All Chapters of My Bully Next Door: Chapter 11 - Chapter 13

BeckettI’m not looking forward to tonight.Not even a little.I lean back against my locker, staring down the hallway like it personally offended me.Two weeks.Two weeks of Ella James in my house.I exhale slowly, dragging a hand through my hair.“This is ridiculous,” I mutter under my breath.“What is?”Sean appears beside me like he always does—too observant for his own good, already smirking like he’s hoping for something entertaining.“Nothing,” I say automatically.“Yeah, okay,” he snorts. “You’ve been in a mood since you got here.”I shrug it off. “Just tired.”That’s the easiest lie.Always is.Because I’m not about to tell him the truth.Not about my dad asking—no, telling—me that Ella’s staying with us.Not about how my mom already has the guest room set up.Not about how there is absolutely no way to spin this that doesn’t make me look like a joke.“Yo, you coming?” one of the guys calls from down the hall.“In a second,” I answer.Sean doesn’t move.Of course he doesn’t.

EllaDinner feels… normal.Which is weird.I sit at the table between Mason and Mrs. Cross, listening as she talks about one of her charity events, her voice light and easy like this is just another regular night.“…and if it’s not the fundraiser, then it’s the shelter. I swear I spend more time with abandoned dogs than I do with my own family.”Mason immediately perks up. “Can we get another dog?”“We already have one,” she reminds him.“But I want a baby one.”I smile, glancing down at him. “You’d name it something ridiculous.”“I would not,” he argues, offended. “I’d name it Rex.”“Of course you would.”He grins like that’s the best idea he’s ever had.Across the table, Beckett is quiet.Too quiet.He’s not really eating, just pushing food around his plate like he’s somewhere else entirely.And he’s not looking at me.Which—I notice.Even though I pretend I don’t.“Mom,” he says suddenly, cutting into her story, “if we win tomorrow, can we have people over?”There it is.She gives