Dear Neighbor Boy,

Only a Privileged Little Jerk Would Say Something Out of His Place

*Hazel's pov*

We all sat in the living room in silence. On the couch sat my mom, Cameron, Alan, and Daniel. Sitting on the floor was Asher (yes, I dragged him along), me, Finn, and Jason. My dad pulled up a chair and tried to explain whatever it was that made him come here.

"Alisha"-his wife-"broke up with me"-scratch that, ex wife-"and kicked me out. I don't have a place to stay and I missed you guys." He forced a smile but it just wasn't working.

He continued on. "And I remembered something else that was today. Happy birthday, Hazel." He looked at me and despite being angry at him, I looked down sheepishly.

My mom slapped her forehead and gasped. "That was today! December 9, I can't believe I forgot! I'm so sorry, sweetie." I smiled and nodded to let her know that it was okay.

Then all my brothers broke out into a chorus saying happy birthday wishes to me and apologies for forgetting. I smiled at the recognition I was getting for my birthday.

My dad scratched his beard. "Anyways, about me not having a place to stay...... Do you think I could crash here for a bit?"

My brothers and I looked around at each other with this look. We weren't really sure if we wanted him back and quite frankly, I was still angry at him. So we were pretty shocked with my mom's response.

She smiled brightly. "Of course you can! Gosh, it'll be so great having you around the house again to help me with the kids and all! I'm sure they've missed you, too!" My brothers and I all turned with shocked faces. However, we didn't say anything because it seemed like the idea made her happy. But we knew that we'd be the ones living in hell.

I turned to look at Asher and he seemed very confused. I bet he was. He just looked at me all concerned.

I turned back to my family. "Hey guys, I'm gonna show Asher where the bathroom is upstairs." I didn't wait for their reply. I just grabbed his hand and shot off upstairs into my bedroom.

I closed the door and flopped on my bed.

"What's going on?" He finally asked.

I sighed. "Where do I even begin? Well, for starters... We lied about my dad. He left my mom for this other woman named Alisha about three years ago. A few months ago, they got married so my mom made us move here. She's been heartbroken for so long about losing my dad and still doesn't tell people unless they already know about it. My brothers and I are mad at him, though. He's a horrible person. He was emotionally and physically abusive to us, but my mom doesn't know that. It just pains us to see him crawling back when that woman realized what trash he was and left him."

I looked up at Asher to see the pure confusion on his face fade slowly into realization. He sat down on the edge of the bed and I sat up, scared of what he'd say.

"So that's why we never got to meet him and he never showed up to our family events. Also explains why you got so upset about that one joke Connor made about your parents making you guys. Wow. I'm sorry." He looked at me sincerely and rubbed my knee comfortingly.

"It's fine. It's not you that started all this. He thinks he can just barge back into our lives after leaving and pay no consequences! It's so stupid..." I hit myself with my pillow in anger and flopped back down on the bed.

Asher scratched the back of his neck. "Well, isn't it kind of a good thing, though? Your dad's back and now your mom doesn't have to be alone and neither do you guys."

I sat up and looked at him. "You think this is good for us?!" I laughed bitterly. "Clearly you've never had your dad abandon you and your family. Sure, at first, we wanted him back, but after so long, we became content with being alone. It still sucked, but it was better than having him around."

"Okay, but he can help you guys, right? And it doesn't matter if my dad's never left me or not. I can imagine what it would be like..." He took a long pause. "And you know what? You're kinda lucky." He looked at me with this disappointed look.

How could he look at me like that?! Like I did something wrong!! "Lucky?! You think I'm lucky?! How the heck am I lucky??" I stood up from the bed and looked down at him.

He stood up as well and towered over me. "You're getting your dad back after he left for a while. Most people that are abandoned by their dad never get them back. So be happy that he's here for you!"

He was really boiling up my blood. "Why should I be happy? He's not here for me! He's here because his wife broke up with him and kicked him out and he has nowhere to go! He's not coming back 'cause he wants to. And most of us people that are abandoned by our dad don't want him back! It's just the fact that he left in the first place and never bothered to call or ask how we're doing! He never cared until it was convenient!" I was yelling at the top of my lungs at this point. I was really angry. "But you wouldn't get any of that cause you're some privileged little boy with good money and no family issues."

He raised his eyebrows and gave me the coldest look I'd ever seen him wear. "Maybe I am just a privileged little boy with no problems, according to you. But at least I'm not some little nerd with daddy issues that reads books to escape all of her problems instead of facing them and dealing with them. I can see why your dad left." Those words hung in the air, and oh hell how they stung.

The few seconds after that were like the eye of the storm: calm and quiet. I didn't say anything. I stood there, shocked. I couldn't hear anything coming from downstairs anymore.

Then I began to react. Tears formed in my eyes and I started shaking. I didn't make any noise as I cried. I just looked down and let the tears fall until I finally spoke again in the smallest voice. "W-what did you say?" After a few seconds of silence, I spoke again. "Get out." I whispered.

He didn't move and I looked up into his eyes. "GET OUT!!!" I screamed at him as the tears fell freely and I sobbed.

Now that I had looked up, I could see the regret of what he said in his expression. His eyes were softer and he frowned. "Hazel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Get out!!" I interrupted him.

"Please don't cry. I really don't want to see you cry." He sounded frantic, but why should I have cared what he wanted? He caused these tears!

"You won't have to see me if you leave." I shoved him towards my window. He reluctantly climbed out. Before he closed the window, I whispered,"I can't believe I ever let you mean something to me. I knew something like this would happen. You jerk." He looked up at me one last time. I saw the red ring around his drooping eyes before he closed the window and was gone. Maybe for good. I closed my curtains and just sat on my bed for a while, replaying what he said in my head.

I didn't know what just happened. I just knew two things. One, that happened way too fast. And two, everything was falling apart.

A/N: Heyyyyy guys. I know. That was pretty freaking intense for this happy go lucky book. But I really wanted to stir up some drama! Keeps the story going, you know? Anyways, who do you agree with? Hazel or Asher? The stuff Hazel said is kinda how I feel with my dad (cause he abandoned my family before I was born) so it's kinda personal experience. And the stuff Asher said is stuff I've heard other people that have never experienced it say to me. This isn't a vent or anything, though. Hehe I'm fine. Looks like Hazel is going through a reallyyyyy hard time. With her dad back and the argument with Asher. Also, her mom is letting him stay cause as you might be able to tell, she's still heartbroken and totally not over the fact that he left and she can't really tell that he's pretty much only using them for a place to stay. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! Please keep reading and vote! I love you guys!! Bye my lovelies!!!❤❤❤

---Your Smøl Bean, Gen