Drew:
"Where's is that bastard!" I shout, outraged. The man was a traitor, the man that had walked out on me fourteen years ago. The exact same man who left his son and wife to go have an affair with the opposite team.
"Drew calm down," I hear my mother say, trying to sooth me. I turn around, angry, glaring at her with my hands in the air.
"Calm down? Calm down?! He left us so he could go have an affair or did you forget?" I yell at her, my mother, Mary, flinching and raising her hands up in defense.
"No. I have not forgotten the fact that he left me with a broken heart and a son who, until he was ten, would look out the window and sit by the phone waiting for the day his father would come back. Did it happen? No. Does my heart still ache sometimes when I see a picture or hear his name? Yes, but I've moved on and so should you. I know that when he left you were too little to understand, but, now that you're older you might be able to forgive him?" She explains, but most of it sounded like a suggestion to forgive him, and let him enter my life.
I look down at the ground and then back up at her. "Yeah, I'll forgive him....," I say."...When hell freezes over!"
My mom sighs in defeat. "Okay, fine, be this way. At least go and say hi."
I look away, crossing my arms, and begin to pout like a three year old. "No, I refuse to see him."
She groans, and out of the corner of my eye I see her walk up to me. She leans up close by ear and says, "If not for me, then do it for Andromeda. Take her with you, she's the one who grew up with no parents, at least you had me. Besides, if I can't get you to shut up, maybe she can, being your girlfriend, she should be able to to."
I turn, giving her a curious look. "How did yo-"
Before I could even finish what I had to say, she cuts me off, laughing. "Oh, honey, I see the way you two look at each other. I'm also your mother, you don't think I don't know what goes on in your life?"
Glaring at her, that's all I could do. My mother rolls her eyes at my actions, shaking her head and crossing her arms. She gives out a sigh of relief, staring at something behind me. I turn my head, curiosity getting the better me, and I come face to face with the man I had spent years hating. Beside him stood Andromeda, the person I had yet to ask to be my girlfriend, she, unlike my mother, held the feeling of calmness, but if you looked into her eyes you could see worry.
I don't say anything as I turn my entire body to look at him. When my eyes accidentally lock with his memories come flooding back, painful as ever. So many years I had waited for him to come back, putting it on my Christmas wish list to Santa and asking him if my dad would be back. My heart broke over and over again into a million pieces when I woke up on those special holiday mornings, not seeing my him standing there. What made everything worse was the fact of how many birthdays he missed, him not being able to see me grow up, and the false hope I had when I got that stupid birthday card for my twelvth birthday. Most of my childhood was spent, waisted, wishing for this exact moment. The moment I would finally get to see my old man.
Now, instead of the joy I thought I would feel as a kid, all I got was the empty feeling, where nothing in that space of my heart could be filled. Sadness, anger, and resentment are what hit me like semi truck. A heavy weight suddenly fell on my shoulders, causing me to cringe, the certain feeling making me feel sick. Without realizing what was happening, I find myself falling to my knees, holding back tears as my stomach turned and twisted in ways that made me gag.
"Andrew!" I hear her voice, the one calling my name. The sound of her footsteps becoming closer as she ran over to me, and when she was close enough she falls down on her knees, wrapping her arms around my neck, bringing me into a hug. My head lands on her shoulders, the tears that had welled up in my eyes now falling, slipping slowly down my cheeks. My hands grip onto her shirt, and I cling to her, breathing in her scent; the mixture of pine needles, and grapefruit shampoo. The smell was intoxicating.
Her hands run through my hair, her chin resting on the top of my head. The long locks of her shiny black hair run down her back, my own fingers getting lost in it. The tears slowed, but my breathing was still hitched. To calm myself down I listen to her heart beat, closing my eyes and tuning everything out except the beat of that one organ. Breath in, breath out, repeat. Inhale, exhale, repeat. In. Out. The pattern became easier as I relaxed into Andromeda's touch, my whole body melting into hers.
"Thank you," I whisper quietly, and all I get in return is a kiss on the forehead. But, I wasn't going complaining.
She pulls away, her hands now on my shoulders. She doesn't say anything as she helps me up, bringing me into another hug. I knew that she was probably the only one who could understand where I was coming from, and why I was crying. I had almost broke. Seeing my father had almost caused me to break. At the moment I had no interest in wanting to talk to my father, all I wanted, needed, was Andromeda. MyBeauty.
"Andromeda," I say just above a whisper. She looks up, staring into my eyes, her filled with concern.
"Hmm," she hums, questioningly.
"I'm tired," I tell her and she nods understandingly.
"Then, you should probably go take a nap," she suggests, grasping my hand in hers, squeezing it tight. I nod in agreement, deciding it was best to not talk and just listen to her.
We start to walk, heading toward out tent. Before we were out of sight to my mother, and... my father, I turn my head, giving him a final glance, and then I'm pulled away by Andromeda.
***
"Where exactly are we going?" Andromeda asks.
"Well, somewhere where we don't have to sleep in a tent," I tell her, not giving her much information, just wanting to get to our destination.
"It's only August yet it feels like November," she says, but it was more directed at herself then at me. I don't say anything, mostly because for me I was used to the sudden change to hot then to mildly cold.
The slight changes in the weather didn't bother here, but that was probably because I grew up here, and I wasn't from New York. Even though it did snow there, but in the summer it was hot.
I look over at her, a sudden grin forming on my face as I see her stop, bending down and petting a Squirrel. Sometimes it was odd, the way she would do things. Like the way she would stuff her mouth with food at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It made it seem like she had been stranded on an island her whole life and was now getting the first taste of actual food. Or, the way she do something crazy, not caring what other people thought; she liked to be free, run wild. Her actions were sometimes animal like. It left me to no surprise when I saw her petting the Squirrel, even though it could have rabies, and one single bite could kill her, I wasn't scared.
I call her Beauty because she is one, but there are other reasons for the nickname, like the way she took in every detail at once, her caring nature to the ones around her, even though she doesn't know them. I believed if I called her a princess, that she would hate it, probably because of the fact most princess are saved by the prince, and she, is not a princess, more like a super hero. But, never the less, she would always be a Beauty, or, Wonder Woman in disguise. Other times, though, she reminds me of Snow White, and the way her loving nature doesn't just stop with humans, it goes to animals as well.
Myself, on the other hand, was just Beasty, the guy with a hidden secrets, ones that were to awful to talk about. When I got mad, like reallymad, or pissed off enough, I was crossover between the hulk or Beasty. Sometimes, it was like a curse, to have the preditory skills of a wolf, but also to have a thrill of a hunt, or kill, just like a shark, or even Lion.
There was never a day where I would never regret meeting Andromeda; she was my anchor, the only thing that had kept me at bay. There was this one time, back when I had been in the hospital, I never told her the story of how I got in there, and don't think I ever will. I didn't want her to run, to think of me as a monster if I ever actually told her this, because then all she would see me as is a Beast, instead of Beasty.
No way did I want to lose her, I needed her. I needed myBeauty, my anchor, my person. The one person I have a feeling I was falling for, and hard. I knew I already had her, but what if it wasn't the same the other way around? What if I said those three words to soon and she didn't feel the same way? What if she turned me down? What if after all those kisses, those hugs, and those smiles, she runs away in terror because I'm a monster?
So many 'what ifs' and not enough answers.
"Drew? Drew baby, why are you crying?" Her voice fills my ears as I feel her hands cup the sides of my cheeks, using her thumbs to wipe away tears, ones that I hadn't realized had fallen. But, something else had stuck out. She had called me 'baby', she's never done that before.
"You called me 'baby'?" I ask, with a lope-sided grin.
She shakes her head. "So, all I had to do was call you 'baby' and would immediately smile? Yes, Drew, I did call you 'baby'."
My grin grew wider. "I like it."
Rolling her eyes, she gives me a quick peck on the nose. "Of course you do, but I like Beasty a lot more."
My grin faded, replaced with sudden frown. "Why?"
And just like mine, her smile had disappeared, and her brow was lifted as a concern look in her eye appeared. "Why, what?"
"Why do you call me Beasty?"
"Because I love it, Andrew. And because...."
Her voice trails off, but I knew exactly what she wanted to say, and I also knew that it was probably to soon for those words to come out of her mouth.
She looks down, but I could see her whole face had turned a light pink. She was embarrassed, an idiot could even tell that much.
"And what?"
"And, because I love the way it sounds when it comes out of my mouth, the way it's supposedly made you smile from ear to ear. Because my heart races every time I see you, and every time your hand touches my cheeks, holds my hand, or even a part of you touches me, I get weak at the knees! You make me absolutely crazy, probably even insane, and you have no idea how that makes me feel. I didn't even think it was possible to laugh, or to smile as much as I do when your around me.
"Because, even now, that you've pratcially just said you hate the nickname that I've been calling you for over a month and a half, the exact same one that practically symbols are relationship as a couple and it hurts me to hear you say that you don't like it, but I still lo- ... like you! And burns me to the very core, because you are the only person I ever actually had to be careful around. The only person I'm afraid of losing! Because, whether you like it or not, I'm the Beauty to your Beast, and there is no way you are ever going to change that!"
She was screaming at me now, but all I could think about was that small fact that her lips were just inches away from mine. We were no where near camp, the hut I was looking for was farther out then the the others, making it the perfect spot for us to yell at each other.
"It's not because I don't like the name, I love it, I really do, but there are reasons as to why I question it. Why I question us. I have a dark side Andromeda, one that's dangerous, and could tear any chance we have together apart. Because I'm a monster! I'm not good for you! But, that doesn't change the fact that every time I look at you, my heart rate goes up, and I'm about ready to faint! You drive me insane, make it so hard to be mad at you, because you never make a mistake. Because, you do make me a better person, and some how I found myself falling for a girl who has about the same issues as I do. Because I found a girl who was willing to let me in, and all it took for me to get you to go on a date with me was to bounce some stupid toy on my foot.
"I had no idea it was this hard, no friking clue of how I was going to be able to get back up on my feet after I fell, but I guess I wouldn't have too. Because you, Andromeda, are my anchor, the one thing that seems to be keeping me in place."
The last bit came out just merely about a whisper, and our bodies were so close together, we were touching. She had tears streaming down her face, and I didn't know if they were good or bad. But, the longer I stared into her eyes, and her staring into mine, the harder it was to not kiss her. It took most of my self control, but my hands seemed to have a mind of their own. With my hand I pushed a strand of her hair out of her face, and placed it behind her ear. My other hand landed on her waist, pulling her closer to me, if that was even possible. With the same hand that I had used to push her hair out of her eyes I cup her cheek, my thumb caressing the apple of it.
"I really want to kiss you," I whisper, my eyes still locked with hers.
"Okay," she says, biting her lip, nervous.
"Can I kiss you?" I ask, and she nods, slowly. I lean forward, almost closing the gap between us when her hand is pressed to my chest, stopping me.
"What's the matter?"
"I'm scared," she explains.
"Good, because I'm terrified."
And with that, my lips land on hers. And for a while, it seems like were the only two people in the world, and nothing could stop us. Her own hands had found their way around my neck, and Andromeda having to go on her tip toes to deepen the kiss. It was nice, and I didn't even care that I felt something wet land on forehead. Probably a rain drop.
And I had been correct because not even two seconds later were we standing in the middle of a down pour. The best part?
We didn't care one bit.
Alright, as I said in the last Update, I was taking a break. Now, when you're reading this chapter it'll probably be somewhere around now ( Dec 24) or December 25 (A special update for the holidays). I said I would be writing, just not publishing chapters. A few of the next chapters to come, which will probably be up after the month of December, will come earlier then the rest.
Pointing this out, I'll be writing chapter after chapter until after New Years, but none will be published until than. I'm even thinking of making a writing schedule. (Maybe that might be my New Years resolution, and your Christmas persent. An actual schedule.)
I would just like to say Thank You for no mean comments on the Update I posted, and for the people who voted on it. You guys/gals truly make my day!
Question: Do you guys/gals want more action and less lovie dovie or more lovie dovie? Comment below and let me know.
Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. And enjoy your winter break.
P. S. Just so you all know, this book will probably be ending somewhere around chapters 35 or 40 (if I ever actually make it that far).
Thanks for reading :)