Young Annabelle Series: Young Annabelle, The Truth About James, What My Heart Wants

by Sarah Tork

  James grinned. “Nothing would make me happier!”

  I laughed.

  “I should take you home.” James said, sadly. I checked the time on his dashboard and it was just past 1am.

  It was really late.

  “I think that would be for the best. I don’t want to get into trouble with the parentals any more than I already am.” I chuckled, resting my head against his shoulder.

  “Before we head off though, we’ve got another little problem we need to address first.” James alerted, sounding serious all of a sudden.

  “What is it?” I asked, leaning away from his shoulder, eyeing him confusedly.

  A sneaky smile broke out on his face. “What am I going to do about this?” He eyed the bulge in his pants.

  My jaw dropped and I hit his shoulder playfully. “James, that’s disgusting!”

  He pulled me in, hugging me. “No it’s not. This is because of you.” He told me sweetly, a fraction of an inch away from my lips.

  “Really?” I sighed.

  “Really.” He replied and then kissed me.

  *~*~*

  He held my hand as he drove to my street. “You love me?” James asked after he’d parked at the curb, three houses away from mine. Our hands were still clasped tightly.

  I took a moment, and then answered him. “Yeah, I do.”

  He didn’t say anything and I didn’t say anything. We just basked in silence, letting the words linger.

  They were beautiful.

  I gave him a smile. “See you tomorrow?”

  “I can’t wait.” James murmured. I got out of his car, stepping into darkness. The streetlights were off and the houses also had their lights off. I was about to head towards my house when an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me to a stop.

  “You forget something.” I whispered, staring deep into his beautiful green eyes, while clasping his shoulders.

  He tilted his chin down. “Yeah, this.” His hands clasped both sides of my face and he lowered, pushing his lips against mine with a passion of a thousand suns. After a few seconds, he pulled back, panting. “See you tomorrow morning, and just so you know, I’m picking you up.”

  I grinned, another fool-like one. “Good to know.”

  *~*~*

  “Annabelle?”

  Great….not even an eyelid open and mom was already hot on my case the next morning. I glanced at my alarm clock and groaned on the down low. It was 6:30 in the morning.

  This was not good.

  It was only a few hours ago that I crawled back into bed. Then it took another half an hour to fall back asleep. Then I remember that I slept a few hours before meeting up with James. So waking up at 6:30 in the morning didn’t seem like such a hard task. I wouldn’t be tired at school today and most of all I wouldn’t be tired for my ride to school today. Maybe waking up this early had its perks, like for instance I had extra time to get ready.

  I needed to look extra special today. “Thank you mom.” I whispered to myself and got out of bed.

  There was a knock on my door again. “Annabelle?”

  Oh yeah…Mom.

  I took a deep breath and prepared. “Yeah?” I called out, rushing back into bed and under the covers.

  “Can I come in?” She murmured from the hallway. “I want to talk to you.”

  I grimaced as a feeling of dread washed over me. She wanted to talk to me? Didn’t she do enough of that yesterday when she and Dad practically ambushed me into eating more than I had wanted to? They made me feel like I had a problem.

  I did not have a problem…..not to that extent at least.

  I closed my eyes, and took a few breaths, hoping to let out some tension from that horrible memory of dinner last night. I just had to be strong, listen to what she wanted to say, and then after a well-deserved apology from her to me, she could leave and I could get on with my day and all the happiness that would follow. “You can come in.”

  The door opened slowly and mom slid in, closing the door behind her, it barely making a sound. She shuffled in her blue paid pajama shorts and grey shirt over to my bed as I sat up, leaning against the headboard. She sat on my bed Indian style and exhaled. “I know it’s early, but I woke up early and last night’s been on my mind.”

  “It’s been on my mind too.” I murmured.

  She just sat there and stared at me.

  “What is it mom, what did you want to talk about?” I asked, wanting to get it over with so I could get ready for James’ arrival, which I had yet to know when he’d be arriving. I eyed my phone in its charger, seeing if the screen lit up from any messages.

  James was probably still asleep.

  “I’m so sorry.” Mom whispered, sounding tortured. It snapped me out of my daze. I’d never heard her tone of voice go there before. “I’m sorry Anna.

  However, her tone of voice did little appease the SICK feeling that would arise every time last night’s dinner would invade my mind. An apology….for now was just the beginning for her to make it up to me.

  I wasn’t going to make this easy for her. “You said you weren’t going to act like ‘psycho mom’ again. But last night you went right back to it. You even got dad involved.” I accused, practically snarling at her. “I don’t have a problem like you think I do.”

  Mom blinked several times, shocked by the outrage coming from me. “That’s where you and I differ. I think, you have a tiny issue with eating proper meals now, and before you say anything else, I agree, it is my fault. I kept pushing you and pushing you and it somehow became ingrained in your mindset and you kept going on the diet path. Right now, you’re at a healthy weight for your height and age and it’s time to stop the diet.”

  I was at a healthy weight for my height and age?

  Really?

  Could I stop…cold turkey…and return eating normally. I’m talking no more all salad lunches. I’m talking a tall glass of cola with my meals. I’m talking chili fries and a hot dog for lunch on Saturdays at the Club.

  Could I go back to that?

  What if I gained all the weight back?

  If I’m being honest….I don’t know if I can.

  I guess….I needed a lesson or two in eating in moderation, eating responsibly, eating healthy but not to the point where I scared everyone around me.

  It was time to put my big girl panties on and start making things right regarding this matter, even if the threat of mom and dad giving me a hard time about it in the future doesn’t cease. What if I fixed ‘this’ and they still acted like ‘that’? What about the next problem they find with me? Are they going to hound me until I break again, insisting that I make ‘changes’, because it’ll be so much better that way?

  What if it never ends?

  I sighed and pulled the blanket off of me, sitting Indian style as Mom was. “I don’t disagree with you. I need to eat more than just salad. But I also don’t need you and dad jumping down my throat for not doing what you want me to do. I’m not a baby. I know how to serve my own portions.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. We all just got carried away.” Mom murmured, sounding a tad shameful. I wondered how she would act if her Mother treated her like this? Would she have reacted like me or would she have taken it like a good little daughter would have, not daring to talk back, obliging out of respect?

  I wasn’t going to be the ‘good’ little girl they wanted me to be. I was on the cusp of adulthood. I have my own mind. I make my own decisions, with or without their approval. “I don’t want you touching my food anymore. I’m going to be serving myself from now on, no matter the situation.” I told her.

  Her jaw dropped, looking horrified that I’ve just taken back that ‘power’. “But you’ve been only eating salad and smaller portions during dinner. I’m scared that you’ll go down that path, and then it might be too late.” Mom stressed.

  “It’ll be fine.” I assured her. “I’ll be fine, just stop stressing me out. I have to be the one who controls this, not you.”

&
nbsp; “Okay, fine.” Mom sighed, sounding frustrated. “I’ll take a step back.”

  “For good?” I asked, warily.

  “For now. That’s the best I can offer.” Mom said, getting off my bed. “Anyways, I’m glad we had this talk. Everything will be better again, promise. You’ve got some time before you have to go to school, do you want to go back to sleep?”

  I nodded, even though I wasn’t tired anymore, but just to get her out of my room. She leaves without another word, closing the door behind her. I sighed in relief, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of me.

  Last night during dinner was total drama. I was a cry baby, Mom and Dad were losing it over what I ate and didn’t. The mission from now on was to avoid situations like that…for the rest of my life. I had too many things to worry about already, and my parents breathing down my neck again was the last thing I needed.

  I needed to control this, before it was too late. Lucky for me, I’m good at bouncing back in times of trouble. I smiled, reaching for my phone, pulling it from the charger. James was probably sleeping, but I wanted to know what time he’d be coming to pick me up.

  Annabelle: You awake?

  My phone beeped a few seconds later.

  Tiger: Good morning baby.

  I smiled.

  It was indeed, sort of.

  CHAPTER 46

  Today.

  Today, besides being rudely woken up by Mom, I’d woken up with a smile on my face. It was a far contrast to mornings of the past couple of weeks. After the ‘talk’ with Mom, the smile returned. Unlike previous smiles from when James and I were together secretly, this one felt genuine.

  Genuine to my soul, to my state of mind, to each beat of my heart. I no longer hoped things were going to be okay, because deep down I knew they would be.

  Call me the optimist why don’t you.

  I don’t care.

  Judgment be gone!

  There was no room for pessimistic ‘He’s only going to hurt you again’ talk in this room. For the God of Love has casted her rainbow shine through me and everything I own. I wanted to jump high in the air, scream at the top of my lungs, twirl with the ferocity of a tornado to create a comparable electricity that I could pass on to everyone around me (Except for Donna, she could go to hell), just so they could all feel….sigh….this kind of happiness.

  Maybe this wasn’t healthy too…feeling like this, because of him. Because of James.

  Damn it…..yet another ‘issue’ I’d need to get a grasp on.

  The last of the wave of exhilarating emotion quickly gets pushed through the window as memories of yesterday resurfaced. Regarding Jenna and the Swim team. How was I going to deal with them today? I guess I’d deal with that issue when I’d come face to face with it at school today.

  I changed into my purple tank top and blue skinny jeans. In the kitchen, I forgo my healthy cereal for breakfast in favor of a healthy calorie crazed nutrition bar as I was in a hurry. I grabbed two nutrition bars and showed them to Mom just as I was leaving from the bottom of the stairway.

  “Why are you leaving so early?” Mom asked, still in her pajamas from the top of the stairs, her long hair in a tight bun.

  “I’m meeting up with Jenna to go over some notes for History. We’ve got a quiz coming up soon.” I explained. I was totally lying to her. She didn’t need to know about James. We settled on some issues this morning, but that didn’t mean I trusted her with information of this nature.

  Too sensitive.

  Imagine if she brought it up the next time we fought?

  I could picture it, and it wasn’t pretty.

  So James would be a part of my private life.

  Indefinitely….or at least till Prom.

  “You don’t have to eat two to make a point.” Mom sighed, sounding distressed.

  I shook my head. “I’m not, this extra one is for later, in case I get hungry. Anyways I gotta go, bye.” Without waiting for her to respond, I grabbed my bag and exited the house. James’ SUV was running idly a few houses down. I ran to his car before Mom could peek through the window. I opened the unlocked door and slid inside, a blast of air conditioning colliding onto me. I didn’t mind the SUV’s extreme coolness, it was especially hot today. On to things warmer to the heart though, before I could even say hello or wow its cold in here, I was pulled into a tight hug as soon as I shut my door.

  My baby missed me?

  James squeezed me tighter……so I guess the answer was YES!

  A few glorious minutes later…..

  “I just want to hold you.” James murmured into my neck. “This is my spot right here.”

  “Oh yeah.” I giggled, rubbing my cheek against his searing hot skin. “Your air conditionings on full blast, but your skin’s freaking hot. Why are you so heated?”

  “I’m a little on edge.” James sighed, letting out a deep breath. “But it’s all good. I’ve got you, here, with me. I just have to hold you and all the shit from home goes away in an instant.”

  I squeezed his shoulder. “You got into it with your dad again?” I asked.

  “That asshole had the nerve to stop me as I was leaving to lecture me on the proper way of giving respect and that my brain was small.” James murmured, sounding exhausted. “He got in my face after.”

  “Why?” I asked, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to sooth the stress out of him.

  “Thank you, baby.” He hummed into my skin, his arms growing tighter around me. “Because, I wouldn’t give him anything to use against me. My face was neutral. That asshole was so mad by the time I left. It was priceless.”

  I chuckled at his description. “So I take it you didn’t have breakfast this morning?”

  “No, I walked out before he could piss me off some more.” James grunted, pulling back and lowering his arms back down into his seat. I missed his warmth already as the A/C gave me goose bumps.

  I leaned back into my seat, rubbing my prickled arms and took out the extra nutrition bar from my bag, handing it to him. “Here.”

  He took the nutrition bar from my hands slowly, staring at it. After a few seconds, he murmured, still staring at the bar. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” I sighed, leaning my head against my seat.

  James began unwrapping the bar. Halfway through releasing the bar completely from the wrapper, he eyed me amusedly. “So Fireball, are you going to fix my wounds.” James smirked.

  “I don’t know Tiger, I’m kind of still bleeding from that nasty fight I had with my parents last night. Are you going to fix mine too?” I bantered back, playfully.

  James reached over and squeezed my hand. “Babe, there’s nothing I’d rather do then make you happy.”

  This was one of the greatest moments of my life. So I made a wish. I wished it would always be like this. We’d had enough bad times in the past. Now, it was our time to be happy and enjoy each other to the fullest without worry of outside parties, or complicated situations interfering selfishly.

  I hoped……my wish stayed true.

  James ate his nutrition bar fast, finishing it in three bites. Following the promise I made to myself this morning, I ate mine too. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel like I overate or anything. In fact, I could probably eat again if I wanted to.

  “I’m still hungry. You mind if we go to Denny’s for some more breakfast?” James turned on the car and faced me before pulling away from the curb.

  “Yeah, that sounds nice.” I grinned, feeling….amazing. We were going to have an official breakfast together for the first time.

  Are you listening….God of Love…..THANK YOU….Thank you…..

  I know…I’m lame…but I don’t care.

  We drove to Denny’s, squeezing each other’s hands, listening to music and leaving the crap involving our parents behind. Once in Denny’s we had about an hour before we had to head to school. The restaurant was crowded, but right when we arrived a table left.

  A booth.

  Our first booth to
gether!

  “We should do this every week.” James said, pulling me down the booth and into his side.

  I gazed at him with stars. “Like every Friday morning?”

  James nodded. “Yeah, it’ll be our new thing.”

  I grinned, feeling my heart beat rapidly. “Breakfast before class every Friday, from now on?”

  James nodded, giving me a sweet smile and squeezing my waist. “Yeah. Sounds like a plan.”

  *~*~*

  After a….relaxing breakfast, we headed to school forty five minutes later. James had a huge plate of chocolate chip pancakes and three large orange juices. My jaw was wide open as I stared at him down each glass as if they weren’t even a drop in the bucket.

  I guess he was a growing boy.

  I had eaten the nutrition bar and in my mind if I was being honest I thought that was enough for breakfast. But I wanted to break this bad habit of monitoring calories every second, so I ordered a bowl of cornflakes loaded with strawberries and two percent milk, with a small glass of orange juice.

  “You ready, baby?” James placed both his hands gently on each side of my face.

  I took a deep breath. “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Just so you know, we are officially about burst Donna’s bubble.” James mentioned, widening his eyes like it was ‘big’ what we were about to do.

  It probably was. Donna wasn’t known for not getting what she wanted.

  I smiled at the news nevertheless. “So today just became the absolute best day of our lives?”

  “You’re damn right it is!” James grinned, then leaned in and pressed his lips against mine for a quick kiss that was as far from chaste as possible. I felt every molecule in my lips ignite as if fireworks had been imbedded inside them.

  How come he was such a good kisser?

  “Let’s do this.” He murmured after pulling away, staring deep into my eyes. I nodded, grabbing his hand away from my face and interlocking it with mine.