Chapter 1 The New House
531 Words
Lily Morgan hated moving.
Especially to a neighborhood that looked like it belonged inside one of those perfect family movies her mother loved watching.
The streets were too quiet. The lawns were too green. Even the houses looked carefully designed, lined up beside each other with white fences and flower gardens that screamed normal life.
And normal was something Lily wasn’t sure she remembered anymore.
“Lily, grab the last box from the car, please,” her mother called from the front porch.
Lily sighed softly before pulling her headphones off and stepping out into the warm afternoon air. Moving trucks blocked half the driveway while cardboard boxes covered nearly every inch of the lawn.
New city. New school. New life.
Again.
She reached into the backseat for another box when laughter drifted from somewhere nearby.
Not just laughter.
A boy’s laughter.
Deep. Careless. Confident.
Lily looked up instinctively.
And froze.
Across the narrow space between the houses stood a tall boy leaning lazily against a black motorcycle parked in his driveway. Dark messy hair fell over his forehead while sunlight caught the sharp edges of his face.
He looked older than most high school boys she’d seen.
Dangerous, almost.
A basketball spun effortlessly on one finger while two other guys stood beside him laughing about something.
Then his eyes lifted.
Straight to hers.
Lily quickly looked away.
Too late.
A smirk tugged onto his lips.
“New neighbor?” one of his friends asked loudly.
The boy nodded slowly, eyes still fixed on Lily.
“Looks terrified already.”
Heat rushed to Lily’s cheeks.
Great.
Exactly the kind of person she didn’t want living next door.
She grabbed the box quickly and hurried toward the house, pretending she couldn’t hear them anymore.
But just before she reached the porch—
“Hey!”
Her steps paused.
She turned slightly.
The boy stood straighter now, basketball tucked under one arm.
“You planning on ignoring your neighbors forever?”
His voice carried easily across the driveways.
Lily tightened her grip on the box. “Depends if they’re always this annoying.”
His friends burst out laughing.
The boy only grinned wider.
Interesting.
“Guess the new girl has attitude.”
Before Lily could answer, her mother suddenly appeared beside her.
“Oh!” her mother smiled warmly toward the boy. “You must be from next door.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said politely—far too politely compared to two seconds ago. “Noah Carter.”
Lily blinked.
So the arrogant neighbor had a name.
“I’m Sarah Morgan,” her mother replied. “And this is my daughter Lily.”
Noah’s eyes shifted back to hers.
“Nice meeting you, Lily.”
Something about the way he said her name made her stomach twist unexpectedly.
Not butterflies.
Definitely not butterflies.
Probably irritation.
Hopefully.
“Well,” Lily muttered, stepping backward toward the door, “I should finish unpacking.”
“See you around, neighbor.”
She didn’t answer.
But even after shutting the front door behind her, she could still feel his eyes on her.
And somehow…
Lily already knew Noah Carter was going to be a problem.
- Writer
