We finished up our coffee date and decided to do something fun. I suggested we go to a mall nearby. As we strolled through the different shops, Anna and I both carrying small bags of stuff we'd gotten, Anna asked "Does your mom like me?"
"What do you mean? Of course she does. She loves you."
"I just get worried I guess. I didn't visit you at all when you were at rehab, maybe she wanted me to be more supportive."
She was looking at the ground as we walked and I grabbed her forearm to stop her. She was still looking at the ground so I took her face in my hands and tilted it up to make her look at me.
"You need to stop being so mean to yourself, bub. You didn't owe me anything, I hurt you not the other way around. I needed to experience not having you there to really know how painful it was without you. My mom absolutely adores you and thinks of you as her daughter. Forgive yourself for everything you seem to hate yourself for, Anna. To me and to everyone that knows you, those things that you think are faults, couldn't be more beautiful."
She grabbed me and pulled me into a tight embrace. Her head was on my chest as my arms went around her. I cradled her head and kissed the top of it.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you too, Boonie."
"Can we have dinner sometime with your mom too? And maybe my mom and stepdad can meet her too if that's okay?"
"Of course, I think that's a great idea. My mom's leaving on Tuesday. Let's do it tomorrow, yeah?"
"I think that should be good, I'll ask them."
We finished shopping and it was time to say goodbye. Back at our cars, I pulled Anna into another hug.
"I loved today. Thank you for asking me out."
"Anything for you, bub."
"I forgot to tell you, by the way, but I love how you look in beanies."
"Oh really?"
She winked at me and I smiled. I leaned down and kissed her which turned into a make out. I pulled away breathless and stared at Anna's now red lips. The cold and kissing made it look like she had lipstick on.
"See you tomorrow then?" I breathed out.
"Mhm." She looked at my lips and bit her own. She really didn't realize what she was doing to me.
"Bye bub, I'm in love with you."
"I'm in love with you." ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Anna's POV:
I don't know how my mom and stepdad will feel about this. It could be really good or really bad. With my luck, probably bad. I'm an adult now though, she can't stop me from doing anything. She can however kick me out which I really don't think she'd do. Next thing I knew I was home. I parked in the driveway and prepared myself to face her. Why did I have to do this so much? Was it my life decisions or her lack of encouragement that made me feel this anxious to tell her things? I don't know. I hung my keys up and walked around looking for her. I found her in the kitchen getting another cup of coffee.
"Hey, where were you today? You got up pretty early."
"I saw Ag again, we went to get coffee and go to the mall."
"What's going on Anna, I thought I warned you?"
"Mom, I'm an adult and we talked it all out. We set boundaries and decided that we were better together than apart."
"You don't know how life is Anna, you're so young. Why do you feel the need to settle down with her so fast?"
"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to even trust that we could be together? I have wanted to be able to be with someone my whole life but I've always sabotaged it or never felt love. Then when I finally do find it with someone that I know has an amazing heart, you don't support it. I know you feel wronged by what happened with you and Dad, but I'm tired of having trust issues because of it. I want to live my life and live it well with someone I love. So if you're not going to be supportive of my decision then I won't include you in my life. I'm done trying to feel like I'm enough for you because you know what? I am enough."
She was stunned because I had never stood up for myself or been honest about my true feelings before. "You are enough. I just want what's best for you. I do love you Anna, I know you might feel like I don't but I do. I may not think this is a good idea but I'll be there for you."
"Good cause we're having dinner with Ag and her mom tomorrow. You, Phil, me and them. So get ready."
I left her there in the kitchen as I head to my room feeling accomplished. It felt so freeing to say my feeling to her for once instead of just staying silent. I looked at my phone and saw a missed call from Ag. I FaceTimed her back and waited for her to answer. Her face came on the screen and she practically yelled.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Hey! I'm so fucking sorry, I just realized I missed your birthday. Your fucking 18th birthday!"
I laughed "It's okay, don't worry about it. It's not even that big of a deal."
"Anna, no. I can't believe that. I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you, you'll see."
"You don't need to I'm just glad you're back."
"Shut up, goof ball and let me do my thing for my girl."
"Fine, just not too much promise?"
"Mmm can't make any promises. Sorry 'bout it."
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes. "I told my mom about us and how we're having dinner tomorrow with you and your mom."
"What'd she say?" I could tell she was nervous.
"I kinda walked away before she could say much, but I think it's going to be a little awkward tomorrow."
"I'm proud of you, bub."
"Thanks, I have to finish up some stuff so I'll talk to you later okay?"
"Alright, I miss you."
"You just saw me," I laughed "I miss you too stupid."
"Love you."
Time to do some homework, I can't wait until I'm done. Only one more week and then I'm free until January. I was just about to pull out my laptop when I heard my phone go off. It was a snap from... what the actual fuck? ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
From the Author:
Hey guys! This chapter is a little short because I'm super busy with homework, but we'll be back to our normal length chapters soon. I might write like crazy and prepare a few chapters for the next few days. Who knows. Who do you think snapped Anna? I want to know all of your predictions! Thank you for reading!
