Chapter Eleven
Naomi P.O.V
I wasn't really the type of girl, to leave North Carolina. I never went on vacation or anything like it. When Melanie gave me my few days off, I'd stay home, watch TV. Or read a book, which was usually what I'd do when I wasn't on vacation. But this time, I felt different. Leroy was inviting me, and instantly, my heart and mind said yes. In the beginning, I'd felt that I was developing a little crush on Leroy, but now that's all been erased. Me having a crush on him could very well eliminate our friendship, something I do not want. For once, I had a friend. A good friend, a guy friend. I'd never once in my life had a guy friend. In high school, guys would always try to befriend me, but I'd never trust them enough to do so. Kevin kinda worked his way into my heart, I trusted him. But, that got me no where. With Leroy though, things were different. I don't know why, they just were. Maybe it was because he was a guy that loved God? I don't know. Leroy just seemed like a trustworthy guy. We'd been spending lots of time together the past few months talking about the most random thing. I'd still refused to tell him certain things though, like my mother's death and how it happened. Not because I didn't trust him, but because my emotions would immediately take over, and I wouldn't be able to control them. I don't want Leroy or anyone, to see that side of me. The 'weak' side of me, my father would call it. There was only one person who'd seen the weak side of me, and that was Margret. I had been on my way home, a lot on my mind. Margret invited me over her house, and I decided to go; I thought that'd get my mind off of things. When we had arrived at her house, we began talking. Margret had asked me what was on my mind, and I wouldn't tell her. I didn't trust her. I didn't want her to use something like that, against me. Eventually, she'd convinced me that she wouldn't tell a soul. I poured my heart out to her, crying so hard. Only, I told her about Kevin and how he'd stressed me out that night. I couldn't tell her about my mom's death that had been bothering me. I couldn't tell her about my mom, I couldn't tell anyone, for some reason. After that night, I promised myself never to show anyone my weak side, ever. I try to zip the suitcase shut, but it won't budge. I try again, but the zipper continues to be stubborn. After six attempts of trying to get the thing closed, it finally cooperated. "Hooray!" I mumble to myself. I extend the handles on both of the bags and roll them to the front door. Leroy and I had spent the past two days talking, nonstop. He told me stories about when he was on the farm as a child. Most of them made me smile, especially the one where Leroy fell off of a horse before it'd even moved. These stories had kept my mind off of my mother for quite a while. When night came though, and Leroy had to go, the nightmares would come. I'd tried my best to stay awake these past few nights, but ended up failing miserably. Unlike others, I hate sleep. I hate it so much, because of the nightmares that come with it. I never told Leroy about the nightmares in our conversations, but I told him little stories about when I was a young child. When I'd spend time with my mother, before she died. My phone rings and I quickly answer. "Hello?" I say. "Hi Naomi. I'm around the corner." "Alright, Leroy. I'll be waiting on my porch." "Okay." He hangs up and I grab the two bags, now filled with clothes and head out the door. After locking the door, I sit on the plastic chair on my porch, waiting for Leroy. I was very excited for this, to spend time with Leroy and his mom. His dad was coming but promised to stay out of our way. For some reason, I'd wanted to gain a friendly relationship with Leroy's dad, he always seemed so miserable. I remember when I was gardening with his mom once, and Leroy's dad came in through the front door, a cigar in his mouth. He looked at me, not a glare this time, and smiled slightly but sadly. "Hello." He said. He looked at his wife, saying hello. She didn't not respond, she only continued patting the dirt down. I had a feeling they'd argued the night before. Then again, they argued almost everynight, from what Leroy told me. He shook his head and went up stairs, mumbling, "God why? Oh God, why?" I wondered why he was such a sad man. Leroy pulls up in my driveway, smiling. I smile back and grab my bags, walking down the stairs. These bags were definitely a pain, and were very heavy. As if Leroy read my mind, he quickly gets out the car, taking the bads from my hands. "Hey! I was handling both perfectly fine!" I say. He tosses both of the bags in his trunk and looks at me. "Really? If you were handling both perfectly fine, why were you making a constipated face while coming down the stairs? Unless you actually are constip-" I punch him in the arm. "I was not!" He chuckles and rubs the spot where I punched him. "Alright, alright. I believe you, for now." I scowl at him, only making him chuckle more. I get in the passenger side, not saying a word to him.
The first five minutes of the car ride were silent. Well, at least I was. Leroy would say something but I would only look at him, giving him the silent treatment. Of course, I wasn't serious. But I was just playing around with him, his reactions were funny. Finally, he makes me giggle after his last reaction. "For Pete's sake Naomi! Speak to me! I'm dying here!" He yelled. He smiles after hearing my giggle. "There we go." I smile back at him. "Happy now?" He nods. "Very."
When we get to Leroy's parent's house, they are already outside waiting. Marylin, Leroy's mom, is smiling at her husband. He smiles back at her, a real one this time. Leroy's father takes the bags from his wife's hands and puts them in the trunk of the car. They both get in the back seat and say their hellos to Leroy and I. "Hi!" I say, silently wishing I knew Leroy's father's name. It had never came up in our conversations. "You're not going to say hello to me?" Leroy's father says. I turn to him and smile slightly. "I did, that hi was for both of you. Although, I'd like to know what your name is. Unless you'd like to be called Mr. Jones." He chuckles. "No! Mr. Jones is my father! I'm Darren." I snap my fingers. I had heard his name before, the last time I'd heard him and Marylin argue. "Ah! I remember now! Sorry! Hi Darren, I'm Naomi!" We shake hands and then the car ride is back to silent. I glance at Leroy, who hadn't said a word to his father once. I sigh, resting my head on the seat and looking out the window. Darren and Marylin were whispering in the back, after a while, but I didn't pay attention. I was too focused on the wind, and how good it felt on my face. I rolled the window down further, and rested my head on the door. Dangerous? Yes. Did I care? No. I smile as my hair blows in the wind. I close my eyes and enjoy the ride. The wind was best on the highway. My hair was blowing around like crazy. Suddenly, the car stops. When I open my eyes, we are at a gas station. I look around and notice, everyone had their windows down. I take another look at Leroy, who looks like he's stressing over something. "I'll be back." He mutters. He gets out of the car and before I know it, I do too. I follow him into the gas station, smiling at custumors. While he's telling the worker how much gas he's buying, I buy myself a cheese filled hotdog and a pop. When he's done, I hurry behind him and touch his shoulder gently. "What's wrong, Leroy?" I ask. He smiles at me, but I know it's forced. "Nothing, I'm fine." I shake my head. "You're not acting yourself. Is it something your father said or did?" I say. "No. I'm fine, I promise Naomi." He smiles at me once more and then goes out the doors. I get back in the car and frown, as Leroy fills the car with gas. When he gets in, I don't bother looking at him. I know it's stupid for me to get upset at the fact that he won't tell me. It's just that, we'd been telling each other everything, why not now? A thought suddenly pops in my mind. Kevin. He must have did something. Leroy just won't tell me because he's trying to protect me. He'd tell me if it was his parents. Was it his ex fiance, Ruth. I shake my head. Whatever it is, I have no right to get upset. I turn around to find he's already looking at me. I smile and blush. He starts the car again, and we drive away.
I didn't notice I dosed off, but I did. When I wake up, we're here. I get out the car, smiling. There's a large navy blue and white house and what surrounds it is well, a farm. A big one, too. I turn to my left and smile at the horses surrounded by a white gate. I immediately run over, tempted to jump over the gate, but I don't. A white horse with a brown spot on her belly comes up close to me. I put my hand out and she lays her head in it. I squeal and begin petting her. This was my first time ever touching a horse, I'd always wanted to. I turn around, noticing the car is empty now, and there's no one around. I glance back at the horse and smile mischievously. I hop over the fence and fall over, dirtying my white pants. I shake my head and rise back up on my feet. The horse just looks at me, and for some reason, I giggle. I slowly walk over to the horse. I rub her back and smile, trying to figure out how I'll get on her. I guess I'll just try to jump on her. I think to myself. I place both of my hands on the horse and try to haul myself over on her. "AWL!" I say, feeling queasy. Okay, so that didn't work. I take a couple steps back, and prepare myself to run. I feel my feet move and I hop up, almost on the horse. I probably would have made it, if a voice hadn't disturbed me. "What are you doing?" Leroy says, causing the horse to move and me to fall flat on my face. "Naomi! Are you okay?" He says, pulling me up. I wipe dirt from my face and look at him. "No! I would have made it if you hadn't have scared her!" I say. He looks at me for a moment, and then chuckles. "You never would have made it that way, Naomi." I sigh, giggling. "Leroy how dare you walk in my house without saying hi? I ought to come out and smack yo- What's happen?" A woman with long red hair, plaid shirt and jeans, says coming down the stairs. She walks over, and opens the gate properly. I wonder if she's his auntie. She has red hair like Marylin does. She kneels down and looks at me. "What happen?" She repeats. Leroy explains to her that I tried to get on the horse, the wrong way. After he's done, he can't get her to stop laughing. "Oh! Lord! I've..I've never heard of anything like it!" She says, laughing hard. Soon, her laughter becomes contagious, and Leroy and I are laughing along with her. After what seemed to be about fifteen minutes of laughter, we calmed down. She sighs and looks at me. "What's your name?" I smile. "I'm Naomi." "I'm Kelly! Nice to meet you! Are you Leroy's girlfriend?" I blush. "No, we're only friends." She smiles and only replies with a "Hmm." We all get up, brushing dirt off of us. "Well, I better get back in and finish cooking that pot roast!" She says, hurrying back in the house. We quickly follow her. When I walk in, there's a man who looks to be in his fifties sitting on the couch, reading a book. I look around the house and smile. It is truly beautiful. The walls are dark blue, while the floors are ocean blue. There are pictures almost on every wall, over the fireplace. The place is huge, compared to where I live. I was about to walk over and sit on the couch across from the man, when Kelly calls me in the kitchen. When I walk in, the kitchen is similar to the colors of the house. There's a small blue table right on the side, where Kelly is seated. "You want to see your room?" She says, smiling. I nod eagerly. She rises out of her chair and grabs me by the hand, hopping up the stairs. I almost trip but catch myself, knowing we'd have both fell down and broke something. We walk past several rooms before getting to mine. When we get to mine, I smile again. It's simple. The walls are dark blue and the floor, ocean blue. My bed is in the corner with a large comforter folded on it. Next to the bed is a nightstand with a lamp and a Bible on top. A white framed window in the net to the nightstand, and a rocking chair in the left corner of the room, with a couple books next to it. "I love it!" I say, smiling big. "Really?" She says. "I think of it as a plain and boring room." I nod. "It is plain, but definitely not boring." She smiles. "Well, I'm glad you like it." Kelly looked to be in her thirties. She had long red hair, lighter than mines, red cheeks, blue eyes and a small nose. She was skinny but built. "Did ya see my husband?" She says. "The man sitting downstairs in the living room reading?" I say. She nods. "Yup!" Wow, he looked much older than Kelly. "I know what you're thinking. 'Gosh he's old.' I know he is, but I fell in love with him. He's only thirty five, five years older than me." I smile slightly, in reply. "Kellyanne! The food's going to burn!" Someone yells from downstairs. She puts her hands on her hips and looks in the direction the yell came from. "I'm coming old man!" She yelled. Kellyanne? That's definitely a name I'd never heard before, but I liked it. She smiled at me and pointed to a dresser. "Fresh clothes are in there, girl. The bathroom is six rooms down to your left, if you want to shower." I nod. "Thanks." "Alright, I better go get that food." She runs down the hallway, hopping back down the stairs. I was about to shower when I realized, I left my clothes in the car. When I start down stairs, Leroy is already coming up with my bags in his hand. "Oh, Leroy. You didn't have to do that!" I say, taking them from him. "It's no problem!" He says, smiling. "See you later." He says, saluting. "Alright. Dear." I hear him chuckle as he goes back down the stairs. I roll the suitcases back to my room and unzip them. I pull out a purple shirt with a pair of capris and flats. I run back down to the bathroom and shut the door. I glance around and notice there's two towels for me, folded on the toilet. I smile walking over and turning on the shower. I strip down to nothing and step in, letting the warm water hit me. In the shower, all I could think about was how excited I was. This was definitely going to be a great week.
Hi guys! I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot. I hope you enjoyed reading it!