Curveball Chapter 11
Hey guys! First of all, happy holidays...even if I am a bit late. :) Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'm really busy! I've got Winter Guard right now and I'm starting tennis in January. With all my classes and activities, I'm swamped! Anyway, I just have a few things to say about the story and then I'll shut up. :)
I'm not really sure where I'm going with it yet. I haven't finished a single story, so far, in my little writing stint so, of course, I'm not perfect. I've never been good at planning although, like every author, I do have an idea in my head when I start. My mind just gets random ideas and inspiration sometimes, and that idea gradually changes into the finished product. So, I'm just as curious about the ending as you are! I'm very torn between Jeremy and Owen. You'd think I'd be a bit biased toward Owen, since he is inspired by a person in my life, or what I want that person to be, but I'm not. (I actually SHOULD be leaning more towards Jeremy, since my Owen inspiration has been a jerk lately.) I just wanted to tell you guys that you're input is always welcome. I know a lot of you who are authors, and even those of you who aren't, have good ideas, so I could really use anything you have to offer. Who knows, they might even get my brain working enough to write a decent chapter in a short amount of time, instead of the weeks or months that it's been taking me. :) If you have any ideas, email me at lindsey_rose_1994@yahoo.com. Well, I'll shut up now and let you read! I hope you like it!
I could feel someone stroking my hair when I woke up. I pushed the covers off to find Owen looking down at me. "Sleeping Beauty is finally awake?!" The soft moonlight filtering in through the blinds was the only light in the room, other than the digital alarm clock that was out of my view, and it made his face seem like it was glowing.
"What time is it?" I replied groggily. Although, it didn't matter, I wasn't leaving my bed. Our legs were still intertwined and I was content to stay there, him holding me, for the rest of my life.
"9:32, exactly nine hours and 32 minutes after we were supposed to go do something."
I sat up hurriedly, "What?! Why did you let me sleep?!" He was chuckling beside me.
"Remember that whole bit about you being peaceful, quiet and non-sarcastic when you sleep? Well, it's all true. I should know, I was awake for five hours while your lazy butt slept on me!"
"Don't be mean Owen" I said, as I started to push back the covers and make myself get up. How could I ruin the last day of no classes for him?
He grabbed my waist and pulled me over on top of him, "Oh no you don't, I've been with you all day and I haven't gotten a single kiss or an 'I love you' out of it!" He was smiling at me, "All you talked about was Jeremy and you were too preoccupied with him to pay any attention to your poor boyfriend"
"Yeah, right...how can I ever make it up to you?" I said sarcastically. I was lying on top of him and my face was inches from his.
He didn't answer. Instead, he closed the space between our mouths and placed a soft kiss on my lips. As I pulled away, he pulled my mouth back to his. He rolled over on top of me, careful to keep his full weight off me. My legs were wrapped around his waist as the kiss deepened.
Just then, an abrupt knocking interrupted us. "Who could that be?" My mouth was moving against his lips, so it didn't exactly sound like that, but he understood me.
"I don't care who it is, just ignore them." He replied, smothering me with another kiss. A bone melting, breathtaking kiss that made me want to forget about everything else in the world and focus on Owen and what was happening right now. Of course, that couldn't happen. What if it was important? What if someone was hurt?
I laughed as I pushed him off me and jumped from the bed. He was right behind me. His arms were wrapped around me from behind and he was stooped down to my height, so his head could rest on my shoulder as I opened the door. The smile faded from my face when I saw her.
It was my mother. Yeah, that's right; she was standing in my dorm hallway. And she was wearing her "casual clothes", so she couldn't be there for business. My mom wasn't the type of person to just show up, especially when it involved a long drive. She must've wanted something important.
She was glaring at Owen, who still had his arms around me. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Yes." Owen said. The hatred in his voice was unexpected. "Why are you here?"
"Owen! Don't be so mean. No mom, you're not interrupting anything." I was trying my best to be nice to her.
She continued to glare at Owen, ignoring me. "I need to talk to my daughter."
"Talk then, she's listening." He said. I felt his arms tighten around me protectively.
"Owen, don't be so rude. Do you wanna come in?"
"Yes, but I need to talk to you alone Olivia. It's a private matter." She finally turned her attention to me.
"No" Owen said. Although I didn't think it was possible, he held me even tighter. He was being over-protective. As much as I wanted to slam the door in her face, I needed to talk to her and Owen being like this wasn't helping.
"I'm sorry mom, but do you think you can stay out here for one second while I talk to him? It'll only be a minute." She nodded. I shut the door, hit the light switch, so I could see, and turned around to face him. "Owen, I need to talk to her. It's obviously important or she wouldn't have come this far!" I reasoned.
"No, Olivia. She's already hurt you enough."
"Owen, she's my mother! She came all this way to talk to me. The least I can do is see what she wants!" I was getting angry. I know that he was doing it because he cares, but I needed to talk to her. "Just go to your room or for a walk or something for a while and I'll call you when we're done. I'll be fine."
"Fine Olivia, do whatever you want." He muttered. He took his stuff and left, giving my mother a death glare as he stormed past her in the hallway.
My mom walked in and sat down on my unmade bed, shutting the door behind her. After a few moments of silence, I said, "What do you wanna talk about?"
"There's no easy way to say this Olivia. It'll be hard for me no matter how I put it. I know I've been a bad mother to you and I regret us not being close. This is just so hard." She looked like she was about to start crying and I started to worry.
"What's wrong mom?" I mumbled.
"It'll be easier if I just get it out there. I went to the doctor's office for a routine checkup. They ran some tests because they suspected that something was wrong..." She looked away sobbing, terrible body-wracking sobs. "I have Leukemia."
That's when I ran. I don't know what came over me; I just needed to get out of there. It all hit me in the face at once and it was too much to handle.
I ran all the way to the main street on campus before realizing that I wasn't wearing shoes and that I was soaked because of the rain that was crashing down around me. How did I manage to get that far without noticing all of this?
The street was deserted. Probably because every sane person on campus was smart enough to stay out of this storm. I walked over to the bench near the curb. I could hear music coming from a popular hangout a few yards down, but I blocked it out. I blocked everything out, all the pain that I was feeling. It was like dad all over again. But, I knew him very well. I hardly knew my mother. We were not close. That's why it hurt so much more. I would probably never get that opportunity now. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard someone calling my name.
"Olivia? Is that you? What are you doing sitting on a bench in the middle of a thunderstorm soaking wet and shoeless??"
It was Jeremy. I looked up at him and his eyes met mine. He could see the pain, even though the rain masked the tears. I didn't say anything. He picked me up off the bench, cradling me in his arms like a baby. I didn't know where he was going and I didn't care. I just wanted the pain to go away. I wanted to be numb and that's exactly what I did. I let myself drift away. The gentle sway of his body as he walked put me to sleep.
I was startled out of my sleep when the warmth of his arms around me disappeared. I was lying on a bed, soaking wet. "Where are we?" I asked, groggily.
"We're at my apartment. My roommate is home, so we had to come in here." He said. I looked around. I was in his bedroom, on his bed. Owen would freak out about this. "Do you wanna change into something dry? I can throw your clothes in the dryer."
"Sure." Everything that had happened was coming back to me now. I felt a strong urge to cry, but I held it in. He handed me some clothes and I went into the attached bathroom to change. He'd given me a t-shirt and sweatpants. They weren't very big on me, since he was only a few inches taller and at least they were dry.
When I left the bathroom he was sitting on his bed with an extra blanket. I wrapped up in the blanket and sat down, shivering, while he took my clothes down the hall and put them in the dryer. "What happened Olivia?" He asked a few minutes later, when he returned.
That's when I started crying for the second time that night.
~*~ Jeremy's POV ~*~
I'd never seen her like this before. She was such a mess. A lot of reasons crossed my mind. I dismissed most of them as crazy, until I got to Owen. What if something happened between them? If Owen did this to her, I'd kill him. But, is it really my place? Owen's her boyfriend, the one who's supposed to protect her. Even if I might still love her, she doesn't love me, she loves him, and I can't change that.
Still, I couldn't just do nothing while she cried. Out of instinct, my arms went around her and I pulled her closer to me. She started to speak between sobs. "I-It's my...M-mom. She has cancer."
Of all the things that could happen, it had to be something as horrible as this. Even if she tried to pretend like she didn't care about her mom, she'd already lost one parent and she didn't deserve to lose another. "I'm so sorry Olivia." What else do you say to someone who just learned something so devastating?
She cried for a long time before she stopped and, when I looked down, she was sleeping. Instead of waking her up, which is what I probably should've done, I laid her on my bed and covered her up. She looked so peaceful and finally free of the pain she was feeling at the thought of losing her mother. I didn't have the heart to wake her, so I let her sleep.
~*~ Olivia's POV ~*~
When I woke up the memories came flooding back to me. It took everything in me to keep myself from crying again. The only light in the room was from the glow of the alarm clock. It was 11:30 p.m., almost 3 hours since everything happened. The first thing I thought of was Owen. He was probably worried sick. What about my mom? I'd just run off without a goodbye. Was she worried too? I hopped out of the bed and went to find Jeremy.
I wandered past the closed doors in the hallway, towards the faint sounds of television coming from, what I guessed, was the main living area. The hallway opened into a living room and dining room. I could see into the kitchen through an archway near the dining table. Jeremy was sitting on the couch watching the news. When he saw me, he hurried over, pulling me into a hug. "Are you okay?"
"No, but Owen and my mom are probably worried about me. Are my clothes dry? I have to go back to the dorm."
"Yeah, I'll get them, but I'm not letting you walk back to your dorm alone. It's a 15 minute walk and it's late. I'll drive you." He walked into the kitchen and got my clothes out of the attached laundry room before I could protest. I went to change and, when I got back, he was ready to go.
The five minute ride to my dorm was silent. It wasn't an awkward silence. I was absorbed in my thoughts and he was concentrating on driving through the rain, so we were both content to be silent.
When we finally arrived he pulled into a parking space in front of the 5 story building. He started to get out, but I stopped him, "I thought you were just dropping me off?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna drop you off at your door. I'm not letting you out of my site until I know that you are safe and sound in your room." This is not good! What if Owen is waiting for me?
He hurried in, before I could object, and I had to run through the heavy rain to catch up with him. He was waiting for me in the elevator. I punched the button for the third floor and waited. When the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened I didn't wanna walk out. I was almost certain that Owen would be waiting for me. He was probably worried and, when Owen is worried, he gets really angry.
Sure enough, he was sitting on the floor outside my room, like he'd been waiting for a while. When he saw me with Jeremy he stood up and the anger in his eyes was all I needed to see. This was not going to end well.
Don't forget, if you have any ideas, advice, or comments please email me at lindsey_rose_1994@yahoo.com or leave it in a comment here. Thanks guys! :)
I'm not really sure where I'm going with it yet. I haven't finished a single story, so far, in my little writing stint so, of course, I'm not perfect. I've never been good at planning although, like every author, I do have an idea in my head when I start. My mind just gets random ideas and inspiration sometimes, and that idea gradually changes into the finished product. So, I'm just as curious about the ending as you are! I'm very torn between Jeremy and Owen. You'd think I'd be a bit biased toward Owen, since he is inspired by a person in my life, or what I want that person to be, but I'm not. (I actually SHOULD be leaning more towards Jeremy, since my Owen inspiration has been a jerk lately.) I just wanted to tell you guys that you're input is always welcome. I know a lot of you who are authors, and even those of you who aren't, have good ideas, so I could really use anything you have to offer. Who knows, they might even get my brain working enough to write a decent chapter in a short amount of time, instead of the weeks or months that it's been taking me. :) If you have any ideas, email me at lindsey_rose_1994@yahoo.com. Well, I'll shut up now and let you read! I hope you like it!
I could feel someone stroking my hair when I woke up. I pushed the covers off to find Owen looking down at me. "Sleeping Beauty is finally awake?!" The soft moonlight filtering in through the blinds was the only light in the room, other than the digital alarm clock that was out of my view, and it made his face seem like it was glowing.
"What time is it?" I replied groggily. Although, it didn't matter, I wasn't leaving my bed. Our legs were still intertwined and I was content to stay there, him holding me, for the rest of my life.
"9:32, exactly nine hours and 32 minutes after we were supposed to go do something."
I sat up hurriedly, "What?! Why did you let me sleep?!" He was chuckling beside me.
"Remember that whole bit about you being peaceful, quiet and non-sarcastic when you sleep? Well, it's all true. I should know, I was awake for five hours while your lazy butt slept on me!"
"Don't be mean Owen" I said, as I started to push back the covers and make myself get up. How could I ruin the last day of no classes for him?
He grabbed my waist and pulled me over on top of him, "Oh no you don't, I've been with you all day and I haven't gotten a single kiss or an 'I love you' out of it!" He was smiling at me, "All you talked about was Jeremy and you were too preoccupied with him to pay any attention to your poor boyfriend"
"Yeah, right...how can I ever make it up to you?" I said sarcastically. I was lying on top of him and my face was inches from his.
He didn't answer. Instead, he closed the space between our mouths and placed a soft kiss on my lips. As I pulled away, he pulled my mouth back to his. He rolled over on top of me, careful to keep his full weight off me. My legs were wrapped around his waist as the kiss deepened.
Just then, an abrupt knocking interrupted us. "Who could that be?" My mouth was moving against his lips, so it didn't exactly sound like that, but he understood me.
"I don't care who it is, just ignore them." He replied, smothering me with another kiss. A bone melting, breathtaking kiss that made me want to forget about everything else in the world and focus on Owen and what was happening right now. Of course, that couldn't happen. What if it was important? What if someone was hurt?
I laughed as I pushed him off me and jumped from the bed. He was right behind me. His arms were wrapped around me from behind and he was stooped down to my height, so his head could rest on my shoulder as I opened the door. The smile faded from my face when I saw her.
It was my mother. Yeah, that's right; she was standing in my dorm hallway. And she was wearing her "casual clothes", so she couldn't be there for business. My mom wasn't the type of person to just show up, especially when it involved a long drive. She must've wanted something important.
She was glaring at Owen, who still had his arms around me. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Yes." Owen said. The hatred in his voice was unexpected. "Why are you here?"
"Owen! Don't be so mean. No mom, you're not interrupting anything." I was trying my best to be nice to her.
She continued to glare at Owen, ignoring me. "I need to talk to my daughter."
"Talk then, she's listening." He said. I felt his arms tighten around me protectively.
"Owen, don't be so rude. Do you wanna come in?"
"Yes, but I need to talk to you alone Olivia. It's a private matter." She finally turned her attention to me.
"No" Owen said. Although I didn't think it was possible, he held me even tighter. He was being over-protective. As much as I wanted to slam the door in her face, I needed to talk to her and Owen being like this wasn't helping.
"I'm sorry mom, but do you think you can stay out here for one second while I talk to him? It'll only be a minute." She nodded. I shut the door, hit the light switch, so I could see, and turned around to face him. "Owen, I need to talk to her. It's obviously important or she wouldn't have come this far!" I reasoned.
"No, Olivia. She's already hurt you enough."
"Owen, she's my mother! She came all this way to talk to me. The least I can do is see what she wants!" I was getting angry. I know that he was doing it because he cares, but I needed to talk to her. "Just go to your room or for a walk or something for a while and I'll call you when we're done. I'll be fine."
"Fine Olivia, do whatever you want." He muttered. He took his stuff and left, giving my mother a death glare as he stormed past her in the hallway.
My mom walked in and sat down on my unmade bed, shutting the door behind her. After a few moments of silence, I said, "What do you wanna talk about?"
"There's no easy way to say this Olivia. It'll be hard for me no matter how I put it. I know I've been a bad mother to you and I regret us not being close. This is just so hard." She looked like she was about to start crying and I started to worry.
"What's wrong mom?" I mumbled.
"It'll be easier if I just get it out there. I went to the doctor's office for a routine checkup. They ran some tests because they suspected that something was wrong..." She looked away sobbing, terrible body-wracking sobs. "I have Leukemia."
That's when I ran. I don't know what came over me; I just needed to get out of there. It all hit me in the face at once and it was too much to handle.
I ran all the way to the main street on campus before realizing that I wasn't wearing shoes and that I was soaked because of the rain that was crashing down around me. How did I manage to get that far without noticing all of this?
The street was deserted. Probably because every sane person on campus was smart enough to stay out of this storm. I walked over to the bench near the curb. I could hear music coming from a popular hangout a few yards down, but I blocked it out. I blocked everything out, all the pain that I was feeling. It was like dad all over again. But, I knew him very well. I hardly knew my mother. We were not close. That's why it hurt so much more. I would probably never get that opportunity now. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard someone calling my name.
"Olivia? Is that you? What are you doing sitting on a bench in the middle of a thunderstorm soaking wet and shoeless??"
It was Jeremy. I looked up at him and his eyes met mine. He could see the pain, even though the rain masked the tears. I didn't say anything. He picked me up off the bench, cradling me in his arms like a baby. I didn't know where he was going and I didn't care. I just wanted the pain to go away. I wanted to be numb and that's exactly what I did. I let myself drift away. The gentle sway of his body as he walked put me to sleep.
I was startled out of my sleep when the warmth of his arms around me disappeared. I was lying on a bed, soaking wet. "Where are we?" I asked, groggily.
"We're at my apartment. My roommate is home, so we had to come in here." He said. I looked around. I was in his bedroom, on his bed. Owen would freak out about this. "Do you wanna change into something dry? I can throw your clothes in the dryer."
"Sure." Everything that had happened was coming back to me now. I felt a strong urge to cry, but I held it in. He handed me some clothes and I went into the attached bathroom to change. He'd given me a t-shirt and sweatpants. They weren't very big on me, since he was only a few inches taller and at least they were dry.
When I left the bathroom he was sitting on his bed with an extra blanket. I wrapped up in the blanket and sat down, shivering, while he took my clothes down the hall and put them in the dryer. "What happened Olivia?" He asked a few minutes later, when he returned.
That's when I started crying for the second time that night.
~*~ Jeremy's POV ~*~
I'd never seen her like this before. She was such a mess. A lot of reasons crossed my mind. I dismissed most of them as crazy, until I got to Owen. What if something happened between them? If Owen did this to her, I'd kill him. But, is it really my place? Owen's her boyfriend, the one who's supposed to protect her. Even if I might still love her, she doesn't love me, she loves him, and I can't change that.
Still, I couldn't just do nothing while she cried. Out of instinct, my arms went around her and I pulled her closer to me. She started to speak between sobs. "I-It's my...M-mom. She has cancer."
Of all the things that could happen, it had to be something as horrible as this. Even if she tried to pretend like she didn't care about her mom, she'd already lost one parent and she didn't deserve to lose another. "I'm so sorry Olivia." What else do you say to someone who just learned something so devastating?
She cried for a long time before she stopped and, when I looked down, she was sleeping. Instead of waking her up, which is what I probably should've done, I laid her on my bed and covered her up. She looked so peaceful and finally free of the pain she was feeling at the thought of losing her mother. I didn't have the heart to wake her, so I let her sleep.
~*~ Olivia's POV ~*~
When I woke up the memories came flooding back to me. It took everything in me to keep myself from crying again. The only light in the room was from the glow of the alarm clock. It was 11:30 p.m., almost 3 hours since everything happened. The first thing I thought of was Owen. He was probably worried sick. What about my mom? I'd just run off without a goodbye. Was she worried too? I hopped out of the bed and went to find Jeremy.
I wandered past the closed doors in the hallway, towards the faint sounds of television coming from, what I guessed, was the main living area. The hallway opened into a living room and dining room. I could see into the kitchen through an archway near the dining table. Jeremy was sitting on the couch watching the news. When he saw me, he hurried over, pulling me into a hug. "Are you okay?"
"No, but Owen and my mom are probably worried about me. Are my clothes dry? I have to go back to the dorm."
"Yeah, I'll get them, but I'm not letting you walk back to your dorm alone. It's a 15 minute walk and it's late. I'll drive you." He walked into the kitchen and got my clothes out of the attached laundry room before I could protest. I went to change and, when I got back, he was ready to go.
The five minute ride to my dorm was silent. It wasn't an awkward silence. I was absorbed in my thoughts and he was concentrating on driving through the rain, so we were both content to be silent.
When we finally arrived he pulled into a parking space in front of the 5 story building. He started to get out, but I stopped him, "I thought you were just dropping me off?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna drop you off at your door. I'm not letting you out of my site until I know that you are safe and sound in your room." This is not good! What if Owen is waiting for me?
He hurried in, before I could object, and I had to run through the heavy rain to catch up with him. He was waiting for me in the elevator. I punched the button for the third floor and waited. When the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened I didn't wanna walk out. I was almost certain that Owen would be waiting for me. He was probably worried and, when Owen is worried, he gets really angry.
Sure enough, he was sitting on the floor outside my room, like he'd been waiting for a while. When he saw me with Jeremy he stood up and the anger in his eyes was all I needed to see. This was not going to end well.
Don't forget, if you have any ideas, advice, or comments please email me at lindsey_rose_1994@yahoo.com or leave it in a comment here. Thanks guys! :)
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