Page 20 of Don’t Love the Boy Next Door (Hotties Next Door #2)

Chapter Eighteen

Phoenix

That’s weird. Liam and I were having an awesome time gaming and he just vanished. Okay, we were pretty much creamed in that last match, but it was fun. I wonder if maybe he wasn’t having a good time? Is he the type of person who hates losing and is throwing a fit or something?

Or is he maybe upset with me? Blaming me for the loss?

I don’t know him well at all, but he doesn’t seem like the type to let a silly game bother him.

Or…is he upset that I blamed him? But I was teasing him. Crap. Did I mess up?

I’m staring at his name for who knows how long, before he suddenly goes offline. Um…what the heck? Did he just ditch me?

It’s possible he lost the connection, but I’m not sure. Maybe he needed to go out for a few minutes? Wouldn’t he tell me, though? I mean, he’s not my boyfriend and doesn’t owe me anything, but some human courtesy would be nice.

“Ugh.” I rub my temples. Why am I making such a big deal about some stranger I met online?

Fine, he’s not a stranger. We’ve been gaming a lot this weekend and I sort of feel like I know him. Not personally, really. We haven’t spoken about anything other than gaming stuff. But I thought I had a feel for the kind of person he is.

Then again, online isn’t always what it seems. How many times have I streamed with a brave face when I was really crumbling inside?

I sent him a few texts, too, but he hasn’t responded to any of them. What in the world happened?

Fifteen minutes later, I figure he won’t be back. I don’t want to wait around for him like some girl waiting for her boyfriend to call. So I start a new gameplay that I’ll upload today or tomorrow.

“I’m home,” Katie says as she enters the room. She tosses some snacks at me. I love when she goes to the grocery because she always comes back with yummy stuff. She got Cheetos , my favorite.

“Thanks, bestie,” I say as I yank the thing open and toss a few into my mouth. Then I sigh. “Heaven.”

She peers at the computer with a lifted brow. “Weren’t you playing with Liam?”

I chomp down some more cheesy puffed goodness. “I was, but he kind of disappeared. Something probably came up. I’m recording a gameplay for the channel. Want to be part of it?”

She shakes her head. “I have to organize the groceries I dumped in the kitchen. I just came up to say hi and give you your treat.”

I beam at her. “And that’s why I love you. Do you need help downstairs?”

She waves her hand. “It’s fine. Have fun.” She nods toward the screen. “You just missed your target.”

“Crap,” I mutter as I search for the guy I need to find in the desert.

She watches me for a bit and leaves the room.

I play for a little longer before my phone dings with a text. Finally! I grab it and read Liam’s message.

Go outside to the porch. There’s something for you .

My insides burst with excitement and warmth and happiness and all the good things. Is that why he left? He somehow got me a present and left it at the door.

But wait…how does he know where I live—rather, Katie lives? I mean, if someone was determined, they could find out, I guess. It freaks me out for a second, but I tell myself to relax. Liam is a good guy. He’d never hurt me.

Still, I grab an umbrella from the bucket near Katie’s front door and slowly peek out. It’s getting very dark out, but I can see a form sitting on the front steps. His back faces me, though, so I can’t get a good look at him.

Wait…is Liam here? He lives in Kansas. Would he travel all the way here to surprise a girl he only met a few days ago?

The floor creaks under my feet as I widen the door and step onto the porch, holding the umbrella like a weapon.

The person twists around. It’s Ethan Palmer.

What the heck?

He scrambles to his feet, giving me an uncertain smile. “Hey.”

“Hey…” I haven’t spoken to him since yesterday and don’t even know how I feel about everything that happened between us. Are we friends? Do we tolerate each other? Are we just two kids who go to school together?

My gaze flits around “I’m supposed to um…well, I don’t really know.”

He nods slowly, his bangs falling into his eyes as he shoves his hands in his pockets. “You mean Liam?”

I squint at him. “How do you know Liam?”

He brushes his hand through his hair, messing it up in a way that’s so hot it’d make girls go weak at the knees.

I’m so darn confused, I don’t know what to think.

He stares at me and I stare at him, and the breeze brushes my hair in my face and his bangs out of his eyes.

“I’m…him,” he finally says.

I blink repeatedly, not sure I heard right. The wind’s gotten so strong. “What?”

He clears his throat, pulling his hands from his pockets and slipping them back in. “I’m Liam. I’m sorry I lied to you, Phoenix. Really, really sorry.”

My head spins as I gape at him. “What are you talking about?”

He steps toward me, and I stumble back. The umbrella is getting a bit sweaty in my grasp, but I’m not letting go.

“I made the fake profile,” he says, voice low and soft. “I stood up to the bullies. I gamed with you.”

His words aren’t entering my head. Because it’s impossible. No way in heck is Ethan LiamC. No way .

He lifts a brow. “You don’t believe me?” He whips out his phone and holds it out to me. “See for yourself.”

I don’t take my eyes off his. It’s like time has frozen, or like I’m in some crazy dream and I’m waiting for my alarm to pull me out.

Ethan holds my gaze, urging me to look at the phone. I break out of whatever trance I’m in, taking it from him and looking at the screen. All the texts LiamC and I have exchanged the past few days are there.

“I used an old number,” he explains. “I don’t know how else to say I’m sorry. I really am.”

My mind floats away, like it doesn’t want to believe—to accept—that the guy standing before me, who I thought was my enemy, is my online friend. The person I thought I might possibly have something with one day. No, it can’t be. Liam is in Kansas, waiting to game with me right now.

“Say something, Phoenix.”

I blink, snapping back to reality. No matter how much I try to convince myself he’s not him, the texts reveal the truth.

Forcing my eyes to meet his, I narrow them. “How could you?” I slam the phone to his chest. He doesn’t even react, just stares into my eyes. “All this time…you’re a bigger jerk than I thought you were.”

He steps closer. “Phoenix.”

I flinch back. “Stay away from me.”

“Please—”

“I don’t want to ever, ever look at you again.”

Whirling on my heels, I stomp into the house and slam the door behind me, so hard I swear the walls crack.

I can’t believe this. A guy who I thought was so sweet and nice and perfect doesn’t exist. Of course not.

There’s no such thing as a perfect guy. I should have known it was too good to be true.

Plopping down on the living room couch, I cross my arms over my chest and heave.

This was probably all a big joke to him. Pretend to be interested in me, make me feel…special and important, then throw it in my face.

I thought I hated him before, but that was child’s play. I hate, hate him now. So much I wish I could announce to the whole world—the whole universe—what a big jerk he is.

I can’t believe I was so bothered that I was rude to him the last few days when he was playing me like that. How could he sit there and listen to me apologize when he was laughing behind my back?

Jerk.

Jerk.

Jerk .

“Oh, there you are,” Katie says as she enters the living room. Her eyes widen. “Whoa. Why do you look like you want to kill someone?”

I grit my teeth. “Because I do.”

Her eyes are still wide and confused as she lowers herself next to me. “Who? And why?”

I squeeze my arms on my chest. It’s really hard for me not to march up to my room and roast the jerk on my live stream. Roast him so bad he wouldn’t be able to show his face at school, or anywhere.

But as much as I want to hurt him, I also don’t. I mean, I hate him more than I hate all the suffering in this world, but I’m not going to stoop to his level.

Katie’s hand springs to my shoulder. “Phoenix, calm down.”

I don’t realize I’m gripping a couch cushion so tightly it might pop.

“Tell me what’s going on,” she insists.

The events from a few minutes ago play around in my head. I was so excited for whatever Liam had to show me, but I never expected that. I’m not angry anymore, I’m enraged .

Katie tugs on my arm. “Phoenix.”

I meet her gaze, clenching my teeth again. “That jerk Ethan,” I nearly spit.

“What? I thought you guys were okay.”

I scowl so hard my eyebrows nearly reach my nose. And my mouth is twisted so much I feel like a cartoon character. “No way in heck. He and I will never be okay.”

She gives me a confused and slightly worried look. I know this is so unlike me, but I’ve never been this mad before. I’m so ugh! I don’t even know how to contain all these negative emotions inside me.

“Tell me what’s going on before you explode.”

That might be a good idea because if I don’t let this anger out, I really might explode. “Liam wanted to give me a surprise. He told me to go outside. I thought maybe he sent me a package or something. But nope, that wasn’t it.”

She lifts a brow.

I grit my teeth again. Thinking about it just fuels my rage. “Ethan was out there.”

“Ethan...?”

“He told me he’s Liam.”

Her jaw drops.

“Yep,” I say. “Apparently I’m such an idiot because I couldn’t tell that my online friend was that jerk from next door.”

She shifts closer to me until her face is in mine. “Phoenix, you couldn’t have known it was him. So many people pretend to be others online.”

She’s right, I know that. But it doesn’t make me feel better. How could the nicest guy I ever met be the jerk I can’t stand?

“Did he tell you why he did it?” Katie asks.

I roll my eyes. “Does a shark need a reason for chomping fish? Nope. It’s in its DNA. Same way being a jerk is in Eric’s brother’s DNA.”

Katie doesn’t say anything, and we sit in silence. I keep trying to push it all out of my head, but it’s impossible. I mean, I’m not saying I was head over heels for Liam, but I did kind of envision my relationship with him reaching the next level.

But no, that’s not going to happen because Liam doesn’t exist.

Katie stretches her arm over mine, hugging me close to her chest. “I wish I knew what to say.”

I want to shrug, but my shoulders are stiff. “Thanks, but whatever. It’s not like I even liked the guy.”

Katie doesn’t say anything.

I pull free from her grip. “You’re an awesome bestie, but I think I want to be alone.”

“Okay, let me know if you need anything.”

I nod and climb the stairs to Katie’s room. After dropping down on my bed, I stare at the ceiling. Then I grab my phone and delete all the texts from Liam. But that’s not enough. I remove each and every single comment he wrote on my videos and delete his name from my friends list on my account.

It actually feels good to remove all traces of him. It’s like I’m deleting him from my life.

“Good riddance.”