A/N: Alright, so this is the next to last chapter in the story. I'm sorry it took so long, but I was having major difficulty writing this one. It's a pretty transitional chapter, except for the last part.
“Well, I guess I could say ‘happy birthday,’ but it wouldn’t apply, would it?” I laughed at Mitch’s attempt to destroy the lingering silence.
“It’s a happy birthday now that I’m with you. And truthfully, it was going fine until they started arguing.”
“That’s good. So, happy birthday.” He leaned over and kissed me briefly before turning his attention back to the road. I smiled and he entwined our hands.
“Thanks. It just got a whole lot better.”
“Alright, so I’m going to warn you now. Mom went all out tonight. Like, she was cooking all day after you called me back.” I giggled.
“So what you’re saying is that I had better like the food and to be nice and not overwhelmed by it?” He nodded.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” I smiled.
“I swear I will love the food and won’t be overwhelmed.”
“Pinkie swear?” Mitch asked, pulling out hands apart to hold out his little finger.
“Pinkie swear,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Alright. And here we are,” he said as we pulled into the drive. He hopped out and came around to my side before I could object.
“Thank you, handsome,” I said as he grabbed my waist and got me out of the cab.
“You are welcome,” he said huskily as he nuzzled my neck. I sighed and he placed a kiss on my lips. It was long, but not heavy or light. It was perfect. When he pulled away he tucked me into his side and we walked into his house.
As soon as we entered the threshold, the smells assaulted my nose and I smiled up at him. He sighed and shook his head.
“I told her not to do this,” he muttered as we walked into the kitchen. Brenda’s back was turned to us and she was setting the dining room table on the other side. “Hi, Mom,” Mitch said. Brenda froze and turned around.
“Anna! Sweetheart, come here and give me a hug!” Without a second glance at her son, Brenda pushed past and enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug. I laughed and hugged her back.
“Hi, Mom,” I said teasingly. It was a joke we had created while I stayed there, but in a way it was true, she was more of a mother to me than mine was and had ever been.
“Oh, honey, just look at you! Another year older!” She giggled. “Listen to me, carrying on. Come on, let’s sit down. Everything’s ready!”
We sat down and I smiled at Mitch. He grabbed my hand as his mom said grace and we dug into the lasagna and pie.
After dinner, we sat down and I was thrust two gifts. The one Brenda had given me was huge, while the one Mitch had given me was decently sized.
“Ooh, open mine first!” Brenda was practically bouncing in her chair and I laughed as Mitch buried his head in his hands.
“Alright, Mom, chill out. I’ll open it,” I laughed and started ripping open the wrapping paper. I unwrapped a giant box. I looked at her and Mitch. Mitch was looked amusedly at me.
“Keep going,” Brenda urged. I did as told and unearthed another box, only this time it was smaller than the first. I kept going and each time there was another box. I glowered at Mitch, who was holding his side as he laughed silently. He was shaking and I raised an eyebrow. He put a hand over his mouth and shook his head.
“Sorry,” he managed.
A while later, I finally got to the last box. I opened it up and inside was a card. I opened the card and tears came to my eyes.
Dear Anna,
I absolutely adore you! You are the daughter I never had, and I hope my idiot of a son treats you right. If he doesn’t I won’t hesitate to kill him. But anyways, here’s just a little piece of loving I figured you could use. Take it and use it wisely!
Love always,
Mom
I smiled over at Brenda and she smiled back. I leaned over and she gave me a hug. She really was more of a mom to me than anyone.
“I’m sorry about all the boxes, but I couldn’t resist.” I giggled.
“It’s alright. I’m just happy you feel that I’m a part of your family,” I whispered back. She laughed.
“Silly pants, you always were. Ever since that first night when Mitch came home with this dazed look on his face, I knew that there would be a nice and beautiful girl in the future.” I smiled and then I settled back down in my seat. Mitch handed me his almost shyly.
“Here, I know you hate big presents, so this is my gift.” I smiled at him and opened the package slowly-to find a box. I turned and glared at him. “No! I swear, I didn’t do anything like that! Just open it!” Brenda was laughing so hard I thought she might fall off her chair.
“Fine,” I said and opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver frame with a photo of us kissing inside of it. I gasped and opened the rest to find even more pictures of me and of him.
“The extra photos are there so that if you wanted to change them out you can. I personally like that one the best,” he murmured as he leaned over. I turned and kissed him quickly, seeing how we were in front of his mom.
“I love it,” I said, and I meant it.
“Good,” he said as he nuzzled my neck. I giggled and leaned my head on top of his.
“Well, you kids need to go if you don’t want to miss that movie!” Brenda said and we nodded and got up slowly. “I’ll see you soon, Anna.” Brenda pulled me in for a giant hug that squeezed me tight. “I love you, sweetie pie,” she whispered to me.
“I love you, too, Mom.” She laughed and let go of me.
“Well, go on now, have fun!” Mitch and I happily obliged, sneaking in kisses along the way to his truck.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Only six thirty. We have an hour and a half. I think Mom was just anxious to get rid of us.”
“That’s good, because I want to go drop these photos off at my house. I don’t want them to get lost in your black hole of a truck.”
“Are you saying my truck is dirty?” I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Alright, so I should probably clean it. I’ll get right to that, okay? As part of your birthday present,: he teased. I leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.
“Okay, so let’s stop by my house. Alec should be out of there by now, along with Jordan.”
“Okay, cool. Let’s go,” he said as we took off towards my house. And sure enough, Alec and Jordan were gone.
“Come on, help me put all these up,” I said as I climbed out of the cab and ran upstairs and into my room with Mitch following closely behind me. We got started quickly.
“No, I want it a little higher,” I said. “To the left. Down. Right. Perfect,” I said as Mitch leaned over my dresser and taped the picture to my mirror.
“You’re picky,” he muttered.
“You’re stuck with me,” I said as I snaked my arms around him.
“I don’t have an issue with that in any way, shape, or form,” he said with a grin.
“Good,” I giggled. “Come on, let’s go.” I pulled him back downstairs and out of the house. We jumped back into the truck and took off for the mall.
I didn’t know what movie we were watching. I didn’t know who was around us, or anything. All I knew was that Mitch was a fantastic kisser. We were sitting in the back row and my hands were on the sides of his neck. One of his was on my thigh, the other on my face. My breathing was heavy and I saw the lights come on. We had just spent an entire hour and a half kissing to a movie. Everybody was clearing out now.
“I love you so much,” Mitch said as he wiped a stray piece of hair back. I smiled.
“I love you, too.” We stood up and he kissed me again, swiftly. I felt his arms wrap around my waist and I did the same. He started kissing my neck and I saw over his shoulder a furious Alec coming towards us. “Uh oh,” I grimaced as I pulled back from Mitch. “Looks like my brother decided to crash the party,” I whispered to him. He turned around in time for Alec to make his way up to us. These rows were the widest I had ever seen in a movie theater, so I could back up a ways to be out of the way of Alec and Mitch.
“You bastard! You never told her!” Alec’s words shocked me.
“Alec!” I looked around and saw that the theater was empty except for a few people a few rows down. “What are you doing?”
“Something I should have a long time ago. I’m telling you about something you will find hard to believe, but remember, I saw the entire thing.” I was hesitant.
“Alec, I think you should go. You’ve lost your marbles.” I was pushing Alec down the row when he turned and looked down at me.
“Ever wonder who was driving that SUV, Anna?” I froze.
“What are you talking about? It was Adam.”
“No, Anna, you’ve got it all wrong. Jordan only knew part of the story. Let me fill in the missing pieces.” I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Alec,” I warned.
“Jordan lost his SUV in that pool game. But Adam sold it for a higher price. A guy came along the next day, drunk, and offered over thirteen thousand for it. Of course, Adam sold it, since he was going to do so any ways for a lower price.
“Did you know that Olivia and Mitch used to date? They used to be together every night after she left our house. She never told you because it was during your fight. Imagine Mitch’s surprise when she dumped him-flat out rejected him, actually-for me. So Mitch gets nice and drunk, buys a car someone got out of a bet, and takes it out. It would never be traced back to him. So, when he gets all drunk, he takes it out. Guess who he stalks? That’s right, Olivia. She was sitting there in her car, getting ready to get out, when Mitch t-bones her vehicle. Surprised? So was I, when I saw my best friend getting out of the front seat. There was barely a scratch on him.
“So you wanted to know who was driving that SUV? Turn around. Look at him. You’ve been dating him for the last month and a half. He’s standing right there. Go ahead, Anna. Turn around and look at the guy who killed your best friend. Look at Mitch Bryant.”
A/N: Oh, you guys are going to hate me for leaving you off here. Too bad! Sorry about the short chapter, but the next one will be around seven pages long. I have some more things planned for this story. Be sure to listen to the song, it really fits this chapter if you really listen to the words. Oh, and yes, that IS Mila Kunis in the Music Vid. It was a while back.
This chapter is dedicated to Walkaway1997 for always knowing. She's pretty awesome. :)
Please let me know what you think below! I'm sorry it's such a sucky chapter, but I really needed to get this out there. I spent five hours writing the next chapter, editing and revising it.
♥♥Alex♥♥