains. “All the other rooms have them.”

My lips quirk into a smile. “You been spying on us, huh? Looks like I’m not the only one.” I wink.

Her mouth opens and closes so fast she looks like a broken toy.

I chuckle. “Just messing with you.”

“Why don’t you have a shade?”

“Don’t want one.”

“What?”

I shrug. “It gets in the way.”

She stares at me like I’ve lost my brain. I also can’t help noticing the concern flashing in her eyes.

“Look,” I say. “I’m not going to look into your room, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

She slightly narrows her eyes at me.

“I’m not a pig,” I add.

“All guys are pigs.”

“Ouch.”

She purses her lips, her eyes still narrowed.

“This Josh guy—”

“Is none of your business. You overheard me and Sophie on Saturday when she slept over.”

My fingers close over my sketchpad. “I did. And I’m not going to apologize for it.”

“Oh my god. I can’t believe you!”

I chuck my sketchpad into my room. “How else do you expect me to learn about you if you won’t talk to me?”

Her lips snap shut.

“I know it’s a dick move to eavesdrop like that. But I want to know you as more than just the girl next door. I want to know why…” I swallow. “I want to know what made you this way.”

She lifts a brow. “This way?”

“You hate guys. You don’t let anyone get close to you. I’ve only been here for a few days, but I know you. I get you, because I was—still am—you.”

She reaches for the cord. “I don’t want to hear this.”

“Wait—”

“Get shades, don’t get shades. I don’t give a damn. Just leave me the hell alone.”

“Amelia.”

She shuts the shade.

Shit. I didn’t mean to piss her off. “Lia.”

She’s still standing at the window. I can see through the slats. “Come on, Lia. I’m sorry, okay? Sometimes I try to help and the opposite happens. Can you forget I said anything?”

The blinds lift. “I’m asking my dad to switch rooms with me.

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