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Katie Connor was 18 when she moved to Columbus, expecting the world and being let down in the first two months. Ten years later, she sat on the floor of her two bedroom apartment, surrounded by candy bar wrappers and empty cereal boxes, unemployed and alone. She had decidedly hit rock bottom.

Her stubbornness was largely to blame for her struggles. Although her parents, successful surgeons, were plenty capable of providing anything she may ask for, Katie refused to rely on them for anything. She knew she would get a job eventually, she just didn’t know when.

She had come to the conclusion that schools just simply did not like her. She was certainly qualified: she had graduated from The Ohio State University with a master’s in education and a teaching license. She had interviewed all over Ohio, from Cleveland to Cincinnati and everywhere in between. There had been a glimmer of hope in Dayton, but even then things didn’t work out.

She knew she couldn’t live like this and support herself without a job. It had been two years and her personal savings were running low. Her mind told her what to do, but her heart and her sanity told her she was crazy. In the end, her mind won out and the next thing she knew she was dialing the familiar number and debating what to say.

“Hello?”

“Hi, mom,” she said, shutting her yes as if it would make this situation cease to exist.

“Katie, to what do I owe the…pleasure?” her mother asked. Katie could see her tight lips utter the words and if she was fifteen years younger she would’ve narrowed her eyes and shot back a remark.

Caroline Connor was a mean woman, and she knew it better than anyone. The mother and daughter pair had not seen eye to eye on almost anything during Katie’s teenage years. Anytime she brought a friend over they were ‘obviously only friends with you for your money’.
According to Caroline, boys were no different when it came to their motivations: anytime they came over, the basement and upstairs were off limits. Not because they were worried a boy would take advantage of Katie, but because that was where the two safes were located.

“Can I speak with dad please?” Katie asked in a desperate tone, not wanting her mother to probe her with more questions.

“Sure, darling. Just a minute,” Caroline spoke, either unaware of Katie’s disdainful voice or simply ignoring it. Katie heard shuffling in the background, a result of the phone being passed along, and shortly after the voice of her father.

“Hello?”

“Hi, dad,” Katie said, excited to hear her old man’s voice. She and her father had always been close, Katie being the definition of ‘daddy’s girl’. They had so many things in common: their love of football, which was one of the reasons she wanted to go to Ohio State, their passion for travel, and their ability to play a tune on the piano after hearing just once.

“Hi honey, is something wrong?” Jack said, worried for his daughter’s wellbeing. She didn’t call often, and when she did it was usually to ask for help.

“I need a favor.”

-
The 2014 Chevy Malibu was going at least 70 miles per hour, but Katie couldn’t help but feel like she was moving backward. The feeling was enhanced exponentially when she crossed the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, a landmark that she was elated to be passing ten years ago, traveling the opposite direction. Returning to her parents’ home at the age of 28 was not on her bucket list, but yet here she was.

The phone call had been the hardest she had made in a while, and she could only imagine how her mother reacted when she found out that Katie would be staying with them for the time being.

She pulled up her messages to her father and typed that she was close, only ten or fifteen minute from her exit, and hit send. Shortly after, she got a message back, and her mood worsened, if that was possible.

‘Mom’s still in surgery and I have another one to go to now…won’t be home until later tonight, sorry. I’ll grab something for dinner if you want.’

Katie threw her phone into the passenger seat, growing more frustrated by the second, realizing that she would be taking all her moving boxes inside by herself. There were boxes shoved in every nook and cranny in the car in a desperate attempt to fit them all in the tiny vehicle. She still hadn’t been able to fit them all, so she would be returning to Ohio in a few weeks, probably alone. God knows her mother wouldn’t be in attendance.

She spotted her exit and her growing anxiousness made her consider just going past it and driving to a different city, maybe New York or Boston, or maybe she would turn around and head for Chcago. Maybe it was lacking teachers and Katie would get a job right away. She then remembered that she had no money left, which threw a monumental wrench in the plan.

Pulling into the neighborhood of Fox Chapel, Katie grew nostalgic, remembering all the good times of her childhood. She met her best friend Lindsey whilst playing in these streets, drawing with sidewalk chalk and playing hopscotch. If Lindsey’s parents still lived across the street from the Connors, she would’ve asked them for help. Unfortunately, they had died in a horrific car accident about a year ago, prompting Lindsey’s move to England, just to get away from the memory.

According to her father, they still haven’t met the new owner of the house. He supposedly gets home at odd hours of the night, sometimes morning, and doesn’t leave his house until ten most days. Some days, he doesn’t even leave. They have only seen one car coming and going, a black Escalade. Perhaps there was only one occupant? Katie didn’t dwell on it for too long, deciding she had better things to worry about than the neighbor with weird hours.

Pulling into the driveway, Katie came to a stop and took a deep breath before stepping out.

Popping her trunk, she finally got out of the car and walked around to the back, pulling some boxes out and setting them on the driveway. She honestly didn’t know how she got some of them in there, being that they weighed a ton and Katie certainly did not. The thought of lugging all those boxes up into the house exhausted her, and she silently cursed her parents while taking more boxes out of the trunk.

She barely noted the sound of tires behind her, only half registered the sound of a door shutting, and didn’t even notice the sound of footsteps growing closer and closer each second.

“Do you need some help with that?” Katie jumped at the sound of a man’s voice from behind her. She spun around, ready to rattle off all the possible things that could’ve happened from scaring her like that, but stopped short when she saw the gentleness in his eyes and the kindness in his slightly crooked smile.

“That would be fantastic.”

-
Sidney Crosby was returning from an afternoon practice, tired both physically and mentally. Nothing sounded better than a hot shower and a nap. However, Sidney was never one to turn a blind eye to someone in need of help, and he felt obligated when he saw the small woman struggling with boxes and suitcases.

He didn’t mean to scare her, but he had made plenty of noise before walking up behind her, so he figured she knew he was there and was just ignoring him. Regardless, he offered his help, and was shocked when he saw the genuine surprise with which she was consumed. She spun around rapidly, and though she had a look to kill, it faded fast and was replaced with stunning blue eyes, a stark contrast to her raven hair. He automatically assumed that her look faltered because she recognized him, but either she did and didn’t say anything, or she just simply didn’t know who he was. Whatever the case, Sidney was glad to not have to talk about himself.

Soon he was unloading the last box from the trunk and carrying it into the house. He took it into the pale blue room, which currently only housed a large bed, a dresser, and a TV tucked into the corner of the room. The space was free of any decorations or personal objects, making it feel empty. Add to that the color of the wall and the resulting feeling of being cold and Sidney felt bad for the woman that was occupying the room. In Sidney’s opinion, a bedroom should never feel cold or empty, and it certainly should not feel like both.

Her voice jarred him from his thoughts about the room.

“Thanks so much for helping me, I don’t know how long it would’ve taken me to do it on my own,” she chuckled. She was being completely serious. It probably would have taken her hours if you added in all the breaks she would’ve taken.

“No problem, really. It was a nice workout anyway,” he said in response, adding a laugh at the end.

“I don’t think I ever caught your name,” Katie said, fully aware that he had never stated it.

“It’s Sidney, and you are?” He asked. He decided to omit his last name, thinking she may recognize him at the mention, if she didn’t already.

“Katie,” she replied.

“Well, Katie, it was really nice meeting you. Hopefully we’ll see more of each other. If you ever need help carrying things again or just with anything, I’m right across the street,” he said, suppressing a grin.

“I appreciate that. It was nice meeting you too, Sidney,” she said. With that, he was turning back toward his house and Katie was walking backward up the driveway toward hers, a small smile etched on her face. Maybe, with an extremely cute and sweet neighbor, life wouldn’t be so bad here.

It really was like high school again, and Katie was the girl next door.