Young Annabelle (Y.A Series Book 1)

Chapter 13

Food!

I salivated in front of a row of chips as my sweaty body basked in the air-conditioned bliss of a 7-eleven.

An hour at Jenna's hadn't helped nearly as much as she'd hoped.

One, I was starving and I hadn't eaten anything there.

Two, and most importantly, I was a zombie that refused to indulge in feelings that were safely locked away and hidden – I'd open that safe later, in the privacy of my room, hoping my tears wouldn't ruin what was left of my psyche.

But, for now, I was a zombie on a mission. While stupid James and his slut-slave Donna danced away at Peter's party tonight, I would indulge in the most massive junk food binge of my life.

Operation junk food: Commence!

I had grabbed a basket from the front before trailing towards the junk food aisle of the store. I planned to fill it up. My hands automatically answered the call of junk food and grabbed a few bags of chips along with some candy bars. The next stop, possibly the most important, was the sliding fridge. I grabbed four cans of regular pop and neatly lined them in the basket so that they wouldn't trample the candy bars and chips.

The calorie-count in all of this was going to be in the thousands – I didn't care. I was eating all of it. Tonight. I wanted there to be smudges of chocolate all over my mouth as I slept. I wanted to sleep on smashed pieces of chips that failed to make it into my mouth. I wanted to wake up tomorrow morning with a toothache so painful it'd make me forget about today.

I could only hope.

I made my way to the counter to pay, and along the way my hand grabbed a small bag of kettle popcorn that was on sale and a small bag of Cracker Jacks.

I decided I needed those too.

I brought my overflowing basket to the cashier and handed over some money. I placed everything into my backpack with care, placing the heavier items on the bottom. Since the first day back this year had fallen on a Friday, there was no homework so my bag was practically empty except for my doodle notebook.

The automatic sliding doors opened as new customers walked in. I hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders, preparing to make the trip home a quick one because it was especially hot today and I needed to get home before my chocolates melted and my drinks got warm. I hated warm pop. I couldn't drink them at that temperature and, if that happened, it would be very bad.

With how things had been going so far, one more disappointment would be the tipping point in my psychological meltdown. I made a safe bet when I placed all my happiness cards in the instant satisfaction of cheap junk food.

The sliding doors opened for me and I speed walked home, careful not to shake my bag too much so the cans of pop wouldn't explode when I opened them. I wanted to drink it, not bathe in it.

I quietly opened the front door as I slid out my key from the lock, careful not to make noise. I wanted one thing and that was to make it to my room as fast as possible.

"Annabelle? Is that you?" Mom called from the basement.

I let out a sigh at my failure and closed the door behind me. The floorboards rumbled as I kicked off my shoes. I tightened my hold on the straps of my backpack. My treasure was safe in there as long as I kept it close to my body; as long as my bag was on my back, she couldn't unzip it and explore.

That would be rude.

"Annabelle? Why didn't you answer?" Mom asked from the hallway.

I looked up as she entered the foyer. "I'm just tired," I responded exhaustedly.

"How was your first day? Senior year!"

"It was fine. Nothing special." I shrugged and turned to the stairs, "I'm going to my room."

"Wait! Annabelle, darling, about the shirt." Mom narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "It's a lovely color but the way it's fallen over your sweaty frame...it looks like it's been painted on. Darling...no."

"No problem, Mom. Next time I'll wear something not as tight."

"Thank you dear."

Without another word I jogged up the stairs to my room. I shut my door and collapsed against it with a sigh of relief.

I dumped my bag on my bed. Tonight was the night to wallow in despair over the terrible mistakes I'd made this past month. I planned to inhale every ounce of food in that backpack and enjoy the sweet and salty goodness because tomorrow and Sunday I had to snap back and figure out a way to save face.

I unzipped my bag and took out my first candy bar. Holding it like the treasure it was, I delicately unwrapped it and took my first bite of chocolate.

My safe haven.