I wake up to Eric snoring loudly, as if there isn't anything to be worried about, as if he doesn't know. Oh wait, that's because he doesn't, the voice in my head tells me. I push his arm off of me and head toward the bathroom, where our toothbrushes are resting on the counter, waiting for someone to pick them up. I brush my teeth and hop in the shower. When I get out and get dressed, I feel clean for the first time in what seems to be forever, even though it's only been a few days. The twenty dollar bill is still in my pocket from last night. I grab a piece of paper and a pen. "Will be back in 30 minutes. Gone to get food. Love, Jenna." I put it on the comforter where I was sleeping a short time ago and grab his keys from the wooden nightstand.
I realize that there is absolutely no gas station, McDonalds, or stores in this rinky dink town at all. I drive to the next town over and pull into a random supermarket. Grabbing a gallon of Orange Juice and a carton of Milk, I pass the refridgerated aisle and enter the cereal aisle.
I pay and drive back to the hotel room, where I find Eric going out of his mind, wondering where I'd been. "Jenna!" I feel like shit the second I see the relief flooding his face. "I thought- I, I thought that, ah, Rick, um...." He obviously can't find a way to make his words come out.
I stand on my tip-toes and kiss him lightly. "Calm down. I left you a note. Didn't you see it?" He's trying to hide the fact that he's crying and says "Oh, that's what that was. See, Jenna honey, my nose started bleeding, and I'd already bled all over it before I realized it was a note, and since I couldn't read it, I assumed it was something saying that either you were leaving for good or that Rick had you, and-"
"Eric. Calm down. I'm right here. I just went to go get food." I hold up the the brown paper bags and shake them. I drop them on the floor and step into his arms. He's shaking, he's been crying I can tell. I put my arms around his neck, and I feel sobs rack his chest. "I'm right here, Eric. I'm not going anywhere. But I need to tell you now. I found out last night that..." I try to find the right words, but I just can't. "I dont know how to say this," I finally say after a few minutes of feeling him trying to steady himself against me. "But I'm just going to get it out of the way. I'm pregnant, Eric. With Rick's baby. I'm so sorry."
I feel something then- a deep intake of breath from Eric, an angry, predatory growl as he pulls me even closer (is that possible? I can't help but think) and whispers, "You won't ever have to deal with him again. We'll leave. Live in Florida, I know how you love the ocean. We can raise the baby as our own, and he won't ever find us."
I breath him in, his smell, his own breathe coming out of his mouth. "I love you, Eric. I'm so sorry that I'm making you go through this, but I'm glad you're here at the same time. I love you." I kiss him then, on his nose, on his cheek, on his chin, on his neck, on his forhead, his jawline, his lips. I pull away, look him straight in the eyes, and then he says 'Jenna, I love you too. I want to kill him for doing this to you." He touches my face, tracing his thumb over my lips. "Eric, as much as I like the thought of staying here a while longer, we need to leave."
He sighs, bringing my face to his for one last, sweet kiss. 'I know. I'll go let them know we're leaving." When he gets back, we eat and head out to the road one more time.
Eric lets me play D.J. with his many C.D.s while he drives. We stop at a gas station somewhere for a not-so-healthy lunch of beef jerky, salted peanuts and some Arizona Tea to chase it down. I hadn't realized how hungry I was; I hadn't eaten all yesterday. I pop in a Mayday Parade C.D. that I burned for him with all his favorites by them on it. Jamie All Over plays through the speakers.
And please don't tell me that I'm dreaming When all I ever wanted was to dream another sunset with you If I roll over when it's over I'll take this Cali sunrise with me And wake up with the fondest memories
Somehow, the lyrics turned into songs, which somehow transformed into time. The whole ride, Eric held my hand. Hours later, we pull up to a motel, where we climb out of the car and I walk inside. "Stay here," I tell him, and he hands me another fifty. My god, he's loaded today! I think, shocked in a way because he never seemed to be swimming in the dough, if you know what I mean. I walk into the lobby, which I immediately notice smells like cheap cigarettes, beer and sweat. Nice place, I think sarcastically as I walk up to the check in counter. "Can I help you?" I stocky woman asked from behind it. "How much for one night?" "Thirty for one bedroom." I pull the money Eric gave me out of the pocket and handed it to her. "Name?" I think about that for a minute, then decide to go with my earlier name. "Angie Flu." She hands me a twenty dollar bill and a key. "Room one thirty-eight. Let me know when you're checking out tomorrow." I nod and walk outside, where Eric's leaning against the car with the bag in his hand. He doesn't see me coming towards him, and it's then that I realize how tired he must be and what I'm putting him through. He doesn't deserve this. He should be in F.Y.E right now, completely clueless as to what's happening with Rick and me... Do you really wish he wasn't in this with you? A voice in my head interrupted my thoughts. No. Do you really wish you were falling victim to Rick right now? No. Do you really wish you hadn't dragged Eric into this? Yes. I take Eric's hand in mine. "Come on." I lead him to the hotel room, and I know he's dead on his feet. I wonder how much sleep he got last night. After I lock the door behind us, I take the bag and run into the bathroom. "What are you doing?" He calls out from behind the closed door. I decide it would be a good idea to let him use the restroom first, since I have no clue how to work a pregnancy test and it could take a while. I enter the bedroom again. "Here, use the bathroom. You're going to be out like a light by the time I'm done." He nods-he's the only person whose nod doesn't bother me-and strides quickly into the tiny room. When he emerges, he walks to the edge of the bed and sits down. Grabbing the pregnancy tests out of the bag, Eric seems to comprehend what I'm about to do. I don't look at his tired and worried face, I just take a deep breath and go into the bathroom. ___________________________________________________
I don't think, just stare at the three pregnancy tests in front of me. I'd tested all three of them, and they all had come of with the same results: pregnant. pregnant. pregnant. The numb feeling is subsiding, and I know that deep down, it's not my fault. But I feel guilty,right now, for doing this. For being pregnant. I'm going to be a mama, whether I'm ready or not. I burst through the door, sick over Rick and the memories, ready to just cry for mine and Eric's future, and to let myself pretend that it's just me and Eric.
It's just me and Eric now.
But I see him sleeping peacefully on the bed, and I can't bring myself to wake him. I lift his arm and crawl underneath it; all of this, reality, can wait until tomorrow.
***If you're wondering what happened to the rest of this entry, please view chapter 8***
I wake up the next morning at 5:30 A.M. with my head on Eric's chest. It takes me a minute, but I remember how I ended up here. He knows, he knows, he knows is repetitively running through my head. A part of my is very happy, because Eric loves me the same way I love him. A portion of me is angry with myself-why didn't I do it? I wanted to make love with him, but I just couldn't bring myself to. But there's a part of me that's incredibly disappointed that Eric knows Rick raped me. I wanted Eric to be my first, the only one who would ever touch me. And Rick took that away. I remember the way Eric's clothed body felt pressed against my bare one, the way his lips molded into mine. What I loved the most was the way that where ever he touched me was set on fire, making me burn for him. But this is making me think of another memory. It's a Friday night, and Rick and I are on a date at Gold Cinema Movies. My parents are in Hawaii, celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. The only reason I agreed to go on this date with him was so maybe Eric would become jealous and ask me out. After the movie, I climb on the back of Rick's motorcycle, and wrap my arms around his muscular chest. He smells like liquor, I think and scrunch up my nose. "Hold on, babe!" Ugh, I say to myself, This jerk didn't even bother to learn my name! We get to my house after a few minutes. "Can I come in?" He asks. "No," I say, thinking fast. "I'm not allowed to have boys over when my parents aren't home." This is a total lie, of course. My parent wouldn't care if I was sleeping with a different guy every night, right on the couch while they watched television on the other end of it. I don't like Rick, and even though I know he only wants to come in so we can listen to my new Bullet For My Valentine C.D., I don't want his smelly self in my house. "Please?" He begs, taking my hand in his. "One song. Just one, I promise." "Oh, why not?" His pleading blue eyes change to smiling ones. I reach in the bush to the side of my ripped screen door, pulling out the key and unlocking the door. "Well, you coming?" I ask, and he follows me inside. "Nice place," he lies. I know it's not nice, it's a dump. When I get older, I'm going to live in a two story house with my loyal husband. It's going to have a garden in the back yard, and a tire swing, where our three beautiful will play and we can keep an eye on them and make sure nothing bad ever happens to them. But that's the future, not now. "Wait here," I tell him. I run down the hallway into my small bedroom to grab the C.D. player. I swing the door shut behind me, out of habit. I bend down and grasp the handle in the palm of my hand, and I hear the door swing open behind me. "I thought I told you to wait in the living room," I say to Rick, confused. "Yes, well," He glances a framed picture of me and Eric at Eric's pool. In the picture, I'm sitting on Eric's lap in my vibrant red bikini and Eric has his arms wrapped around my waist and is kissing my cheek. "I decided I couldn't wait any longer." "For the C.D.? I would have been out there in about thirty seconds!" I exclaim, playfully hitting his arm. "No," He growls, taking a step closer to me. "What are you doing?" I frown at him. He gets even closer to me, my head is right under his nose. I back up a few steps. He reaches out to me and grabs my arm, pulling me to him again. He kisses me. I'm so shocked that I take a step back. Only his arms are trapping me there, against his overly-muscular body. I squirm, letting him know that I'm uncomfortable with this. He takes a step back after a minute of two, breathing heavily. "What do you think you're doing?" I shout angrily. "You bitch!" He yells. Huh? I think. What did I do? "You shouldn't have done that! You shouldn't have resisted!" He advances towards me. "Rick? You're scaring me. What are you doing?" He had pressed his lips against mine so hard, it dug into my tooth. It's bleeding now. He grabs me around my waist and throws me onto the bed. I'm shaking now, I'm so scared. He's on top of me now, and I try pushing him off. He's too strong. His mouth is on mine again, and my eyes open wide in fear. "Come on, baby girl, you know you wanna gimme a kiss!" "If I do, will you please get off of me?" I plead to him. "Of course. I promise!" His giant blue eyes are honest, and he leans off of my chest. I sit up, but he's sitting on my legs before I can run away. I quickly touch my lips to his, then pull back. He grabs the bottom of my shirt and rips it off, leaving me in my tank top and jeans. He climbs on top of me again and forces his mouth on mine. Somehow I manage to get out from underneath him, but he catches me and slaps my face, forcing me onto the bed. I don't know how, but I end up in my bra and underwear on my stomach and Rick pulls out a pocket knife. "No!" I scream, and when I do he drags the blade across my back, writing something that would later appear in a scar. "You're sick!" The next thing I'm aware of is him pushing off of me and me not being able to move my bloody, beaten body. All I can do is sob, "You took it! It was supposed to be Eric, it wasn't supposed to be this way! It was supposed to be love, but this was hate! You took it!" "You," He says as if nothing had just happened. "I couldn't wait for you, babe." And he reaches over and knocks me out, mid-scream.
Eric's Perspective
When I open my eyes in the morning, Jenna's head is on my chest. Her fingernails are digging through my shirt and into my skin. I'm startled when I realize she's asleep. "No! Stop it!" She's kicking her legs at an invisible enemy. "If I do, will you please get off of me?" Her voice is pleading, and I realize what's happening-she's remembering what he did to her. "No... You're sick!" I want to help her, but I know she needs to get through it on her own in her mind. It needs to end for her. She starts shaking violently, and I sit up, taking her hands in mine. "Stop, please stop!" She's finished screaming; instead she's crying now. Tears fall from her closed eyes, and I brush them away with my hand, stroking her cheekbones with my thumb while I'm at it. "Jenna," I say quietly, trying to find out if she was still dreaming. She is. I carefully put one arm underneath hear arms and the other beneath her knees, picking her up. I carry her to the foot of the bed and sit down, laying her in my lap and setting her upper body against my side so she was leaning against me. "You took it!" She sobs. "You took it! It was supposed to be Eric, it wasn't supposed to be this way! It was supposed to be love, but this was hate! You took it!" She chokes on her words. I can't take this anymore, knowing what she's remembering. "Jenna?" I wipe her hair out of her face. "Please wake up, Jenna." I lay down on the bed and hold her frail body in my arms. A bruise pokes out from underneath the sleeve of her tank top. I touch it lightly, then pull the spaghetti strap off her shoulder so I can see the whole thing. I see something pink and puckered at peaking out from the top of the shirt. I know I shouldn't look. I should wait until she shows me. But I can't help it- I pull the stretchy top down her back, just enough to see a big 'TH' etched into her back. I run my finger over the letters, and I can't bear to pull down the rest of the the shirt and see what it says without Jenna's permission. I pick up her limp arm and pull it through the fabric string that's the sleeve to the shirt and wake her up. "Jenna, it's time to wake up." I say into her ear. I decide I'm not going to tell her about what I'd heard from her sleep talking. I'll let her tell me what happened when she's ready for it. But I'm not going to wait to find out about the writing on her back. I want to know how those scars got there, those scars that aren't going to go away. She sits up and stretches her arms above her head. "We really need to get some toothbrushes and toothpaste," she says. "My mouth feels like the gym after a basketball game!" I laugh. "We're going to the store today. We need to get some stuff anyway." "Like what? Other than clothes- it's pretty obvious that we need those." "Huh. I hadn't thought about clothes actually, but you've got a point. Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of a pregnancy test." Her mouth drops open. "Don't look so surprised. Did he use a condom?" "No," She says. "Were you on birth control when he raped you?" She shakes her head slowly, as if she hasn't ever thought about this before. "Then we're going to find out if you're pregnant. I know it's hard to think about, but we have to know." "Yeah," She says quietly. "We do. Let me take a quick shower, then we'll go." She disappears into the bathroom, and I hear the water turn on. I try not to think of what will happen if she is pregnant. If she is, I'm going to be so upset. I know it's selfish, but I want to be with her. I want to be the one she chooses, the one she marries, the one she conceives her babies with, the one she'll grow old with. I want to be the man she trusts, I want to be the one who protects her, and more than anything, I want to be her forever. I hear the water shut off, and I hear the built in hair-dryer click on. A few minutes later, she comes out of the bathroom, dressed, dry, and better smelling. I smile at her. "We ready to go?" She asks, taking my hand in hers. "Yea. Just remember that I'm sticking by you no matter what happens. Even if you're pregnant." She gets on her tip-toes and kisses my cheek. I instinctively put my hands on her hips and pull her closer. "Ew, please, not until I brush my teeth!" She makes the most adorable face. "Of course, silly. I was just going to give you a hug." I lie to her, grinning, because that means that after she brushes her teeth, our lips will have other chances to get acquainted with each other. "Let's go!" I pull her out of the door and to the car. I open the passenger door and shut it behind her, and skip to the other side. "I just want to say thank you." Jenna's looking at me with and intense expression on her face. "For what?" "Getting me out when you saw what was happening to me. I owe you a big favor." I look at her for a minute, not believing what I was hearing. "Seriously. Whatever you want. I know you're not going to take advantage of me." Now I'm angry. "You think you owe me?" She gets a duh expression on her face. "Jenna," I say sternly. "No you don't. You can't owe someone for fixing something that you didn't want to happen. Especially if they didn't fix the problem." "But-" "But nothing. I helped you get out of there because I love you. And even if you were a perfect stranger in that situation, I would have helped you get away, because that's what decent humans beings do. Help people in need." She gets a look on her face that I've never seen there before. I shrug, and hop out of the car because we're at a place called Last Chance Pharmacy. I hand her a $50 bill from my wallet. "Get two pregnancy tests, two toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste." "Why two?" "Because we are two people whose mouths are currently very dirty." I tell her. I thought that was kind of obvious, but I guess I was wrong. She hits me on the back of my head. "What was that for?" I exclaim. "For having a blond moment. I was talking about the pregnancy tests!" "Oh." I blush, but explain anyway. "I just want to double check. Sometimes those tests are wrong." She nods and strolls inside, calmly shutting the door behind her.
Jenna's Perspective
I walk nonchalantly down the aisles of the tiny pharmacy until I reach the 'ORAL CARE' aisle. I grab the most inexpensive toothbrushes I can find and some good toothpaste. Holy crap, he said he loved me! I was taken off guard when he said that, and the second our teeth are sparkly clean my mouth will return the feeling. I grab some mouthwash while I'm in that section, and head towards the aisle labeled 'FEMININE CARE' in big, bold letters. I have no idea how to work these things; I really hope they come with one of those instruction papers, like tampons do. I grab two and head for the check out line. While I wait for the five people in front of me to finish, I grab a fold of gum, and I total the price in my mind. Only fifteen dollars! I head towards 'HAIR CARE' and grab a pack of red hair dye and a pack of blond dye. I also grab a box that said 'Do It Yourself! Haircut Kit'. The total is thirty dollars now, but it will be worth it. We need to change our appearance, just to be safe. The cashier is about twenty-five. "You expectin ta be havin a baby with yer man?" He says with an accent so thick, I almost don't understand it at first. "Maybe. I sure do hope so, 'cause the gud Lord knows we been prayin' hard fer one 'er our own!" I try my best to imitate his accent. "If ya' don't mind mah askin', what's ya'll folks' names?" "Of curse naht!" I exclaim, getting into my game. "Mah name's Angie Flu, and that raht there," I point to Eric, waiting in the car. "Is mah husband, Thomad Flu!" "That'll be thurty dollers, Missus Flu." He smiles at me. I hand him the cash, and he hands me the bag and the change. "Ya'll have a gud day, ya' hear!" He shouts after me. "You guys have a darn gud'un, too!" By the time I get out to the car, I'm in hysterics laughing so hard. "What's so funny?" Eric asks. "Let's just say that my new name is Missus Flu, and I'm a real southern belle." He looks at me for a minute, then just shrugs and drives away. I pull the mouthwash out of the bag. I stuff the plastic holding the cap on into the bag and twist the top off. I gargle for thirty seconds then spit out of the window, passing the bottle to Eric, who follows suit at the next red light. After he spits it out, I hand him a piece of gum and pop one in my mouth. I take his face in my hands. "Now you can kiss me." I put my lips to his, and a tiny sound escapes from his throat when his tounge peeks into my mouth. I pull back, satisfied, and all the cars have passed us; the light is green. I just smile as he drives ahead.
My eyelids flutter open and my legs swing over the edge of the bed, my bare toes touching the soft carpet beneath them. "Good morning," I yawn to Eric, who's drinking sweet tea and reading the newspaper as I stretch my arms out over my head. His eyes are wide and gawking, his mouth open as if to say something he can't find the words for. "Any tea for me?" I ask, unaware of whatever it is he's staring at. He looks at me for a moment and stands up. "Of course there's tea for you." He leans down to pour me a cup, but instead of picking up the jug of tea, he bends forward and suddenly... His lips are on mine. I'm wondering what made him do that, and I realize I'm not wearing any clothes. I blush, about ready to die of embarrassment,and I turn around to run into the bathroom. Only before I can, he grabs my arm. "Jenna," he says softly, sending shivers down my naked spine. He kisses me again, more passionately this time. Not roughly, but slow yet determined, gentle yet demanding. I feel my lips kiss him back, and it's like nothing I've ever felt before. Just two sets of lips getting to know one another, each quietly letting the other know it wanted the other, both getting louder and harder with every touch, every kiss, until they were on fire, begging for one another. He doesn't try anything, just wraps his arms around me and draws me closer to him. His fingers comb through my hair, and there's nothing in the world that will ever make me happier than simply being with him. His fingers trail up my bare spine, and I kiss him harder, trying unsucsessfuly to avoid thinking about how different it was the last time I was doing this.
Eric's Perspective
I can't believe it. I'm holding the most amazing girl in the world. I'm kissing the most amazing, beautiful, wonderful girl in the world, finally able to be with her, but I can't do anything else with her. Every time I see one of Jenna's many bruises, or touch on, even on accident, I can't control myself. I'm going to beat the living shit out of the monster who did this to her. How could I have not seen this happening? The past three months, Jenna had been... different. Quieter, more reluctant. For example, every May, she rushes out and buys a few bikinis, and when the pool opened, she'd be there every day, without fail. This year, though, she doesn't even own a swimsuit. I turn my attention back to her now. She knows I like her now, but she'll never see how much I love her, how crazy I am about her. The way her nose crinkles when she laughs, the way her laughter is deep, not high and nasily like most girls', the way that, if you hurt her, instead of her face twisting into outrage or hatred, it would morph into a frozen mask of pain. Her hands are clutching my shirt now, pulling me closer... and closer... until there's absolutely nothing between us except my clothes. I can't help myself, I run my finger up her spine and I love the way she kisses me harder when I do. She presses her lips closer to mine, and I fall back onto the bed and she lands on top of me. I have to end this, I know, before it goes too far. I hear a sharp intake of breath above me. Jenna's hurt, I can tell by the way she's biting her lip just a little bit. "Jenna, what's wrong?" I ask her, certain that she landed on one of her many, many bruises or busted her cut open again. She starts crying, tears slipping down her cheeks. I sit up and pull her tiny frame into my lap. "Jenna, you know you can tell me," I say into her hair. "I can't do this," She whispers to me, looking at me as if she expects me to be upset that she isn't going to make love to me. "Shhh, it's okay. I wasn't going to force you. Why would you even think that I was?" "You're not?" She looks up at me, confused. "What, do I look like a monster to you?" As the word monster comes out of my mouth, I realize why she's afraid I'm going to force her. My face frozen, a mask so she can't see what's going on inside my mind as the wheels turn and the puzzle pieces start to fit together. "I want you to tell me the truth. Did-" I choke when I try to pronounce hisname. "Did Rick rape you?" She puts her face to my chest, and I put my arms around her. She makes a noise that was so fragile, so heartbreaking that I started crying when she said it. Because she said yes. I bury my face in her long, dark hair and kiss her head softly. "Shhh, I'm not going to hurt you, you're safe with me, I'm not gonna let him hurt you again." I repeat quietly, until she's calm enough to stop sobbing silently. I hold her close to me, and she doesn't push me away, she just lets me hold her close. "You're not mad at me?" She looks at me like a dog who's expecting to be punished for chewing it's master's best slippers. "Why would I be mad? I'm not going to make you sleep with me; if you had tried I was going to say no anyway." "Not about that. About the... the Rick thing." I stare at her in disbelief. My god, she really doesn't get it. "Jenna." I say, taking her face in my hands. "There is no way in the whole universe that I would be mad at you because that lousy bastard raped you. I want to rip his eyeballs out for even thinking of hurting you!" She's looking a bit tired, and I can't believe it when I look at the clock. 11:25 P.M. it reads. I sigh and lay down, and Jenna puts her tiny head on my chest. The second she does, she's out cold, and I realize that I need to pay for another night. I lift her head, silently placing a pillow where my chest had been. I tell the dest clerk that we only need one more night, and then we'll be gone. When I get back to the room, Jenna's curled up into a ball, shivering in her sleep. I pick her up, and her eyes open. "Did you want to get dressed?" I ask her before I set her with her feet on the ground. I can't explain it, but I love picking her up, just holding and protecting her from anything that could ever hurt her. "Yea." She stumbles into the bathroom, and a few minutes later comes out in her undershirt and pants. She obvoiusly brushed her teeth, but I'm glad we don't have a hairbrush; I like hers as a tangeled mess. "Goodnight," She murmurs hazily into my ear as she falls asleep in my arms. And despite the circumstances, I can't help but love being here with her.
For the first time in what seems to be forever, I have a good night's sleep. No waking up, no nightmares, and-literally-no rude awakenings from Rick. As I open my eyes, I notice that Eric's no longer next to me. "Eric?" I call, but no one answers. I stand up and walk into the kitchen, but he's not there either. Bathroom, living room, dining room. No, no, no. I look out the window, and his car's still in the driveway. Puzzled, I decide I'll wait in the bedroom until he decides to show up. When I enter the room, I see something off of Eric's side of the bed. "Hello?" I say unsure, and as I walk to the figure, I see that it's Eric, sleeping. And he's snoring. I roll my eyes and walk back to the kitchen. Let him freak when he wakes up alone! I think, only half joking. I open the cabinet where I know he keeps the pancake mix, take it out, and prance over to the refrigerator. I open the door and put the strawberries on the counter next to the mix. I turn on the radio, and Such Great Heights by The Postal Service is on.
They'll say That everything looks perfect from far away, Come down now. But we'll stay.
I'm dancing to it's soft yet steady beat, twirling around Eric's kitchen while making strawberry pancakes. I spin back to the counter to grab the strawberries and somehow Eric's arms are around me. "Well good morning to you, dancing queen!" I laughs as I gasp in shock. "Gosh, you scared me!" I bust up with laughter. "You should dance with me. It's so much fun!" I grab his hand and he spins me around. It's so much fun, so much happiness, being able to relax and not be afraid of Rick. By the time the pancakes are finished, we're completely covered in flour, laughing our heads off and very hungry. I grab the plates and he grabs the milk. I set the table and he sets the pancakes in the center. We don't bother using cups, we just swig out of the plastic half-gallon jug. And it's the good type of milk, whole milk, not the gross skim milk. "You should call your parents," Eric says through a mouthful of pancakes. "They have no idea where you are." So I push my chair back, load my dishes in the dish washer, pick up Eric's phone and dial my house. Ring, ring, ring. "Hello?" That voice... I know that voice... "Hello?" Rick repeats into the receiver. "Where are my parents?" I ask him. "Oh, Jenna, is it?" He seems to sneer from the other end of the line. "Just like the whore you are, only wanting to talk to me if you want something from me!" I slam down the phone. Crap, crap, crap! I think. Okay, today is Thursday. My parents are at work. That means they're safe. But the home phone has caller ID... I race to the bedroom and throw on my dirty clothes. "Eric, we have to go!" I yell. "He knows I'm here." His normally tan face turns pale. "We're getting out of here. I'm going to start the car. Run to the bedroom and open the top drawer in my dresser. There's a box in it with Paramore's picture on the top. Get it and get in the car as fast as you can." I don't nod-I hate it when people nod-I just run to the room, flinging the drawer open and grabbing the box. I run back to the car. He has the door open for me, so I just jump in, slam the door and thrust the box into his lap. The wheels squeal as he turns hastily out of the driveway. "This," He holds up the box with one hand and steers with the other. "Is my emergency box. And Emergency! is my favorite song by them. "That makes sense," I tell him. "What's in it?" He nods to tell me I should open it. I carefully remove the lid and my mouth drops at what I see. A huge wad of $100 bills, lots of jewelry, and all of his official papers. "How did you get all of this?" I ask in awe. "When my parents died last February," He turns onto the highway. "They left me everything they had. So I put it in this box in case of emergencies, and my paychecks from F.Y.E. pay the bills." That's how I met Eric, actually. I was in F.Y.E. to get the new All Time Low C.D. I grabbed it, walked to the cash register and pulled my $20 from my shorts' pocket. The cashier said, "Not everyday you see a teenage girl shopping without a purse." He grinned, and I couldn't help noticing how handsome he was. With lightly tan skin, brown hair, chocolate eyes and a lean frame, his bright smile was contagious. "Yeah, well, purses are overrated." I smiled. "All Time Low," He commented approvingly. "They're good. I love their song Dear Maria, Count Me In." "You're kidding." I was excited, finally someone else who liked that song as much as I did! "That's my favorite by them!" He put the C.D. in a bag. "I have two tickets to their concert for next weekend. Want to come? Not as a date, or anything." "Sweet! I'm Jenna, by the way." "Eric," He replied, and wrote his name and number on my receipt. Somehow, over the next three years, we'd managed to become best friends. I've lost track of how long we've been in the car, but it seems to be forever. I'm fairly certain it's been hours, maybe even more. "We need to get fake names," Eric informs me. "Can I be Angie?" I ask. "I've always wanted to be an Angie. My new name is Angie Peterson." Eric rolls his eyes. "What do you think I should be? Bert? Charles? Robby?" "Ew, no. Your new name is Thomas. Thomas Flu." "Flu?" "Well, one of us has to have a weird last name, otherwise we'll look suspicious." He just looks at me like I'm crazy as we pull in to a Super 8 Motel. "Ready, Angie?" He jokes. "Ready, Thomas?" Thomas/Eric sticks his tongue out and crosses his eyes. I pull my ear and scratch my armpit, just like a monkey. He grabs my hand and pulls me towards the entrance. We step up to the sign-in counter, and the man behind it has a name tag that says Joseph. "How can I help you two this evening?" Joseph asks. "We'd like a room, please," Thomas/Eric says. "One bed or two?" He glances at me and I shrug. "One," "That will be $50. Just one night?" "Yes." Thomas/Eric pushes a $50 bill over the counter. "And your names?" "Thomas Flu," He grimaces as he says his last name. "And Angie Peterson." "Room 418," Joseph says and hands us the key. "You kids have fun!" He says with what I'm sure he thinks is a knowing wink. Thomas/Eric and I roll our eyes. When we get to the room, Thomas (I might as well get used to him being called that, for now anyway) slides the electronic key through the slot and opens the door. "It's almost nine," He says, glancing at the bedside clock. "I'm going to run to town and pick up dinner. Get a shower and just chill till I get back, okay?" "Okay," I respond and I walk towards the shower. The water is neutral, not hot or cold either. When I'm done, I decide it's time to wash my clothes. Only when I'm done, I realize that I can't go to sleep, because I'm sharing a bed with Eric, and my clothes are all wet. Oh, screw it I think. I find a notepad and pen on the table. Do not get in this bed unless you are on top of the covers, cause I'm not wearing any clothes right now! It's totally cheesy, but it'll have to do. I crawl underneath the comforter, make sure I'm completely covered, and I put the note on the side of me that's facing the door. And I go to sleep.
//
// ?2004 EasterEgg
//
// For use at Xanga only.
//
// While the date in your blogheader has a fixed format
// (e.g. "Tuesday, March 16, 2004") you may want to use
// another date format, accustomed to *your* preferences.
// This script enables you to apply pretty much any date
// format to your blogheader you like.
//
// Here's how it works:
// The script collects all blogheaders and applies to them
// a format you define by changing the value of the variable
// "dateFormatStr" in the code below. Currently that value is
// set to 'ddd, mm/dd/yy', which will result in a date that
// looks like this: 'Tue, 03/16/04'. If you want to use slashes
// instead of divisions as date separators, go right ahead; you
// can even add HTML to the date format string if you like!
//
// =================
// listing of available constants (using the date
// "Tuesday, March 16, 2004" as an example):
//
// dd = 16
// ddd = Tue
// dddd = Tuesday
//
// mm = 03
// mmm = Mar
// mmmm = March
//
// yy = 04
// yyyy = 2004
//
// =================
//
// You can use any combination of the above constants. Examples:
//
// 'mm/dd/yyyy' will result in '03/16/2004'
// 'mmm dd, yy' will result in 'Mar 16, 04'
// 'mm-dd-yy (dddd)' will result in '03-16-04 (Tuesday)'
// '{ ddd, mmm dd, yyyy }', will result in '{ Tue, Mar 16, 2004 }'
//
// Get the general idea?
//
// Copy this entire code and paste it in the webstats box of your
// Look and Feel page.
//
// You're free to use this script as long as this comment remains
// intact. Future modifications allowed if due credit is given.
//
Bex ♥ I love my 3 best friends, Music, Love and Writing . you`ll never see me without a book , friend, or music. I love sexy tattoos!.
//
// =================
// listing of available constants (using the date
// "Tuesday, March 16, 2004" as an example):
//
// dd = 16
// ddd = Tue
// dddd = Tuesday
//
// mm = 03
// mmm = Mar
// mmmm = March
//
// yy = 04
// yyyy = 2004
//
// =================
//
// You can use any combination of the above constants. Examples:
//
// 'mm/dd/yyyy' will result in '03/16/2004'
// 'mmm dd, yy' will result in 'Mar 16, 04'
// 'mm-dd-yy (dddd)' will result in '03-16-04 (Tuesday)'
// '{ ddd, mmm dd, yyyy }', will result in '{ Tue, Mar 16, 2004 }'
//
// Get the general idea?
//
// Copy this entire code and paste it in the webstats box of your
// Look and Feel page.
//
// You're free to use this script as long as this comment remains
// intact. Future modifications allowed if due credit is given.
//