Misunderstood (Neighbor from Hell (YA) 1)

Chapter 34

“Here,” Jonathan said as he shoved a handful of crumpled bills into her hand, which was followed by Cole doing the same, along with a list of their demands.

Blinking down at the list in her hand, Mikey said, “You planned this,” as she turned an accusing glare on the boys who had taken great joy in starving her today.

“Obviously,” Jonathan said with a snort and a gesture for her to get on with it.

When she simply stood there, glaring at the boys that she would make pay for this betrayal, Cole reached over, gently grabbed Mikey by her shoulders and turned her around so that she was facing the infamous Pat’s, the country store that sold everything from penny candy to the best pizza in a fifty mile radius. It was also one of the many places that had banned the Bradford family, which she still hadn’t found out why.

Not that she really wanted to know…

Still.

“Did it ever occur to either one of you just to ask me to do this, instead of starving me?”

“We weren’t willing to take that chance,” Cole said as he gave her a gentle push to get her moving.

“I hate you both,” Mikey mumbled sadly as she headed inside.

“You can hate us all you want just as long as you don’t forget the fries,” Jonathan called after her, earning a murderous glare as she reached for the door only to have Braxton beat her to it.

“Here,” he said, opening the door for her.

“Thank you,” Mikey mumbled absently as she sent one last glare at the traitors only to frown when she spotted Sebastian glaring at something behind her.

She followed his gaze to find him glaring at Braxton. Not really sure what that was about, she sent him a questioning look as she headed inside. Making a mental note to ask him about that later, she paused in the doorway to count the money they’d shoved in her hands and quickly calculated how much she was going to need to cover everything on their list as well as her fee, of course.

“Did that sign really say ‘No Bradfords Allowed’?” Braxton asked, sounding confused and reminding her that he hadn’t grown up around his cousins.

“Yeah,” Mikey said absently as she shoved the money back in her pocket and headed toward the lunch counter where Pat was waiting.

“Are they going to stay outside?” Pat asked as he watched the boys settle on one of the picnic tables outside.

“Yes,” Mikey said with a reassuring smile as she placed the list on the counter, hoping that it was enough to make him overlook the fact that he had three Bradfords outside waiting to pounce.

Nodding, he glanced back at them only to narrow his eyes on Braxton. “Is he one of them?”

“No, he’s not a Bradford,” Mikey reassured him, but Pat didn’t look convinced.

“What’s your name, kid?” Pat asked as he glanced from Braxton, who looked confused, to the boys outside and back again.

“Braxton Taylor.”

Pat considered them for a moment before nodding. “Okay,” he said, turning his attention to their list.

“Can I get an order of fries while we wait, please?” Mikey asked, knowing that this might be her only chance to eat something before the boys attacked.

With a nod and one last look at the window to make sure the boys were keeping their distance, Pat headed toward the back to start their order.

She really should have known the boys were up to something, Mikey thought, sighing heavily as she grabbed a handbasket and handed it to Braxton, who took it as he glanced back at the boys. “What was that about?”

“You really don’t want to know. Trust me,” Mikey said as she grabbed a handful of chocolate bars and dropped them in the basket before heading toward the chips.

“Probably not,” Braxton murmured in agreement as he followed her around the store. “Can I ask you something?”

“Just as long as I’m allowed to do the same,” Mikey said, biting back a sigh as she debated asking him if Sebastian had been talking about another girl, but…

This was stupid.