partying and living her best life without worrying about anyone else.
I blamed it on her parents.
They were filthy rich and arrogant.
So damn arrogant.
But, hey…I didn’t have to deal with them.
I got lucky with my parents.
Mom and Dad supported me with everything I did, but they gave me enough space to breathe and explore the world by myself.
Mom still sent me money each month for food and other necessities, and Dad liked to check in and ask when I was going to visit them.
I loved them, but college was great, and I had fun doing whatever I wanted to without them monitoring everything I did.
“How about some music?” Evie asked, holding up the speaker in one hand, and her phone in the other.
“Sure.”
I didn’t mind doing nothing for the night.
After all those weekends we spent at frat houses and bars, both of us could use a little time off.
Wells
“Too loud!” Ira whined.
I’ve been trying to get him to sleep for almost an hour now, and I was slowly losing my mind.
I wasn’t an impatient man, but if that brat upstairs kept that music so loud for one more minute, I would head upstairs myself and tell her to turn it the fuck off.
Ira wasn’t the only one who needed his sleep.
I had to get up early to get him ready, feed him, and then drive him to my mother so I could head to work.
Shit.
Why was this the only affordable apartment close enough to both my mom’s and work?
The owners of this complex were arrogant pieces of shit, and their daughter acted like the princess of this town.
If it weren’t for work, I would’ve never moved here.
Never in a million years.
My life was perfect before I came here, and adjusting in a new town with a three-year-old wasn’t easy.
And this girl was not being a good neighbor.
Not sure if anyone else in this building had a problem with her being so damn loud almost every evening, but I couldn’t let her keep this shit up.
“Daddy!” Ira’s cry was what I needed to pick him up and head straight out of my apartment.
“We’re gonna turn the music off,” I told him with a heavy sigh.
I loved my son.
He was what was left from my past life, and I’d do anything to make him happy.
To keep him safe and raise him to be the greatest man ever.
He was like a copy of myself when I was his age.
Same dirty blond, wavy hair, dark green eyes, and same facial structure.
Ira’s my world, and I’d do anything for him.
“Bell?” Ira asked as we stopped at the front door leading to the penthouse.
That was the only appropriate name for what was up there.
Why would a college student need an apartment that big?
“Yes, ring the bell, buddy,” I told him, letting him lean down to press it with his small finger.
He grinned as he heard the sharp sound of the bell, then he wrapped his arms around my neck again.
“Let’s see if she heard it.”
I hoped so.
If not, I’d stand here until she did.
I breathed in deeply and rubbed Ira’s back, then kissed his head.
Surprisingly, the door swung open sooner than expected, but instead of the bleach blonde barbie doll opening the door, a natural brunette with the prettiest hazel eyes stood in front of me.
The music in the back was still playing, louder now that the door was open.
The girl looked at me, then at Ira and smiled sweetly.
“Hi, can I help you?”
How was I supposed to stay mad?
“Uh, yes, actually. Is Evie around?” I asked.
Saying her name left a bad taste in my mouth.
I wasn’t an angry person in general, but she was good at not letting us sleep at night, and she also didn’t care about anyone else in this complex.
Evie was just as ignorant as her parents at times.
“She’s taking a shower. Is everything okay?” she asked, worry showing in her eyes.
Ira, the social butterfly he was, reached out to grab a fistful of the girl’s long hair.
She didn’t seem to mind and let him touch her hair as much as he wanted to.
“I live downstairs. The music’s a little too loud, and it’s not the first time he’s had trouble falling asleep.”
“Oh! I’m so sorry!” she said, the worry growing stronger. “I’ll turn it off. If I had known I would’ve turned it off earlier.”
“Thank you. Could you also let her know I was here? I don’t wanna be that neighbor, but Ira’s three and he needs his sleep. I do too