Home > New Girl on the Street(5)

New Girl on the Street(5)
Author: Donna Jay

Fuck it. She jumped back onto the sofa, peering out again.

Illuminated by the porch light, Bella lugged two suitcases inside. A minute later, she reappeared carrying cleaning products. She tossed them into the backseat and locked the car.

The light went out and Lisa slid down the sofa. What the fuck was that about?

***

When she awoke the next morning, Lisa headed straight for the bathroom, vowing to herself she would not stop to check if her neighbour was at home.

She flushed the toilet and her resolve disappeared along with the toilet paper. Telling herself it was any ordinary Sunday and she wasn’t being a nosy neighbour, she opened the living room drapes with a flourish.

Just as she suspected, Bella’s car was gone. Where the hell would she go at seven o’clock on a Sunday morning?

Unable to get back to sleep, Lisa tossed on her running clothes and hit the streets. A frost had fallen overnight, settling on front lawns and tree branches. The crisp morning air burned her lungs and invigorated her.

She followed her normal route without thought, her body on autopilot. She’d taken up running when she’d quit the swim team.

Thanks, Bella.

Okay, that probably wasn’t fair. Bella had already disappeared from school by the time Lisa left the team. She’d dropped out when she could no longer ignore the snide remarks directed her way.

Did that make her a quitter? No, she didn’t think so. She would much rather walk away than stoop to her tormentors’ level, and if she’d stayed, one of them would’ve found out sooner or later Lisa the Lezzy could only be pushed so far.

Almost home, a dog barked and Lisa jumped, then skidded to a stop.

“Fuck.” She clutched her chest. “Don’t do that to me, Gypsy.” She rubbed her neighbour’s golden retriever between her ears. Gypsy rested her paws on top of the four-foot tall gate, tongue lolling out.

“Here.” Lisa pulled the morning paper from the letterbox and held it out. Gypsy took it from her gently, clutching it in her mouth. “Go take it to your humans.”

Gypsy dropped down from the gate and pranced up the driveway, tail wagging frantically.

Back inside, Lisa showered and changed into an old pair of tracksuit pants and a black T-shirt. Feeling better after her run, she picked up the PlayStation controller and resumed the game of Battlefield she’d been playing earlier in the week.

A car door banged, and her ears perked up. She paused the game, telling herself not to look and failing miserably. She turned in her seat, leaned on the back of the couch and peered through the net curtains.

Bella emerged carrying a—WTF? A toddler wearing a little combat suit. Good God, who needs a television with Days of our Lives playing out next door?

Who did the kid belong to? Bella? Perhaps she had shared custody and this was her week. Oh, shit. Or perhaps she’d lost custody and this was her day.

Bella waved, and Lisa glanced over her shoulder as if someone had magically appeared in her living room. Feeling like an idiot, she dropped the net curtain and slumped onto the sofa. The only one she was fooling by feigning indifference was herself.

Perhaps she needed to get laid. The only problem with that was her libido had left home and taken up residence next door. With any luck, Bella would trample all over it and send it home soon. Lisa was too young to be saddled with a kid—if it was Bella’s kid. And what about the absent husband?

She smacked her forehead. “Enough, just stop, for fuck’s sake.”

Frustrated by the endless loop of questions she had no answers for, Lisa picked up the PlayStation controller and resumed her game.

In the middle of trying to pass another level, there was a knock on the door. Her heart leapt into her throat, and anger bubbled just below the surface. If Bella had come looking for milk, she could go to the dairy.

After pausing her game, she strode through the kitchen and yanked open the door. Her brother waltzed right on in.

“Why don’t you come in?” she said dryly. It wasn’t unusual for Justin to call around, but he normally wasn’t alone. “Where’s the rest of the family?”

“Gone to some postnatal lunch thing. Blokes weren’t invited.”

“Would you have gone?” Lisa asked.

“Hell, no. I love Abbey to bits, and Erin loves spending time with other new mums, but being in a room full of screaming babies is not my idea of a relaxing Sunday.” He plucked up the PlayStation controller, looking like an excited kid instead of a grown man. “Now, this is relaxing.”

“Tell you what, pass that level for me and I’ll whip up something for lunch.”

“Deal.” He flicked his bare feet up on the coffee table.

Lisa smacked them off. “I eat off there.”

He frowned. “They’re clean.”

“Pfft. I can see the toe-jam from here.”

“Sweet! Make some toast and we’re good to go.”

“Disgusting. And keep them off or give me back my controller.”

Grinning, Justin hit play. Fifteen minutes later, Lisa returned to the living room with two homemade burgers.

“Thanks, sis.” Justin’s gaze flicked from the television to her and back again. “I’ll just save this level.”

Once he was done, he dropped the controller. Lisa handed over a plate, and he immediately pulled the lid off his burger and discarded the slice of beetroot.

“Ungrateful prick.”

“Hey, what’s with the rage today? Wait, wait…” He held up a hand, grinning like an idiot. “Either you sucked balls at pool or—”

“Ew! I would never suck balls.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Which leads me to my next theory—you didn’t get laid, either.”

“Maybe I did and I’m tired and cranky.”

“Did you?”

“No.” She’d never lied to her brother.

“My point exactly.”

Her mind flicked to her neighbour and the shitstorm she’d caused at school. “I don’t need the drama.”

“It doesn’t have to be drama. I wouldn’t be without Erin.”

“That’s great. I’m happy for you. Now can we drop it?”

There was another knock at the door, and she glanced up, torn between answering it and staying put.

“Aren’t you going to get that?”

“What?” She played dumb.

Justin frowned. “Someone knocked.”

“It’s probably bible bashers.” She stuffed the rest of her burger into her mouth.

“I’ve got this.” Justin jumped up, leapt over the coffee table and yanked open the door.

Mortified, Lisa didn’t know whether to run after him or hide in the corner. She did neither, frozen to the spot, straining to hear.

“Hi, we’re spreading the word today.”

The unfamiliar voice made her sag with relief. She’d been right. It was the bible thumpers doing their rounds.

Justin’s response made her want to cringe and laugh at the same time. “Sorry, me and the missus are a little busy right now, having our own Sunday service, if you know what I mean.”

“If we could just leave—” Lisa pictured them trying to hand him a flyer.

“Oh, yes, please leave, and don’t come back.”

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