The Girl Next Door

Nobody could ever make out exactly what they were yelling, although, all of the neighbors in the quaint suburban neighborhood of southern North Carolina could hear them. At least twice a day, Abigail, or Abi, and Cody would be in their adjacent backyards yelling at each other so loudly, everyone in Woodland Park could hear them. 

Woodland Park is the name of our neighborhood located in such a small town if you drive through it and you blink, you’d miss all of main street. Dividing the yards is a silver chain link fence with seven or eight red cedar trees lined along either side of the fence. No one understood why the two would get out there and just bark at each other. Rumor has it, Cody was the one who took Abi’s virginity one night at a neighborhood block party. The only person who knows the most about those two is me. Being Cody’s older sister meant I had to watch over Cody and protect him at all cost. I never knew I was gonna have to guard him from Abi. Abi’s sweet as pumpkin pie and she’s skinny as a rail. Sure, they fuss but I never thought things would escalate past a verbal argument. 

Abi was a bit older than Cody by a few years. She’s a fierce little firecracker with Cody, but sweet as can be to everyone else. The neighbors call her spunk, sweet with just a little bit of a spice if you get on her bad side. Cody, on the other hand, was as stoic as they come for a 20-year-old; quiet and kept to himself. When he got outside with Abi, you would never guess he was shy as a hermit. 

“Ashley… Cody… come get your food,” our mother would call for us around seven in the morning everyday for breakfast. The morning Abi’s family moved in was peculiar because mom had made our breakfast bowls but she never called for us. Our mom's girlfriend had let us go outside to play when I noticed Abi’s mother and ours talking in Abi’s driveway behind the moving truck. I wondered if I was going to see a cute handsome fella, but instead, I quickly realized Cody was going to be the one in for a treat when he got a glimpse of the new neighbor girl. I looked at Cody and his eyes were dead set on Abi as she was smelling the fresh dandelions in her new front yard. Abi came trotting over to the fence to greet us. She walked so gracefully and her curls were breathtaking. Almost immediately, Cody turned away and ran inside the house. I gave Abi a friendly look and followed Cody inside. I saw Abi from the window with a curious look on her face as if she had been rude or done something wrong. Neither of those things were true, it was Cody who began the unkindness. From that moment onward, Cody and Abi never had friendly interactions. 

A few weeks went by, Abi and her mother came by for a playdate. They didn’t stay long because Cody was awfully rude to Abi. Abi’s mother and ours just thought they needed to get to know each other on their own first. 

It was incredibly hot outside and the birds were chirping so happily. I saw Abi in her backyard from our sliding glass living room doors. She seemed so perfect and angelic the way she walked was pure and I admired her genuine beauty. I looked over at Cody and noticed his eyes were focused on her as well. I slowly turned my head back because I didn’t want him to catch me spying on him. I desperately wanted to know why Cody was so ugly toward Abi, but he never shared anything with me. 

Our mother and her girlfriend had split up some time later. Mom let me spend a few weekends with her since she didn’t have any family and mom hated knowing she was all alone. I loved visiting my mom's girlfriend er- ex-girlfriend. She lived in a tiny house but she had a pool on the side of it. She let me play in the pool almost everyday! It reminded me of Abi’s house because they have a pool in the backyard as well. I wondered if Cody and Abi began getting along while I was away. One weekend I went to visit and she got a puppy. After that weekend, I never saw her again. I guess that was the type of company she needed and my presence was no longer wanted. It didn’t bother me since I was always worried about Abi and Cody.

I did notice when I stopped visiting mom’s ex on the weekends, Cody and Abi’s relationship had blossomed… into a nightmare. I was observing them from the sliding glass doors and hated what I saw and heard. They began yelling belligerently at each other. I looked over at mom and she wasn’t even concerned. She just kept walking around the kitchen cooking something that smelled divine. When Cody returned from the backyard, I gave him the strangest look but he acted as if nothing was wrong. 

The yelling goes on for what feels like eternity, until one day I hear something worse. I was laying on my mom's bed taking a nap and the most gut-wrenching squeal was coming from the backyard. I ran to the sliding glass doors to get a peak at what the noise could be. It was Abi… in our… backyard! Cody was on top of her, then Abi was on top of him. They were rolling around in the grass moving so fast I couldn’t tell what was happening. I ran to mom for help but I couldn’t find her anywhere. I don’t think mom is home. I ran outside to try to stop them. As I was running outside, Abi’s sister and mother were making their way over as well. Abi’s mother was crying, running with her hands in the air. Abi’s sister jumped effortlessly over their second story back deck and again over the chain link dividing fence. By the time Abi’s sister made it over the fence, Cody was on top of Abi. Abi’s sister kicked Cody just hard enough to get him off of Abi. She scooped Abi up in one arm and jolted back over into their territory. Abi’s sister carried Abi back inside and within a few minutes, they all hurriedly piled in the car and took off. I sat there in the grass with Cody. Neither one of us said anything to each other. 

Later that day, Abi’s mother and mine were in our living room talking about what exactly happened. I stood by the door in the hallway trying not to make a sound as I eavesdropped like any other older sister would. Apparently, Abi had found a hole in the fence just big enough for her to slide under. Abi’s mother believes Abi and Cody were just playing around and Cody didn’t realize his long Manchester Terrier legs had the strength to break Abi’s Toy Poodle Hip. They brought home the bill from the animal hospital and our mom begged to pay for Abi’s hip replacement entirely. Abi’s mother and ours agreed they would split it in half. 

Abi’s father replaced the chain link fence with a wooden fence, I could no longer see into their paradise of a backyard. During the renovations, I would see Abi’s family take turns walking her around the neighborhood. Poor thing looked so pitiful, she had to have her hair shaved off all along the area where her stitches were. She also had to wear this awful blue cone around her head for a long while after. When the fence was put up, we never heard the barking and I never saw Abi again.