Anna and Jackson

by Tigris Eden

  “What does her being white have to do with any of this? You’re being ridiculous.”

  “No, you are, if you think I’m just going to sit around and be your side piece.”

  “Annabelle Macon, who the hell has been filling your head with this shit?”

  “No one, Jax, I can read between the lines.”

  His voice drops lower, and he growls, actually growls in my ear. “You know what? You’re being immature. I thought I was with a woman. I can see now, I’m not.”

  “Right. Whatever. I don’t have time for this back and forth. Are you going to let me get my stuff from your place or what?”

  “Yeah, come get your shit, Anna.”

  The phone disconnects.

  My chest caves in, and in that moment I can’t stand straight, so I lean over the railing for support. His words hit me that hard.

  Come get your shit, Anna.

  Just like that, it’s over. Over before it even started. My phone rings again and its Joey. I’m pissed at her too. She didn’t tell me Jackson was engaged. She’s supposed to be my best friend. I couldn’t admit it to myself yesterday, but last night after I’d gone to bed, I thought about all the crazy that had let up to that point it time. Somewhere in all this, I was angry with Joey.

  “What?” I breathe into the phone.

  “Anna, honey. You okay?”

  “No, I’m not okay. Your brother and I just broke up.”

  “What, because of Vivian? Anna, that’s just foolish. She kissed him. Not the other way around.”

  “That’s not what I saw last night, Joey.”

  “Well, did you at least talk to Jackson and let him explain?”

  No, and I’m going to, there is nothing more left to say.

  “I got shit to do, Joey.”

  “Oh, you got shit to do? Like what? Run back to New York, lick your wounds, and figure out another way to sabotage yours and Jackson’s relationship?”

  “I didn’t do that. I’m not the one who was kissing their ex-fiancé. An ex I had no clue existed. Like ever. Wonder why that is, Joey?”

  She sucks in air over the phone and I know she is about to go on some long outrageous rant. “You just back your mouth up, Anna. First off, I didn’t tell you about Vivian because I knew she wasn’t going to last. Why would I want to have you all butt hurt over my brother getting married to some model when I knew it wasn’t going to happen?”

  “Nice, Joey, so what, you were trying to protect me? Is that it?”

  “Yes, and I see that I was right. Look at you, Anna. You’re over at Lola’s probably planning to go on the attack against my brother. When all he tried to do was love you.”

  “Well, let me explain a few things to you, Joey. First off, I know what he tried to do, but it’s not going to work. He wanted to run my life, make me choose between him and my career. Then this shit with Vivian jumps out at us from nowhere and next thing I know, they’re all at your place playing family. How the hell do you think that makes me feel?”

  “Anna, it wasn’t like that. We were all at Mama’s house and she suggested we show Ava the mansion.”

  “Yeah, well your mom is a manipulative little cow, and if you can’t see what she’s doing then you’re just as blind as your dumb ass brother.”

  “You don’t mean that, Annabelle.”

  “I do. Come on, seriously? You know your mama doesn’t like me. Doesn’t think I’m good enough for Jackson. She is all but foaming at the mouth trying to hook him up with Vivian. She made that clear at the pharmacy this morning.”

  “The pharmacy. You mean Johnson’s Pharmacy, down on Hilde?”

  “Yes. She was telling anyone who would listen how she was expecting to be planning a wedding that her little granddaughter could be in. Who else here in town is getting married that Corrine Storme would be up in arms about, huh?”

  I wait for Joey to answer. When she doesn’t, I keep talking.

  “Yeah, exactly. Now I’m going to your brother’s to pack my shit, and then I’m out. I love you, Joey. You’re my best friend, but right now, I can’t be around you. Any of you, for that matter. I’m obviously not mature enough to handle all that comes with Sheriff Jackson Storme.”

  I don’t give her time to answer. I hang up before she can.

  “Girl, I see it now. Your last name may be Macon, but you is a Danvers through and through.”

  “Plug it up, Lola. I don’t want to hear any more coming from you. Not right now.”

  Lola places her hands on the porch rail and grunts. She wants to say more, but knows better, and doesn’t.

  “Let me grab my keys and then we can go.”

  I walk inside and grab my wallet. It isn’t our place, or even my home. It’s his.

  He’s not there when I get to his house to pick up my stuff. One of his deputies meets me at the door to let me in. He hasn’t even tried to stop by and see if I even show up. That stings more than walking into a hornets’ nest. In the back of my mind, I expected him to show up. Plead his case, just so I can see him one more time. But I know better. I think I don’t want drama in my life, but obviously, I do. If he had turned up, I wouldn’t have left. I would have found a way to make him choose me instead of Vivian. Drama. Too much drama. I know this isn’t General Hospital, or The Young & the Restless. That’s not what this is. It’s real life, and real life hurts.

  The house is cold when I walk in. My items are just where I left them two days before. The guestroom. My camera equipment is in the hallway, my clothes are half packed, half unpacked. Even my toiletries are untouched. It’s as if I was a guest staying at a bed and breakfast. I checked in, and now I’m checking out. I make Lola stay in the car. There is no reason for her to come in and start more trouble.

  I quickly pack my clothes and walk out in the hall to grab my camera equipment. There aren’t even photos of us in his home. Not on the bedside table and not on the walls. He isn’t one for pictures. I knew that, and it hadn’t bothered me before, until now. I don’t have one single picture of us that I could take with me. Not one. I look around at Jackson’s home and realize quickly how painful it will be. I may never see this place again. He turned the bed and breakfast into a family home. A family home that I wouldn’t help build with him. Why do I want to stay so badly now? Because you’ve been ousted.

  Ava would grow up here. Vivian would be sleeping next to Jackson every night and waking up to him every morning. She’d get to feel his stubble against her skin. Snuggle in bed with him and have lazy days. Me, I’m going back to New York on the first plane I can get. Back to my small, one-bedroom apartment. Back to the hustle and bustle of city life. I’d have my mother come up and visit me now. There is no way I’m coming back to Beauville. Not now, and maybe not ever.

  What about Joey and Treat?

  There was that, but I’m positive that if I get a bigger place, they would be more than willing to come up and see me. I hope that Joey will still want me to be the baby’s Godmother, although technically, I’m the baby’s aunt. The only person that knows that is me, my mother, Rufus, and of course, my real father, William Cavanaugh.

  With the last of my bags packed, I walk out to the car and load my stuff into Lola’s car. I take longer than I should have. Holding out hope that Jackson would show. That just as I’m closing the trunk, I’d turn around and he’d be there. But he isn’t. I’m emotionally devastated even though I feel this is the best for me. The best for him. All we’d do is drive the other crazy. Things are just too strong. Our spectrum of emotion tends to go from zero to one-hundred in less than sixty seconds. That can’t be good for any relationship.

  “Did my mother say which house she was going to be working at today?” I ask Lola.

  “No, she didn’t. But I know where she’ll be. She’s over at the Boudreaux’s. It’s Saturday.”

  “Take me there please, and then after, I’d like to go to the airport.”

  “You’re not going to stay, even to visit with your mama?”

&nb
sp; “Did that already. She’ll understand.”

  Lola nods and drives us over to the Boudreaux’s. They live up on the hill, past the Storme mansion. When Lola makes the turn up the long road, I don’t even look as she passes Jackson’s childhood home. She drives a few houses over to where Bo and Hadley live. Jasmine is in the yard playing with her children, and Bo and Hadley were up on the porch sipping lemonade.

  “Why, Annabelle Macon, you looking for your mama?”

  “Yes, ma’am, Miss Hadley. She in the house?”

  “Sure is. She’s in there telling that new girl Inara a bit about herself. Girl went and messed up my flower beds after I told her not to touch my bushes.”

  Inara is working here now?

  Bo nods, letting me know it’s okay I go inside. I step through the screen door and find my mother in the kitchen. She is chewing out Inara.

  “Girl, you need to get it together. If I wasn’t here to save you, Hadley would have had your ass in the fryer.”

  “Ma’am.”

  “Now get back to work. Start with the bathrooms upstairs.”

  “Yes, Ms. Macon.”

  “It’s Pearl, now go on, and get.”

  I stand there watching my mom. She is never harsh with anyone, just tells it like it is.

  “Mama?”

  She turns in my direction, smiling at first, before she lets the smile fade.

  “You’re leaving, aren’t you? I can see it all over your face. My baby is leaving.”

  “It’s time for me to go. It didn’t work out with me and Jackson.”

  “You sure, honey?”

  “Yes, Mama, I’m sure. I’ll send for you when it warms up. Okay?”

  “If I can get time off, then yeah, okay.”

  I walk over to her, giving her a big bear hug before letting go.

  “You remember what I told you?”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “Girl, you know he’s going to come for you.”

  “Doubt it, mom. I really doubt it.”

  “Watch, girl. I know what I’m talking about. He’ll be there. If not, then he is the one that’s losing out, baby girl.”

  Is he losing out? Because right now I feel like the one who’s lost.

  “Aah, Mom, you have to say that. I’m your daughter.”

  “Damn straight. But Pearl Macon doesn’t tell tales.”

  I kiss her on the cheeks before heading for the front door, but not before Inara catches me in the hall to spew her venom.

  “I told you to enjoy him while it lasted.”

  I ignore her and keep walking.

  “He isn’t at all the man you think he is. Trust me. I just saved you from his brand of love. You’d want nothing to do with what Jackson Storme calls loving I would know.” Inara says matter-of-factly.

  I stop then. Turn and walk back over to her. I know she is baiting me, but I walk over to her anyway.

  “You don’t know the first thing about Jackson.”

  “Oh, honey, you’re foolish if you think you have the market cornered on that man. His tastes are extreme. When I was with him, it wasn’t always just him and me. Back in the days, it was me him, and Treat. The three of us.”

  I quickly try to hide the shock that I’m sure is evident on my face.

  I don’t believe her. Can’t. There was no way Treat would do that to Joey or Jackson for that matter.

  “You don’t believe me, do you? I have proof if you want it.”

  “I don’t need proof. You can spread your lies to someone else.”

  “Don’t worry, honey. His secret is safe with me.”

  “Yeah, well good for you.”

  I leave. I’ve had enough drama to last me three life times. It’s time to go home to the comforts of my apartment–back in New York.

  Give and Take: Chapter 10

  My apartment looks the same as it always does when I return. A little cold, and somehow a little messy. I task myself with cleaning because it occupies my mind. It takes me all of two hours to clean my small apartment. The music is blaring, and I am determined. If I just keep busy, I won’t think about him. Only that isn’t true. Every ten seconds I remember something he said or did and be sad again.

  My phone rings. Turning down the music, I answer without checking to see who it is.

  “Anna. Where are you? I’m here.”

  Talia.

  “Here where?”

  “Beauville.”

  I shake my head at my ceiling and sigh. The irony of it all.

  “Talia, I’m back at my place in New York.”

  “You are? Well I’m here at Jackson’s and honey, let me tell you. There is a little girl here claiming to be his daughter. She looks nothing like you, and besides, I would know if you had a five-year-old little girl running around, now wouldn’t I?”

  “Yes, Talia you would. Jackson and I are no longer together.”

  “Oh, I know, honey. He made that clear to me in a way that was interesting.”

  Oh. My. Fucking. God. Talia slept with him. Slept with him! That was her tell all sign when we were in college. Whenever the coast was clear, she would use that very line. She did it with all her friends, which was why she has no female friends. The women in Justice Hall knew not to let Talia Wilson anywhere near their men, otherwise they are snatched up the moment they turned them loose.

  “Are you serious right now, Talia? Tell me you’re joking.”

  “You know there’s only a five second rule. And you’ve been gone for over a day. You knew he was going to turn to somebody. Might as well have been me. This way he doesn’t get with Vivian. Who by the way is a client of Felix’s. Did you know that?”

  Why would I want to know about her being a client of Felix’s?

  I want to scream. Talia is nonchalant about my situation with Jackson. I’d only been gone a day, fewer than twenty-four hours. My stomach hurts and I feel like throwing up what I ate the day before, which wasn’t much. This ensures Jackson and I were never going to be together again. This was the deal breaker of all deal breakers.

  “No, but what I do know is that if I ever see your face again, anywhere near me, Talia, I mean within eyeing distance, I will fuck you up. You’ve seen Vivian’s face right? I’ll make you look a hundred times worse.”

  I throw my phone into the wall, crushing it into a million pieces.

  Cheap ass phone.

  Now I need to get a new one.

  I am not going to stoop to his level. As much I want to be simple minded, and spiteful, I’m not going to hook-up with a random. Not even an ex. Nope, not me, not Anna Macon. What I am going to do is get my ass back to work. Full speed ahead. I’m going to call my boss at Stage One. Take the first job available on the other fucking side of the ocean.

  “Did she answer?” Jackson walked out on to the porch and waited for Talia to respond. She had offered to call Anna. She wasn’t taking his calls, or even Joey’s for that matter. Everything was so fucked. He just needed to talk some sense into her. She’d pissed him off when she called to say she was coming to pick up her stuff. She’d been willing to dismiss their time together so easily. How could she possibly love him when, at the drop of a hat, she was ready to call it quits?

  He knew it didn’t help that Vivian had kissed him. But he was hoping she’d trust him and trust that the relationship they were trying to build together was solid. Anna hadn’t trusted him. Instead, she let fear and insecurities take her down an unnecessary path of pain. She saw what she wanted to see, manifested her own notions, and reacted. He was just as scared as she was. Jackson was reluctant to let any woman in after Vivian, but Anna had changed all that.

  You should have trusted her enough to tell her about Vivian.

  That would have made things easier. But he wasn’t sure if the outcome would have been different. Anna had built an impenetrable wall that proved difficult to take down. Especially where her heart was concerned. She was too stubborn and at the same time fragile in her sensitivity. He hadn’t realized j
ust how much work it was going to take to help build her confidence. When Vivian appeared with Ava at the airport, it might have gone down differently if he hadn’t kept Anna in the dark. It would have put a strain on them, but they would have faced the issue with eyes wide open.

  Jackson let out a deep sigh. Everything could have been avoided with a series of conversations and possibly preparation if they had just been adult enough to talk things out. He had his own issues, especially when it came to explaining his actions. He never had to discuss his decisions or choices with anyone. If he wanted Anna to be a permanent fixture in his life, he was going to have to adjust as well. Relationships were a team effort. Now it was different. He knew he had to fix this, if he could just get her to take his calls.

  “Sorry, Jackson, I tried.” Talia wouldn’t meet his eyes when she spoke. Jackson stepped closer and tried to get her attention.

  “What is it, Talia?”

  “Well, when I answered the phone, I could have sworn I heard a male in the background.”

  A male?

  “Are you sure?”

  Talia’s shoulders lifted in an unsure shrug. “This isn’t the first time,” her friend whispered.

  “What do you mean this isn’t the first time?”

  “Well, Anna is prone to go on these, these binges where she’ll sleep with anyone who’s game.”

  Jackson couldn’t believe that of Anna. Wouldn’t. She was too shy for one. His Anna had too much class. There was no way Anna would go and sleep with another man. No way.

  “You’re mistaken.”

  “I’m sorry, Jackson, but it’s true.”

  She reached out and touched his arm. He flinched. Too pissed to accept comfort from anyone. He wasn’t stupid. This wouldn’t be the first time something like this had happened. He’d been so sure about Anna. Damn sure.

  “You better leave.”

  “I was planning on staying for a couple of days before I headed back to New York. But I don’t have anywhere to stay. The hotel here is not a hotel, but a motel. My daddy would pitch a fit if he knew his daughter was staying in a place like that.”