Chapter one: New neighbors

Nina placed a kiss on her thirteen-year-old son's head, who was playing video games to get his attention. She smiled as the little boy looked up at her. He was small for his age and most people agreed but that only made Nina adore her son even more. She came from a family of late bloomers and knew it was only a matter of time.

" come on Bennie let's go YOUR FATHER CAN FOLLOW ONCE HE IS DONE PUTTING ON HIS MAKE UP." She said the last words aloud so her husband who was in the next room could hear.

" Geez I'm coming, I'm coming" Matt was taking ages to get ready which was starting to get on his wife's nerves. Once he was out his son gave a little giggle while his wife sighed in annoyance.

" What the hell are you wearing?"

"Dad you look great"

Matt beamed at his son's approval of his outfit ignoring his wife's disapproving tone. "Thanks, buddy I knew someone would like it, unlike some jealous people I know." Nina once again unknowingly rolled her eyes. This habit had become second to nature since they got married, her husband was ridiculous, but that's what she loved about him.

" You look like you are going to crown the next miss world when we are only going to say hello to our simple new neighbor."

"you know it yourself that that is a lie, you have already seen that young man, there is nothing simple about him and there is no way I will let myself look like a withered pineapple next to him, so save your breath coz I ain't changing.

Nina grabbed the lasagna from the kitchen counter and sighed in defeat. She walked out the door her family following behind. If she kept up the argument, her lasagna which she worked hard on would go cold and nobody likes cold lasagna as a gift.

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Ivo wasn't exactly a new neighbor, he had moved in about three weeks ago. He wasn't the most outgoing person so he made it a point to avoid any interactions with his new neighbors. He was out of the house early in the morning and back late into the night. He was twenty-two years old and in his forth year in his accounting major. He couldn't stand staying in his old neighborhood anymore. He hated it there the people, the building, and even the pets. They were all too loud for his liking and after three years he called it quits.

On an early Sunday morning, he packed his things and moved into the nice-looking suburban neighborhood. He was lucky to have gotten the House at a throwaway price reason being that the last homeowner was gruesomely murdered by her husband and his lover hence no buyer wanted it, for it was considered hunted.

Ivo didn't mind, he was not much of a superstitious guy anyways and from what he had experienced with his last neighbors, living with ghosts couldn't be any worse.

This Afternoon Ivo only having had classes in the morning, he was left doing house chores an activity he was not a fan of. Having neglected the yard for a couple of weeks in the name of avoiding any interactions between him and his neighbors, the overgrown grass was starting to look like a habitat for all kinds of creepy crawlies especially snakes. Ivo hated snakes more than he hated people even though the two had little to no difference. 'It's okay it's not that bad, I just have to put on some protective gear and get done with it' Ivo did not have much of a protective gear which resorted him to wearing his oversized raincoat and two plastic bags over his feet and hands.

Two hours! it took him two hours to finish working on both his front and back yard, and he was pissed. Ding! Dong! Ivo thought he heard it wrong, he had been in the sun for too long and was starting to hear things. Ding! Dong! his doorbell went off for a second time and he heard it loud and clear there was someone at the door he wasn't imagining it. He let out a loud grunt and stomped into the house through the back door to the front door which he yanked open.

'WHAT!' The middle-aged couple that stood at his door was taken back by the sudden hostility and their once lovely smiles were replaced with a frown. The lady tightened her grip on what looked like a dish she had been holding and she whimpered or so he thought until the gentleman beside her, stretched his hand towards the small figure that hid behind her and gently raffled its hair. Ivo immediately felt like an ass. It is okay not to be a people person but it's not okay to be an asshole, and that's what Ivo was being at the moment.

" Um, we... we...are sorry if we are bothering you we just....Um thought we should drop by to say hi and see how you....Um are fitting in " She was struggling to get all the words out due to the awkward situation. The gentleman beside her placed his hand on her waist and pulled her closer to him and immediately the lady visibly relaxed. " We can understand if you are busy, we will be leaving now, and once again we are sorry for bothering you." He picked the little boy who hadn't at even one moment reappeared from behind his mother. Was he that rude that he scared the poor little guy? Ivo wasn't a fan of kids especially loud once but seeing this kid all upset because of him somehow made him feel even worse. 'I am gonna regret this.'

"Wait! you don't have to leave you haven't done anything wrong, I am the one who should be apologizing for my rude behavior towards my new neighbors." Ivo forced a smile hoping they would buy his apology. " I have been out in the sun all day working on the yard so I am a little edgy. The couple relaxed a bit and even gave him a smile assuring him that everything was forgiven. "It is quite hot today, and considering how big your yard is, you shouldn't be doing all the work alone I wouldn't mind lending you a hand or two if you asked " The gentleman gave a light deep laugh at the end of his sentence. " And before you say you didn't want to trouble anyone, just know we never consider lending a helping hand as trouble." The lady chipped in with a huge smile.

Ivo was pleased that the couple was no longer upset but the little dude was yet to look at him. he currently had his head buried in his father's neck as he held onto him tightly. " I am sorry I didn't mean to upset you or your little boy. Name's Ivonis Arthur, Ivo for short by the way" He held his hand out which was received in a firm handshake. " No worries Name's Matt and this is my wife Nina and my son Jian we are all pleased to meet you" He posed for a while as is rethinking his words "We'll mostly my wife and I, I can't speak for bennie here" He gave another deep chuckle while patting his whining son's head.

"Bennie?" Ivo asked curiously. " it's short for Bentley, his middle name, " Nina said in a whisper for her son not to hear it, but she wasn't quite enough. Jian lifted his head from his father's shoulders to glare at his mother. " No, it's not! and I told you to stop calling me that am not a kid anymore." Ivo found himself smiling fondly at the cute pouty face Bentley made.

Matt placed his son on his feet and turned him towards Ivo. " Why don't you say hi to our new neighbor? you even haven't gotten a good look at him since we arrived." Jian seemed to be adamant in not following his father's words, and Ivo being the bigger person, decided to take the first initiative. He got down to the boy's height and stretched out his hand, " Hi little dude I'm Ivo it's nice to meet you" Ivo was left with his hand stretched out as the little boy gave him one glance and was back hiding behind his mother's skirt. Ivo got to his feet and gave a little embarrassed chuckle " I guess he is still mad at me." "I'm so sorry he is usually not like this he doesn't hold grudges for long, I guess he is just being a little shy" Nina gave Ivo an apologetic smile for her son's behavior.

It took Ivo about fifteen minutes to take into account that he had made the lovely couple stand out in the hot weather the entire time. An embarrassing blush crept up his face once he noticed he was being rude and stepped out of the way to usher them in. " please come in it is too hot to be standing outside for this long, I can pour you a glass of iced tea or coffee if you would like some."

"That sounds lovely but we would rather not come in today," Nina said while trying to keep herself from falling while her son pulled her down the steps towards the driveway. Up until now, the boy refused to look at Ivo. He really was one stubborn boy. " Before I forget this is for you, I was to give it earlier but we got a bit sidetracked" with those words Ivo felt his face heating up again as he received the 'welcoming' gift. His blush got darker as he heard Jian's words as they walked down the steps towards the driveway

"Mum, why is his face so red is he feeling unwell, or does he have to poop?" He received a light shove from his mother as a sigh to lower his voice but Ivo already heard it all.