Author: A. N. Senerella
Category: Young Adult
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/a-n-senerella/page,10,76697-mine.html
My stomach twisted a little bit. It was a good answer; so why didn’t I feel like it was? Because he mentioned my appearance twice, maybe?
He leaned down and kissed me slowly, but the sparks I’d felt yesterday weren’t really there anymore. I was probably just tired from spending the day with Foster, but it bothered me. “I have my own birthday thing set up for you. We’re gonna watch some movies and lie in your room for a while.”
I nodded. “Okay. That sounds fun.”
Brady pecked me on the lips one more time then led me upstairs.
But I didn’t feel excited.
Chapter 15
Brady
“Mom, stop. Yes, I thought about it. I don’t know yet.”
I listened quietly, not opening my eyes yet.
“Look, Washington sounds great, it does, but… no, this isn’t about that… Mom!” Anika sounded irritated. “If you would just listen… yes, I—Mom. Mom. Listen. I’ve been thinking it over. If you just give me a little more time I’ll… No, Mom. Don’t put Dad on the…!” She paused. “Hey, Daddy. Yeah, I’m thinking. I know… I know… Yes… No, Dad, stop taking Mom’s side on this.”
A pause.
“Are you feeling better at least? I mean, the medicine, is it working?” continued Anika. She’d said her dad got sick recently. Judging by the way she exhaled, though, it didn’t sound like good news. “It’ll work. I know it will. Just take it when you’re meant to, don’t give Mom hell about going to the doctor all the time, and it’ll be okay. As far as the house, though…”
What could she be arguing about with him?
“What do you mean? You’re just gonna… you already did? But if I don’t… yeah, I know, but… Dad, the college there is great, I know, but… No! I didn’t just waste my high school career doing all of this for nothing, but college is two years away… Don’t pull that card, you know I want to go to Washington State. Dad… Dad… No, Dad… Ugh! You’re not listening!”
I sat up.
Anika’s wide blue eyes shot to me. “Daddy, I have to go. No, don’t— I’m hanging up. Bye, love you,” she said hurriedly.
Suspicion pulled at my stomach. “You’re moving?”
She shook her head slowly. “No… I don’t want to yet.”
“Anika, is that the college you want to go to?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Your family is already there, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Then go.”
Her eyes widened a little bit. “What?”
“Go to Washington, Anika. You’ve spent weeks thinking about this. Four weeks ago, on your birthday, you told me that you weren’t going to leave because you wanted to stay here with me and that you were going to tell your mom you weren’t going.” I trailed my gaze from her hair down her arm, then settled my gaze on her leg. “I want you to go to Washington. Your family is there, and the college you want to go to is there.”
“I don’t want to—”
“I want you to leave.”
She stopped talking. “What?”
“I want you to leave,” I repeated quietly. I’d been able to tell for about a week now that she was losing interest in me. She preferred working on homework over talking to me, and she’d only let me sleep over twice in the past month, not including the night I stayed over for her birthday. My chest hurt as I repeated my statement. I didn’t want to let go of her. But she needed me to because she wasn’t going to do it herself. As her interest had ebbed, mine had started to as well.
“Oh,” she almost whispered.
I sat quietly for a moment. “I love you.”
Anika’s eyes teared up.
“You can’t say it back.” A small smile played on my lips. I knew she couldn’t say it back to me. I’d known that when I said it. “That’s okay. You don’t need to love me.”
A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
God, this hurt. She was crying, I was losing her, and she was going to move to the other side of the country. I was breaking up with the girl I wanted. Pushing myself to my feet, I stopped at the door and smiled a little. Someday, I’ll be good enough for you, Anika. I promise.
And I left.
***
Anika
“Yes. You should go, Anika,” said Sierra.
I closed my eyes. Mitchell had told me to leave too.
“I want what’s best for you, Anika. I always have, haven’t I? You’re my best friend. Even if we haven’t spoken in a while, I do love you, and it’s not like you won’t be able to text me from Washington. Maybe you can even come visit during the summer. You’d be happier there, I think. Trust me on this, Anika. You need to go to Washington.”
“What do you think I should do?” I’d hung up the phone with Mitchell an hour ago, and now I needed to ask Sierra.
“I think… you should stay. But that’s being selfish, I think. Because I want you to stay so that I can keep you to myself, you know? You’re so smart. You’ll get into the college there if you want to, and you have the credits to graduate this year if you really try for it. As much as I want you to stay, I think you need to go.”
I closed my eyes. “Okay.”
***
Mitchell
I looked at the phone in my lap and smiled a little bit despite the tears burning my eyes. She was leaving. She was actually leaving; I mean, she’d been gone from me for a while now, but now she was actually physically leaving. I’d wanted to ask her to stay, but I couldn’t force myself to do it. Anika needed to get away from everyone here. Foster. Brady. Sierra. She needed to get away from all of them.
So I couldn’t ask her to stay with me.
Then again, her leaving didn’t mean I wouldn’t still see her.
***
Sierra
I tapped the button on my phone to hang up and fell backward onto my bed. “Anika’s leaving,” I said quietly to myself. “She’s moving to Washington, and I told her to do it.” I closed my eyes. “When’s she leaving?” I wondered out loud. “Maybe she’ll throw a party or something for herself. A going away party. If she doesn’t, I will. I have to.” I exhaled slowly. “After all, she’s my best friend.”
***
Foster
I looked down at Anika. She was standing in front of my door and looking down at her feet.
“Um… Foster…”
A half-smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “I know, Anika.”
She was leaving. She’d changed her mind, and she was going to move to Washington.
“I’m sorry. My… My mom…” Her voice trembled a little bit.
I reached out and pulled her against me, wrapping my arms around her and holding her quietly, resting my head on top of hers. “This isn’t going to change anything, Anika. I’ll come for you someday.” Another small smile tugged at my lips. This didn’t have to be a sad thing if I didn’t let it be. Her leaving was going to provide her with so many new opportunities. Not to mention, it would mean a break from all of the stress she’d been put through in the past couple of months.
“Did Brady tell you?” she asked from trembling lips against my chest.
No. I’d listened to her phone calls all day. She’d called so many people for their opinions, and they had all told her to move in with her family. “Yes,” I murmured.
She shook harder in my arms.
My heart cracked as I felt her crying.
“No one wants me to stay,” she whimpered quietly.
She thought that? She thought we all wanted her to leave for our sake? Anger flashed through my body, making my hands twitch. “Anika, none of us want you to leave. We want you to have the chance of leading a great life. Your family is in Washington, and there is an amazing college there that you could get into so easily if you wanted to.” Of course, I already knew she wanted to go to college there. “I want you to
stay more than almost anything; the only thing I want more than that is what’s best for you.” I pulled back a little and pressed my lips to her forehead.
Anika fell quiet and stopped shaking. She tilted her head back a little and made eye contact. My entire body responded to her blue depths looking into my eyes. “Foster?”
“Yes?” I managed.
She hesitated, but the question in her eyes was clear.
I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers.
Chapter 16
Brady
I stared up at my ceiling blankly. That’s all I’d been able to do since I had broken up with Anika two days ago. My phone buzzed and I lifted it numbly.
are you coming to anika’s going away party?
The text message from Sierra made my stomach churn. No. I wasn’t going to go. I couldn’t.
hey anika wants to know if youre coming to her party
I ground my teeth together as Mitchell’s text message popped up. No. I wasn’t going.
Anika wants you at her party today. Be there.
My jaw clenched hard as Foster’s name flashed across my screen.
No. I wasn’t going.
I looked at the form in my hand thoughtfully. Maybe I shouldn’t sign up yet. Maybe there was time.
Maybes didn’t get anyone much of anything in life, though.
***
Anika
I sat on my kitchen counter, swinging my legs a little. I’d stopped crying about everyone wanting me to leave after I’d spoken to Foster a couple days ago. Slowly, I raised my hand to my lips and brushed my fingers over them, remembering how it had felt to have Foster’s lips against mine. My eyes closed involuntarily and I just sat there. There was nothing to think about at this point. I’d already decided, and I’d already been told to go by everyone I knew. I’d bought the plane ticket. There was nothing in my way now. Nothing to make me stay. I touched my lips for a moment longer then let my hand fall.
Maybe there was.
***
Mitchell
I leaned back against the couch and looked at Anika. She was sitting on the other couch, smiling and laughing with Sierra. They were talking about things they’d done over the years, and I could tell Sierra was trying not to cry. After five years of being her friend, I’d learned to recognize when she wanted to cry. Even though she was smiling, even though her eyes were lit up, even though she was laughing, she was sad.
Anika smiled at something Sierra said and looked at her watch. Immediately the smile was gone, and I looked at my phone for the time. It was time for her to leave. I stood up and hugged her, smiling at Anika encouragingly. “You’re going to love it there, Anika,” I murmured, turning my head to kiss her cheek gently.
Her fingers tightened in the fabric of my shirt and I felt her shake a little.
***
Sierra
I took a deep breath and smiled at Anika. “Alright. Time to go, I guess?”
She nodded. She’d only just managed to pry herself away from Mitchell, who had immediately fled into the backyard. I hugged her and smiled. When I looked up, Foster was watching us from the front door, looking outside. He was leaning against the door frame casually but I could see the tense muscles of his arms bulging a little bit.
He really did love her, didn’t he?
***
Foster
I wrapped my arms around Anika and held her against me, closing my eyes. This would be the last time for a long time that I got to hold her like this with me. There was no way for me to stop her, though, and this was a great opportunity for her. She really would be happier in Washington with her family; I was certain of it. Besides, her family needed her.
I would keep tabs on her while she was gone. I’d watch. Someone had to make sure she was safe.
Anika’s fingers tightened on the fabric of my shirt and I smiled, pressing my lips to the top of her head. “I’m never going to be more than one phone call away from you, Anika. If you ever want to see me, just call me and I’ll be there, I promise.”
She nodded a little against my chest.
I love you, Anika. I’ll always be yours.
***
Brady
I watched as Anika got in the car. I’d refused to go to the party, mostly because I couldn’t say goodbye to her for a second time, but I’d shown up. Seeing her disappear into the car destroyed me. All I wanted at that moment was to get out of my car and beg her to stay for me, to stay with me and just promise me that she’d never leave me.
If we meet again, Anika, I promise you I’ll be a different man.
***
Foster
I watched Anika drive away and smiled a little.
“Why are you smiling?” asked Sierra.
“She’s going to be happier there.”
Sierra nodded beside me and kicked the ground lightly. “That asshole didn’t show up.”
“Yes, he did.”
“No, he didn’t. Are you delusional?”
“He didn’t come inside,” I informed her, watching Brady’s car drive away in the opposite direction, “but he couldn’t keep himself from coming. It’s not in his personality to give up like that. I’m pretty sure he watched us the whole time.”
“And you didn’t say anything?”
“There was nothing to say.”
I felt her turn her eyes on me. “You seriously hate him, huh?”
“I don’t dislike Brady,” I explained, still watching as his car turned the corner. “In fact, I envy him for getting as close to Anika as he did. I can understand why he fell in love with her; I did, after all. A little competition never killed anyone.” A real smile slid onto my face. “That’s why I’m smiling. She’s going to come back eventually, and I’ll be waiting for her when she does. We both will, I think.” Suddenly my memory of something I wanted to ask flooded into my mind again. “Excuse me.”
I made my way to the backyard.
Mitchell was looking down at a rock, a half-smile on his face. “I decorated this with Anika in sixth grade.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t going to get distracted. “Are you ever going to tell me why you paid that guy to drug Anika at Brady’s party? Or are you just going to keep pretending that I’m blind?” He didn’t say anything and I shook my head a little. “It’s rather insulting that you thought I wouldn’t figure that out, Mitchell.”
He remained silent.
“I would not have let you get any closer than that, Mitchell. It’s a good thing you listened to my warning and stopped hanging around Anika. I’d say I appreciate you listening to me and telling Anika to go to Washington if you didn’t owe that much to her.”
“You’re so clueless,” he said suddenly, twirling something in his hand absently.
“Hm?”
“She was never yours. She was never Brady’s. Since that day in fifth grade, Anika was mine.”
I looked down at the rock Mitchell was looking at. Mitchell and Anika <3 was written on it. I’d been able to tell from day one that he wasn’t mentally stable. Despite everything Anika said, despite Mitchell’s efforts, despite everyone’s blindness, I’d seen through it. If anyone was dangerous, it was him. A small penguin pendant swung in his fingers.
He’d been the dangerous one all along.
Chapter 17
Foster
I looked across the lake without much interest. Life had been pretty boring since Anika left. She didn’t text me as often as I would have liked, but I didn’t want to push her out of fear that she would stop talking altogether.
She was starting to look at applications for jobs in Washington, and she was already working on her college submission form for the college she wanted to go to, even though it was only the late beginning of senior year. In the past month, I’d only talked to her once. We’d been on the phone together for about two hours, and I’d felt utterly defeated when she hung up. I’d considered going to Washington dozens of times aft
er she left, and every time I just reminded myself that I was part of the reason she left in the first place.
If I closed my eyes for a moment, I could still feel the way her lips had felt against mine for the last time. She’d asked me to kiss her, not with words but with her eyes, and there had been so much want on her lips that I thought she was going to change her mind again and stay. But she hadn’t changed her mind, and I couldn’t do anything about that.
Mitchell had dropped off the map entirely. He switched schools, and the last time I had heard him mentioned was four months ago when Sierra told me that he wasn’t replying to anything she sent him. He’d even gotten a new phone. I didn’t bother hacking it; there was no way he was a danger to Anika right now, and he would find the virus quickly anyway. But I would have to find out about his whereabouts if she came back. That was the only way I could protect her from him.
Brady was on the honor roll by the end of junior year, and he was coming second to me in all of the testing sessions so far this year. I knew he was trying to prove something; whether it was to himself, or me, or Anika, I wasn’t sure, but he had completely changed when she’d left. There were rumors going around about him, but I was almost certain that he wasn’t the kind of man to do what they said he was going to do. He just wasn’t made of the kind of material required.
Sierra… hadn’t been doing quite as well. When Brady surpassed her grades, she seemed to completely give up on school. On the rare occasions I saw her at school, she never looked interested in anything. She was still the same annoyingly happy girl that she had been when Anika was here, but she wasn’t trying anymore. For almost anything. Clearly, she was still proud of her appearance, but there was just no effort in anything else anymore, as far as I could tell. I didn’t go out of my way to talk to her, but I did keep my eye on her for Anika’s sake. She didn’t have a job and she was failing almost half of her classes that she needed to pass. But that was none of my business; as long as she was physically okay, I didn’t need to step in.