Girl Next Door (Complete)

Chapter 17-Owen

When Sean and I walked into the dining room, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it didn't have any chipped or peeling paint the way the living room and kitchen did. I suppose that shows how little the family who lived here spent time here. The table and chairs were still covered with the white sheet, the bare walls a faded blue worn out over time.

I take the paint tray out of the bag and place it in the center of the table, before grabbing the can of paint that Gabriel handed to Sean before going into the kitchen. After pouring in the paint, I attach the two rollers to the extension sticks before handing one to Sean. There's a border around the dining room about waist high, changing the lower half of the room to wood paneling.

I'll have to get North to check the wood to make sure they're they don't need to be replaced.

After about twenty minutes of painting, during which Gabriel has already blasted his dreaded pop music, Sean makes his way over to me to start painting the wall next to mine. I look behind myself at the opposite wall that he originally started to see that it's only halfway done.

"Is there a reason you've come over here Dr. Green?" I ask dryly.

"Enough with the formality Owen," he says with a smile in his voice. "So, middle aged man looking for a change of scenery, eh?"

I sigh, "I was wondering when you'd bring that up."

"Why'd you do it? You never lie to me Owen," he pouts. "You wanted to keep her all to yourself, didn't you? You didn't want any of us to meet her. Hell, if North hadn't seen her on the roof a few days ago, you never would've told us about your cute, blond neighbor."

"Sean, really? You've met her. She may be nice and forthcoming now that she feels like she's put me in my place, but can you honestly imagine how she would've reacted to a group of boys showing up at her door uninvited? She would've called the cops after ripping each of us a new one."

"I can't believe that my Pumpkin was really that standoffish. She did manage to entice Kota enough that he agreed to pretend to be her fake boyfriend."

"I'm guessing that's only because she met him in a normal way. He didn't just show up on her lawn like the Taylors or Silas."

"Well she was nice to Silas," he continues.

"She thought he was a service professional, which is why we sent him. Everyone knows that the quickest way to get rid of service professionals are to smile and let them do what they came for."

"Well Luke seems to like her."

"She cooked for him and told off his brother when they first met. I imagine that in his eyes, she can do no wrong."

"You just didn't want her around us. Admit it." He pouts, giving up on trying to see things my way.

"I would've introduced you eventually, had she allowed it."

"Since when are you one to not take change in any situation, Owen?"

"Since the situation in question required a more delicate hand. I needed to get her to trust me, and the more I tried, the more she pushed away. I couldn't exactly bring you all into it when I didn't even have a handle on it."

"Well, it's good to know that the great Owen Blackbourne is infallible after all. Couldn't get a little girl to trust you," he gloats. "Not that I blame her. I know how you handle situations Owen, and inserting yourself into her life without permission was a sure fire way to get turned down. Why, after hearing what she's been through I'm surprised all she did was tell you off a few times."

"She also flipped North over her shoulder."

His eyes grow wide before he bends over laughing. When he's finally managed to calm down, there are tears streaming from his eyes that he hastily wipes away.

"Oh man, how I wish I was there to see that," he breathes. "Too bad the cameras from your house don't face in this direction."

"Yes, such a shame." I say with a small smile.

Sean, satisfied with my answers, walks back over to his unfinished wall, in turn, leaving the half wall by the living room door unfinished. I shake my head slightly as I turn back to my wall and continue painting. Once Sean and I finish the dining room, ceiling included, we walk through the back doorway and into the kitchen to see the Gabriel and Luke are also finishing up their room. The music is still blasting, as the two of them move around the room making final inspections on the walls.

They must have done the ceiling first to get it out of the way.

"Are we all done here gentleman?" I ask, announcing our presence.

"Yup," Gabriel confirms. "All good here Mr. B. I'm thinking about doing the kitchen and library in a sky blue. Maybe even do a couple clouds on the ceiling."

"Just make sure that she's ok with it Gabriel."

"Yeah yeah, I know."

"Oh, looks like all of us are done then," Sang's voice sounds from the kitchen entrance.

"Did you doubt us Cupcake?" Luke smiles in her direction.

"Maybe a little," she admits. "Anyway, thanks for helping. I don't want to keep you so if you have somewhere else to be I don't mind."

"Trying to get rid of us already Pumpkin?" Sean pouts.

"We're not leaving Trouble," Gabriel tells her. "We've still got more painting to do, so point the way and let's get moving."

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, causing the skin on her forehead to wrinkle in the most adorable way. A small frown is prominent on her face as she looks around at us.

"You didn't really think we were going to leave you to finish up the rest of the house yourself, did you?" Victor asks her.

"Yeah, she mutters. "I guess I did." She blanks her expression as she looks around at us once again before saying, "Well, I guess if you're really going to stay, next up is my bedroom. We can use the same groups for the different sections. Kota, Victor, and I can take the main space, while Sean and Owen tackle the bathroom. I don't really need my closet painted, but something tells me that Gabriel's not going to let me get away with leaving it undone."

"You got that right Trouble," he confirms. "Now march that pretty little ass down the hallway. I want us to finish this up before lunch. If we stay on schedule, we should have the whole floor finished by dinner."

Smirkingin his direction, she gives him a slight nod before walking back out of theroom and down the hall. The rest of us follow along in what is becoming a usualfashion. Somehow, I have a feeling that we'd follow her anywhere.