THE BOY NEXT DOOR

LEANNA & BIRTHDAY

6 MONTHS LATER
Aimee's POV
It's been six months since we went to New Jersey. You're probably thinking. What about you dad shooting you? Well that was just a dream. I haven't slept for days because of that. I keep thinking that it's going to happen.

Anyways, besides that, Ross comes home from tour next week and you have no idea how excited I am! I did see him last month. They had a few concerts in cali last month so we went and we hung out but that's the last time I saw them but I still miss them like crazy. Especially Ross.

I walk downstairs into the kitchen, not wanting to be bothered but of course my mother knew something was up. "Aimee, are you okay?" She asked, making two cups of coffee for her and Bryan.

"Yea I'm fine!" I say, looking down at my phone. "You sure? Did something happen between you and Ross?" She asked, pouring some milk into one of the cups. I sighed as she kept asking more questions. She seriously doesn't know.

"Aimee?" She asked, handing Bryan the cup of coffee and she took a sip of her own. "It's Leanna's birthday today" I say, looking down as I frowned.

"Leanna? Is she like an old friend from where you used to live?" Bryan asked, butting into our conversation. I don't mind him joining into our convos, it's just the part where we have to tell him what happened now.

"Uhhhh no. Leanna was Aimee's best friend. They were practically sisters. They'd tell each other everything and I mean EVERYTHING. Well a few years ago she ran away with her boyfriend. Everyone including the cops tried looking for her but couldn't find her. Well, a month later, they found her body" my mom says, knowing that I don't want to talk about it. (It's based on a true story. That did happen 💔😭)

"Omg! I'm so sorry Aimee!" Bryan says, hugging me and I smiled looking at him mouthing a "thank you". I heard a knock on the door looking at my mom asking, "are you expecting anyone?"

She replied with a 'no' so I slowly make my way to the door confused on who could possibly be here. I opened the door to see Ross standing there. "Omg! What are you doing here?!" I exclaimed, jumping into his arms but I slowly get back on my feet when I see Rydel walking in with a icecream birthday cake.

"Uhhh, what is this?" I asked, looking at the cake that says, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEANNA! We all miss you! ❤️"

"We wanted to surprise you! I knew you were probably upset because it's your best friends birthday and she isn't here to celebrate it so I figured why not celebrate it anyways?" Ross says, hugging me.

"Ross, how do you even know about her? I haven't told you about her and more importantly, how do you know it's her birthday?" I asked, shocked at this surprise. Is it just me or is it creepy they know this?

"I have my ways!" He says, smirking and winking at me as he gave me a light but passionate kiss. I invited everyone in and we walked into the kitchen. My mom grabs a few candles and we lit them. "How old would she be?" Rocky asked.

"She'd be 18 today!" I say, watching my mom light the candles. "You're going to blow them out, okay?" Mom says, turning the light off. I nod as we all start singing happy birthday. Everyone sang except Riker. I'll admit, he kept rolling his eyes, and he hasn't even said anything. I wonder why...?

After we finished singing, I blew out the candles and we all cheered. "You wanna say anything before we start eating?" Bryan asked. I smiled, grabbing a picture of Leanna that we laid down by the cake.

"I just wanna say that Leanna was my best friend. She's like the sister you'd never have! She did everything for you! She'd help others out no matter who it is! The best part about her is that she'd give everyone a chance. Even a second chance no matter who it is. She was like an angel send from heaven. I miss her so much and every night I have flashbacks of us when we were kids. We'd go on vacation together. We'd do everything and I mean everything together. We'd get in fights but we can't even stay mad at each other for even 5 minutes. Everyone loved her. How could you not? You'd have every reason to love her. She's literally the best thing that has ever happened to me. Without her, I wouldn't be where I am today. She helped me through the good and the bad" I say. By the time I finished, Riker stormed out, slamming the door shut making me jump.

I looked at everyone with a 'what'd I do' face. "It's not you Aimee. I'll go talk to him" Ratliff says. I nod and we just decided to eat some cake.
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What do you think is wrong with Riker?! If you get it correct I'll give you a shoutout 🤔😱❤️