Heart at War // JJ Maybank

23

JJ Maybank

          I hung up the phone with my heart in my throat as my phone fell out of my hands. I felt like I was going to be sick like I was about to throw up all over John B's living room floor.

It couldn't possibly be true. It couldn't be.

"Dude, what's wrong?" John B asks me, but it sounded like it was muffled and coming from a different room. My body was present but I mentally was not, my eyes began to sting while my head felt like it was spinning in circles.

Lena, I thought. No, it can't be true. Was this what an out-of-body experience felt like?

"JJ!" John B shouts, slapping me across the face. "What's wrong? Who just called you?" John B shakes me, and that's when I realize that I'm crying. But not for me...

The look of panic on John B's face brings me back to reality, I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand before pushing to my feet and almost knocking John B over.

My heart pounds as I grab my dirt bike keys, "I have to go." I announced, my voice cracking as I ran outside and jumped onto my dirt bike.

"JJ!" John B shouts after me, following me outside his house. "JJ!" He shouts again, watching as I take off on my bike in the direction that I needed to go.

I had to get that. And I had to get there now. I thought, blinking away my tears.

Three Hours Prior

Lena Boggs

          "Lena, you need more food than that!" Carson Sower chuckled as he glanced down at my plate, before piling up mashed sweet potatoes on my plate.

"Okay, Dad! Chill out on all the food, are you trying to blow her stomach up?" Addie exclaimed sarcastically, sending me a wink that made me giggle silently. "What? What? Your mother's cooking is amazing! I just want her to get a taste good." Carson laughs, shoveling food into his mouth.

Darla smiles at me from across the table as she cuts into her steak. "So, Lena, what do your parents do for a living?" She questioned me, as I took a fork full of peas into my mouth.

I'm caught off guard by her question, chewing my food quickly so I could answer her. "Oh, my Mom's a librarian and my Dad is a manager at a construction company," I told her, smiling softly.

"That's lovely," Darla smiled. I look over at Ayden when I feel his hand on my knee underneath the table, he gives me a wink making me smile before turning my attention back to Carson.

"You know when I first met Darla... She was working at a library," Carson announces, lifting his glass and taking a sip. "Wait, really?" Addie looks between her parents, shocked. "Yes, really." Darla confirmed with a nod of her head.

"And grandma and grandpa were okay with you dating her, Dad?" Addie asked and Carson chuckled softly. "Not in the slightest... But they came around." I

Carson looks at me. "My parents came from wealth, they also liked to have the only people they spent time around with... Have wealth," He tells me. "But it wasn't my cup of tea, which caused some arguments with my parents." He grins to himself, shaking his head as he reminisces.

"Oh, do I remember all the comments your mother made when you introduced me to them and they found out I lived in a low-income family!" Darla laughs, "Took a while for them to come around."

Carson rolls his eyes, a playful smile on his face. "How could they not come around? I mean look at you... Still the same fox you were in your twenties." Carson winks at his wife. Addie fake gags, "Oh, disgusting!"