Runaway Bride (Editing)

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Angela's POV

* 2 months later *

The three of us were walking, Derrick and I holding one of Amanda's hands. She was over the moon with all kinds of emotions, excitement was the first.

'It's freaking cold.' I mouthed to Derrick and he just chuckled and shook his head at me.

What the hell was wrong with him? It was so cold and I knew it would get colder as the days came by. The snow showed up now and then but always melted away. It was Amanda's first winter that she could see the snow and play in it but she wasn't able to do that yet since there was none.

What I couldn't understand was that I had never heard her say she was to cold. I had my socks, a sweat shirt, my winter coat, a warm hat, gloves and my winter boots.

I'd seen people walk with no coat and I looked at them like they were crazy but that was how Derrick looked at me before we left the house.

'Baby, are you cold?' I asked her.

'Nope.' She said not even looking at me.

Crazy, how can I be the only one that's cold? I thought to myself.

'It's only 10 below, what are you doing to do when it's -35 with the wind shear?' Derrick asked me.

I looked at him, 'Stay inside where it's a normal temperature. I can hibernate during winter.' I said to him, being very serious but he laughed which irritated me.

Amanda laughed and I looked down to see her.

'Are you going to be like a bear or a skunk mommy?' she said laughing. She knew both of them hibernated during winter.

I looked at Derrick who was looking away from me and I could see his shoulders shaking while he silently laughed at me.

I looked at Amanda who was still looking at me waiting for an answer.

'I'll go with a bear.' I told her.

If it wasn't so cold I'd probably laugh but now was not the time to mess with me.

We turned the street corner and that's where I saw our destination. I felt the butterflies in my stomach go crazy and I wanted to turn around and run.

'We're here! We're here!' Amanda yelled out.

Amanda kept making progress, everyday she'd conquer something that the day before she wasn't ready to.

We all stop walking and looked at the building. I couldn't understand why I was so nervous while everyone else acted like it was an ordinary day.

I looked at Derrick who was already looking at me and I took a deep breath.

'Are you ready for your first day at school baby?' I asked our daughter.

She gave both Derrick and I a big smile and nodded her head.

'Yeah! Yeah!' she said, jumping.

'Okay.' I said to everyone, mostly myself to calm myself down.

Kids were running around with parents I assumed looking at them while others were in the play ground on the side behind the school. I knew there were other play ground in the back but we couldn't see them from where we stood.

When we signed Amanda up for school, they showed us around and Amanda was excited, mostly when she saw everything they had in the back outside.

Since then, all she talked about was how she was going to play in the big park outside her school everyday.

She didn't seem nervous about the other kids. She had already met the principal Mr. Zane and her teacher Mrs. Robin.

The principal made her laugh but she wasn't sure about him yet. She was still cautious with him but our girl really liked Mrs. Robin. After when we had gotten home, she said everything she liked about her future teacher. That she smelled nice, that her hair was pretty, that her clothes were nice, that she had pretty nails and that her voice was soft. When she looked at me her eyes went big and added, 'But mommy no one beats you. You are the prettiest.'

I laughed and said thank you, giving her a kiss and a hug.

I was so nervous for her, I was scared of everything that could go wrong but Derrick kept telling me that this day was going to come sooner or later. He had complete faith that our girl was going to be great.

I just told myself, we've lived 10 times worst than this it can't be that bad, hoping it was going to calm me down even more.

'Mommy we have to go in, I can't be late on my first day.' Amanda said, bringing me back to focus on today.

'Yeah, for sure.' I said looking at her. 'Let's go.' I said and we walked towards the school doors.

We walked the halls and the kids were everywhere. Everyone knew where they were going, even us but they were used to it. It was Amanda's first day but for everyone else, they've been here for 2 months already. If we had started back then, Amanda wouldn't have been ready. She would have been scared just like I was right now.

We found the door to her classroom and saw Mrs. Robin inside. Derrick knocked on the door and when she saw us came quickly to open the door.

Her class was empty so I knew we weren't late.

'Well hello.' She said, smiling.

'Are you excited?' She asked Amanda.

'Yeah. When we go outside, I'm going to play on the swings.' She said with big eyes and nodding her head the whole time.

'Well I think that is an excellent idea.' Mrs. Robin said smiling back.

'And Miss Webb and Mr. Gibson how are you?' She asked us.

'We're good.' Derrick answered quickly and for me. I looked at him and smiled.

He came closer to me and put his hand on my back like he always did. Trying to calm me down and I did the same, placing my hand on his lower back.

'Well, we're going to have a lot of fun today. We're going to do arts and craft, read books, play inside and play outside.' She said to all of us but mostly to Amanda who was having trouble to control her excitement.

All I could think about was when did this happen? When did my little girl who was terrified of everything now jumping of joy and was leaving my side.

These last few months with Derrick had changed her life so much. She still had trouble sometimes but she was a normal child. She could speak her mind when she wanted to, she had her tantrum that she never had before and she liked doing thing on her own. She kept telling us how big she was now which made us secretly laugh. Our daughter amazed us every day.

'Hi Lisa.' Mrs. Robin said and we looked behind us and a little girl came into the classroom.

She stopped walking when she saw Amanda.

'Hi.' She said to Amanda.

My hand grabbed Derricks coat and I held in my breath.

I felt Derrick rub my back. I knew he was under my coat or else I wouldn't feel him.

'Hi.' Amanda said back smiling.

'I'm Lisa. What's you're name?'

'I'm Amanda. This is my mommy and my daddy. It's my first day.' Our girl said. I was surprise she spoke at all, let alone her 3 little sentences.

'Hi.' Lisa said to us.

'Hi Lisa, it's nice to meet you.' I said and she smiled.

'You want to play? There's Barbie’s and they even have clothes! Lisa asked.

Amanda looked at Derrick and me. I bent down to be face to face with her.

'We love you very much and I'm going to pick you up right here later.' I told her.

'You're not staying?' She asked.

'No baby, remember we talked about this. I know you'll have so much fun and you're going to tell daddy and me all about your time here when we get home. I know you'll have a lot of fun at school.' I told her.

I gave her a kiss and a hug, Derrick did the same.

'You won't forget me?' She asked me.

'How could I ever forget about you? Never happened before, I don't see why it would start now. I promise, I'll be here when it's time for everyone to go home.' I told her and she finally gave me a smile.

I stood back up and Derrick put his arm around me again. We watched as Amanda went to play with her new friend.

'I know this is the hard part, sometime mostly on the parents but this is the best time to leave while she's busy. Don't say bye or see you later, it makes kids usually panic.' Mrs. Robin whispered to us.

'Won't she panic when she realizes we're not here anymore?' I whispered back.

'A lot less.' She said softly.

I nodded, I didn't want Amanda to panic because I wanted to say bye and I love you before leaving.

Derrick and I slowly walked out of the classroom. I looked back one last time and I could see her smiling and giggling with her new friend.

I took a deep breath and turned my back and both Derrick and I walked out of the school.

I put my winter hat back on and my mittens once we got outside Derrick looked at me.

'You think she's going to be okay?' He asked, looking a bit worried and I laughed.

'Why are you laughing?' He asked.

'Because I've been freaking out this whole time while you looked like Mr. Cool and now...now you're freaking out?!' I asked him.

'I didn't want to do it in front of her.' He said.

I rolled my eyes and got closer to him. I put my hands on his arms while he put his hands on my hips.

'She's going to be fine.' I told him.

'Are you sure?' He asked.

'No.' I said and he gave me a look, making me smile. 'But if she's not, they're going to call us and we pick her up, it’s as simple as that.' I told him.

He nodded looking around and I did the same.

The place was now basically empty now.

I looked at Derrick, 'Let's go home.' I said to him.

He looked at me, pulled me towards him and kissed me.

I laughed against his lips and I kissed him back.

When he pulled back, he smiled, 'Let's go home.' He said and we started walking back home holding hands.

'What time do you have to go to work?' I asked him.

'Soon.' He said, sounding disappointed.

'At least you got something to do.' I said.

He laughed. 'Oh yeah, what are you going to do, besides worrying?' He asked.

'Well...' I thought but I couldn't really think of anything important. 'Don't know.'

'You can watch TV, you can cook, clean...' He said.

I looked at him, 'Are you trying to hint me towards something?' I asked him.

'No. But if you sit still, it's going to go slowly.' He said and I nodded.

There wasn't much to do. When Derrick and I told Amanda we were sleeping in the same room from then on, that week I slowly brought my things into my new room. Amanda had mix feelings, she wanted me with her but she loved the idea of having a big room all for her.

The house Derrick had bought was going to be ready soon. When he told me he added, 'Obviously, you both are coming with me. You are not leaving my side, ever again.' Which made me laugh. I had been a bit nervous, even though we said we loved each other and our love life was great, I always had the thought "what if" in my head. When he said that, I knew he really wanted us with him, he had confirmed it which I was happy with.

When we got home from Amanda’s new school, we both stopped and the whole apartment was so quiet. It felt so strange not having Amanda with us.

I took off my coat, hat, mittens and my boots and Derrick took on his coat and boots. I shook my head at just watching him. I walked between the kitchen and living room looking around when Derrick came up behind me, bringing his arms around me and kissed my neck.

'This might sound bad...but I think we need to take advantage of this situation.' He whispered close to my ear.

I smiled as he kissed my neck again.

'Oh yeah...that sounds great.' I said, it had never happen before.

I turned so I was face to face with Derrick.

'We have the whole house. Beside the obvious, her room and the kitchen table...the table would be too weird...even if we cleaned it, certainly when I see her licking the table after she spills something.' I said and he laughed.

'Yeah, to weird.' He agreed.

'Living room?' I asked him and he smiled down at me.

He kissed me and I slowly walked backwards holding his shirt, leading him into the living room.

We had fun...twice.

When we heard his phone ring, we were getting dressed and it was Justin asking him when he was coming in.

When he hung up he started laughing and I was confused.

'I lost track of time. With you, it's like time slows down.' He said.

'Meaning you're late for work?' I asked smirking.

He chuckled, 'Yeah.' he said smiling.

I walked him to the door and kissed him before he left for work.

'You have the same effect on me.' I confessed to him. 'I love you, have a good day.' I told him.

'Love you too. I'll see you tonight.' He said and kissed me again. He left the apartment and I closed the door and locked it.

I looked around...'What to do, what to do?' I asked out loud.

Yep, it was going to be a long day.

*************************************

After I had pick up Amanda from school she was so excited. She kept talking so fast which made me laugh.

She told me everything she did, even include when she went to the bathroom.

I was so happy for her. My baby girl was growing up and I was so happy for her. It meant a lot for her to have a life...a normal life like most kids.

When the time came closer to when Derrick was getting home, Amanda came to see me every 5 minutes to ask if he was home yet.

'Honey, you'll hear him when he gets home. Don't worry.' I told her.

'When?' She asked with her hands on her hips.

'When he gets home.' I told her.

She looked around and the puffed out a big breath turned on her heels and left.

I rolled my eyes. The attitude she was getting was going to drive me insane.

10 minutes later, Derrick walked through the door and gave me a smile.

'Hey sexy lady. How was your day?' He asked smirking.

I felt my face heat up from remembering what happened in the living room and I heard him laugh.

'My day was good, how about you?' I asked him.

'Best morning ever and now, I'm just glad to be home.' He said coming closer to me.

He pecked my lips and whispered, 'Are we going to continue what we did morning in our room tonight?' He asked, being hopeful.

'Absolutely.' I whispered smiling.

'Good.' He said laughing.

'Oh, your daughter is in a mood and she's going to talk to you for about an hour and a half none stop. Just to let you know.' I told him.

'My daughter?' He asked.

'Oh yeah.' I simply said.

'That doesn't sound good.' He said.

'Daddy?!' I heard Amanda yell.

'Yeah?' Derrick said loud enough so she would hear.

She came running into the kitchen and put her hands back on her hips and I rolled my eyes.

'Where have you been?' She asked him.

'Um, work?' He said, asking a question like he didn't know how to answer.

'It's late. You took a long time.' Amanda said.

'Not really, same time I'm usually here.' He said.

She looked at me, waiting for me to say something but I just stood there looking at both of them.

Derrick went to the kitchen table and grabbed a chair.

'How was school?' Derrick asked her and her mood dramatically improved.

'Great! I have a friend, she's really nice! We played together all day!' She said, practically yelling from excitement.

'That's great. What's her name?' he asked her.

'Lisa.'

'Is that the little girl we saw this morning?' He asked and Amanda nodded.

'We played Barbie... we played with blocks, we sang songs...played outside...Oh! We went on the slide, and ran...Oh daddy is was fun! And mommy said I'm going back tomorrow!' She said jumping up and down making me laugh.

'I'm so happy you had a great day. Come here.' He said and Amanda went to him and he gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head.

'I love you daddy.' She said resting her head on him.

'Me too honey.' He said smiling.

A few weeks ago, when Derrick and I spoke about Amanda going to school, he had told me he found one that was close by and that he thought would be good for her.

He had spoken to the principal about our girl and her past but didn't go into detail. The principal, Mr. Zane, was good, he suggested that we'd start her in a few weeks and gave us things to do. He wanted us to prepare Amanda for situations that would arise but make her understand that is was okay and nothing was going to happen.

So Amanda and I would go to the store or mall...places where there were people. Derrick had told him about how she loved the bus and he said to continue with that. A small space with a lot of people was a big situation to overcome and he was happy that she liked it.

Derrick and I also had to fill out paper work for her to be able to start school and later on in life be able to work. Being born in Jesse's house and never leaving, she wasn't in any system. As far as the law knew, she didn't exist so we brought her with us and filled out the paper work. It made her come to a new place, again with different people of all ages. She was nervous but little by little she was coming out of her shell which was great to see.

One day, when Justin came over, I had asked him to watch Amanda for a bit. We started with 30 minutes and worked our way up to two hours. She needed to learn that we couldn't be beside her 24 hours a day. The principal had asked to do that, leave her with someone we trusted and that she liked. Also, I had told Justin to bring some Timbits over, maybe it would help. The first day when we came back, I could tell Justin was overwhelmed and he was alone with her for only 30 minutes while Derrick and I were just in his car talking. That way if we needed to go back, we'd be home in 2 minutes.

Justin seemed tired but again little by little she got better and eventually Derrick and I were able to go out on a small date by ourselves. Justin as able to bring her places and since Justin didn't have a car they would bus. He'd bring her to restaurants and to Tim Hortons and she saw first hand at the collection of doughnuts they had.

We also asked my parents to help out with the process and they were very happy to be included. They watched her for a little bit and the result was the same as with Justin. Little by little again she got better, we were even able now to leave her with my parents at their house for a couple hours and she loved it. They had bought a lot of toys for her and they stayed at their house that way when she went over there, she'd always have something

Everyday the changes in her amazed me. She was more comfortable with Derrick and me around, which was normal for any child but now she was able to have conversation with almost anyone. Derrick did his part also, the principal said she was closer with me for obvious reasons and Derrick needed to step it up a notch.

She already loved him and trusted him so it was easier with him than Justin or my parents. Also he saw her everyday and knew exactly what she liked. He brought her to indoor parks, brought her for walks, they went shopping together for anything they needed, even grocery shopping which she loved. The bond between the two of them was visibly stronger that when Amanda needed something, she'd ask him instead of always asking me. Even if it was so wipe her bum.

When Christmas was getting closer, Derrick took Amanda and they went shopping and Amanda told me I couldn't come. They were gone to about 2 hours while I cleaned around the house. We still had to wait awhile for Christmas but both of them wanted to start shopping so they would be ready.

When Amanda was with my parents, Derrick and I went shopping for her. We'd get a little done and it was exciting to see how our lives were changing in a positive way.

As her first day at school was getting closer Derrick and I were both nervous but Amanda was excited. I knew she was also nervous but she was mostly excited. We'd make sure we were busy changing routines to get her used to changes but also not make them to drastic to freak her out.

'Then we went in a tunnel, it was like a rainbow daddy. A lot of colors and we all crawled in it. Lisa was in front of me but she always made sure I was behind her.' She said, while she was on the floor in the kitchen showing her father how she had crawled in the activity Mrs. Robin had every one do.

'Wow! That must have been fun!' He said and I wanted to laugh because most parents would probably be sarcastic but Derrick wasn't. He looked as mesmerized as Amanda.

'It was.' She answered with her big eyes.

'Do you think I'd fit?' He asked and I rolled my eyes.

'No.' She said flat out and I chuckled. 'You're to big daddy. Don't be silly.' She told him.

'Oh. Okay.' He said, sounding a bit disappointed.

During the whole dinner she spoke about her first day and I was happy that she was excited about tomorrow. She wanted to see her friend Lisa.

We put her to bed early, so while I read her two stories and sang her a song, Derrick cleaned up dinner.

Derrick and I had spoken with Amanda during dinner that Derrick would bring her to school in the morning and I would pick her up when she was finished school. We explained that Derrick would be working a little later since he would start later. We had agreed to that a few nights before, that way the bond between Derrick and Amanda would continue to grow instead of me bringing her and picking her up everyday. He would get his time alone with her in the morning even if it was for a short period of time but it was better than nothing and both of them were happy. I was glad Amanda liked sending time alone with her dad, and he absolutely loved it too.

Also, I was happy, it meant I could sleep a little more in the morning, which almost never happened, after Amanda and Derrick would tell me bye, give me a hug and a kiss before leaving after I could sleep for a bit.

****Please Vote and Comment! Thank You!!****

(I did try to make it longer for you guys)

*PLEASE READ*

I have a super busy day tomorrow and Friday so I probably won’t have time to write Chapter 42 by tomorrow. I will do my best. I said I was going to finish this story by Christmas and as you all know, I always try my best to keep my word (And I won’t rush the story, because that would just irritate me). If necessary, I’ll post this weekend...(to help me keep my word & that way you won't have to wait until Monday!!) I’m sorry, I know it sucks but….it’s a busy time of year. Like I said, I’ll try my best. xx