Alright, OFFICIALLY the last chapter! Also, I'm not going to do the sequel… SORRY! It just wouldn't make sense. Keep reading and you'll see why. And for all of you "Emma" fans, the sequel will be up soon. I just started school and it's still a little crazy with classes and forms and books and blah, blahblah, blah, blah. You know how it is. Anyways, last chapter! This has been one of my favorite stories to write. FLIPPING LOVED THIS STORY! Has a great message. I got the idea from a dream, if you're wondering. I had a dream where I saw Titanic in 3D with my friend and then I turned into Rose, she turned into Trudy and my actual brother (not my twin, I don't even have a twin!) turned into some random dude, so I gave him a name for the story, hence, John! :) But it really does have a great message. Even though this didn't actually happen to me, Titanic in general has taught me a lot about life and what's really important. Anyways, enjoy the last chapter of A Twist of Unfortunate Fate! :) :) :) (Maybe my favorite story I've written so far, although Emma is very close to my heart :D)
Aren: Nope, not done! And lol… actually… keep reading and you'll get a little surprise in my next "authors note" and haha, that's right! And I don't mind, I spell badly, too, sometimes. And hmm, haven't heard of it…
Love,
Lauren:)
Five years later… (Also, it's not going to SEEM like it. Sutton is still going to be just as upset as the first day without Jack :D)
As Amanda and I walked out of the airport, the fresh scent of Santa Monica filled my nostrils. The palm trees swayed in the wind, and everything looked crisp and perfect. I turned the map upside down to its original position and looked out at the world.
"Okay I have no idea where to go." I confessed as I let out a small giggle. Amanda laughed and grabbed the map, then quickly called over the cab. We shimmied inside and I let out a large sigh as I closed the door, knowing I was free from Danny and my parent's clutches, and that Luke had a steady job in New York working for the Times. Princeton had gone well, and I graduated with honors, so it wouldn't be too hard for me to find a job if my acting career didn't take off… although I hope it does.
"Amber avenue please." Amanda told the man as she put on her new pair of sunglasses she had bought specifically for the trip, or should I say move.
"I can't believe we bought a house in Santa Monica!" Amanda squealed as I rolled my eyes and grabbed my Blackberry from my purse. I scrolled down to "last call" and dialed the same number.
"Well believe it 'cause we did, finally." I explained as I put the phone to my ear. Luke had made me promise to call him as soon as I landed, something about making sure we landed okay.
The phone kept ringing, but no answer, so I put it back in my purse and decided I would call him later.
"So, does your agent think there are any good roles for you out here?" Amanda asked as the driver pulled out and onto the main road. I smiled and played with my hair.
"Maybe, I don't know. God I hope so, though." I said, confused about how I was going to go about this whole acting thing. I mean, I knew it was something I wanted to do, and I knew it was going to be hard, and I knew that it was going to take a lot of work, but most importantly, I knew Jack would want me to do it anyways.
"I hope so, too! I would love to go around to all of our new neighbors and go like, "Yup, Sutton Baker, lives right there. Oh, me? I'm the loveable sidekick who is dating her brother and stuff like that. No one important."" She explained. I smiled and rolled my eyes and then crossed my legs.
"Yeah, yeah," I said with fake enthusiasm. "I still can't get over that though!" She looked at me puzzled.
"About our neighbors? Sutton, wherever you live you're going to have neighbors." She informed me. I laughed and punched her in the arm.
"Not that! You and Luke! God, you don't know how long I've waited! Five years just like, went by for you two." I said. She laughed and punched me back.
"You? I've been waiting since we were six and he punched Jeremy Fisher for stealing my crayons!" she explained. I laughed at the memory, Jeremy's bloody face coming to mind. Amanda pursed her lips and smiled.
"So, does your new adventure in Santa Monica include romance?" she asked me nosily. I rolled my eyes and frowned and bit my lip as I stared at the floor.
"Amanda I-"
"Oh Sutton!" she interrupted me. "You didn't date a single person in college and refused to go out with anyone else I tried to set you up with! It's been five years!" I rolled my eyes again and looked out the window. She put her hand on my shoulder and sighed. "If I know Jack, it's what he'd want." She reassured me. I took a deep breath and swallowed down the cries that could have come, and smiled at her weakly as I patted her hand.
About a half of an hour later, we pulled up at a comfortable sized house on the edge of the beach. Because of the money I had saved for years, knowing someday I was going to have a blow out with my parents, Amanda and I were able to afford a very nice house. Amanda paid the cab driver, since I paid for the house, no, just kidding, and we both walked up the small path and onto the porch. I pulled the small key out of my purse, and nudged it into the lock. The door opened with a click, and we both walked inside, eagerly waiting the surprise of our house. I looked around the foyer, and it was quaint, but in a good way. There was a small round white table with a vase of pink roses in the center, and to the left were the flights of stairs that led up to the second floor. To the right was the living room, painted light blue with a white sofa that had blue and brown pillows, a small sand colored love seat, a whitd, gold accented coffee table, and a fire place with a white mantle that had the same gold detailing as the table.
"Nice." Amanda said approvingly as she continued to walk around the house. I myself walked into the living room as she walked into the kitchen, and continued to look at all of the decorations. Photos of Luke, Amanda, and I covered the mantle, something my travel agent, who happened to be my godmother, took upon herself of doing. I smiled as I looked at all of them. One was of our first day of school, me in my plaid dress, Amanda in her pink and white dress, and Luke with his blue button down shirt and trousers. The next one was of us when we were ten, and I played Dorothy, Amanda played Glinda, and Luke played the Scarecrow in the school play of The Wizard of Oz. The next one was of a head shot of us lying on the grass in eighth grade. I still had my braces, Amanda had acne then, and Luke wasn't nearly as handsome as he is now. We were positioned in almost a Y. Our heads in the middle and our bodies facing out, by far my favorite picture. The next one of us was at prom. Luke was wearing a nice tux with a blue under shirt that matched his "girl friends" (Amanda) blue halter dress. It had a waterfall of rhinestones and matched her personality to a tee. I myself was wearing a plain white dress that came to knee length that had a small amount of gold sparkles that covered the entire body. It was elegant and beautiful, but it didn't help with the frown on my face. It was only a couple of months after the "incident" so I didn't bother getting a date, although I distinctly remember Jared Eckerson asking me. I turned him down nicely, and he said it was alright, but that I was his first crush and he would always remember me. I remember that that really lifted my spirits, just the flattery of it all. So I decided that I would invite him to mine and Luke's graduation party, which I did. The next photo actually was of Luke, Amanda and I at graduation. We were all wearing our white caps and gowns and we were smiling like crazy. My eyes of course, were not.
"God you have to see this kitchen!" Amanda cried from the other room, interrupting my thoughts. I jumped a little, quite startled, and walked into the other room. The kitchen was a light green, almost like sage, and the furniture was white. The cabinets were white, and the countertops were marble, but the white server and round table in front of the doors that led out onto the porch were just gorgeous. I smiled at Amanda as she played with the microwave, and walked into the study that led out from where the table and server were situated. It was kind of small, but that didn't matter. It was light yellow and the furniture, can you guess, was white. Although the desk and library were a light brown. There were TONS of books lined up on the library shelves and it reminded me of my father, the only parent I was talking to right now. He always did understand my dreams, even if he didn't help me pursue them or talk to my mother about them, he understood. I think his love of books and reading and writing is what encouraged me to go to Princeton in the first place. I took a deep breath and walked back into the kitchen and out onto the porch. Immediately, the smell of the ocean hit me, and I was scared for a moment that "everything" was happening again, but I was surprised that I was also disappointed when it didn't. I looked out at the water and walked over to the railing. The last time I held a railing and looked out at the water like this was on the Titanic when I saw Jack for the first time. For some reason, I guess because I was hoping Jack was there, I looked down at the beach, again, hoping I would find myself staring into a pair of blue eyes. But, of course, I didn't. All I was staring at were a couple of people lying on the beach. I did, however, spot a shirtless guy, probably about my age, passing a football with a younger looking version of himself, maybe his brother. He caught my eye, and his wet brown hair swished to the side as he looked at me. He smiled at me, embarrassed probably because he then tripped over a black and white sheep dog. I laughed and smiled at the thought of him being embarrassed by me for a moment, thinking that he was kind of cute, when suddenly, I thought of Jack, and quickly pushed the thought out of my mind. I walked back into the kitchen and closed the door behind me.
"Is it nice out there?" Amanda asked as she looked through our fully stocked fridge.
"Uh, yeah." I said, disturbed by the events on the deck. I ran over to the stairs and walked up them quickly. The upstairs had three bedrooms and one bath. At the top of the stairs across the hall was the bathroom, and on the left was my room, and on the right was Amanda's. I walked into my lilac painted room, and admired the, yet again, whit furniture. The vanity had gold accents like the mantle and the coffee table, and my purple, white, and gold bed setting was sublime. The room had a small deck that was on the other side of my bed and a small golden chair. The desk was white and gold and was covered with papers from my agent, Miranda. The T.V. on the wall was flat, and quite large, but I really didn't care. I flopped down onto my bed and looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand that was sitting next to a picture of Luke, Amanda and I that we had taken at a Maroon 5 concert. We were outside the limo mom and dad had ordered to take us there, and we were all smiling crazy as we wore our Maroon 5 T's and ripped jeans. I was making a peace sign, Luke was making the sign for rock and roll, and Amanda, in an attempt to do the sign for rock and roll as well, did the sign for I love you. I laughed, remembering how embarrassed she was, and sighed as I turned over onto my side. I looked at the white silk covered French doors that led out to the deck and smiled as the fan that was churning over head made them blow crazily. I got up off of the bed and walked into the bathroom, when I noticed that there was also the guest bedroom, so I went in there first. It was painted sea foam green and had, yes AGAIN, white furniture. It too also had a few picture of the "tremendous trio" and had small, but noticeable, decorations covering the room as well. I walked back into the bathroom and smiled at the pink colored walls. This house was just gorgeous. I couldn't ask for a better house.
I scurried back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Amanda was still fidgeting with the high end technology and I laughed.
"Damn it! I just want to pop some popcorn!" she yelled as she continuously pressed buttons on the microwave. I laughed again and walked over to the fridge.
"Don't worry, we'll figure it out." I reassured her as I grabbed a Coke off of the first shelf. I smiled and handed her one as well, then sat down on one of the chairs at the table.
"To our first day in Santa Monica." Amanda said as she sat down and lifted her Coke can in the air. I smiled half heartedly and lifted my can as well.
"To Santa Monica." I replied. We clincked cans, then jugged each down with a large gulp. As I did though, a knot formed in my stomach.
This didn't feel… right.
It didn't feel right being here without Jack.
It just… didn't.
And it felt wrong that I even considered doing so.
The next morning, after Amanda and I had stayed up all night, too excited to sleep, I quietly walked down the stairs in my neon blue sneakers, white shorts, and pink tank top with my tennis racket in hand. I noticed a tennis court across our street when the cab driver pulled in, and even though I didn't play for a school team anymore, didn't mean I wasn't going to stop playing. I grabbed my tennis bag that was next to the door, and checked quickly to make sure I had enough tennis balls. I did, and then opened the door cautiously, hoping I wouldn't wake Amanda. I shut the door behind me as I walked out onto the porch, and smiled as I walked down the steps. It was quite bright out today, but the slight breeze helped with the heat… a lot. I started to walk down the street and crossed the patch of grass that led to the tennis courts. I opened the gate to the deserted area, and set my bag down after I had grabbed a green ball from inside. I walked over to the area where they had a cement wall for individual practice, and threw the ball up high. I whacked it with all my strength, and it hit the wall with a thud. It came bouncing back to my left, and I back handed it back against the wall again.
I continued to do this for about another hour, and finished off the workout with a lap around the neighborhood sidewalk before returning for my bag. As I walked out of the courts, I took a large slug of water and then tossed it back into my bag. I walked down the streets, panting tremendously, when suddenly, something knocked me to the ground. I laid there for a moment, in the middle of the street, and looked up. Panting over me, was a drooling black and white sheepdog. His eyes sparkled from the sun, but his breath smelled terribly of dog food.
"Oscar, no!" Someone yelled from my right. I looked over and saw the same guy who was passing the foot ball yesterday. The dog jumped off of me and ran over to him as he ran over to me.
"God, I am so sorry. He never does that." He said as he stood over me. I laughed, thinking the situation was now quite funny instead of startling, and let out a large sigh.
"It's quite alright. I'm fine, really." I reassured him as he extended his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me up to my feet. I stood there, and looked into his brown eyes for a moment, when I jerked my hand away.
"Ah, I um, I see you're wearing a shirt today." I said sarcastically as he now laughed.
"Yeah, well, I thought I'd change it up a little bit." He said just as sarcastically. I laughed quietly and smiled.
"Sutton Baker." I said, returning my hand. He smiled and shook it.
"Matt Reynolds." He replied. I smiled and continued shaking his hand for a moment, before Oscar barked again. I smiled, then reached down to pick up my bag.
"Well, since you're new and all, if you want a private tour of town, I'd be happy to oblige." He said with a fake gentleman tone as he bowed and held out his hand. I smiled and laughed as I know walked backwards down the street.
"I'll… think about it." I said, a smile still covering my face. He stood up straight and smiled as well, when the boy from yesterday walked out onto his porch.
"Matt, I'm gonna be late for baseball practice!" the kid yelled as he ran to their car, a black Honda.
"Ah, Andrew's got baseball. But just come over any time once you, you know, think about it." He said with a smile. I smiled back and waved.
"Will do." I replied. He smiled again and ran to his car. I walked into the house that now smelled of pancakes and ran into the kitchen
"Blueberry?" I asked in hopes that Amanda put blueberries in the pancake batter.
"Blueberry!" she replied. I smiled and grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured myself a cup of coffee.
"Ah, blueberry pancakes… there's really nothing better for breakfast." I said as I sat down at the set table with a large blue dotted pancake in front of me. I ate it up quickly, only putting butter on the top, and swallowed it all down with another slug of coffee.
"So, who's neighbor boy?" Amanda asked nosily as she sat down at the table with her cup of coffee and pancake. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, and watched as she threw it her blonde hair into a high pony.
"Exactly that… a neighbor boy." I replied with a hint of snarkiness in my tone. (Not a word, just to letcha know. Letcha know isn't a word, either :D)
"Sorry, sorry. He is cute, though." I smiled and rolled my eyes again.
"Amanda…"
"Just promise me that if he asks you out, you'll go, okay?" she interrupted. I stood up and rolled my eyes as I brought my dish and cup to the sink. "Sutton…"
"Fine, alright! If he asks me I'll go," I said, now quite annoyed with Amanda. "But it would NOT be a date, just a friendly get together between neighbors." Amanda wasn't convinced, and frankly, neither was I, but she bit her tongue.
"Fine." She said. I went back into the other room and grabbed my bag, then, headed up the stairs. I dropped the bag on the floor as soon as I got into the room, and then I pulled on a pair of white capris and a blue and black leopard print top. I kept my hair up in a pony tail and braid for now, the braid running through the top of my head, and walked back downstairs past the living room where Amanda was watching the Today show, when I noticed something.
The pictures.
I walked over to the mantle, not caring that Amanda was yelling at me because she couldn't see, and sighed.
"What?" she asked angrily. I turned around, a tear now streaming down my face.
"I don't, I don't even have a picture of him." I confessed quietly. Amanda furrowed her eyebrows sadly and sighed. I then broke down crying, and she got up and ran over to me. She wrapped her arms around me tightly and led me over to the couch.
"I don't, I don't know, know, what I'm, I'm supposed to do, with, with, without him." I complained between sobs. Amanda took a deep breath and rubbed my back.
"You just have, you just have to do all of the things that you two wanted to do together," she explained deep in thought. "You have to keep your promise as best you can and it will be as if he never left because Sutton, he will always be here." She put a finger on the area where my heart was, and I sighed.
"But how is, is he supposed to be there, when, when it's broken?" I asked nervously. She sighed again and continued to rub my back.
"Because he'll mend it for you… in time." She said. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Amanda was right, this was silly. It had been almost six years, but I was still as upset as I was the first day.
It was going to take time.
And I knew Jack would be there through it all.
LOOOOONNNNGGGGGGGGGGG OVER DUE! SO FLIPPING SORRY! Oh and… NEVER MIND! I AM SO GOING TO DO THE SEQUEL! It's going to be about Sutton's life after all of this so it should be pretty good :) Of course, it won't come for quite awhile because of school and I also need to get started on the "Emma" sequel. Which will also be VERY good! Alright, Sutton and I will see you in about a month or two. Lol, sorry, but it WILL probably take that long… Eh, it's worth the wait :D Hope you enjoyed my, once again, long overdue chapter. But again, I'll make up for it within the sequel :D
AHHHH! GOING TO GO SEE CONTAGION! If you guys didn't know this already, Kate Winslet is one of the… six?... main characters. I'm going to see it in like 3 hours and I just CAN NOT wait! I was on Kate's Wikipedia page… 'cause I'm her biggest fan :D… and I saw Contagion at the end of her filmography and I was like, hmm, now what is this? So I clicked on it and it was so early on, they didn't even have the movie poster picture up yet :D At first it creeped me out, the plot line that is, but then I was like, so what? Kate WINSLET is in it! Also Matt Damon, Jude Law, and lol, Gwyneth Paltrow. The reason why I LOLED is because Gwyneth was asked by James Cameron to play Rose in Titanic! But she turned it down, and Kate got the role! THANK GOD! I truly believe that if any actors in the movie were different, especially Kate and Leo, it would not have been as good :D Hope you enjoyed the last chapter before the sequel, which now that I'm thinking about it, might come out before the Emma one, not sure. You'll just have to wait and see :D …
