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The Girl Next Door

The Girl Next Door

Short Story · Romance
By:  JellyfishCompleted
Language: English
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Synopsis

Childhood Sweethearts

Bias

Cheating

Winning Back the Wife

Plot Twists

Tragic Love

Hypocrisy

Zane Mercer and I had grown up together. Both our families took it for granted that we would end up together after graduation. He never bothered to hide it, either. Whenever someone brought us up, he would say, “Vivian gets scared so easily. She can’t manage without me.” I believed him for over a decade. Until the first department dinner at college. The prettiest girl in our department carried her drink over and sat beside him, smiling as she asked, “I heard you have a childhood sweetheart. Is she your girlfriend?” Amid the teasing and excited chatter, my cheeks flushed. I waited for him to nod. But Zane hesitated. “No. She’s just the girl next door.” Someone nudged the girl beside him. “Then you’ve got a chance!” She smiled brightly. “I’ll be counting on you to look after me from now on.” Zane didn’t pull away. Instead, he smiled back. “Sure.” In that moment, I remembered how he’d worried about me getting sunburned during the summer camp and gone out in the middle of the night to buy me sunscreen. I remembered how he’d held my hand while we filled out our college applications and promised we’d keep walking through life together. So all those years of affection meant nothing compared to one smile from her. On the way back, he caught up with me to explain. “Selene’s pretty straightforward. I just didn’t want to embarrass her.” I asked, “So it’s fine to embarrass me instead?” He frowned. “Vivian, since when did you get so sensitive?” I said nothing more. That night, I changed all our photos to private. From then on, I would be nothing more than the girl next door.

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Vivian, did you hide your posts on social media?”

Zane stood outside my dorm building, holding a cup of warm milk.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because I felt like it.”

He held out the cup. “Still mad? You skipped breakfast this morning. Your stomach will hurt.”

I didn’t take it. “How do you know I skipped breakfast?”

He paused. “Your roommate told me.”

I glanced at the cup of milk and smiled. “Did she also remind you that I’m lactose intolerant?”

Zane hesitated. “It’s warm. It should be fine.”

“Does Selene drink milk?”

He looked up at me. “Vivian, not everything has to be about her.”

“I was just asking.”

“She had low blood sugar this morning, so I picked up breakfast for her while I was out. This cup is specifically for you.”

“Did you add sugar?”

“Yes.”

“But I don’t drink sweetened milk.”

He fell silent for a moment. “Vivian, don’t nitpick.”

I slipped my hands into my pockets. “Take it back.”

He frowned. “About what I said at dinner last night, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“What way?”

“When I called you the girl next door, I was just trying to keep everyone from teasing us. I didn’t want to make our relationship a big deal in public.”

“So when Selene asked if you had a girlfriend and you said no, that was your way of keeping things low-key, too?”

Zane rubbed his forehead. “You know what we are to each other. Why are you so hung up on the exact words?”

I stared at him.

For the first time, I realized just how good he was at fooling himself.

A voice called from behind us.

“Zane!”

Selene Whitaker came running toward us with a stack of books in her arms. The smile on her face slowly faded when she saw me.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Zane remained perfectly composed. “No.”

Selene turned to me. “Are you two arguing? Is this about last night? Vivian, please don’t get the wrong idea. I honestly didn’t know you two were that close.”

So, in everyone else’s eyes, we were nothing more than close friends.

I set the cup of milk on top of a nearby trash can.

“There’s no misunderstanding.”

Zane picked up the cup. “Vivian, I brought this all the way over here first thing in the morning, and you’re just going to throw it away?”

“I can’t drink it.”

Selene hurried to intervene. “Is this my fault? I could buy you something else to drink, if you want.”

“This has nothing to do with you.” Zane’s voice remained even, though a trace of impatience crept into it—an impatience he didn’t seem to realize he was showing. “She’s always been like this. You just have to humor her a little, and she’ll get over it.”

My eyes stung. I looked straight at him.

“Zane, I’m not a child anymore.”

He paused for a moment. “I know.”

“So you don’t have to humor me anymore.”

His fingers tightened around the cup.

“Fine. Then take some time to cool off on your own.”

Selene spoke softly. “Vivian, don’t be mad at him. Last night, he even told me you were afraid to walk alone at night because you get scared so easily. He thought it was funny.”

Zane cut her off in a low voice. “Selene.”

So even my fear of the dark had become a joke he could share with someone else.

The warning bell rang.

Zane shifted his backpack to his other shoulder. “Come on. We don’t want to be late.”

“You two go ahead. I’m going to grab breakfast.”

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11 Chapters
Chapter 1
“Vivian, did you hide your posts on social media?”Zane stood outside my dorm building, holding a cup of warm milk.“Yeah.”“Why?”“Because I felt like it.”He held out the cup. “Still mad? You skipped breakfast this morning. Your stomach will hurt.”I didn’t take it. “How do you know I skipped breakfast?”He paused. “Your roommate told me.”I glanced at the cup of milk and smiled. “Did she also remind you that I’m lactose intolerant?”Zane hesitated. “It’s warm. It should be fine.”“Does Selene drink milk?”He looked up at me. “Vivian, not everything has to be about her.”“I was just asking.”“She had low blood sugar this morning, so I picked up breakfast for her while I was out. This cup is specifically for you.”“Did you add sugar?”“Yes.”“But I don’t drink sweetened milk.”He fell silent for a moment. “Vivian, don’t nitpick.”I slipped my hands into my pockets. “Take it back.”He frowned. “About what I said at dinner last night, I didn’t mean it that way.”“Wha
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Chapter 2
He frowned. “There’s nothing you can eat near the classroom. Don’t skip meals just to make things difficult for me.”I hitched my backpack higher on my shoulder. “You’re overthinking it.”Selene pulled a packet of peanut butter crackers from her bag. “How about these?”Zane nodded, took the packet, and held it out to me. “Take them. Stop making a fuss.”I stared at the ingredients printed on the packaging.Back in elementary school, I’d broken out in hives after eating peanut butter during a school field trip. Zane had carried me all the way to the nurse’s office, his eyes red with worry the entire time.Now he’d forgotten.I didn’t take the crackers. Instead, I calmly said, “No, thanks. I’m allergic to peanuts.”Zane’s expression changed.Selene froze, too. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”Zane opened his mouth, then hesitated. “I forgot.”“I know.”“Vivian…”“Class is starting.”I walked past them toward the classroom building.Behind me, Selene asked quietly, “Does she hat
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Chapter 3
Rain pounded against the steps outside the library. I stood beneath the entrance, my shoes completely soaked.Over the phone, I asked, “Did you give Selene your umbrella?”There was silence for a few seconds before Zane answered, “She has a fever. She can’t get caught in the rain.”“What about me?”“Didn’t I tell you to wait for me?”“You said ten minutes.”“Traffic was terrible.”I looked at his text promising to come get me. Forty-two minutes had passed since he’d sent it.“Zane, the library is about to close.”His voice sounded exhausted. “Vivian, don’t talk to me like that. I’ve been running around all afternoon, and I’m really tired. Find somewhere to stay dry. I’ll be there soon.”I sighed.“Don’t bother coming.”“What is it this time?”“I’ll go back by myself.”“In this heavy rain? How?”“I’ll run.”His voice immediately sharpened. “Vivian Lane, don’t you dare.”I hung up.The dorm wasn’t far from the library. It would only take me ten minutes to run back.I u
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Chapter 4
Ma’am Lauren asked another question.“Does your family know?”“Yes.”Last night, my mother had called me.“Vivian, if you want to go, then go. You can’t keep waiting for other people to decide your future for you. You’re grown up now. It’s time to take a path of your own.”I’d held my phone in silence for a long time.I dug my passport out of a drawer. Tucked beside it was an old train ticket.Back in our senior year of high school, when Zane accompanied me to my college entrance applications, he’d kept my ID and admission ticket in his breast pocket.“Vivian, just stay with me. I promise I won’t let you get lost.”I’d followed him for so long that I’d almost forgotten I could read a map myself.Ma’am Mitchell handed me the paperwork. “Your grades are good enough, and your language scores meet the requirements. But you have to leave by the day after tomorrow at the latest.”“I can do that.”On my way back to the dorm, Zane called.“Where are you?”“On campus.”“I’m downs
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Chapter 5
By the time I landed, my phone was flooded with messages.Lena had sent more than a dozen.“Zane’s lost his mind.”“He asked me where you were. I told him I didn’t know.“He says there’s no way you actually left.“He just went to Ma’am Mitchell’s office.”Then my mom called me on video.“Have you arrived?”“Yes.”“Are you cold?”“No.”“Don’t pretend you’re fine. Put your scarf on.”I looked down at the gray scarf around my neck.“I’m wearing it.”Mom studied my face for a moment.“Have you cried?”“No.”She hummed in acknowledgment.“Then get to your dorm and settle in first. You can cry after that. Don’t cry at the airport. It’s embarrassing.”I burst out laughing.“Mom, I’m not that fragile.”“I know.” She paused. “You’re just used to having someone waiting for you.”Outside the airport, someone was holding a sign with the university’s name on it.I followed the other new students to the shuttle and took a window seat.My phone rang again. It was an unfamiliar
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Chapter 6
“You can borrow it for now.”He handed me the umbrella.“I’m Daniel Hayes.”“I’m Vivian Lane.”“Vivian?”He mispronounced my name.I corrected him once.He repeated it slowly, trying to get it right.For some reason, I thought of Zane.He had never mispronounced my name.But now, he couldn’t even reach me.“Vivian, don’t hang up.”Zane’s voice came through the phone while I was shopping for bread at the supermarket.The caller ID showed Mom’s number. It was only after I answered that I realized she’d handed her phone to him.“Why did you go to my house?”“Your mom said you’d call her today.”“So you were waiting around for me to call?”“I just wanted to hear you say something.”I put the bread in my shopping basket.“Now you’ve heard me.”“Where are you?”“On campus.”“Which university?”“Zane.”“I asked which university.”His voice dropped low.“It wouldn’t matter if I told you.”“Why wouldn’t it? I could come find you.”“I don’t need you to.”“You’re alon
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Chapter 7
Mom took her phone back.“Have you eaten?”“I bought some bread.”“Bread again?”“I’ll go to the dining hall tomorrow.”“Okay. Get some sleep early.”She paused before adding, “Don’t let him sway you.”I hummed in acknowledgment.After the call ended, I stood motionless outside the dorm.Zane sent me a text.“I’ll come find you.”I tied the top of my bread bag tightly.Just then, Daniel walked past, carrying two containers of hot soup.He glanced at me.“Have you not had dinner?”“I was just about to eat.”He looked at the bag in my hand.“Bread?”“Yeah.”He held out a container of soup.“I bought an extra one.”“No, thanks.”“I really did buy too much.” He placed the soup in my hands. “Just remember to return my food container tomorrow.”The warmth rising from the soup made me blink.Zane actually came.When I spotted him outside the academic building, I was still holding Daniel’s food container.He wore a black jacket, and the ends of his hair curled upward.
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Chapter 8
Zane looked up at him.“This is between Vivian and me. You don’t need to get involved.”Daniel ignored him and looked only at me.I pulled my hand free.“It’s fine.”Zane’s hand dropped to his side, his fingers curling inward.I handed Daniel the food container.“Thanks for the soup.”Daniel took it.“Don’t forget our group discussion this afternoon.”“Okay.”After he left, Zane asked quietly, “Group discussion? You’re in the same group as him?”“Yeah.”“Vivian, are you doing this just to make me jealous?”“I’m here to attend classes. Group assignments are normal.”“But you never used to do this.”“There are a lot of things I never used to do.”He stared at me for a long moment, unable to respond.“What do you want me to do?”“Go home.”“Anything but that.”“There’s nothing else.”Zane fell silent for a long time before setting the insulated bag at my feet.“Take the chestnuts. Consider this trip a waste of time if you want, but at least don’t make me take them b
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Chapter 9
I looked at him.“You remember that I’m easily scared, that I have a sensitive stomach, and that I don’t like walking alone at night. But whenever there’s a choice to make, you always expect me to be the one who gives in.“You think I understand you, so you don’t have to explain yourself.“You think I can’t live without you, so you don’t have to cherish me.”His lips pressed into a thin line.“That’s not true.”“It is.”I spoke calmly.“You love me, but you’re certain I’ll always be waiting right where you left me.”He opened his mouth, then closed it without saying a word.I picked up my laptop bag.“Go home.”“I’m not leaving.”“Suit yourself.”The next day, I posted on social media.The photo showed the blue roof of the main academic building on campus.The caption was short.“First week of my new life.”Less than a minute after I posted it, Zane liked the photo, then quickly unliked it.He sent me a private message.“Did that guy take the picture for you?”I re
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Chapter 10
He sent another message.“You once said we’d watch the first snowfall of the year together.”I didn’t reply.A few minutes later, he sent me a voice message.“Vivian, I went to that little diner we used to visit all the time. The owner still remembers you. He asked why you hadn’t been around lately. I ordered your favorite beef and tomato stew, without the cilantro.”He paused.“I’d eaten half of it before I remembered that you’re not here anymore.”“How did I ever convince myself you’d always be there?”I stopped the recording.Daniel asked, “Your ex?”I shook my head.“No.”“Then what is he?”I thought for a moment.“An old habit.”Daniel nodded.“Old habits can be broken.”“Yeah.”“I used to have old habits, too. Staying up late, skipping breakfast, and thinking I was better off alone.”“What happened?”“Then I met someone.”I lowered my eyes to my book.“That person sounds unlucky.”“Pretty unlucky,” he said with a chuckle. “Got lost on her first day and kept
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