Caden’s POV

“What do you want?”

“When are you going to greet me like a normal person, little bro?” Logan’s voice questioned from the receiver.

“So you don’t want anything?”

“Only to hear how your first day went.”

Let’s see, I started to enlist in my head as I kept on walking back to the apartment building. I could barely keep my eyes open because I stayed up all night since Alice had a nightmare about that son of a bitch who shot her, my teachers worked me like a slave and I got into a quarrel with a reckless redhead who I met at cemetery a few nights ago.

“Fine,” I replied instead.

“Any hotties in that place?”

“I have Alice,” I reminded him but an image of a pair of brown eyes, specked with gold and green flashed before my eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I heard from my mobile.

“What?”

“Sorry, bro; that was for Morgan. She glared at me when I asked about the hotties. She says hi, by the way.”

“Yeah, right back at her.”

My brother paused and I had a feeling I was not going to enjoy his next words.

“Dad also says hi.”

I knew it!

I knew there was more to this call then a “hey, bro, how was your first day?”

“He’d like to see you,” my brother went on cautiously. “He’s sober, Cade.”

“I wonder for how long…”

“He told me it’s been four months since he touched a bottle.”

“Oh, sure; if a drunkard say he hasn’t been drinking, it must be true,” I snapped back.

“Hey, if I can quit,” I heard him gulp. “If I can quit the drugs then dad can quit the alcohol.”

“He’s not you,” I noted quietly, slightly awkward that I was the reason for Logan to bring up his addiction.

“Cade, you promised to give dad a chance. He wants to prove that he’s changed so he’ll be in town for a while. Come visit or give him a call… Please!”

I sighed.

Yes, I’d promised to give Gavin a chance. It had been one of the resolutions I’d come up with at Cillian’s pub.

“I’ll think about it.” It was all I could promise right now.

“Thanks,” Logan replied with relief. He had probably expected me to cuss at him, hang up and then avoid him like the plague for the next few months. That was exactly what the old Caden would do… But not anymore; not since I met my Alice.

“Hey, I got to go now but I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“Sure,” I answered and he ended the call.

Oh, what a day! Bad things and unpleasant situations just kept piling up. What else would happen before it’s over?

“Hey, are you alright?” An unfamiliar blonde asked me just as I was about to enter the apartment building.

“You seem kind of stressed,” another girl, who had the same hair color, added. I noticed both of them were carrying cardboard boxes so I figured they were moving in. Only one week was left before the school year at Aberville University started and this building was filling up. Two familiar heads popped up before I could respond to our new neighbors.

“Hi, Cade,” the male Miller twin greeted. “Help us help these lovely ladies carry their stuff, will you?”

“I don’t know… He looks a bit tired,” the taller blonde, who had been the first to speak to me, stated.

“That’s because it was his first day of lessons,” Sky said and by the carefree tone of his voice I realized that Keegan had not informed him about Alice and her nightmare. “Now let us take care of these for you,” he took the box from the girl and gracing her with his signature boyish smile, he went inside.

“You already had classes?” The shorter girl asked, moving a strand of her hair away from her green eyes.

“I study at Vermont Arts Academy,” I explained.

“Oh, an artist!” The girls giggled and exchanged a look before the taller one went on:

“I love artists.”

“So does his girlfriend,” Keegan butted in.

“Oh!” The two girls seemed a tad disappointed.

“But you don’t have a girlfriend, right?” The brown-eyed one asked.

“Nope, we are both single,” Sky replied, joining us again.

“How unfortunate,” the girls replied in unison but their faces seemed pretty happy with the fact my friends were single.

“These two are the last ones, right?” Kee was the one who’d asked. The blondes nodded so he and Skyler took the boxes and went inside, followed by the two girls. I didn’t feel like talking to them so I gave them a head start. After I’d waited for a couple of minutes I also entered our building.

“How was your day?” Alice greeted, giving me a kiss on the cheek once I was inside the apartment. Her eyes were swollen and she had dark circles underneath them but she was smiling at me.

“It was alright,” I replied, smiling back. I didn’t want to worry her so I did not tell her about Gavin being back at my home town. I knew I’d have to share the news with her eventually but I wanted to wait for a better time. “I met that redhead again.”

“The one from the cemetery?” She queried, no doubt remembering the story I’d narrated to her and our friends not an hour after it had happened.

“Yes, her.” I went on to brief Alice on the conversation I’d had with the girl whose name I still did not know.

“To draw?” My girlfriend gasped. “I can’t believe she’d expose herself to such danger just for that.”

“Made me pretty angry,” I murmured.

“Cade,” Alice looked at me timidly. “I hope you weren’t too rude to her. Not intentionally of course,” she continued as I opened my mouth to interrupt her. “But people can say some pretty nasty things when they are angry.”

“I don’t think I was rude to her.”

“Good!” She smiled at me again. “So what is she like?”

“Besides irresponsible?” I snorted. “Well, she seems to be popular ‘cause a lot of people greeted her as we walked. It doesn’t look like she’s close to any of them though; I think she was just being polite when she waved at them.”

“Maybe she doesn’t have close friends,” Alice suggested thoughtfully. “I know!” Her face lit up. “We could invite her over sometime. Maybe have a movie night with the twins, Asher and Kee?”

“Yeah, we could,” I responded, finding it a very pleasant idea even though I’d probably have to apologize to the redhead before I ask her to come visit us.

“I’m really starting to enjoy this place,” Keegan announced, walking into our apartment. As usual, he did not knock. The boy tugged on his ponytail and grinned. “Did you see our new neighbors, Alice?”

“Let me guess: girls.”

“Yep,” Sky replied, getting in as well and sitting on the couch.

“Wipe the drool off your mouths, boys; you are not sleeping with them,” Beth commanded sternly as she and Asher came into our living room. Nope, they didn’t bother to knock either. “Alice, help me out here! Tell these two idiots that screwing the neighbors and never calling them back is a bad idea.”

“I admit: the fact that they actually know where we live is a downside,” her brother commented.

“Downside?” His twin replied. “Break their hearts and they could gut you in your sleep.”

“Maybe it will be worth the gutting,” Sky wasn’t giving up. “Did you see how fit their bodies were? And they looked so cute and natural; almost no makeup at all.”

“The fine asses were definitely a plus,” Kee added and I heard someone sigh beside me.

“Especially Jennie’s,” his roommate added dreamily.

“Yeah, but Jodie has a better rack,” the other boy noted.

When I turned my head sideways I saw Alice looking relieved as she gazed at the boy who had just spoken. I knew she was glad to hear him being interested in someone, even if it was just for a flirt. She was still guilty that she’d turned him down all those months ago. I shared in her feelings because although Keegan did his best to hide it, I knew he wasn’t completely over Alice yet. I wasn’t worried that he’d try to steal her from me though; he deeply regretted stepping in between us in the past and his conscience made him incapable of doing so again.

“So what do you guys think?” Beth brought me out of my reverie. “Don’t you agree that it would cause too much unnecessary drama?”

“Well, I think…” Asher started but Keegan cut him off:

“No need to tell us; you always agree with your girlfriend.”

“Ashy-boo always agrees with Bethy-boo,” Sky baby-voiced then cried out as his sister slapped the back of his head.

“I’m sure that it’s a bad idea,” Alice announced, probably to put an end to the quarrel between the twins before it could even start. “Besides, you shouldn’t toy with people the way you two do,” she reprimanded Sky and Kee.

“Cade?” The male twin called me almost pleadingly but I shook my head.

“If you don’t plan to get serious with them, then don’t even start. There is no way they wouldn’t find out that you are seeing other girls when you rent in the same building and go to the same University.”

Keegan shrugged, tugged on his reddish-brown ponytail again and turned on the TV. Skyler on the other hand looked like a five year old who’s just been told that Santa wasn’t coming this year.

“I need a drink,” he murmured and went to drown his sorrows in a cup of hot chocolate.

*****

A/N: I know this chapter is another stortie but I’m still busy with my exams.

So, do you think Kee and Sky will be able to resist hooking up with the new neighbor girls? Or maybe Jennie and Jodie are going to play a bigger role than a one night stand?

Don’t forget to comment and vote if you liked the chapter :)