Hate Thy Neighbor

"Because I know you have to work tonight and we can't go."

I felt tears well up in my eyes. She's already making sacrifices and wasn't even going to tell me about it. I thought Sunday afternoon in the courtyard should be pretty safe. I felt confident they could handle going down there and back by themselves. I handed her the phone back.

"Tell her you girls will be there."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you can go."

They both squealed in delight, Emily's fingers started flying fast texting her friend.

"Ok girls rules, you go straight there and come straight back as soon as it's over. You don't stop for anything or go anywhere else, understand?"

"OK Mom, thanks."

I was feeling really good about my decision until I left for work. The complex is completely no smoking, but they have a designated smoking area between the back door and the parking lot.

I was walking to my car, and a really suspicious looking guy was sitting on the table smoking. He didn't look like one of the normal tennants. He was dressed in dirty clothes, hair all over the place, unshaven, and missing several teeth. What really got me is how he just looked at me, as if I was something he would consider buying.

"Off to work?"

I just kept walking, not even acknowledging that he even spoke to me. As soon as I closed the car door I quickly locked it, started it up and drove away.

How did he know I was going to work? Who was he?

My mind started imagining worst case scenarios with him and the girls. What if he's just waiting for someone like them to be walking alone so he could snatch them? Or maybe he will follow them into the apartment when they return alone.

By the time I got to work, I was in tears. Thankfully Sunday afternoons at the hotel are quiet so I went into the office and closed the door. What should I do? The girls would be crushed now if I told them they couldn't go, but the image of that guy staring at me was seared into my mind.

Carson

He is such a douchebag, but I have to admit he is good with kids. I hated to ask him, to be in any kind of debt to him, but I didn't think I had a choice. I grabbed my phone and shot off a quick text.

Me: 'Hey, this is Tina, are you busy?'

Thankfully he answered right away.

Carson: 'No, what's up?'

Me: 'Can I call you for a min?'

Immediately my phone started ringing, and I saw it was him calling me.

"Hello."

"Hey this is Carson, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor? The girls have an ice cream party tonight at six on the playground, but when I was leaving for work there was this really creepy guy hanging out at the back door. I mean really slimy creepy, somehow he even knew I was going to work. It just scares me having the girls walk there and back alone with him hanging around."

"Yeah no problem. Give Emily my cell phone number and have her call me when they are ready, I promise you they won't leave my sight."

"Thanks Carson, I really owe you for this."

Immediately I felt much better. He may be a douchebag, but at least he seems to be trustworthy with kids.

Chapter 3

***Carson***

As soon as I hung up with Tina I went downstairs to see if I could spot the guy she was describing. Not seeing him, I started to make a wide circle of the complex looking for anyone out of the ordinary. I didn't spot anyone, but I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. I decided to stop in the office tomorrow and see if anyone else reported someone strange hanging around.

I pulled out my phone, I had a date tonight at five that I was going to have to push back.

Me: 'Hey this is Carson, I can't make 5:00, I have to take my neighbors girls to a party at the playground, I guess there is a strange guy hanging around and she has to work. Can we make it later, like 8:00ish?'

A few minutes later, my phone chimed. My suspicions that this girl was a selfish bitch was confirmed.

Karen: 'Fuck no, I can't believe you're blowing me off for someone else's brats. If you can't make 5, just forget it.'

Me: 👍

Oh well, I could handle not getting laid for one night to make sure the girls are safe. I couldn't imagine the guilt I would have to deal with if I had said no, and then something happened to them.

The girls must have been excited to go, I got a text at five from Emily.

Emily: 'Hey Carson, do you think we can go down to the playground a little early?'

Me: 'How early?'

Emily: 'Like maybe now?'

Me: 'Let me ask your mom.'

***********

Me: 'Hey Tina, the girls want to go to the playground a little early. I don't care if you don't care but I thought I should ask you first.'

Tina: 'That's fine if you're sure you don't care.'

Me: 'Nope not at all, thanks.'

************

Me: 'Ok Girls five minutes'

I could hear the squeals of happiness through the wall. I met them in the hall where they each took a hand pulling me down to the playground jabbering away non stop like only young girls can.

I took a spot on the bench, and released them to their friends. There were several other mothers already around and a couple of husbands. I ignored most of them as I had no interest in a single mother, and absolutely zero interest in a married woman.

I managed to take a pic of the girls talking to their friends. Their hands were going everywhere with emotion, huge smiles on their faces. I decided to send it to Tina so she would know I was keeping an eye on them.

Me: Image

Me: 'They are having a good time!'

Tina: 'It looks like they are, thank you.'

A little while later, they were sitting at the picnic tables eating ice cream and I sent her another picture.

Finally about 7:30 the party broke up and everyone headed to their own apartments.

"Come on girls, let's get you home."

When we got to their door, they both gave me a big hug.

"Thanks for taking us."

"It was no problem girls, hope you had fun. Before you shut the door, let me send your mom a picture so she knows you're in there safe and sound."

I took several pictures of both of them inside their doorway. They made several poses with silly faces and their tongues hanging out.

Me: Images

Me: 'Safe and sound in your apartment.'

Tina: 'Awe, thanks again you don't know how much I appreciate it.'

After I heard the door lock, I took a quick shower and headed down to the pub. A few of my friends said they would be there for a while watching Sunday night baseball. I hadn't eaten and my date plan was canceled.

We killed several pitchers of beer, a plate of nachos, dozens of wings, and even a few shots of Cuervo. Six am tomorrow is going to suck, but I'm young and it will be worth it.

While we ate, drank and half watched the game, I kept noticing a table of young college aged girls making eye contact with me and smiling.

Immediately after the game was over, my buddies made a beeline for their beds. I noticed two of the coeds were still at their table, both still full of smiles. I walked over to their table with the remainder of my last beer.

"Hello ladies, how are you tonight?"

"We were starting to wonder if you were ever going to join us."

"Really?"

"Are you dense like most men?"

"Nope, which one of you is it going to be?"

"Which one? Well we figured you might be man enough to handle.........both of us."

"Where are we going?"

"Your place."

I soon realized I was drunker than I thought, and we all stumbled not too quietly towards my apartment. When we came up the stairs, and started down the hall, I saw Tina coming down the hall from the other way.

"Hey, there is my hot MILF neighbor."

We were almost to my door.

"OOOOHHHHH, she IS hot, think she wants to join us too?"

I put my key in the door.

"Nah, not a chance."

I opened the door and we all fell inside for the night.

***Tina***

Just when I thought Carson may not be quite the douchebag I thought, he proved that he is. What kind of asshole takes my girls to an ice cream party, and then turns around and calls me a MILF while he is in the arms of two other women? And who gets drunk and brings home two women on a Sunday night anyway?

I made it a point afterwards to avoid him at all costs. It will be a cold day in hell before I ask him for anything again. I didn't realize that hell would freeze over less than a week later.

Tuesday and Wednesday are my days off, so I decided to make it a point to have some quality family time with the girls every week.

Tuesday we drove out to the national park and did some hiking on some mountain trails. The girls had lots of fun doing something new, but our legs were jelly when we got home. We decided to have a movie night and I ordered the girls their favorite cheese pizza.

Every Wednesday the pub has a kids night. We didn't know about it last week, but this week they have been looking forward to going. We decided to spend the day at the pool and then go to the pub early in the evening.

Thankfully Carson wasn't there, I really didn't want to have to face him after his comment the other night. Of course as we were packing up to head in for the day, he showed up. The girls were so excited to see him they ran up and gave him a hug. He seemed happy to see them, but wouldn't even look my way, acting like he was humiliated. I didn't even acknowledge his presence.

We all cleaned up and headed to the pub. Linda was walking in with her two kids at the same time and invited us to join them. We found a table and sent the kids to the buffett. I discovered kids night they set up a buffet with children's favorite foods. There was pizzas, fries, hot dogs, mac n cheese, and anything else a kid would dream of.

Linda and I decided to order off the menu and have a margarita.

"Well, how was your first week here?"

"Pretty good, I love my new job and the girls are quickly making new friends. We went hiking for the first time yesterday, the mountains are so beautiful."

"Yeah, wait until it snows, the mountains look like something you would see on a postcard."

We chatted back and forth while the kids all ate and laughed together. I didn't realize how much I missed hanging out with another adult in a social setting. I wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on around us until I heard one of the waitresses talking to the bartender.

"So, how was your hot date with Carson?"

"Screw him, he blew his chance."

Immediately my ears tuned in, curious as to what Carson had done to her.

"Uh oh, what happened?"

"We were supposed to have dinner in my apartment at five, he texted me and said he had to babysit a couple of kids and couldn't make it until eight, I told him not to bother if he chose a couple of brats over me."

Suddenly I felt guilty, and at the same time I thought 'what a cunt'. Carson gave up a date to take the girls to their ice cream party. Why can't he just be an ass all the time so it will be easier to hate him? Instead he keeps demonstrating that he might actually be a decent guy some days.

By the end of the night, I decided I had to forgive him for what he said. By his actions today, he obviously regrets what he said. He did help me out and give up a date and probably an evening of sex, although by looking at her, he didnt miss out on much in my opinion. Plus, he ended up in a threesome anyway.

Thursday I was back to work. As much as I miss the girls, I'm really enjoying the new challenge and added responsibility. I had made a few suggestions to my new boss that he liked and implemented immediately. Talk about an ego boost!

I'm the youngest assistant manager in the company, and I intend to make sure they made the right choice in promoting me. I'm going to prove my worth, and hopefully make general manager by the time I'm thirty.

Thursday night went smooth, and I felt a sense of accomplishment as I headed home for the night, looking forward to seeing the girls in the morning.

Friday found me with a cup of coffee surfing the internet while the girls played in their room. I looked at the weather forecast and felt a twinge of fear.

The girls were terrified of storms, and the Denver area is forecasted to have severe thunderstorms for the next two nights. Unfortunately the hotel has a major convention in town and there's no way I can get any time off, especially since I'm new.

I left for work, hoping against hope that the storms will miss us, or even hold off until I make it home. We were swamped with tons of guests packed into the hotel, all ready to eat, drink and have a good time. I kept an eye on the radar when I could, willing the storms to stay away. Sure enough they started forming close to sundown. I had no one else to turn to, so I texted Carson.

Me: 'Hey Carson.'

Carson: 'Hey Tina.'

Me: 'Have you seen radar?'

Carson: 'Yeah, we are going to get hammered.'

Me: 'I'm stuck at work, and the girls are terrified of storms. Would you mind sitting with them until they are over?'

Carson: 'On it!'

Me: 'Thanks!'

For the next hour, I was all over the hotel and didn't have time to check the radar. When I did, I wished I hadn't. All of Denver was covered by a huge swatch of red on the radar screen.

I texted Carson to make sure everything was ok. When he didn't answer I texted Emily. When she didn't answer, I started getting worried. The storms were violent, and I'm sure the kids are scared to death. I was hoping the storms were interfering with cell phone signals, and nothing is wrong at home.

The moment I got off work, I rushed home to my girls, hoping they weren't hysterical. I raced down the hallway and opened the door and stepped in. To my total surprise, Carson was laid back in my recliner, Emily and Lily snuggled up to him, one in each of his arms. Both had their favorite blankets and all three were snoring like nothing was wrong.

I stood there in shock for several minutes just watching them. This guy did more for the girls tonight than their real father ever had. Outside, a bright flash of lightning struck the courtyard followed by thunder so loud it shook the building. Unbelievably the girls didn't even budge.

I put my hand gently on his chest since both shoulders had a sleeping head on it. Gently shaking him I whispered.

"Carson, wake up."

He opened his eyes in surprise, instinctively pulling the girls closer to him. He quickly realized where he was and sat up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's fine, can you help me get them into bed?"

I picked up Lily and he carried Emily down the hall. I decided to just put them in my bed in case the storms woke them up. I flamed red when I realized I had one of my black bras hung over the bed frame. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice, or if he did he ignored it.

I shut the bedroom door behind us and started to thank him when he looked at his phone.

"Oh shit, it's almost eleven."

"Yeah sorry, work was crazy and the storms slowed me down driving home."

"No, it's fine."

He rushed out the front door, and into his apartment, a few moments later I heard it open and close again. Curious, I went to my window to see him running across the courtyard to the pub. Once again I felt guilty. It's Friday night and I'm sure he had plans that I made him late for. I decided I owed him an apology.

Me: 'Hey Carson, I have a feeling I ruined your date plans once again. I'm really sorry, let me know how I can make it up to you.'

Carson: 'Do not worry about it, I needed a nap anyway LOL!!!'

Me: 'Ok, you don't know how much I appreciate what you did, they are usually scared shitless.'

Carson: 'They were until I told them how much I loved the sound of thunder. I told them I would snuggle them up if they didn't like it.'

Me: 'Well, thanks again, I hope the rest of your night is good. I'll try not to ruin your plans again.'

Carson: 'If you need ANY help with the girls, I'll be offended if you don't ask me. I really don't mind.'

Me: 'Ok, I'm off to bed, good night.'

I quickly changed into my nightshirt and snuggled up with the girls. I was still in awe at how well they were sleeping through the ongoing storm. Surprisingly Carson was in my thoughts as I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 4

***Carson***

I can't believe I fell asleep and didn't hear my phone. I guess the girls snuggled up to me was just too relaxing. They were so cute tonight, initially they were scared, but when I told them how much I liked thunder they put on a brave face. It wasn't long though before they were asleep in my arms.

Unfortunately, I was late meeting Marie in the pub and someone else had taken my spot by her side. I took a seat at the bar and ordered a Crown on the rocks from Karen. She must still be pissed about blowing off our date as she took her sweet time getting it. Sitting there sipping my whiskey I thought about my new neighbors. It had been a long time since I felt alone, but suddenly the feeling washed over me like a tidal wave.

I've always loved kids, and hoped to have several of my own someday. These two girls however are quickly getting inside my heart. I know how it feels to be home alone as a kid, so that might be why I feel so connected to them.

I thought back to when I was their age. For two years I lived with a foster family that just kept me around for the monthly paycheck. Many nights, I fell asleep in an empty house as my foster parents liked to stay out partying until the bars closed. One night when I was nine, I hid in the closet while the tornado sirens were going off during a bad storm, eventually crying myself to sleep.

I was finally rescued from them when they didn't come home one night after passing out at a party. Luckily my social worker chose that morning to show up for the annual surprise visit. When she discovered I was home alone, she called the police to have the parents arrested. After examining my sparse room, old clothes, and the dirty house, they moved me to a new family.

By then the damage was done, I was always scared, way behind in school, and had become an introvert. I would suffer through my childhood years until I thankfully was sent to the Hagermans.

I don't know why the girls are growing up without a father, it's really none of my business. Thankfully they have a great mother who obviously loves them more than anything. I do know that no matter what, I won't let them sit in a closet and cry themselves to sleep when a storm rages outside, no matter what it costs me.

***Tina***

Work is great, I'm really loving my new job. Everyone respects and listens to me, other than the human resources manager who never has anything nice to say.

The days and weeks are flying by as we have all fallen into a familiar rhythm. Carson was nice enough to sit with the girls during a few more stormy nights. He also started playing board games with them one or two nights a week. He hasn't been very douchebaggery lately, maybe he is starting to grow up, but I am not going to hold my breath.

The girls start school next week already. They are both nervous and excited, thankfully they have made quite a few friends over the summer. I will be able to walk them to the bus stop in the mornings, and they should be ok to walk home by themselves. The bus drops them within a block of the apartment building.

Quickly, the first day of school came and I was a nervous wreck. Will they be bullied, will they make more friends, will their teachers be nice? I walked them to the bus stop with tears in my eyes as I always do the first day of school.

"Ok girls, right to the apartment when you get off the bus. Text me when you get home, love you."

"Love you too mom."

They were both off without a worry. Plenty of their friends got on the same bus at the same time and I felt reassured that they would have a good day.