I'm working on an update! But right now, I'm working on my writing contest proposal and I'm really nervous!!! It goes to the judges next week and I have to finish my proposal. I hope you guys understand because this is super important to me and if I win this story just might become real!!! I love you, lovies! ~Shana Alana, hopefully a future author
Boom! Update time! I apologize about my spelling mishaps and forgetting to add the chapter of the last update. But, still, enjoy this story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 8 Justin stands in front of the television in our living room and stares at me. I whine and he laughs, walking to me. "No! I changed my mind! This is too embarrassing and you'll get killed!" I say, scrambling up off of the couch. He laughs and runs to me. I dodge his outstretched arms and run into the kitchen. "I don't care!" I hear and he grabs my arms, turning me towards him. I pout and he shakes his head and picks me up bridal style. I flush and wrap an arm around his neck and place the other on his chest. He grins but I'm still pouting. I know that if my uncle comes home to what is going to happen or if Marcy or Marcus sees us like that, oh I'll have some explaining to do! Justin gently kicks the door to my room open and places me on my bed. I lie on my bed as he shuts and locks the door. Smart and stupid at the same time. If it's locked, no one will see us. But if it's locked, my uncle might come home and become suspicious. And he'll be dead. "Justin," I whine, "what if my uncle comes home? You'll be killed." "Jennifer, let's say we get married. You'd be having my children," he says, causing me to flush fiercely. He sits on the bed and takes my hands. "At the time of you calling me saying that it was time to have our baby girl or our baby boy, I'd rush to the hospital and I'd stay with you the whole time. I'd wait until they released you, drive you home, and go back to where ever I was to be. That'd be more than a few hours." That's so sweet, talking like I'd be the one to have his beautiful babies. Then it dawns on me, causing me to break into a smile. "Are you saying that you want me to have your children?" I squeak and it's his turn to blush. "Well, I mean, um," he stammers and coughs. I try not to smile at his uncomfortableness. "I'm saying that if we did, like as an example, but it's a, um, possibility." He gives me a weak smile and I just sit up, staring at him, and crazy in love. "Well," I grin, feeling my face starting to cool, "it's a possibility that I would love to be the mother of your children. It would be an honor." He flushes a brighter shade of red and grins at me. I kiss him and stand. I grab a night shirt and a pair of pajama pants. "Now, keep out of the bathroom," I say, walking into the bathroom. He laughs shakily and lets me go. I change, put up my hair, all the while grumbling about changing my hair color, brush my teeth and wipe off the little make up on my face. I walk out of the bathroom and turn in embarrassment. "Um, do you sleep in just boxers?" I ask, blushing. That's exactly what he's wearing. Just boxers. No way is that boy sleeping next to me in my bed wearing only boxers. That would definitely raise suspicion. No damn way. "Yes. Why? Like what you see?" I hear and I feel my face get hotter. "Yes, no, I don't know," I stammer, squeaking out the words. I hear footsteps and feel his arms wrap around me. I want to melt and lean on him, but that would mean leaning in on his body and feeling him practically naked. I can't do that. No way. Then there would be no holding back. "Then tell me why you seem so uncomfortable about me being in boxers," he whispers in my ear. I shiver at the feeling of his breath on my skin and want to just give in. He bites my ear at my silence, causing me to yelp and then moan. I want him to do that again. I hear him chuckle and he kisses my ear, urging me to talk. "I do not want to see anything I shouldn't and I don't want to sleep next to you while you are like that," I admit. This is crazy! There has never, ever been a guy this comfortable around me. I mean, seriously, he's alright with sitting next to me in just boxers. I could never be that comfortable to sleep in my underwear. Never, ever, ever. "Then how about a pair of pajama bottoms I can wear?" "There might be some in the attic," I say, trailing off. I haven't been to the attic in years. Ever since I helped move my dad's stuff up there, I've been too afraid to go up there. It holds so many depressing memories. "Then let's go, Jelly," he says as he turns me around. I do not look down at his boxers and grin at him. "What do you mean? If Marcy or Marcus -especially Marcy- saw you, they'd ask why you were here and what you were doing in just boxers. And then you'd corrupt Marcus and I do not need to explain anything to Marcy at the age of seven. Not that involves you looking like an almost naked, sexy beast, anyway." "I take that as a compliment. You'd look better, showing a little more skin, but I like this anyway. Now go on, my cherry-red-faced girl. Go get the pajama bottoms," he smirks and kisses the top on my head. I grin and walk out of my room, quickly closing the door, and head to the stairs. I walk upstairs and see my mom's room and the third bathroom, just down the hall. I see the empty room that used to be filled with my dad's obsession, paintings. I even see my old bedroom and the old crib room. So many memories and every one holding my father. I walk to the end of the hallway and grab the chain that holds the staircase to our attic. When the ladder falls into place, I freeze. This is the point of no return. Once I put my foot on the first step or rung or whatever you want to call it, I can't abandon my mission. I raise my foot but don't place it on the one place I can't turn back from. Can I really do this? Yes, I can. I let my foot drop and I start to climb. When I reach my attic, I wrap my arms around me and shiver. It's colder than I thought. I look around and see the boxes of my father's stuff. I slowly walk towards them, trying not to break down and cry. I get on my knees and pull a box towards me, opening it to gasp. His paintings. My father loved to paint. He would paint anything, sometimes me or Mom. I would love to watch and let him give me lessons, happily teaching me to do as he did. But I couldn't grasp what he was teaching me. I had turned to writing instead, and I still do, but I'm working on jobs a whole lot more, I can't get to it. I pick up my favorite piece. It's called "Dark Frown." It's my mother on a bad day, a day when she lost a case. She was devastated. When Dad asked her to smile, she scowled at him and gave him the inspiration. He loved my mother more than anything. His children were practically second to my mom. But, he still loved us. He loved us all. I throw it back into the box and shove it away, blinking back tears. I grab the box of my dad's clothes and sort through them, yelping every time I almost or do touch my dad's boxers. Eh, not something daughter wants, especially me. Finally, I find the pajama pants and stand. I pause before leaving and turn back to the paintings. I can't leave them here. I walk down the stairs carrying the box of paintings and the pajama bottoms on top. I couldn't help myself to leave them there. My dad would hate it for the paintings to be hidden away where no one would see. When I walk into the room, I hear a sigh. "Took long enough, Jelly," Justin says, grinning like a tease. "Sorry," I say with a shrug. "I haven't been up there is almost four years." "Why is that?" he asks as her grabs the pajama bottoms and slips them on. They fit perfectly, only a little long. At his question I purse my lips and give a light sigh. "I guess I can't hide this from you forever," I say as I place the box of paintings on my bed and he picks up a bright one. Me as a little girl in the orange dress Mom bought. He loved it and told me, "A camera can capture anything, but a painting captures the best details." I've rephrased it to me more book worthy. "Anyone can tell a story and tell anything, but authors can give out the best details." "What?" he asks, looking at me. "Does this have anything to do with the yesterday? What you and Carrie were talking about?" "Everything." I take a deep breath and consider backing out. No. Never will I back out because I'm too chicken. "It's because of my father." Justin looks at me with a confused look, but sits down. "About four years ago, a couple days after my birthday, my dad was a cop and was patrolling. He saw a guy with a broken tail light ad pulled the guy over. He took the guy's license and checked it out. Turned out, the guy was a druggie and had a warrant in another county." I take a deep breath and close my eyes. "My dad was shot near the heart when he confronted the guy and died when his lung was punctured by doctors. He, um," I sniffled and willed myself not to cry; I do not cry, "he died when I was fifteen and when the twins were five. I went into a mental depression and now I'm out of it, but memories and flashbacks hit me so badly sometimes. Like yesterday in the shop, when you gave me flowers. It hit me, talking about Marcus. He's an exact replica. I can hardly control myself when it hits me like that. I go out of it, thinking about what happened, the funeral, my depression, everything." I wipe a tear from my eye and realize that my face is wet. I didn't realize I was crying. "Oh my gosh," he whispers. "I would say 'I'm sorry' but I don't know how it feels." He pulls me into a hug, causing my tears to now pour like waterfalls. When my crying eases, he pulls back and wipes away the existing tears, not even bothering with the tears on his bare chest. "It's okay. At least you have stuff to remember him by. And I do not want you crying yourself to sleep. Come on, Jellybean. Let's get you to sleep." "Alright," I say, too tired to argue. He called me Jellybean. That's a new one, but it still fits. Justin pulls on the covers and gets under them, pulling me under with him. I don't care. I'm too tired to care that I left the door unlocked, that he's pulled me into his bare chest, that he's in my bedroom. No, I don't care. All I want to do is sleep. I murmur a, "Love you," as I fall into sleep. And, as the tiredness pulls me under, I hear him murmur something back, but I can't catch it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yay! They are so super cute together, huh? But this might not last for much longer... "There is no love that is not an echo." - Theodor Adorno The quote goes perfectly with the mood. ^.^ ~Shana Alana
Another update! Yay! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 9 "Jennifer," I hear. "Wake up." "Five more minutes," I grumble into something soft and smooth. And muscular. Muscular? Justin's chest! "I'm up!" I yelp and see Justin looking behind me worriedly. I know exactly who's behind me. Shit. I turn and see my uncle looking at us and my aunt, holding my baby cousin and staring at us in surprise. "Uncle Troy, this, uh, this isn't what it looks like," I stammer. He holds his hand up and looks down at us. "I don't care. All I want to know is this: did you use protection?" he asks, causing me to flush massively. I hear Justin try to stammer out an explanation but I stop him. "Uncle Troy, all we did was sleep. Not anything that you are thinking of. Just closing our eyes, cuddling together, sleeping. And he's wearing a pair of Dad's pajama bottoms," I explain. He looks at me and he knows I'm telling the truth. It's the look on my face, probably. And he knows I wouldn't go that far. "You went up to the attic?" he asks and I nod. He grins and reaches over to pat my head. "What's his name?" I ask. Auntie grins and holds the little boy out to me. "Josh Martin Wyatt," she says as she hands the boy to me. I hold him in my arms and feel something stir inside of me. He's so gorgeous. He's got the Wyatt eyes; beautiful blue eyes. I kiss his little nose gently and hold him close. I hear Justin sit up and lean close to me. "You look like a true mother right now," he whispers into my ear. I look back at him and grin. "Wanna hold him?" I ask. He looks at me like he doesn't know what to say. I look back at Auntie and she nods. I gently hold Josh out to Justin and he takes Josh gently. He looks down at the baby boy with this smile. It's different than the rest. It's soft and fatherly. "Jenny, I have some news for you," Auntie says. I look up at her and she grins at me. "We want you to be the godmother of Josh." I stare at her with a huge smile on my face and turn to Justin, seeing his smile. "You'd make a great godmother," he says. I kiss him gently, doing my best not to squish the boy in his arms. I hear a duet of "awes" from my aunt and uncle. "Yeah, well, I'll do it," I say and see Justin smile. "On one condition." "What?" Justin asks, looking scared. "Oh, you'll see," I grin and take the boy in my arms. I hand Josh back to Auntie. "You get dressed. I'm going to wake my little sibs and watch my aunt make breakfast," I direct to Justin and he nods, quickly giving me a hug and then letting me stand. I walk out of the room with the new parents of the family. "That boy is your boyfriend?" Auntie asks. I nod and look back at my closed door dreamily. "He's amazing. I've never been happier," I say with a grin. "Well, that's good, sugar," she grins. She hands her husband her son and she makes breakfast. I grin and go to see the twins. I swear I can her running water. The twins take their baths at night, and Uncle Troy is watching television. I stop myself from going into the twins' room and go to my door. I quietly enter my room and hear the water stop. I'm about to exit, hoping that Justin's just brushing his teeth with one of the extra toothbrushes in my bathroom. "What are you doing?" I hear Justin ask, smirk in his voice. I turn and stare at shirtless Justin, a towel around his waist. "Did you take a shower?" I ask, clamping my eyes shut. No way am I taking any chances. "Yes, I did. And I'm glad you have an extra toothbrush, but why are there fifty?" "There aren't fifty, but they're for me and Carrie and anyone else that spends the night. And I was in here because I heard the water running and it made me curious." "You can open your eyes, you know. I won't let the towel fall, Jellybean," he says. I hear his footfalls and soon they stop in front of me. "Jelly-belly, open your eyes." I slowly open my eyes as he says and see his face right in front of mine. He smiles and pecks my lips. "Out, now. Unless you wanna see." He wiggles his eyebrows and I giggle but shake my head. "I'll see you at breakfast," I say and walk out of my room. I wake the twins and lead them to breakfast. Justin's already there and I let the two seat themselves. I sit next to Justin. He wraps his arm around me and kisses my cheek, water droplets from his hair showering onto mine. "So, how did you two meet?" Auntie asks. "Um, it was what? A week ago?" I ask Justin. "Five days ago, I think," Justin says a thoughtful look on his face. "Five days! Wow, okay. Well, it was before Mom opened shop. She knows how much of a social reject I am, but she sent me out to socialize. I saw these gorgeous black flowers in the flower shop next door. I went in, looked around, and I saw some white roses." "I asked her if I could help her, but she told me she was just looking. When she looked over at the black roses, I could tell she wanted them. But she told me she didn't have any money. Then, I offered her a deal. Chocolates for a dozen black roses. We made the deal, and it ended up like this," Justin grins. "Don't forget the choking, Carrie almost eating you, Carrie making a fool out of me, and Marcus destroying the shop," I say with a scowl. I look over to Marcus and he squirms. "But, if it hadn't been for him, this would have never happened. So, thank you, you little devil." I see him grin at me evilly. "That's sweet," Auntie grins. "How's your mother?" "She's alright. But, of course, she butted her way into my love life. And this idiot eavesdropped." I elbow Justin and he just laughs, shoving bacon into his mouth. "This is not see-food, you idiot. Keep your mouth closed when you chew." Justin starts chewing in my face, his mouth wide open, and I scramble away from him. "Jerk." "You love me anyways. I heard you say that before you fell asleep," Justin says when he swallows his food. "But I already knew that thanks to your best friend." "Remind me to kill her when she shows up," I say. "Will do, Jellybean." "You two are so cute!" Auntie says. "You remind me of my sister and her boyfriend. Couldn't keep their eyes off of each other. That is, until their deaths. Car accident. Very tragic," she explains to Justin. "But at least she's with the one she loves forever." "That's sad. You know, I'm curious. Mr. Wyatt, are you related to Jelly's father or her mother?" Justin asks. "Father. And please, call my Troy or Uncle Troy, since someone is probably wanting to marry you," he grins. "Oh my gosh, Mom, don't talk like that!" I exclaim, frowning and blushing. It's true. "Oh, don't worry. I'll probably want that soon," I hear him say and I flush even more. "Justin," I whine. "Shut up!" He chuckles and stands, taking his plate with him. Auntie and I stand, taking our plates as well as Marcy's, Marcus', and Uncle Troy's. We do the dishes and I hear Justin hanging out with the twins. He'll be good for them, and they'll be good for him. Training for my children, if he's going to be the father. "Tell me, sugar, what do you think about that boy?" Auntie asks. I grin at the mention of Justin. "I think he'll make a great father. And I hope he'll be the father of my children," I say. "Sugar, know this: boys can lie and boys can act, and there will always be that one boy who seems perfect. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. But Justin, Justin seems like he loves you, even if you two haven't been together for long. I think I might want him to be the godfather of Josh. But he must marry you to do so." "Oh, I hope he will. He mentioned me being the mother of his children last night when I told him that Uncle Troy would kill him when he saw him." Before Auntie can reply, I hear squeals of happiness and only one word can tell me what is making those twins so excited. "Mommy!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mrs. Wyatt is home early! What could this mean?! You shall see. ^.^ "We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." - Dr. Seuss Totally true! I've found that someone who's weirdness is compatible with mine. Like Jenny and Justin! Anyway, give me some feedback! Love ya, lovies. ~Shana Alana
Don't let your feelings fool you but don't ignore them! You could be right. And, yes, your right. Too early for baby talk. But darlings, you have no idea what I'm planning! Another update is going to be thrown at you later tonight! Woo-hoo!
Aw, thank you. And now for the update! It's super long and has a ton of dialog. And soap opera dram just because. Enjoy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 10 I dry my hands and hear my mother say, "Oh, I missed my babies! Hello, Justin. Troy, where's Jenny?" "Jelly's in the kitchen with her aunt," I hear Justin answer. I hear footsteps and see his head pop into the room. "Jellybean, your mother's home." "So I heard," I reply. I kiss his cheek and throw the towel onto the counter. He puts his arm around me and walk into the living room where my mom is standing. "Mom, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be gone for a week with the case." "I'll explain in a minute, but first I have a few questions myself. First, why are you still in pajamas?" my mother as. "I just woke up not even an hour ago," I explain with a frown. She rolls her eyes, but continues. "Second, why is Justin here, and third, why is his hair wet like he's been in your shower?" She looks like she's accusing me of something. "Justin spent the night. He eavesdropped on our conversation and embarrassed me, so he said he stop if he could spend the night. Simple," I answer, frowning. "Cover the twins' ears," my mother says. Justin lets go of me and goes to cover the ears of one of the twins. "Go ahead," I hear Uncle Troy say and my mother nods, practically glaring at me. "Did you use protection?" she asks and I glare at her. "My God! Why is it that guys and girls can't fucking sleep over without it being a big damn deal. We just slept. Quiet, eyes closed, dreaming, sleeping. That's it! What the hell!" I rant. I huff when I'm finish. I feel Justin's arms wrap around me and I lean into him. "Okay, and watch your language, young lady. You shouldn't speak like that." I roll my eyes and huff angrily. She doesn't know how angry I get when it comes to people's ignorance and idiocy. And this is going too far. "Now, why are you home early?" I ask, watching her. "I'll tell you after you get dressed. Now go," she says. I whine and take Justin's hand. "Since Carrie isn't here, you're going to be my dressing critique," I say, dragging him with me. I slam the door to my room and throw open my closet doors. "I don't understand why she's so keen to know about my love life and why she would think something so stupid. I mean, I am not that stupid." "Jelly, calm down. She's your mother. What else do you expect? If my mother heard that..." he drifts off and groans. "Oh, shit! My mother! She has no idea that I spent the night!" I hear him dig into his pockets and groan again. "Phone's dead. She probably thinks I've been kidnapped or killed." "Then go home, if you need to. I get it," I say, pushing through my closet. I grab a skull shirt and black jeans and match them together. "What do you think?" Justin looks at the outfit and ponders over a decision. "You look good in anything," he shrugs and I just shake my head with a grin. "Typical boyfriend response," I smirk. "Well, I don't want you to bite my head off if I say the wrong thing," he says and I nod. "Well, tell me the truth. What do you think about this outfit?" "I think you need something different. Not the shirt, I like that, but no jeans. Do you have a skirt? Or even a dress? I liked you in a dress on our first date. It made you look different, and I liked it." "Hmm..." I hand him the shirt and put up the jeans. I look through my closet and find a skirt. "Huh. I don't remember buying this. Carrie must have gotten this for me. It isn't my style though." It's a light pink, and I mean like almost white pink. It has frills and is way too girly. "I think it's cute," he says. He grabs the skirt from me and pairs it with the skull shirt. "Do you have another skirt? This one is cute, but it doesn't match." I shrug and run through my closet again. This time I find a denim skirt. This one is my style. I show it to him but he shakes his head. "No jeans and that means no denim." I whine but continue to search. "I see nothing else except this black skirt my mom got me when we went business shopping together," I say, plucking the black skirt out from my closet. He looks at the outfit and grins with a nod. Well, from his point of view it probably will look good. A tight skirt and a light skull shirt, perfect. "Go change. I want to make sure it looks good," he says, shoving the shirt in my hand. He pushes me to the bathroom and I whine. "You're worse than Carrie!" I complain. "I'm getting advice from her too, don't you worry," he smirks. I slam the door and put on the outfit. It looks okay. Maybe with a jacket? When I walk out, he's using my phone. This is why I hate my best friend and boyfriend being friends. Somehow, when I started dating Justin, they became the best of friends. "Why are you using my phone?" I ask, but I know why. "Texting Carrie. Say cheese," he says and takes a picture of me. He continues texting and nods. "Find a jacket," he commands. "Good grief," I grumble and find a simple black jacket that matches. I put it on and he texts away. "Alright, let's go," he says with a grin. He keeps my phone and dials something. "Hey, Mom," he says and I leave him be. I walk into the living room and my mother gasps. My aunt giggles and my uncle smiles. "Justin and Carrie's idea. I hate it. So, what is it?" "Where's Justin?" my mother grins. "I want to thank him." "He's talking to his mother via my phone," I scowl. For once, I let someone pick the way I dress and my family is all giggly about it. What the hell? "Sorry," I hear Justin say and hand me my phone. "Yeah. Just don't hijack my phone. But not like The Hunger Games version of hijacking where you constantly dose someone with tracker jacker venom like with Peeta-" "Jennifer, we know what The Hunger Games version of hijacking is thanks to your obsession. Now shut up," my mother interrupts. I stick my tongue out at her and motion for her to continue. "Well, I'm home early because I wasn't at a case. I wasn't even in a different state. I was a few counties away. And I was with someone special. Luke?" Luke? I've heard that name before. Over the phone with mom. A man walks into the house and a boy around my age enters with him. "Everyone, this is Luke and his son Jason. And we have something to tell you," she grin. I look at the blonde man with a frown. I already don't like him. I feel a tug on my skirt and see Marcy looking up at me. "Who is that man?" she whispers. I shrug and pick her up into my arms. She needs the comfort and Justin puts his arms around me. If my dad was here, this would be a perfect pose for a new painting. "Luke has been my boyfriend for the last few years and he has proposed!" she squeals. I stare at her like she's crazy. "You said no, right?" I ask. My mother looks at me with a look of surprise and disbelief. "I asked her the same question," the young man, Jason, says. I like him. He wears black and has this "fuck the world" attitude. His neon blue hair sweeps over his eyes where you can't see them. Very me. "Of course not, Jenny. Luke is my fiancé and Jason is going to be your step brother," she smiles. "Wait, Mom, are you saying that you've been dating this man since Dad died?" I ask in anger. She shakes her head. "It was about two years ago, Jennifer. Relax," she says. "No! I will not relax! You are marrying a man that isn't my father?! I thought you loved him!" I practically scream. Justin's trying to calm me down with soothing words. Marcy is burrowing her face into my neck, knowing this can't be good. Marcus is quiet and Auntie and Uncle Troy are staring at me in shock. "Honey, sometimes you have to let go. Your father is dead. I can't change that. And I fell in love all over again," my mother explains. "No. I'm done with this crap," I say. "Honey, relax. We now have two sets of twins in the family, you have a new father figure, and you have someone to watch Marcy and Marcus," she says, trying to make me feel better. "Are you saying you married this man just because his son's birthday is the same as mine?" I ask in anger. "No!" she says too quickly. That bitch. "I can't believe you're my mother," I say. I hold Marcy close and turn. "I'm going to my room." "The wedding is on Valentine's Day," she says, causing me to stop. Valentine's Day? "Why are you telling me this, Courtney?" I ask, sick of calling that woman my mother. "So you know, Jenny. And you are my daughter. Don't call me by my name." "I will, Courtney, since you are no mother of mine." I walk away, holding Marcy close. She's crying into my neck, as sick of the situation as I am. I hear Justin's footfalls behind me. Quick to keep up. I take Marcy to her room, telling her to sleep. Then I go to my room and scramble to find a suitcase. "What are you doing?" Justin asks suspiciously. "I'm not living with that man. I have a father and Uncle Troy is the only father figure I will listen to. Auntie is the only mother figure I will listen to. Courtney and Luke are no family of mine," I answer, pulling the suitcase out of my closet. "Jelly, don't be angry," he says with a frown. "Do you live by yourself? Or with your family?" I ask, ignoring his statement. "Why?" he asks suspiciously. "I want to move out and I'd be fine moving in with you," I say. "I'm not going to wait. I just need to move out as quickly as possible." "I live by myself, but Jenny, relax. I'd love you to move in, but you are moving too quickly for your brain to process. Calm down and think. Stop and sit on the bed," he says, sitting down and patting the place beside him. I reluctantly sit next to him and he puts his hand on my back. "Jenny, family is important. And a new family member can be good and bad. It'll be good for Marcus because he'll have an older brother to look up to." "But he looks up to you. Ever since yesterday, he's been acting better than ever. You've made him behave and that's good for the family," I argue. "Marcy and you will have someone to walk you down the aisle," he says. "But Marcy and I hate him. I can tell by the way she's been acting," I argue. "You have a brother to argue with," he counters. "I like him. He's like me. Doesn't care, hates the world, hates the marriage," I reply. He sighs and stares at me. "You always have a way to argue, don't you?" "Pretty much." "What about your mom? She's happy." "So? What about the happiness of the family? My father did everything to make the family happy. She did when he was alive. Now she just cares about herself." "The chocolate shop; you love it there. And it's to help the family." "But it does nothing to make the twins happy," I counter. He's partially right. I do love it there, but at first I hated it. I thought it was a stupid idea. But chocolate was the compromise. "Yes it does. What would your dad think?" "He would hate this. He would understand that I hated it along with Marcy and Marcus and wouldn't let it happen. He loved Courtney and loved the family. If we didn't love it, he wouldn't do it. Like movie night, if I hated it, he wouldn't do it. And now, this...this is just making Courtney happy and not me. Not Marcy and not Marcus." "But he would want your mom happy. Right?" "I guess," I slowly say. He pulls me into a hug and lets me be quiet. I ponder the thought of my mother remarrying. It would be okay, I guess. But I'm not calling her "Mom" and I'm not calling Luke "Dad" or Jason my brother. Nope. "Alright," I finally say. He keeps me in his arms and soon he pulls us under my covers and we watch television, holding each other and quiet. "Hey, Jen, how's it hanging?" I hear Carrie say and she pauses when she sees us. "Did someone die?" I don't reply. I just want peace and quiet with Justin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What shall happen? You shall know. Soon! Instead of a quote, I would like to dedicate this story to all of you. If it wasn't for you lovely readers, I'd never be writing this. I thank you and I love you all. If this book ever gets published, it shall be dedicated to you guys. Love y'all! ~Shana Alana
You guys are going to hate me for the rest of the book. Or almost the rest of the book. You'll see! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 11 After a week and Justin's help, I get over Courtney getting remarried. After a month, I finally start talking to Luke. And after two months, I start helping Courtney with the wedding. I work with my soon-to-be step brother and Ryan. Justin works more at the flower shop since it's been fixed and we hardly have time to talk to each other during the day. We call each other rather than wait till our breaks. Then, when our breaks come, we eat and talk like any other couple. Ryan and Carrie started dating, thanks to my help. I was Ms. Matchmaker and told Ryan about how much Carrie liked him. Therefore, they started dating. And believe me, Carrie and Ryan should always be with someone else when in a public place. They leave the PG stuff at the door, or I should say they never had anything PG to begin with. They grope each other in public, make out in public. I'm scared to know what they do alone. It's been about five months since the announcement of the proposal and Mrs. Courtney Wyatt is going to become Mrs. Courtney Wyatt-Reynolds. She hyphened it. Luke is okay, but I still won't listen to him. Marcy has stopped calling for Courtney but for me instead. Marcus likes Justin better, but is learning a lot from Jason. Jason and I are finally nineteen thank God, and the twins have turned eight. Justin and I have stopped the baby talk and the marriage talk, in fear for Carrie and Ryan. I think they've already needed protection. "Pass me that box of chocolates, will you?" I ask Ryan. He hands them to me and I hand them to the nice customer. He pays Jason and he leaves happily. We have a good system. Jason is the cashier, I'm the checker, meaning I check to make sure all chocolates are in their places, and Ryan fills the boxes of chocolates. "Another satisfied customer," I grin and check the clock. I don't leave work for another couple hours. I've already taken my break. I grab my phone and call up Justin. "Hey, Jelly-belly, how are you?" I hear Justin say with a smile. "I'm good. Just wishing the day was over. Or you worked here rather than next door," I answer. Another customer walks into the shop and I get ready to check the chocolates. "Me too. Oh, by the way, while it's on my mind, my mom wants you to come over again. She wants to continue the lessons despite the fact you almost burn the house down." "Pass the chocolates," I say and grab the box, checking and then handing them to Jason. "I know. And I'm so super sorry about that. Tell your mother Jelly said hey." "Will do. Also, are you still up for tonight? I know you have Marcy to take care of, so I get it if you can't make it." "I'll pass the duty onto Jason." "Huh?" Jason asks and I wave him off. I really like him. You could say I love him like he's my actual brother. He's pretty cool and he's helped me dye my hair countless times since some are worried that they'll get color dye on their favorite white shirt that they so happened to choose since they were going out to grope their boyfriend. And it's Carrie, if you can't tell. "You are crazy, Jelly-J. But, hey, you live in a crazy family. And have a crazy best friend. But still, whatever." "Alright, I need to go. Because some idiot just walked in to grope her boyfriend," I say, glaring at my best friend. Carrie scoffs but kisses Ryan passionately, making me pretend to gag. "Aw, Jelly, I wish you wouldn't have to see that. Well, bye. See you after work?" "I'll count on it." I hang up and push the love birds apart. "Two things: one, this is a public shop where people come for the view of chocolates, not horny teens. Two, get the hell out of here if you two are going to grope each other on the counter." "I agree with, Jenny June," Jason says with a frown. "You two are going to make me sick." "Jealous Jason," Carrie muses. "You need to get yourself a girlfriend." "Carrie, he isn't jealous. He's right. I'm going to puke all over you two," I say with a frown. She sticks her tongue out at me and pecks Ryan's lips. "I'll see you after work, baby," she says, her hand trailing her hand along his jaw line. I want to vomit. "'Course, Carrie-Berry," Ryan says with a smile. She waves at me and walks away and out of the shop. Jason and I look at each other and pretend to gag. We laugh and he runs a hand through his now neon red hair. I put up my neon yellow hair and Ryan shakes his head at us. "You two don't get it," he says with a frown. "I do. You're a horny guy and she's already given it all to you, so you act like that," Jason says. I nod in agreement and jump onto my stool. I grab my phone and start wanting time to hurry up as Jason and Ryan start argue. ***** "Jason, dear brother, can you look after Marcy for me? Justin and I want to celebrate," I say with a grin. "Celebrate what? It hasn't even been five months," Jason replies. I roll my eyes and smile at him. "We're celebrating our love, you dolt. We've been together for so long, we want to celebrate. We aren't like Ryan and Carrie, but we just like being together because our craziness is the same." "What do I get in return?" he asks and I whine. I sit and think and I finally come up with it. "I'll work your next shift and let you keep the pay for the shift," I say. He flashes me a smile and spits on his hand, holding it out. I spit my hand and shake his hand, sealing the deal. It's how we make our deals. We don't act like brother and sister. We're more friends than brother and sister. "Thanks, Jason," I grin. "Well, if I'm taking care of Marcy, I need to head out. Have a good time with Justin," he says as he waves. "Thanks again." I watch him walk out and I walk up to the front. I turn the sign to closed and walk into the back. Ryan is washing his hands and I grin, grabbing my purse and heading into the bathroom. I change from my work clothes into my date clothes: a cute white shirt with my denim skirt and a pair of white flats. I let my hair down and pull on my white fedora, grinning at me reflection. It's time for a spontaneous night on the town with my Justin. I walk out of the bathroom and Ryan's leaning on the sink. "Ryan, what are you still doing here?" I ask. "Waiting on you," he shrugs. "You know, you look fine in that outfit." "Um, thanks?" I say and head to the front. He steps in front of my path and gives me this predator-like smile. "What's your rush, sweet thang?" he asks, walking towards me, causing me to take steps back. "I have a date with my boyfriend. We're celebrating our love," I say and hold my hand out to him, trying to stop him. Instead, he takes it and kisses my fingers. Well, this is strange. "Well, how about waiting here, and have a little time to," he whispers and brings his lips to my ear, "kiss." "Uh, hell no. I love Justin Gateley, and there is nothing to change my mind. So move your ass out of my way." He shoves me into the wall and grabs my wrists, pinning them above my head. He places his feet on mine and presses his body on mine. I can't move. I struggle against him. "Sweetheart, don't struggle," he whispers. "Now, you and I both know you want this." "What the fuck? I don't like you! I helped you get Carrie! I'm in love with Justin! Who do you think I am?" "Shush," he grins and his lips crash onto mine. I turn my face, done with this. I can't be this desirable! I'm a freak! "Jennifer, don't play hard to get with me. Just kiss me," Ryan says. I shake my head. He takes his free hand and turns my head to look into his eyes. "I know you want me. Now, this'll be our little secret, okay?" he grins. "No! I'll expose you for what you are, Ryan. You sneak and asshole! How could you?! She's my best friend!" "So? She's just a pawn. I don't really care about her," he grins, releasing his grip on my face. His lips clash into mine again and I am struggling again. I have to break his face. "Jelly, I was go-oh," I hear. No. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go ahead. Hate me. I had this planned since before I introduced Ryan, so you get the picture. Tell me what you think! "We are most alive when we're in love." - John Updike That crashed and burned for Justifer. Love ya, lovies! ~Shana Alana