My Neighbor-s Son Part 1: - Jack Radley Rafael...

And I knew, with absolute certainty, that was a lie. End of Part 1.

Tonight, my father had yelled at me for two hours about my “attitude.” Tonight, my chest felt like a clenched fist. I couldn’t sleep. So I did what I always did when the walls felt too close: I slid my window open, swung one leg over the sill, and dropped onto the old oak branch that stretched between our houses. My Neighbor-s Son PART 1 - Jack Radley Rafael...

I should have climbed back inside. I should have pulled the window shut and locked it and forgotten this ever happened. But something about the way he said my name—like it was a secret we now shared—kept me there. And I knew, with absolute certainty, that was a lie

“He’s your age,” my mother said, peering through the blinds. “Maybe you’ll be friends.” I couldn’t sleep

I rolled my eyes. I didn’t need friends. I had a plan: finish high school, move to the city, become invisible until then. New people meant questions. Questions meant answers. Answers meant trouble .

He was perched on his own roof, one knee drawn to his chest, a cigarette burning between his fingers even though he couldn’t have been older than me. The moonlight hit his face—sharp jaw, dark eyes, a small scar cutting through his left eyebrow. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at the sky, like he was waiting for something to fall.