My Sweetheart (Alan Bosley x OC)

17

A few days had passed since the run in with my mother, and I almost believed that she'd returned to wherever she came from. Almost. Wherever I went, I was on edge, dreading that she'd approach me on the street. Unluckily for me, she approached me where I was least expecting it.

At Petey's house.

Alan, Rev, Louie, Big Blue and I were round Petey's house playing board games, when Mrs Jones interrupted my turn.

"Julie, darling, you're mother's here, she says she has something important to talk to you about."

I froze, unsure whether to accept defeat and finally talk to her, or to run into Petey's yard, jump over the fence, and run on home. The latter seemed like the safer option, but I knew that the problems I was running from would soon catch up to me.

I sighed, following Mrs Jones to the front door, where my mother stood waiting. "Oh, Julie. I knew you'd come to your senses!" She cooed, forcing a smile.

I thanked Mrs Jones for having me, and followed my mother outside. We walked for a while, enveloped in an awkward silence.

"So I was thinking, we could have a nice day out. Get some ice cream, visit your favourite park?" She suggested, draping an arm around my shoulders.

I shrugged it off, and stood further away, staring her down. "What do you really want, mom? Cut the crap and get to the point."

She rolled her eyes, huffing. "Fine. Richard and I are thinking of adopting. I just wanted you to know that. That's why I want to relinquish my parental rights for you."

I stopped, frozen in shock. I shook my head, snapping out of my daze, and wiping my eyes, which had started to form tears. I would not let this get to me. At least not now. She couldn't have the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I wouldn't let her.

"So, you abandon me. Your biological child. And now you want my approval so that you can start a new family. With a new child, that's not even yours? And on top of that, you want nothing else to do with me." I began to shout, my voice shaking, fists clenched at my sides.

"In a nutshell, yes." She responded bluntly.

"You know what? Go ahead, do whatever you want. But promise me one thing. You will never reach out to me again. Ever. You understand?" I concluded, pointing at her, angrily.

My mother nodded. That was the only response she had? She didn't even care enough to answer! I pivoted, and stormed off in the opposite direction. Soon, my stomping turned to running, and once I started, I couldn't stop.

I ran and ran, ignoring the dryness in my mouth, the ache in my muscles and the rawness of my throat, from my irregular breathing. I ran with no idea of my destination, no idea where I was.

Until I stopped, on Gerry's doorstep. I couldn't recall how I'd gotten there, he lived on the other side of town to Petey. But I didn't care. I'd ran there for a reason. I needed some brotherly advice; and Gerry was my honorary brother.

I pounded on the front door, praying that Jean wasn't there to see me in such an unladylike state. Gerry answered after a minute or two, looking extremely sweaty. As soon as I stepped inside, I felt a lot lighter, and less distressed about the situation.

"Ew, what have you been doing? You're sweatin' like a pig!" I exclaimed, winding him up.

"Shut up, Julie." He grumbled, throwing himself on the sofa.

"Listen, Gerry, I really need someone to talk to, and you're the first person I've come to with this." I began, plopping down next to him.

"You're not thinking of breaking it off with Alan, are you?" He enquired, a dreading look on his face.

"No, of course not! Don't be silly." I answered, laughing as he relaxed.

"So what's up then?"

"My mother's in town. Again." I said, dragging my hands down my face. "But hopefully I managed to send her packing."

"What did she want this time?" Gerry asked, fidgeting on the chair.

"She's thinkin' of adopting, starting a new family with her new husband. And she doesn't want me to be apart of it. She wants to relinquish her parental rights."

"Oh, God." Gerry exclaimed, "What did you say?"

"I told her to go ahead, but to never contact me again. She didn't seem to care, and I'm not surprised. But I'm kind of glad, 'cause I don't think I'll be able to handle seeing her around, knowing that she doesn't want anything to do with me."

"I wouldn't worry about her, Jules. She's been nothing but a burden on you, only giving you the time of day when it benefits her. She's always been like that, ever since we were little." Gerry advised, pulling me in for a friendly hug.

"Thanks, Ger,"

"Plus, us footballers love you to pieces, you'll always have us looking out for you." He added, messing up my hair.

"Gerry, you're the best brother I never had," I sighed, switching on his TV.

"And you're the best sister I never had," He echoed, smiling.

We sat and watched TV for a while, until we both fell asleep top and tail on his couch. We were squashed together, but his body heat kept me warm, and by the time I woke up, a few hours later, I was boiling hot.

Fidgeting to get the remote to turn off the TV set, I accidentally kicking Gerry, waking him up. "Sorry," I apologised in response to his dramatic groans. "I better get on home, don't want to leave it too late, or it'll be dark."

"Want me to walk you back?" He offered, climbing off of the sofa. "Or I could drive you in my new Camaro?"

I jumped up, excited by the opportunity to ride in his gorgeous car. "Can I drive?"

"Heck no," Gerry scoffed, grabbing his keys and leading me to the garage. He lifted up the latch, and the Camaro was revealed.

I ran over to it, admiring its beauty. "She's gorgeous, Gerry. The most beautiful car I've ever seen."

He smiled, climbing into the driver's seat. We drove through the empty streets, music blasting on the radio. The moment was so perfect that I'd almost forgotten the events of the day. The moment was cut-short as the car pulled onto the drive.

"Thank you, Gerry. I'll see you later." I said, gratefully.

"No worries, Jules. I'm alway here for you." He answered, saluting me, jokingly. "See you around."

With that, he drove off in his beautiful car, towards the sunset. While I stumbled over the stones on the drive, walking to meet my uncle Bill, who was waiting for me on the steps leading to our front door.

"Finally spoke to your mother?" He assumed, patting the stair next to him, beckoning me to sit.

I sat, smiling sadly. "She wants to adopt a kid. She wants to start over and have nothing to do with me."

"Well, I spoke to Sheryl, and we've both come to the same conclusion. How would you feel about me adopting you?" He suggested, smiling at me.

A huge grin crept its way onto my face, as I enveloped uncle Bill in a warm hug.

"You're serious?" I asked, pinching myself to test whether I was dreaming. Turns out I wasn't.

"I'm serious." He confirmed, smiling as wide as I was.

"Julia Yoast. I guess I can live with that."