The Neighbor - Don't Hate Me

I stomped down the stairs and picked up my phone. The number to the police station wasn’t something I knew but it didn’t take long for me to look it up.

7

Hope

I opened the door. The bright, cheerful smile that hadn’t been there for weeks fell off my face when I saw the uniformed men. They stood there staring at me as though I had already been guilty of something.

“This is your house, ma’am?” the male officer standing in the doorway asked.

A female officer flanking him peered over his shoulder, looking into the house. My blood felt like ice as it moved through my veins.

“Yes,” I said. “Can I help you with something?”

“We’ve had some complaints,” the male officer said. His eyes darted to the group of people gathered in my living room. “About the noise.”

“You’ve had some complaints? Or just one complaint?” I asked, already having a good guess who had made the complaint.

The officer ignored my question. “I’m going to have to ask you to turn it down. I really don’t want to make another trip out here tonight, understood?”

“Yes, we’ll keep it down,” I said, gesturing at Tori to turn down the music. “I’m really sorry about all this.”

“Mmm,” the officer said. “Have a good night.”

Once the music was at an acceptable volume, the officers turned slowly and walked down the front yard toward their police car. I closed the door and drew in a deep breath before turning to face the group Tori had invited over. She’d been trying to give Olivia and me a good night.

Tori had invited several single men, who were all mildly attractive. It had been nice to get dressed up and dance a little, but after what had happened, my night was ruined.

I still hadn’t caught up on all the sleep I missed.

“Guys,” I said. “Thanks so much for coming, but I think I’m going to call it a night.”

“What? No!” Tori whined.

“I’m sorry, everyone,” I said.

Tori puffed out her bottom lip. “Aw, come on, Hope!”

“Sorry,” I said. “Another time, okay?”

“Let’s just go somewhere,” Tori said. The wave of voices in agreement vibrated through my living room.

A tall man, Eric, that Tori had introduced me to only moments ago stood. He held up his hands as if he were trying to get a high school class to shush.

“We can all head over to my place,” Erik said. “It’s not far.”

“Sorry, everyone,” I said as everyone grab their bags and coats.

Erik stopped in front of me and handed me a business card. “Stop by if you change your mind. Or maybe coffee another time. Call me.”

I took the card and stared at his name. Erik Storm… Attorney at Law.

He flashed me an inside-melting, half-smile before stepping out onto the porch. His height might have intimidated some, but it just made me feel small.

“Bye,” I called after everyone.

Tori and Olivia stopped at the door. Tori looked concerned.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us?” she asked.

“I really don’t,” I said. “I feel awful. I know you were doing this for Olivia and me, but I’m just not in the mood.”

Tori placed her hand on my arm. “It’s okay. If you change your mind, give me a call, and I’ll be here in a jiffy, okay?”

“Sure,” I said. “But I won’t change my mind.”

Tori gave me a quick hug and glanced at Olivia. “If you want us to stay—”

“No! Please, go,” I said. “I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. It feels like it’s just been one thing after the other, and I’m going to have to figure out how to start making some money. Bills are coming in, and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You can always sell this mansion,” Olivia said.

“It’s not a mansion, but I can’t sell,” I said. “This house has been in our family for generations.”

Tori sighed and touched my shoulder. “Try not to stress. We’ll figure it out.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

“I’ll be back later, okay?” Olivia said.

I nodded. “Feel free to let yourself in.”

“You got it,” Olivia said. She gave me a quick huge. “Bye. Enjoy your rest.”

“I will,” I said, waving as they walked away. I watched them as they got into Tori’s car and drove away.

It wasn’t until the car turned and was out of sight, that I closed the door and stormed across the yard, making my way over to Max’s house. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind.

How dare he call the cops?

What kind of guy did that?

Who the hell did he think he was?

I knocked on his front door several times before ringing the bell. I was about to knock again when the door opened, revealing Max’s grumpy face.

“You called the cops?” I said.

“My daughter is sick,” he said defensively. The anger squeezing his eyebrows only increased.