Our Story: Untold Rewrite
Hey guys so I'm editing this story before working on the next few chapters needed to end this; until then please be patient with me. As I edit, I will write in new scenes and delete other therefore I urge you to read this story again . I post two edited chapters every Wednesday/ Thursday (depending on your time zone)starting today (3 January 2018).
Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy this new improved version and please review.
Revised Chapter
Mercedes watched the old buildings and greenery of Lima Ohio flash by. The nostalgia triggered by the roads she had memorized since childhood brought a gentle smile to her face. The small city of 40000 with its nature and medium-sized buildings were such a contrast to the modern skyscrapers peppering L.A with its population of 4million. Lima felt different; it felt calm. She welcomed different. This difference was so familiar to her; this difference was home.
"How long do you plan on staying this time?" Her father asked, his voice bringing her out of her nostalgia induced trance.
She shrugged focusing her attention on the driving man. He wore his 53-years of life on his face with every visible wrinkle stretched over his skin that was a few shades darker than hers. She now realized how much she had missed her parents, especially her father whom she was very close with.
"I don't know. I don't have anything waiting for me in LA," she said honestly. "I've decided to take a break for a while and just focus on me and my well-being."
"So boyfriend?" He fished in a manner he presumed to be 'sly'. It took all of Mercedes not to roll her eyes.
"No, Daddy I don't."
She knew her parents were not only getting older and looking forward to having grandchildren soon, but they also worried about her after the events of a few years ago. They would throw hints by referring to all the baby baptisms in the church as well as keeping her up to date on all the babies in her family. But it was hard finding a suitable mate to marry and have children within her line of work. All the people she met were in the fast-paced entertainment industry. She had tried the dating thing two years ago with a fellow musician but the experience was so terrible she vowed never to repeat the mistake ever again as it had led her down a road she never wanted to go down ever again.
Her parents-especially her father- noticed the lack of romance in her life and decided to pick up love arrows and play cupid by trying, but usually failing, to set her up with suitable bachelors at every turn.
She knew her dad was only worried that she was putting her career first and regressing in her love life. Though it was true it was not really his business.
"Carol's son, James, he's in town for a week. I saw the way the boy looked at you last time you were here and he does not have a girlfriend." Her father 'casually mentions. "Martin, you know, Pastor Chris' nephew came back from the military two weeks ago-"
"Daddy-" she began but her father ignored her and continued.
"Oh, well you know who I ran into last week-"
"Dad-" Mercedes warned throwing her father a disapproving look which he took no note of. Could he not wait until she settled in from her long flight before playing cupid again?
"-The Tinsley's son...what's his name...something with an S- Saul...Steve...Sam-" Her father said searching for the right name. "-no, not Sam but speaking of Sam, he came in yesterday. Asked when you were flying in, said something about you not answering his messages. He's a nice boy, always respectful. I've seen the way that boy looks at you whenever you're in town...your mother looks at me like that. I always liked that boy. Plus he has large hands for baby carrying-"
"Daddy." She groaned throwing her hands in the air. If her father could he would probably force her into an arranged marriage.
Her father lifted a brow innocently.
"Didn't you two date in high school? Your single, he's single. And we're already friends with his parents so the in-laws already get along-"
Mercedes sighed in irritation pinching the bridge of her nose.
Before Mercedes could politely ask her father to butt out, her childhood home came into view. The home was two stories tall with white painted wood walls and a manicured garden. The picture of her mother and Shakespeare and Chester excitedly wiggling their tails greeted her. The two dogs were barking and jumping at the view of the car coming closer.
She was home
Finally, after exactly two and a half years of working on her new album, rehearsals, radio interviews, charity functions, award shows, guest starring on TV series, talk show interviews and of course her world tour, she was home. She had not seen her parents physically in a year, after her hospitalization, and her friends after the birth of Nicholas- with the exception of Mike, Tina and Artie who also lived in LA now- in a year and a half ago.
Realization dawned on her that all her friends were all progressing in her personal life whilst she remained the same: Artie and Tina were engaged, Santana was pregnant, Kurt and Blaine had a baby. And she was alone. Don't get her wrong, she had achieved many things during her past few years in the music industry. She had everything she dreamed of as 16-year old. She had four Grammies under her belt, a Critics Choice Award for her work on a short television series, an Oscar for one of her songs featured on a soundtrack of a critically acclaimed movie all by the tender age of 25. She was living a dream; sharing her talent, songs and message with the world and inspiring women like her black female idols inspired her. She was far from being an Aretha or a Whitney but she was well on the way according to Rolling Stone and Billboard as she brought the charts alive with her 80's and 90's RnB and Hip Hop inspired reimagined vocals
She loved her life.
For a while those awards and critical acclaim had been enough however, she was no longer a 16-year old who had dreams of escaping Lima and making something of herself to try and prove a point. She was now a woman of 25 who desired to be awoken by the sound of her children's laughter. She now sought spiritual and physical fulfilment; she wanted a husband, kids and love. Mercedes wanted love, pure soul consuming love of a family.
Once the car came to a stop Mercedes threw the door open before her father could switch off the engine and ran into the waiting arms of her mother. She buried her face in her mother's shoulders and inhaled in the scent of lilacs and cookie batter; it was the smell of childhood.
"I am so glad you're home, again. We missed you so much, Babygirl, talking on the laptop and seeing you through a screen just is not the same as seeing you right in front of me." Her mother said tightly pressing Mercedes against her chest.
"I know, Mom and I am glad to be back."
."Okay, as heart-warming as this all is, can somebody help me with these?" Her father interrupted causing the two women to pull apart. Both women looked at the short burly man struggling as he tried to get her large suitcases out of the car boot. They walked over to him and helped him with them.
"What's in here, rocks?" Her mother asked rolling one of the heavy suitcases towards the door as her father chuckled.
"I asked the same thing," He said.
Mercedes rolled her eyes as she grabbed her carry on. It felt strange doing something as trivial as carrying her own bags as she had a fleet of people surrounding her to do such tasks. But she wanted to carry her own bags because now she was not a platinum-selling international superstar, now she was just Mercedes Jones from Lima.
"Honey, it looks like your moving back home. How long are you staying?"Her mother asked over her shoulder.
"I don't know yet but I'm taking a break for a while and just focusing on myself." Mercedes said dragging the bag behind her.
"Oh well, that's good. I love having you home, the house is too silent." Her mother said smiling at her before entering the house. "Anyhow, what do you want for dinner, I was planning on making cottage pie."
Mercedes entered the house behind her and followed her down the long hallway. Framed pictures of her childhood were scattered on the walls. Photos of her family and close friends of her parents were there too.
"Oh, uhm...actually I was planning on dropping by Sam's place for dinner. I know I just got here and I'm already-"
"Sweetheart, it's fine. You haven't seen him in over a year and I know the two of you are close-"
"Wait, how close are you two now-" Her dad interjected behind her.
"Dad, I'm not dating Sam." Mercedes said looking at the ceiling.
"I was just asking," he muttered under his breath.
Her mother snorted and led them upstairs. She opened the door and led them inside. Her parents put her luggage down and left her to settle in before joining them downstairs. Mercedes immediately kicked off her Jimmy Choo boots. She studied the small room painted lavender. Fresh white linen was on the Queen-sized bed. She threw her handbag on the bed and walked towards the wall that still had some old lingering photos she did not take with her to L.A. She stared at the old photos of her friends and smiled before going back to her bed and falling on it backwards. She closed her eyes taking a deep breath.
She was home again.
He cell phone's vibrations from the back pocket of her jeans caused her heart to jump in surprise. She pulled the phone out and slid her fingers over the screen to unlock it to find Sam's name and an accompanying picture of him pouting flashing over the screen. It caused a smile to erupt over her lips. He sent her the picture a few years ago when he attempted to seduce her into sleeping with him before she told him about being celibate when they were dating in New York and he was a model. It was more comical than sexy but she did not have the heart to tell him that.
Even after all these years, Sam Evans was still her best friend. He was the first person she called when she got a Grammy nomination the first time, he was the first person (after God of course) she thanked in her acceptance speech because if it wasn't for him posting that video years ago she would have probably wasted her talent. He was the person she called when she had a crappy day and needed a laugh.
Just as she shared important news with him first he also shared news with her. She was the first person he called when he decided to go for his teaching degree in music at the community college. She was the person he called when his dyslexia got the most of him and left him frustrated on his bad days. She was the person who encouraged him to do his Masters in Music after he got his degree. She was the person he called when he got a job as the new Music Theory teacher at WMHS.
She pressed her thumb to the touch screen opening the text.
'Hey, you here yet?'
Her fingers danced over the keypad on her screen as she typed her reply.
'Yep. Aren't you supposed to be teaching your class, Mr Evans?'
He almost replied immediately.
'...I guess but I'd rather talk to you. I missed you. You wanna meet up later?'
She decided to play hard to get.
'You'll be seeing me tomorrow, Sam..'
'Yeah but then I'll have share you with the others. I don't like sharing 'Cedes.'
She rolled her eyes.
'You make me sound like I'm some kind of dessert you don't wanna share. I'm not a chocolate ice-cream, Sam.'
'Are you sure? Can I have a taste to make sure? ;)
Mercedes laughed aloud.
'You need therapy, Sam. You're way too perverted! Dirty old man.'
He texted back in a flash.
'I just had a flashback when we had couple counselling when you were still dating Shane. And who are you calling an dirty old man! You're three months older than I am. You're the old one between the two of us...and remember that time you were all up on this?'
She grinned wiping a stray hair out of her eyes.
'I'm not old...and what can I say, I like the young ones. I'm a cougar!'
'Okay...that sounded sssssssssexyyyyyyyyy! Purr for me!'
Before Mercedes could reply with an emoticon rolling its eyes Sam sent another text.
'So, you? Me? Dinner? Breadsticks? Eight?.'
She smiled sitting up straight.
'Not really in the mood for a crowd tonight. How about we have dinner at your place?'
Seconds later he replied with a thumbs up emoji.
Mercedes made her way downstairs to join her parents. "Shane!" He cried locking the glass door. Mercedes raised her brow at her father looking at him like he was crazy as she entered the kitchen. "-His name was Shane. He's in the NFL now."
"I know, Dad."
"He lost weight after high school- he's still large but he's thinner now. He asked about you?"
"What did he ask?" her mother asked before she could.
Her father shrugged.
"The normal things, how she is doing, when are she was coming back to Lima if she was seeing anybody."
"Oh." Mercedes said. What was she supposed to say about a boy she hasn't seen face to face years. She heard about him, she saw him playing on TV on those random moments when she decided to do some channel surfing.
"Sounds like he still likes her," the caramel skinned woman told her husband.
The two decided to converse as if she was not in the room.
"He is a nice boy, but I never liked him for her," her father said.
"That moustache he had looked like cat whiskers."
"Mom," Mercedes said scandalized trying her best to hide her amusement.
"I've always liked Sam more for her," her mother continued
"Me too! But he is a bit childlike. I worry about that," her father said.
"True, but his heart is in a good place."
Sam sat in his car replying with a thumbs up emoticons to the message Mercedes sent. He was on his way home after a day of teaching to go prepare for his guest. The thought of her brought a smile to his face He really loved the girl with all his heart- he guessed that's why it never worked out with other girls. When he dated Mercedes she was more than just his girlfriend, she was his best friend. He was the kind of person who lived with his head in the clouds and Mercedes grounded him when they were together. Though age had brought with it maturity, Sam was still a child at heart and Mercedes Jones would always remain his anchor. He would always love, Mercedes Jones. They were endgame; he realized it years ago, he was just waiting for her to come around too.
He was turning 25 in a little over a month and he wanted more than just a girl at his side to fight away the loneliness. He was ready to settle down and have children. Most of his friends were married and some even had kids or were expecting and in all honesty, he was jealous of them. He wanted to listen to his wife sing their children to sleep. He wanted to chase small bodies around their home as laughter bounced off the walls. He wanted to read his children bedtime stories- okay parental approved comic books to be exact. He wanted to chase away monsters hiding under the bed.
At night when those images lulled him to sleep there was always one person prominent in those visions-
Mercedes Arielle Jones.
But she was too busy being a superstar. His girl was busy doing amazing things; inspiring young artist, singing on world stages winning awards as she did. She was amazing and on top of the world. He had no idea how to compete with that. He would never be enough.
He was brought back to the present when his phone alerted him of a Facebook notification. Sam pressed the start button of his BMW before driving out of the school parking lot. He received questioning looks when he drove the car as many wondered how a teacher could afford such a car. What they did not know was that he was wealthy. Yes, Sam Evans was rich and in all honesty he did not even have to try hard, all he did was lend two guys he met in college some money. Greg was a Business major and an entrepreneur Sam met when he was enrolled in community college about four years ago. Naveed was studying for his Computer Science Degree. The two men needed more money to start their Web Design business. Sam inherited money from a family member he did not even know existed. It was not a lot of money but it was enough to buy him a secondhand Volkswagen and have a few dollars left. Sam lend the two men some money and they made him a silent partner. At first, the business did not take off as expected but two years later their luck changed and the business expanded prompting a move Silicon Valley. Since Sam was a silent partner and minority shareholder he stayed behind whilst they did their thing. All he got was his dividend and the business' financial statements which he left his accountant to deal with since numbers were never his thing.
With the money he received from the company he fulfilled a promise he made to himself years ago; he finally bought his parents a ranch so that they would never have to go through the experience of losing their home again. He bought an expensive car thereafter because who did not like beautiful cars?
As he drove his cell phone rang. Sam answered with the help of the Bluetooth connection to the car.
"What's up, man?"
"Hey" Sam could hear squeals in the background. "No Nick- Nick...ow, don't pull my hair." He heard the child laugh. "KURT!"
Sam laughed at the fuss his godson was making in the background.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked amused.
"Uhh- there go to daddy..." he heard Blaine coo. "...Yeah, sorry about that. I swear he's trying to make me bald! Anyway, I wanted to know if you want to have dinner tonight at the Hummels? We arrived like an hour ago."
"Sorry man, I have plans for tonight."
"Jamba Juice girl? I thought you were going to break up with her."
Sam reversed out of the of the parking lot rolling his eyes.
"We broke up last night: Kelly is too clingy."
When they started dating things were fun, light and easy but then she wanted to get serious (they always wanted to get serious). Sam did not want to make the girls feel like he was into them when in all honesty his heart belonged only to one girl. For the longest time, he actively tried moving on but it did not work out. Physically the relationships were fulfilling but emotionally they could never connect the way he and Mercedes had. It was as if his soul still mourned the loss of her and refused to settle for anybody but her.
"Sam, seriously, you can't live the single life forever. Now, it's still fun and okay because you're still young in a few years it will be sad. Almost all of your friends will be married and have kids and you'll be alone-"
Sam rolled his eyes.
"Blaine, stop worrying about my love life."
The other man sighed.
"Sam, you haven't had a real relationship after Mercedes...and that weird thing with Rachel afterwards that I still to this day don't fully understand- NICK!-" Sam heard shuffling in the background and giggles. "Kurt, I thought you were watching him!-Nick...no...Nick don't eat that!- Oh please, don't-"
"Look Blaine clearly you have your hands full with Nick so I'll call you later. I'll drop by tomorrow morning before school."
"Okay, I'll see you… Nick, don't press that-"
The line went dead. Sam presumed his and Mercedes' godchild was responsible for that...
Godchild
Child...
His and Mercedes' child...it had a ring to it. Their children would be freaking gorgeous...seriously. They would be light caramel, maybe some of them (he wanted at least three) would have his green eyes but he hoped their daughters would have her beautiful brown eyes.
Sam shook his head trying to shake away the thoughts of their 'could-be' future and focused back on the road home. He really did not want to get into an accident before tonight. He grinned thinking about tonight. He was beyond excited at the thought of seeing her. He hasn't seen her in months- and no talking via Skype did not count. He had missed her presence and promised himself he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could before she left again to conquer the world further.
He parked his car under the roofs in his parking space of the apartment parking lot. Grabbing his messenger bag he locked the car. As he ran up the metal stairs of the building he greeted his neighbour. He reached the door of apartment number 13 and unlocked it. His walls were painted cream with a framed vintage comic book poster of Captain America and Superman. The red and blue of the posters flowed perfectly together with his leather couch and red carpet under the glass coffee table. He had a large TV stand littered with framed pictures of his friends and family members mixed with random Sci-Fi memorabilia.
His favourite photo on the stand though was the one of him and Mercedes with Nicholas when Blaine and Kurt asked them to be godparents. Mercedes was holding the two-day-old baby draped in a blue blanket securely in her arms staring at him with adoration. Sam who sat on the armrest of the sofa had one of his arms reaching around Mercedes' neck, his chest pressed to her side as he leaned over to rub the infant's small hand with his finger. He was smiling brightly at the baby. In the picture he and Mercedes looked like a married couple...he liked it...he liked it a lot actually.
He wanted her so badly...if only she felt the same. Heaven knows, Samuel Evans was sick of the friend zone