Amelia Forbes
I shook my head vigorously over and over again as I stared at my reflection. I'd been standing in the bathroom for more than thirty minutes-the pregnancy tester I'd gotten from a store across the street clutched in my right hand.I remembered the nasty look the lady at the counter had given me as she tossed the tester into a plastic bag, murmuring something about 16 year old sluts.I shook my head once more. I was just really tense. I can't be pregnant.Relax, Mel. It's just a false alarm. The changes in your body are as a result of stress. Breathe.Already having previous information about what single and double lines meant, I settled down and peed on it.In the few minutes it took to show the result, I wiped my hands on my jeans. Maybe it's just a coincidence. A hormone thing.After a few minutes of waiting, I let out a shaky breath and looked down at the plastic I held in my hand."No!" I screamed, feeling my throat constricJason DavenportI sat talking with the guys over a couple of beers at Greg's. Rory's parents, surprisingly, had decided to show up unannounced this weekend. So we had moved to Greg's instead. Which wasn't a problem for me anyway. I just needed to get out of that house and chill.After the other day when Dad had thrown that stupid party, I couldn't stand being in the same room with him or his beloved wife.Bullshit.Introducing her to our relatives showed that he was really serious with her. It also meant that he was replacing my mother.Officially.Fuck Ashley.But I knew I had to keep up my pretence so she wouldn't think I was onto her. That's why I had to leave. So I wouldn't do or say anything out of line.The only thing was that Greg-our supposed host-was nowhere to be found. He'd suggested we hang out at his place today on the group chat I'd created for the guys. He'd left Rory his key as they lived not too far from each other. We didn't
Amelia Forbes"Forbes!" The shout from Mrs Sandra jolted me from my distracted stance. I looked up to see her watching me, hands planted on her hips. Oh no. I knew there was a quiz going on, but I'd somehow lost focus in the middle of it.Slowly, I stood to my feet."Is there something interesting going on outside?" Mrs Sandra asked, the annoyed look still visible on her face.I shook my head rapidly, wanting to get through this embarrassment as soon as possible."I asked you a question. What's the gap between two contiguous teeth called?"My fingers rolled into a fist and I tried to think. But nothing was coming up.Some seats away from me Kimberly whispered something into her friend's ear and after a while I could hear murmurs."I heard her grades have been dropping.""The female Einstein has fallen.""Is she sick or something?""Dumb bitch!"I didn't turn to the sound of the voice but I knew it was Jason. Instead I
Jason DavenportI clicked my Instagram off as I heard Dad walk towards my room. I knew it was him because he was the only one who trudged through the house noisily. Well, it was his house anyway.Ashley had gone to see her grandparents and stay over for the weekend. Or so she said.Of course I didn't believe her one bit. But I couldn't exactly follow her to Manhattan now, could I?It still annoyed me how much Dad believed her. Trusted her. Wasn't it obvious enough that she was lying? Refusing to let my day be ruined by thoughts of Ashley, I pushed the thought aside and resumed my original stance of pretending to be asleep. I could hear dad's heavy footsteps as he approached my bed and from where he stood at the foot of the bed, I could feel him staring at me. "I heard you on your phone before I walked in, Jason. I know you're awake."Grudgingly, I turned over on the bed and faced him. What was his problem now? I really wasn't in the mood to
Amelia ForbesI tried to concentrate as I sat in the practical lab at school. We were required to take off our protective masks to be able to answer questions about the different chemicals we were learning about.Earlier, I had sat at the front. But when Kimberly and her minions took a position right beside me, looking like they she was going to throw acid all over me, I'd moved to the back. Better safe than sorry, right? Although Kimberly kept throwing me nasty glances at intervals. I couldn't shake the feeling that she was planning something. Feeling safe that a teacher was present, I shook it off and concentrated on the lecture Mr Paulo was giving. "Okay now everyone exchange partners and discuss what you just learned," Mr Paulo said, waving his hand in a shuffling motion.The girl who I'd been paired with moaned in joy, snatching her materials off the table and walking away as if I was the plague. I didn't mind anyway so I sat just sat there watc
Amelia ForbesThirty minutes after Adrian had stormed off, Benson peeked through the door of my ward, worry visible on his face. He walked in when he saw that I was awake. "Mel, are you okay?" He asked, rushing to my side and placing a hand on my forehead and looking into my eyes for any signs.For a moment I was scared. What if Adrian had told him everything?I looked up at him again and I saw that he didn't know. I relaxed once more."What happened?" He asked, squeezing my arm.I shrugged, trying to look as normal as possible. "Nothing serious. The doctor said I'm stressing myself out. I need to rest and eat healthier, that's all."I finished, hoping the lie was believable. Benson's face dissolved into a look of relief. He sighed. "You scared me." He ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I wanted to. . . come with Adrian to the hospital but I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me," He said, looking down at his feet.I felt bad abou
Jason DavenportI watched Ashley share "juicy gossip" with Dad from across the table. She had returned two days ago and since then had proceeded to bore us out of our minds with unwanted info.I still wasn't talking to dad. I was still bitter about the last time. It'd be an embarrassment if I had to tell the boys I couldn't afford to pay for drinks this weekend. They'd probably make fun of me and wouldn't let me forget it for the rest of my life. I frowned, downing my cup of hot chocolate. I resisted the urge to scream as the very hot liquid burned my tongue. In order to not look stupid, I held it in and gulped down a cup of milk instead to help with the pain. Fucking hell.I was so frustrated with everything. And Ashley's babbling was really not helping. "Babe, what do you think?" Ashley asked, her head tilted to the side.What had she asked him?"Sure," Dad replied. "Am outing sounds good. It's 8pm and I'm bored, so why not?"Ashley
Amelia ForbesAs I walked through the doors at school, I immediately knew something was wrong. Everyone I passed gave me weird looks and kept pointing at me. When I looked away they would begin to talk in murmurs about something I couldn't hear. My mind raced as I increased my pace. What could've happened now?No. Please. It can't be.Adrian couldn't have. . .I clutched by books tightly to steady myself as I shook rapidly from head to toe. Why must everything bad happen to me? I refused to let the tears beginning to form in my eyes fall as I shoved my backpack into my locker and proceeded to look for somewhere to hide. As I hurried away I came across Jason, Kimberly and the rest of their gang leaning against the lockers. Kimberly eyed me as she sighted me. "Slut." Someone coughed. I pretended not to hear, turning away. "Went to get yourself pregnant didn't you?"That stopped me in my tracks. No, no. I felt my anxiet
Jason DavenportI sat on one of the old chairs at the pool after practice. I'd wanted to take a swim as I was very sweaty, but I decided to sit and relax for a while.After all, there was no rush to head on home. After the incident regarding Dad and Ashley, I wasn't sure how I felt. I knew I felt a great deal of stupid. But mostly it was. . . pain. I'd wanted to be right. I'd needed to be right. Being right meant that Ashley would disappear from our lives and that Dad and I would have a chance to work on our relationship. Being right meant that I'd never have to regard anyone else as my mother. Being right meant that I wouldn't have to call anyone else 'mom' and have to experience the pain and anger that came with it. But I'd been wrong. Ashley was weird and annoying and way too girly for my liking. Plus I hated the fact that she was a younger woman. It irritated the shit out of me. I wasn't sure I would ever accept her completely. I still hated her for t
Amelia ForbesThe day had gone by so fast and it was already about time for our dinner date. Dani came over to help me get dressed. She and Adrian were open about their relationship status now and they looked so good together I thought I would cry.She did my makeup too. I didn't look perfect because I still had a little bit of my tummy showing after the delivery, but Jason didn't care. Dani enveloped me in a tight hug as she saw me off to the limo."You look amazing, Ammie," She whispered. "Off you go. Be a good girl now."I whipped around, eyes widening in embarrassment. But she only winked at me and stalked off.God, I loved to hate her.I didn't know where we were going, and no matter how many times I'd asked, Jason wouldn't tell.Finally we arrived. He had set something up at one of the spots on the hill. There were lights and food, and even someone to play the violin.Again, how would he know I loved the violin?Benson.After about an hour of
Amelia ForbesIt had been a while since I'd had the baby now. Two months precisely.I had so many dreams I had wanted to realize after high school, so much I wanted to do. But all that was gone now. At least for a while. In the beginning it had saddened me deeply. But now, all I wanted was to make sure my baby got everything she deserved, and then some more.Being a mother changes a lot. Everything, in fact. And I really love my baby, but in she's always crying, and it's even worse at night now. We finally went to the doctor a week ago and realized it was colic. Thank God.I said a silent prayer. If I'm being honest, I don't think I could've handled it alone. Especially with Nana gone. The thought of her brought tears to my eyes. She had passed away peacefully at the elderly home. And I missed her a lot. Every day I would imagine all the beautiful words she would've used if she could talk.I thought of those times when she really was the only thing that kept me go
Amelia Forbes I deliberately sipped my hot cocoa slowly, as I watched Dani say hi to Adrian briefly and walk into the kitchen toward me. She pulled up a chair and lowered herself onto it, watching me with hawk eyes."What's going on?" Her tone was crisp."What do you mean?" I cocked an eyebrow.She rolled her eyes. "So pretty boy gets into an accident and all of a sudden you move in with him?"The anger that flashed within me knew no bounds as I raised her eyes to meet hers. "It was an attempted suicide," I said quietly.Her hand froze halfway to her lips. "What?" She managed to croak. "I...I had no idea that-""No you didn't," I snapped. She hung her head but didn't say anything more."And if Nana was still home, I probably wouldn't be living here now. So please don't play that card.""I'm sorry," She managed.I shrugged, eyeing her curiously. "And what about you?" I asked innocently. "Is there anything you wanna tell me?"She threw
Jason DavenportIt'd been five days since I was discharged from the hospital. My head still hurt, but I'd never felt better. Dad had convinced me to come back home and I'd agreed, on the condition that I'd keep working until I could afford to pay for college. And it'd been going great. My friendship with Adrian was still a bit shaky but we were working things out. We'd resumed our weekly hangout at my house to play either basketball or video games and it felt nice. Sometimes Amelia popped in to check on me but she never stayed for too long."Hey?" I shook Adrian as we both sat on my bed. He quickly tried to put his phone away and I eyed him suspiciously. "Who are you texting?" I asked. He blushed. "Um, no one?"I patted his back. "Tell me everything, my friend."An hour later, Adrian had narrated the love story that had sprung between himself and Dani Daniels and I stared at him in shock."Dani?!" I stage whispered, putting a hand to my mouth. "Holy sh
Jason DavenportI still wasn't sure what miracle had occured while I was unconscious.At first when I woke up, my first feeling was that of disappointment. I was disappointed that I had survived. Once again I'd proved that I'd always be a failure.But when Amelia had barged into my ward, a crying mess, and enveloped me in a hug, I thought I was dreaming. I still couldn't wrap it around my head but I was glad for it. Whatever had happened, I prayed that it would stay that way. As I relaxed my pounding head onto the pillow, my door swung open and I swallowed as I saw Adrian walk in.He stumbled awkwardly and took a seat beside me on the bed. "Hey.""Hey."For a while we sat there, not uttering a word to each other. "Why'd you do it?" Adrian finally whispered.I didn't need to ask to know what he was talking about. I took my time to gather myself. "I guess... I guess I was just tired of being such a failure..." I trailed off.Saying it brough
Amelia ForbesI sat fidgeting in the waiting room. It'd been three hours since we arrived at the hospital and everyone was seated, quietly. The truck driver had given a clear description of what had transpired. No one said a word.Tears flowed down my cheeks. He has attempted suicide.The thought broke me down more than I thought it could. I felt sad, guilty. I blamed myself for pushing him out in the rain and saying such hard words to him.I guessed those few weeks had put him into some deep state of depression. He was in such a state that he had seen suicide as the only option. It was then that I realized that he'd been honest the whole time.He'd been sincere. All the effort he'd been putting. I stifled a sob.What if something happened to him?My heart pounded in my chest. What would I do? I couldn't take care of a child alone. I couldn't...And he was so good with her. He'd be such a good dad. I couldn't... I couldn't lose him.I burie
Jason DavenportAs Amelia pushed me out into the blasting rain, I realized something. I was exhausted.I was tired.I was tired of the crying, tired of the begging. I knew I deserved everything that was happening right now and then some more, but I was tired. This was what I'd also be. The rapist. The criminal. No matter how hard I tried. No one would ever see the good in me.And it was all my fault. I showed the good in me too late. Way too late. So late that everyone would stand waiting for me to draw the curtains and prove to them that it was all an act. I'd always be the asshole. The monster. The beast.I looked up at the sky and sobbed. "Are you disappointed in me too, mom? This is what your boy turned out to be. A useless piece of shit."I slumped to the floor, my chest feeling like it was about to explode. "I'm a criminal, mom. I lost every-every thing. My friends, my family, my dignity. This is what I've become.""Nobody wants me m-mo
Amelia Forbes"I got in."Dani walked into my room beaming, a white envelope in hand.And although I knew what she held-a college acceptance letter, I asked, "Into what?"She rolled her eyes at me and laughed. "Bloustone College?" "Oh," I finally managed to mutter after a while. Dani stared at me in disbelief. "Really? That's all you're gonna say? I've been working my ass off for this and that's all you're gonna say?" She was right. I did sound kind of selfish."I'm sorry, Dani. I didn't mean it like that," I pleaded. "Of course I'm happy for you. It just.. it took me by surprise, that's all. You know how hard I've been rooting for you."She gave me a small smile and wrapped her arms on my shoulder. "It's okay, Ammie. I'll miss you too."My throat tightened. I was going to miss her. Even more than she thought. She was one of my best friends. She'd been there for me when no one else had. She'd practically forced her way into my life.I giggled
Amelia ForbesI woke up to the soft cry of my baby girl. We'd moved her from Nana's room to the room that used to belong to my parents.Careful not to wake anyone up, I tiptoed to the room and received a startle when I saw Jason cradling her in his arms.My first thought was to go in and snatch her away from him. If he hurt her, I swear. But I waited. And I watched.I watched her stop crying as soon as he picked her up. I watched him coo her, kiss her cheek and began to hum a tune. Was he singing? I wondered, my mouth agape.What had happened to the Jason Davenport from high school? And who was this softie? Was this all an act? To gain my forgiveness?But he knew everyone was asleep. So why would he act when there wasn't an audience. I don't know how long I stood there for. But i watched them, a wide smile permanently plastered on my face. He knew just how to hold her. How to rock her back and forth so she would fall asleep.How?What changed?