The bad boy and Ex

Chapter two

I sprinkled a bit of flour onto the dough and rolled it out with the pin. “So mom, Apple pie or peach??”

She looked up from her work area, her face scrunched up in thought. She had been carefully decorating a cake and it looked wonderful.

It was a very light pastel pink with whites here and there, there were little pink and white roses that looked very very real, it was almost hard to believe it was icing.

“Apple? It’s sort of like the unofficial Official neighbor welcoming pastry you know.”

I nodded. “True. One apple pie coming right up.”

“Good. Make sure it’s cooled down before you take it over and tell them I said hi.”

I nodded.

Once the pie was done and all cooled down, I put on a thin coat since I wasn’t going far or for long and scooped up the pie. “Be back in a minute.”

I crossed the road and stopped to stare at the house. The formerly really creepy house seemed anything but. The lights inside were on and Christmas lights decorated the outside and made it look beautiful. There was even a reindeer on the roof pulling a little sled. 

I climbed the steps and rung the door bell, then jumped when it went ‘HO HO HO’ Just as I was pulling myself back together, I heard the sound of feet pounding down the steps then the door flew open.

My jaw dropped to the ground as I stared at him.

His dark blonde hair fell over his shocking violet eyes messily. He was wearing a grey shirt and his jaw was open just like mine. 

“You–”

Before I could comprehend what I was doing, the pie was smashed against his face and I was running to my house like my life depended on it. Once I got in, I slammed the door shut and rested against it, afraid he had run after me. 

“Honey? Is that you?” Mom’s concerned voice came from the kitchen. 

I placed my hand on my pounding heart. It felt like it would burst out of my chest and splatter all over the inside of my shirt.

Swallowing, I called back. “It’s me!!”

“That was fast–”

“Yeah, I’m going to my room now.” I managed to choke out before running up the steps to my room.

I looked around for my phone and once I had it in grasp, I texted Fayth.

“Jonah’s back.”

I glumly stared at the mass of hot brown liquid. Marshmallows were floating on top and melting away.

“–door neighbor?! Why is he even here? I thought the douche left!!”

I sighed and pushed my mug away. “Me too. God, why does he have to be the one?! I guess it’s pretty obvious now. He probably wants to rile me up or something..... I can’t believe he acted so surprised!!”

Fayth sipped out of her sundae with her straw. She loved drinking cold drinks even in winter. “Personally, I’m really confused. Like, is he back back?? Or is this just a coincidence??”

I raised a brow at her. “Really?! You and I both know that Jonah’s pretty smart. I’m sure he knew I still lived there.” I smashed my head into the table. “Why?!!!” 

Fayth shifted in her chair. “Well since you are over him I guess it isn’t a big deal.”

My heart was beating faster and I didn’t say anything. 

“You don’t like him anymore right?!”

I swallowed. “Yeah. Definitely.....” My eyes widened. “What if she’s here too? What if they came together?” I gasped. “No!!”

Fayth reaches for my hand and squeezed it. “Calm down.... I don’t think she is, she’s more of a city type and has always wanted to get out of here.”

I felt like crying. “But they’re dating!! She might’ve decided to spend the holidays with him!!”

Fayth squeezed my hand again. “If she did then whatever. You will get through this and be happy and bake a lot of goodies for me in pure joy you hear me?!!”

I swallowed and sighed. “I donno...”

“Hey.” She made me look her in the eye. “You are gonna get through this!! Hear me?!”

I swallowed. “Yes ma’am.”

She relaxed back into her chair. “Good cuz I’m feeling like a peanut butter and chocolate cookie right about now.”

I scooped up a bit of snow and threw it aside. My arms were already aching from all the work, I just felt like crawling into my warm bed and taking a nap.

Just as I dug the shovel back into the snow, the door of the house opposite ours opened and he stepped out. 

I froze and stared. His blonde hair was pushed back and he had on a red sweater, blue jeans and a black coat. His eyes locked with mine and I quickly looked down my cheeks turning red.

I scooped up a shovelful of snow and tossed it aside. If only there was a way of making snow fall anywhere but on the driveway.

“Hey.”

I froze and looked up. A yelp escaped me when I saw how close he was and the shovel fell out of my hands. It landed hard on my leg and I yelped again at the pain. “Ow, Ow, ow!!”

“I am so so sorry!!” He bent and held onto me.

I gasped and shoved him away. “Don’t touch me!”

He looked like he wanted to say something then shut his mouth. “I am so sorry.”

I groaned and bent to softly rub my feet. “What do you want??”

He rolled on the ball of his feet. “Um.... I just wanted to see you...”

I froze and my heart started pounding faster in my chest. That was why I was anxious about his sudden appearance. It was hard hating him when he said things like that. He wasn’t supposed to say things like that.

As if realizing what he said, he coughed. “Uh- to thank you for the pie. It slammed a whole lot of wonderful flavors right in my face. I always thought your cooking was great.”

I sighed and raised my head to look at him. “There’s a difference between cooking and baking, and I’m sorry for the pie incident..... After everything, I didn’t expect you to come back here.”

My eyes were slowly starting to fill again and I looked down at the snow.

He looked away and used his shoe to play with the snow. “I–” He stopped.

The silence was tense, like it was literally choking me up.

He bent and picked up the shovel. “You’re shoveling? Want some help?”

I grabbed it from his hand making sure our fingers didn’t touch then stepped back. “No thanks.”

A soft smile played on his lips. “But you hate shoveling.”

When he noticed the expression on my face he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s been a year. Ann.”

“Do not call me that!!” I swallowed. “Where is she anyway? You guys broke up?” I fought the tears that were threatening to fall. Gosh, how could I still be hung up on it?! A freaking year had passed already!!

He was silent for a while, then. “Yes. A month ago.”

I failed. A tear slipped out of my eye and another followed. I quickly backed away while wiping at them. The shovel was clutches against my chest. “I’m happy you liked the pie. I’ll tell mom.”

Then I turned and started up the stairs, desperate to get away from him.

“Hannah....”

I paused but didn’t turn around. Tears were already trailing down my cheeks and I didn’t want him to see them. I didn’t want to see his eyes and whatever emotion was in them. I didn’t want to be weak.

“I......” he fell silent.

“Good day Jonah.”

I pushed the door open and walked in.