My Pill

Chapter 17

*Jake's POV*

These past few days have been so surreal. Last night after I dropped Anna off, I found Natalie waiting for me at my apartment. She was laying on my bed, naked, when I found her.

"Hey baby," she said.

"Natalie, I can't do this right now, I'm really tired. You have to go."

"Come on, baby. I'm so sorry for how I treated you the other day. I was a real bitch."

"Yeah, you were. Now please, you need to leave," I said, realizing that came off harsh.

Natalie slipped her underwear and shirt on before she blew up in my face.
"I'm just trying to apologize! God, you can be such an asshole sometimes!" she yelled in my face.

Now I was yelling too. Her words made the blood rush to my face and my muscles tighten.
"I can be an asshole? Really, Natalie? Because last I heard, you were bitching at me because I didn't buy you a fucking diamond ring! Now please, leave my apartment!"

She grabbed her bag and put on her pants as she walked to the door. When she was about to turn the doorknob she turned around and said a few last words to me before she gave me the middle finger:

"I hope you're happy, Jake, because I'm not coming back."

     I watched her leave. It was heartbreaking but I felt happy at the same time. It was like a 100 ton weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I slept easily that night knowing that I didn't have to deal with my relationship the next day.

     A phone call woke me up the next morning. I didn't recognize the number so I declined, but when they called a second time I decided I better answer.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey Jake, it's me, Anna,"

I sat up and listened considerably.

"Wow, hey Anna. Are you doing okay?" I asked.

"That's why I was calling... I'm having a bit of trouble trying to get up and walk. I'm really hungry but I can't get myself to the kitchen. Sorry to bother you, I shouldn't have called..."

"No, no, it's okay. I'm not doing anything right now anyways. I'll be over as fast as I can."

"Thank you so much. There's a key under the doormat to get inside." With that the conversation ended and I got dressed to go to Anna's.

     Her apartment seemed empty, despite Anna being there. The windows had curtains drawn over them and there were weeds growing in her flower bed. I reached under the doormat and picked up the key to open her apartment door. When I unlocked it I called her name.

"Anna!" I yelled.

"I'm in here," I heard, faintly.

I walked a few feet inside and turned left to find Anna laying in her bed, helplessly. Her hair was messy and she was wearing only a shirt and underwear.

     "Sorry for being so underdressed. If I could put on pants I would, trust me," she said while laughing.

     "Don't worry about it," I said, and I meant it. Her legs looked nice and smooth despite the huge bandage on her hip. I walked over to her bed and started to lift her back off of the mattress.

     "Is this okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Yeah, that's good. Can you slide my legs off the bed?"

     I gently pushed her legs off the side of the bed while supporting her back with my other hand. I heard her let out a sigh of relief when her feet touched the floor.
"There's a pair of sweatpants in that drawer, can you grab them?" she asked, pointing to a dresser across from the right side of the bed.

     I took the sweatpants out of drawer and helped lift her legs into them. With time we got them on and we were back to our journey to the kitchen. She put her arm around my shoulder as I lifted her up, supporting most of her weight on my left arm.

    "Where to now, princess?" I asked while giving a light chuckle.

     "Just over to the kitchen table, please. I'm starving."

     As we started to walk a few steps I heard Anna try to conceal a few painful whines. It hurt to hear so I scooped her legs under my left arm and carried her like the princess she was over to the kitchen.

"Oh my god!" she yelled, full of laughter. "Jake! Hahahaha!"

     Damn, her laugh was so cute. I laughed along with her and carried her all the way to the kitchen just to set her down in a wooden chair.

"Thanks, Jake," she said sweetly.

     "My pleasure. So what do you want to eat?" I asked.

"Oh come on, you don't have to make me anything. I can get something myself."

     "No, no, I've got it. I don't want you moving around on that hip of yours. Seriously, you could put yourself in an even worse condition if you move too much."

"Alright, alright. There's some fruit in the refridgerator if you want to get that," she said.

     I took some melons, strawberries, and blueberries and made a mixed fruit salad. When I was done I sat with her at the kitchen table and we ate breakfast together.

     "So Jake, tell me about yourself. I feel like we've known each other for so long but I know nothing about you," Anna said. She stared deep into my eyes before taking another bite of fruit.

     "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know, um, where are you from?"

     "I grew up in LA but I've been living in New York City for a while now," I answered.

"Why'd you move to New York City?" Anna asked.

     "I had a fallout with my family so I just decided to move to a new environment..." I said with hesitation.

"I know how you feel. My family and I aren't very close either," Anna said making me feel calm again.

     "Hey, if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here," I offered.

"Haha you'd be here for a while if I were to share my thoughts with you. But, I do need help with something."

     "Yeah sure, go ahead."

"I feel like I'm being suffocated in my life and I need a change. I mean, this apartment just reminds me of my past and it's driving me crazy. I was wondering if you could help me find a new apartment."

     I was actually excited that she asked for this favor. I liked spending time with Anna, and it didn't matter what we were doing.

     "I would love too," I said with acceptance.

     Our afternoon was spent looking through apartment catalogs and eating junk food. Through this day of having fun, I realized all that I've been missing joy in my life for years with Natalie. Anna was so sweet, how could anyone hurt her? The man who did needed to be taken care of.

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     Took me so long to update, sorry! Thank you so much for over 1k reads, it means a lot. I hope everyone is enjoying my story. Don't forget to comment or message me with feedback or suggestions! 💛❤💛