Next part guys :))
Okay, I promise, promise, promise to upload the Teacher story next.
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It was three days later that I finally woke up. After that little word from James, my whole life seemed to have fallen apart completely. I sat in my room, waiting for my mom to come back from the spa, watching Korean dramas from my laptop and eating various types of junk.
I sighed and looked down at the time on my laptop. It was apparently way off, saying that it was six pm when it was still sunny outside. I sighed anddouble-clickedit. The calendar came up and I nearly jumped when I saw the date. It was August 23.
"Oh my God...." I mumbled. "School!"
I had completely forgotten about shitty school, shitty homework and shitty August. I groaned and flopped against the pillow. I was about to holler down to mom downstairs that she needed to start renting Vinny-from three floors down-'s car to take me to school in the morning when I realized that she was still at that damn spa.
I got up from my rest haven and looked through my closet. Everything looked old and lame. I rolled my eyes and decided to get something to eat. When was the last time I had some orange juice?
I put on my slippers and clumped down the stairs to the kitchen. It was a Sunday, so James was sitting at the table using his laptop. When I came in, he looked up for a second and took a huge slurp of cereal from his spoon.
I walked past him and grabbed a cup and the carton of orange juice from the fridge. I poured some and silently slipped by again.
Suddenly I heard James clear his throat. "Your mother....is coming...home...today...from the spa."
I didn't reply and stepped into the living room, sipping my orange juice and looking for a book. I finally picked up Pride and Prejudice and started reading. At about the fourth page, I heard James clear his throat again.
"Do you want...to come with me to...pick your mother up?" he asked slowly.
I didn't say anything, only ignored him and read on. He stood over me awkwardly and I finally got up and walked off. I looked at him once, to see that his hair was in messy dark brown spikes, he was wearing a black v-neck and black pajama pants.
"I guess that's a no then," he said, laughing a little.
Again I was silent, opening the balcony screen door. I took a seat in the chair and continued to read. I was uninterrupted for about thirty minutes when the screen door opened.
Despite myself, I looked up and saw James wearing a towel, and only a towel. His torso was still wet from taking a shower and his hair was dripping.
He leaned against the door casually. "I'm giving you a second chance," he said with a smile. "We can go pick up Krystal and act like nothing ever happened."
I couldn't take this shit anymore. I closed my book slowly and with super attitude and looked up at him with a blank face. "Let me tell you something," I said slowly. "You're a stupid bastard. You're the biggest bastard I know. In fact, you're the only bastard I know. You think I'll come running back to you after you insulted me like that?! I'm not some sort of pillow you can lean on whenever you need to." I stood up and slammed the book into his wet chest. "Read this; it'll give you a few lessons on how to treat a woman you're obviously obsessed with."
I stormed off into my room and slammed the door shut. I dialed my mom's number and spoke as soon as she said 'hello'. "Mom, I need to go shopping for school. Wherever the hell I'm going."
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Later that night, James came out of his room and said, "How do I look?" I didn't look up, but heard my mother quickly exclaim an answer. "Thanks, babe. I'm giving a speech tonight at the Hartford," he said, fixing up his navy blue pinstripe suit.
I rolled my eyes and started playing 2NE1 'Clap Your Hands' to the max volume on my laptop. "Mirage," my mother warned. "Turn that down."
I sighed loudly and said over the music, "I'll just take it to my room."
As I was about to leave, James gave me a look I couldn't explain. He was smiling. But there was something in his eyes. I laughed mentally. Guess he likes this side of me.
I went upstairs and started reading a poem. I heard a knock on the door and my mom stepped in. "Hey, honey," she said with a small smile.
"Hi Mom," I said, distracted by the poem.
"Can we...talk for a second?" she asked nervously. "I wanted to tell you about the conversation we had on the phone a few days ago."
I put my laptop down at once. "And I want to hear about it," I said quickly.
She came and sat down at the edge of my bed, wearing a deep plum evening gown, pearls around her neck and right arm and black heels. "Well, I wanted to say that James-"
Almost as if on cue, James walked into the room. "Krystal, we should get going. Don't wanna be late."
I rolled my eyes and stuffed my earphones in again. My mom gave me an apologizing look and stood up. Like a puppy, James prepared to follow her out of the room.
Suddenly, he stopped and turned around. He stared at me a while and said, quietly, lethally, "You've been bad today."
I gave him a look and laughed. "Bad? And just who the hell are you?"
He came up to my bed and smiled down at me. He reached out his long index finger and outlined my jaw, sending a ticklish sensation all over me. He took my chin with his index and thumb fingers and pointed my face to him.
I gulped hard and looked away. "Get out."
He laughed and grinned at me. I looked into his eyes angrily. "Fine, fine. I'm leaving. But..." he said, pausing and leaning forward. "I just wanted to let you know. Bad girls get punished."
With that, he gave me a cold kiss on the cheek and walked out of the room. I blushed and angrily wiped off my cheek. Some pathetic thing inside me asked why I was wiping away the only kiss I had gotten from him in so long. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to forget that. I then stretched out my fingers and continued reading the poem.
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At about eleven pm, I heard keys in the door jangling and the door opening rather roughly. I wondered whether James was drunk again and quickly got up, putting on a big grey V-neck sweater.
I went into the hallway and was about to say something when I saw James....and mom. They were...making out against the wall. I hid behind the corner and watched. I was so jealous of their feverish passion....they must really be into each other. Both of them.
I felt a tear on my cheek and watched as she paused and pressed her hand against his chest. "Let's stop," she said. "I don't want to do this right now."
"I do," he said, pressing back against her.
He started to kiss her but she pushed him back and sat on the couch. "No, James. We need to tell her some time."
"Tell who what?" he asked with a flabbergasted laugh. "I don't care about anybody else but you right now," he said, sitting next to her and putting his arms around her.
Another two tears joined the first and I shut my eyes painfully. "James, please! We need to tell her."
"Tell her what?! What are you talking about?" he asked impatiently.
"Tell my daughter that we're getting married!" she shouted in a frustrated voice.
I came out from behind the wall and glared at them, not caring that tears glazed my cheeks. I looked at the floor and said quietly, "She was talking about me."
James didn't say anything, just sat there awkwardly. "Mirage," my mother began. "We wanted to tell you-"
"We? What do you mean we? James wasn't the one that was keeping this from me, it was you!" I said angrily. He looked up at me, so I clarified, "I don't give a shit about him!" He only looked at me and said nothing.
"Honey, please. I didn't wantto keep this from you! We just knew it wasn't the right time," she said, coming up to me.
I stepped back. "What the hell do you mean the right time? How does this change anything? Everything is gonna be the same. All you're doing is making it happen in writing. You're still going to be living together right? Eating together? Sleeping together?"
My mom gave me a look. "Mirage, that was too far. I don't appreciate thisbehavior."
"Behavior? Behavior?" I whispered. "It's more than that mom. It's realization. That you love him more than you love me."
"Please, honey. Don't act like this! I love you both the same," she said with a grieved face.
I paused. "In any other situation you would've said that you couldn't love anyone as much as you love me. But I guess you've moved on."
She sighed heavily. "Please, sweetie, don't go there! When have I ever left you in the dark about anything? This is the first time! He only proposed to me a week ago," she said, as if that made anything better. "I've always been there for you, Miri," she said, taking my shoulders.
"Who's here for me now?" I asked, looking into her eyes for an answer.
"Mirage," she said quietly. "Why are you crying?"
"I'm sorry, Mom," I said, shaking off her hands. "I'm done looking after you. I have to look out for myself now. Congratulations, I'll hope you'll..." I paused and looked at James. "Be happy together."
He nodded and mumbled, "Thanks."
I walked off without another word and felt my shoulders shake as I sobbed. Two horrible things, and one I just couldn't shake. First, James was making out with my mom. Second, they were getting married. I sobbed out loud and covered my mouth as I got hiccup-y coughs.
Eventually, I cried myself to sleep, letting the cold chill through me.
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At about two am, I felt someone lightly shaking me. I got up and sat up quickly, wondering who it was. I saw James' amber eyes staring back at me. "What?" I asked, scooting against the head-board.
"You were sleeping in a weird position," he said, dodging my gaze. "You'll wake up a your neck all...pinched..up.." he said awkwardly as I watched him with raised eyebrows. "Yeah."
"Oh," I said, pulling my blanket up over my shoulder. "Thanks."
"Yeah," he said again.
I laid down and prepared to go back to sleep when I heard James lying down next me. He pulled the blanket up over me and himself and wrapped his arms around my stomach. He put his cold nose against my neck. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
I didn't know what to say, so I just turned around and looked at him square in the eye. "I'm tired of this, James. Pick someone. Do you love me?" I asked angrily.
He looked at me and said, "I don't know." He looked down.
I swallowed hard and said quickly, "What about mom? Do you love her?"
He looked into my eyes and nodded. "I think I do."
I shut my eyes and tried to hold back tears. "Then go!" I shouted out. "Go! Go to her bed! What the fuck are you doing here?"
He pulled me into a hug and said, "I don't know."
"How can you not know?" I cried out. "Just get lost! I hate you!"
"I know you don't mean that," he said.
"Oh really? And just how the hell do you know that?" I asked. "You don't know anything about yourself but you know everything about me, right?"
He was quiet. He suddenly got up and leaned against the head-board. For some reason, I sat up and leaned on it too, ours shoulders touching. He picked up a pillow and starting punching it softly. "You know, I can tell a lot about people from their eyes. When I first met your mom," he said, and my heart beat quickly. "Not only did I know she was beautiful, but kind and intelligent too. And sad."
I looked away and crossed my arms, the fire in my heart dying down a little.
"When I saw you...I..I saw pride, and anger, and sadness too, but that was only at the beginning," he said, slowly taking my hand and tracing the lines on it. "After you let your guard down to me, I saw a whole different side of you. You were funny and nice and not nearly as mean as you make people think you are. And you were...opening up to me. And I liked it. I still do," he said, looking up at me suddenly.
"Oh thanks," I said sarcastically.
"Really," he said, leaning against my shoulder. "I knew there was something about you that just...intrigued me. I wanted to know more about you, but I...I...I don't know. I knew that I was with Krystal and I didn't want you to go behind her back like that. That was last week. I guess it was when I matured. I figured that...I needed to grow up and start acting differently."
"So what does this have to do with me?" I asked, feeling neglected and angry.
He turned to me. "That's just the thing. I can't get you off my mind."
I was quiet, looking at anything but James eyes, locked onto me for a reply. "Listen," I said finally. "I need to get some sleep. I heard I'm being signed up for some preppy school tomorrow. I need to go to the interview, remember?"
"Yeah," he said, disappointedly. "I guess you're right. But....here," he said, shoving something into my hand. It was a glass bottle, holding a piece of paper, like the kind they used to send in the sea.
"What's this?" I asked, looking at it and trying to find an opening.
He took a lock of my hair and looped it around his finger. I had never seen him so intimate before. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. You're not a...Yeah, you know."
"Sure."
"Okay," he said, sitting there awkwardly. "Might wanna come your hair...kinda rough."
I rolled my eyes. Can't say one nice thing without a negative right after.
"'Night," he said, walking off quickly.
"Bye," I said, waiting for him to leave. I didn't wanna seem to eager to see his little gift.
As soon as he shut the door, I turned on my bedside lamp. I yanked the cork off the bottle and pulled out the paper. I unfolded it and a note fell out. It had a poem written on it, and I felt my heart beat quickly as I read it.
"I've got to tell you this before I go completely insane.
As long as you keep me in your thoughts somewhere, I'll never complain.
'Love me or hate me. Both are in my favor. If you love me I'll always be in you heart. If you hate me I'll always be in your mind.'
-Shakespeare"
I read it over and laughed at his corny little poem. The quote from Shakespeare went hand in hand with it completely. I took out the piece of paper and unfolded it. It was drawing paper, and had a picture on it.
It was one I had seen James draw earlier. It was finished now, and then girl with the bright green eyes looked prettier, happier. She had long black hair that curled at all the right points and her smile was just perfect. How did I know?
The girl was me.
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Hope you liked it :)))