Chapter 3
I arrived at Joey's house quickly. I wanted to talk to him so badly, it was tearing up my insides. He threw open his door, and invited me inside.
"What's going on?"
"Read," I snapped, tossing him the letter. He picked it up, unfolded it, and started to read. A strange look came over his face.
"What?" I asked, flying over to him.
"Your Mother wrote this?"
"Yes!" I hissed. He handed it back to me.
"I don't know what to say."
"Tell me what to do. Tell me what I should do," I muttered, raking my fingers through my hair.
"I don't know what to tell you May," he muttered. He came over to hug me, but I pushed him away.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked.
"Nothing, nothing, I just need some time alone," I nearly screamed.
"May, you need to calm down. . ." he began, placing his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't you tell me to calm down!" I raged.
"May, go home," he said, he went to open his door, and I stormed out angrily, and sped home, nearly colliding with another car.
I didn't waste a minute to climb into bed. I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed, planning to shut the world out for a long time.
I stayed in my bed for two weeks. School was going to start soon, and I had barely moved out of my bed. I hadn't eaten, I had lost a lot of weight, and I had stopped going to summer school. My mother cried over my bed when she thought I was sleeping. I heard her sobbing one night, sitting next to my bed. I didn't move, I had just listened to her cry.
"May, why are you doing this to me?" she moaned, wiping her eyes. I ignored her and she left the room.
Joey kept calling me non stop, but I ignored all of his calls. I didn't feel like talking to him, when he had rejected me when I needed him most.
"May, there's someone here for you," Mother said as she knocked on my door.
"Tell whoever it is to go away," I yelled at the door. The door suddenly opened and Joey stormed in.
"Get the hell out of bed. You've been there for 3 weeks and done nothing. You quit summer school, you haven't eaten, and your under a hundred pounds. Get up." He ripped the covers off of me, and I screamed.
"Get away from me!"
"Get dressed! We're going out!" I shoved him out of my room and put on a pair of jeans and a T shirt. When it was safe, he came back inside and pulled me downstairs.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked, getting into his car. He got in, slammed the door, and sped off to somewhere.
"What have you been doing besides laying in bed?"
"Nothing," I snapped, folding my hands across my chest. He rolled his eyes and went faster, the car jolting forward.
"Are you trying to kill me?" He didn't answer. He turned on a dirt road and sped forward, then parked in front of a sign that said, "Lawson Ranch."
I looked up at him. "You own a ranch?"
"Yeah, we bought it a few years ago." He went around and opened my door. I stepped out and looked around. It was a shady area with many oak trees and fields of rich green grass. Beautiful brown, black and white horses were corralled in pens made from oak posts.
"This place is beautiful," I muttered, walking around. He took my hand and led me inside one of the pens. He went into the barn, and grabbed to saddles.
"Whoa, wait a minute," I said, leaning against one of the posts. "We're going riding?"
"No, I thought I would carry these heavy saddles for my own health," he spat sarcastically, and I narrowed my eyes. He put a bridle on the two black horses and saddled them.
"May, meet Noir," he said. I slowly eased over to the horse and patted it's head. It's eyes were a glossy black, like black marbles. He whined and moved his head, and I leaped back.
"This is my first time with horses," I said uneasily, chewing on my lip.
"They don't hurt you, she's kind." He grabbed my hand and pulled me over.
"Put your foot here," he said, and grabbed my foot and putting it in the foot holder. I swung my other leg around, and sat down. He placed my hand on the saddle and I gripped it for all of my life.
"Grab the reins," he said, and handed them to me. I held those tightly.
"When you want to go right, nudge her in that directions. Vice versa with the left. If we go down hills, lean back, and going up hills, lean forward. Got it?" I nodded and he ran inside and grabbed two water bottles.
"Put this in your bag," he said and I did so. He climbed onto his horse and trotted forward.
"I've got this neat little trail, follow me. Oh," he said, looking back. At that moment, I caught a true glimpse of Joey. A patch of sunlight illuminated his face, and he almost looked angelic. His brown eyes sparkled, and the smile on his face was tingling my spine.
"When you want to go, kick the horses sides. Don't kick too hard. And you don't have to say 'Giddyap.' That's only in the movies." I nodded and smiled. He backed up.
"OK, let's go Noir," I whispered, and kicked the horse. She grunted and trotted forward.
"I did it!" I cried. Joey laughed and caught up next to me.
"It's easy," he said. He went on the main road and past the house.
"The house is huge," I muttered, looking over.
"Yeah, we don't use it very much. It's kinda like a guest house," he said. We came out of the trees and started to walk through the grass.
"This is such a pretty place."
"We bought it a few years ago." We turned slightly left and started to go through the forest again.
"What's your horses name?"
"Onyx. Yours is Noir. In French it means 'black,'" he said.
"It's a pretty name." I paused. "Joey?"
"Yeah?" He brushed a branch out of his way.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"For being such a brat. I mean, I guess I've been feeling sorry for myself for a long time. I dunno," I mumbled, lowering my head.
"Hey, don't get yourself down," he said, reaching over to lift my chin. We were side by side now. I looked up at him, and he smiled.
"You're really pretty May," he said softly. I blushed and looked down at the ground.
"Really, you are. Your hair is the pretties color of blonde, and your eyes, they're like watercolor blue. Watery, deep, it's like, whenever you look at me, I get swallowed in." I looked up.
"May, I like you, a lot," he was the one that shifted his eyes away. I felt like I was in fifth grade again, when my first crush, Brian Charles, had admitted that he had liked me, and told me how pretty I was. But this was much better.
"I like you too, Joey," I choked. "I guess I've liked you for a long time, even when we ran into each other the first day that we met each other." My cheeks were flaming red by now, but I didn't care. I liked Joey, a lot.
"Hey, let's stop here," he said. It was in a huge field of emerald green grass, with a small creek running through the middle with a quarry of rocks surrounding it. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, there was nothing that could go wrong. Joey hopped off and led his horse over to a tree and tied it up, along with my horse, and lifted me off, like I only weighed as much as a feather. We walked over to the field, Joey carrying a wicker basket.
"Where did that come from?" I asked. I didn't see him bring it out earlier.
"I have my magic tricks," he replied and pulled out a blanket and spread it out by the creek on level ground. I sprawled out and looked up at the sky. He had set up a picnic!
"Is this a date?" I sang, sitting up and bracing myself on my elbows. He chuckled.
"Maybe." He pulled out two sandwiches and handed one to me. Turkey with provolone and mayonnaise. I took a bite and groaned. It was the first piece of food I had eaten in practically 2 weeks! It felt good as it traveled down my throat and I ate ravenously.
"Slow down there," Joey laughed, handing me a water bottle. I drank that in one gulp.
"Food is good," I said. After that, I devoured a bag of chips, and a box of cookies.
"Full?" Joey asked, and I nodded, burping. I giggled and went to wash my hands in the creek. The water was cool, and I splashed some on my face. I sat up and took out my hair, brushing it with my fingers. It was very long now. It was down to my mid back, and it covered my shoulders. I took off my jacket and lay it down and sprawled out on the grass, looking up at the sky, a few clouds drifted by, and I tried to make shapes out of them. Joey sat down next to me, and he grabbed my hand. A shiver went up my spine, but I didn't let him know it.
"You have a very feminine hand," he noticed it, tracing the outline of my hand.
"I use Rose oil lotion," I said. He leaned forward and kissed my fingers, and I snatched them away. He sat up.
"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to it," I said.
"I like you a lot May. You're beautiful, talented, smart. Every time I think of you, my heart goes out to you."
"I've never been in a relationship before Joey," I said hesitantly.
"I'll take it slow," he whispered, and I threw my arms around his neck, and we held each other.
I could have burst with joy. I loved Joey, I truly did. From the first day that I had met him, the first time we had ever interacted, I had loved him. His eyes, his hair, his smile. I was drowning in love!
After a while, which seemed like an eternity, we let got of each other, and we headed back to the horses. He untied them both, and helped me back up, since I didn't get the hang of it yet. We rode back to the ranch quietly, both lost in our silence.
Once we had gotten back, he corralled the horses, and he took me inside of the house.
"This is like the ski lodge on the mountains!" I cried as I walked inside. On the far back wall, a large moose head was mounted over a marble fireplace. A large bookshelf stood next to it, containing fine literature book, cook books, and novels. On the right wall, a large entertainment center stood there, with A DVD player, CD player, VCR, 16' TV, and a stereo. In the middle of the room in front of the TV, a large black leather couch was placed there, next to a bear skin rug. The stairs were on the back wall, and there was an entrance into the kitchen. Joey went into the kitchen, while I sat down on the couch.
"This is all so expensive," I said. He came back with two grape sodas.
"Not really." He thrust a soda at me, and I took it from him.
"The rug is worth five thousand dollars!" I shrieked. He laughed.
"I guess so." He opened his soda and started to chug it down. I sipped mine and put it on the table next to the couch.
"Turn off that lamp," he commanded, and I did so, lying back on the couch. He touched my cheek, and I turned my face in his direction, and he crushed his lips on top of mine suddenly, I jerked back. He groaned.
"I'm sorry Joey, I'm just . . . scared."
"Of?"
"I dunno, but I am. I guess from what I've seen. People get wrapped up in love so much, and then their hearts get broken, and it's all over. My hearts already been crushed, I don't want it to happen again."
"May, you know that I would never do that to you. I love you. Yes, I love you. And there is nothing that could come between us." He grabbed my hand. "I promise I will go slow, and if I go too fast, please, stop me." He embraced me and lightly kissed my cheek. My heart was pitter-pattering against my chest. He kissed it again, and cupped my face and looked at me.
"You're so beautiful." Slowly, he brought his lips to mine, and I accepted his kiss.
"You're so soft." He murmured. My arms went around his neck, and I let him kiss my face and my neck, but when he started to get lower, I moved his lips back to mine. Slowly, I was learning. He was my first kiss, and I hoped he would be my last.
"Joey," I mumbled.
"Yeah?"
"We should probably get going. It's getting late." He sighed and let go of my face, and smiled.
"Let's get out of here." We ran to his car, and he drove me home quickly.
"Thank you so much for this day Joey. I had the greatest time." I leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"Call me later," he called after me as I ran into my house, slamming the door behind me. Mommy and Daddy were in the kitchen, and I ran through there, smiling broadly.
"Hello May, did you have a good time?" Daddy asked.
"I'm in love and I don't care who knows!"
I couldn't stop thinking of Joey. He was burned on my brain. Everything I did, it somehow reminded it me of Joey. I didn't care that I was adopted anymore; All I could think about was Joey! I floated around the house, I went back to summer school, and I counted down the days until school started. Eight weeks. Eight weeks! I could hardly believe it, it was that close.
My parents were quite annoyed with my obsession over Joey. "May, get your heads out of the clouds," my parents constantly reminded me. But I ignored them.
I talked to him everyday. We were constantly on the phone with each other. We talked about the most controversial things, like music, and movies, and on a more milder subject, how our feelings were.
I usually gushed to him. He was slightly hesitant, which made me worry. But he told me that nothing in the world could take me away from him. That made my heart race.
Emilia was quite annoyed with the situation between us.
"May, you've got to stop thinking about him!" she screamed in my ear. I looked at him sharply.
"I- I don't understand you May. You've never been this gaga over a boy before. Ever. And you've had some wild crushes." I flashed back quickly to all of the grade school days that I had spent crushing on boys that were out of my reach. I frowned.
"Did you have to make me think of that?" She smirked.
"You, and your hormones, need to simmer down now." I sighed.
"But Emilia, I love him!" I cried. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.
The one day that I didn't talk about Joey, or even think about him, was when me and my parents had a serious talk.
"May, can we talk to you?" Mommy asked softly, knocking on my door.
"Sure Mommy." I said good-bye to Joey and went down into the living room.
"You might want to sit," Daddy said as I entered the room. I looked at them both cautiously and sat down. A shiver went up my spine. Something was wrong.
"May, we need to talk to you," Daddy said. I nodded.
"I know, Mommy told me," I said slowly.
"It's about Joey," she blurted. My heart leaped into my throat.
"Joey?" I choked out, my throat dry and scratchy. They both nodded.
"We're having somewhat of a-" he paused, tossing his hand in the air. "Problem."
"Problem?" I sputtered.
"May, we're not exactly thrilled with your, friendship, with Joey," Mommy blurted. I stared at her in disbelief.
"Wait, what?" I said, shaking my head.
"You, you heard me May," Mommy said hesitantly. I stood up.
"But-But-But. . ." Daddy held up his hand.
"You've been head over heels in love with this boy, and I'm not sure if you, or your Mother and I, are ready for this." I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I loved this boy! I would die for him! He saved my life! He told me he loved me! Alarms went off in my head. This couldn't be happening.
"I- I don't think I'm getting this." They both looked at each other, their eyes wide.
"Now, May, we know you're still fragile from what happened," Mommy replied, touching my shoulder. I shrugged it of.
"All right," I said. "So, you don't, approve, of me and Joey?" I started shaking. Mommy's eyes widened.
"Jim, she's having a mental breakdown!" she shrieked. My shaking was getting worse and my teeth began to chatter. Mommy ran to get a blanket for me, and Daddy scooped me up.
"No Daddy, I'm fine," I protested, shaking my head. He grabbed his keys, and headed to the front door. Mommy came and covered me with a blanket, and we headed out the door.
My heart was pounding faster than it ever had before, a sweat was breaking out on my brow. My breath was trapped in my throat; I couldn't breathe, and my vision was growing blurry. I had a terrible headache; my heart felt like the jaws of life were being clamped onto my heart.
"Daddy," I moaned. My lips were dry, and my voice cracked. He didn't answer as he lay me in the back of the SUV and sped off to the hospital. Mommy burst out into tears as we drove.
"We shouldn't have told her Jim. We should have just kept it to ourselves," she wailed.
"Now is not the time Amanda," he snapped at her, accelerating the car. My eyelids drooped closed.
"May, stay awake, we're almost there," Daddy called. I groaned again, and forced to keep my eyes open, but it was impossible. Even the dim lights from the passing street lights hurt my eyes. It seemed that my heart rate had gone faster, I was shivering, and sweating at the same time, and my brain thumped against my skull agonizingly.
"Almost there. . ." The car came to a screeching halt, and Daddy leaped out of the car, scooped me up into his arms, and carried me into the ER. A nurse walked over to us.
"What's wrong?" she asked quickly. I could see that she a short, plump woman.
"Yes! Yes! Please help! My daughter! My daughter!" he cried. Mommy had turned into a pale mess. The nurse called for a wheelchair, and Daddy plopped me inside, my head drooping to the side. I could feel the soft wind on my cheeks as we whizzed by rooms and down the hallway to an examining room.
"Hold on honey," Mommy said weakly, squeezing my hand. I groaned in response.
"Where are the doctors?" Daddy roared. I groaned.
"Just hold on," Mommy said. I started to cry.
"Mommy," I choked, and she started screaming.
"Amanda!" Daddy yelled, and pulled her out of the room and into the hallway. I could hear her faint screams.
Doctors started hooking me up to machines, loud beeping ones, an IV, and a heart monitor.
"You're going to be just fine, dear," the nurse said. They hooked me up to an oxygen machine, and she told me to inhale deeply. I started coughing, and slowly, it seemed like I was drifting away. The voices got louder, my body lost control,
Hold on, hold on. . .
I arrived at Joey's house quickly. I wanted to talk to him so badly, it was tearing up my insides. He threw open his door, and invited me inside.
"What's going on?"
"Read," I snapped, tossing him the letter. He picked it up, unfolded it, and started to read. A strange look came over his face.
"What?" I asked, flying over to him.
"Your Mother wrote this?"
"Yes!" I hissed. He handed it back to me.
"I don't know what to say."
"Tell me what to do. Tell me what I should do," I muttered, raking my fingers through my hair.
"I don't know what to tell you May," he muttered. He came over to hug me, but I pushed him away.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked.
"Nothing, nothing, I just need some time alone," I nearly screamed.
"May, you need to calm down. . ." he began, placing his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't you tell me to calm down!" I raged.
"May, go home," he said, he went to open his door, and I stormed out angrily, and sped home, nearly colliding with another car.
I didn't waste a minute to climb into bed. I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed, planning to shut the world out for a long time.
I stayed in my bed for two weeks. School was going to start soon, and I had barely moved out of my bed. I hadn't eaten, I had lost a lot of weight, and I had stopped going to summer school. My mother cried over my bed when she thought I was sleeping. I heard her sobbing one night, sitting next to my bed. I didn't move, I had just listened to her cry.
"May, why are you doing this to me?" she moaned, wiping her eyes. I ignored her and she left the room.
Joey kept calling me non stop, but I ignored all of his calls. I didn't feel like talking to him, when he had rejected me when I needed him most.
"May, there's someone here for you," Mother said as she knocked on my door.
"Tell whoever it is to go away," I yelled at the door. The door suddenly opened and Joey stormed in.
"Get the hell out of bed. You've been there for 3 weeks and done nothing. You quit summer school, you haven't eaten, and your under a hundred pounds. Get up." He ripped the covers off of me, and I screamed.
"Get away from me!"
"Get dressed! We're going out!" I shoved him out of my room and put on a pair of jeans and a T shirt. When it was safe, he came back inside and pulled me downstairs.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked, getting into his car. He got in, slammed the door, and sped off to somewhere.
"What have you been doing besides laying in bed?"
"Nothing," I snapped, folding my hands across my chest. He rolled his eyes and went faster, the car jolting forward.
"Are you trying to kill me?" He didn't answer. He turned on a dirt road and sped forward, then parked in front of a sign that said, "Lawson Ranch."
I looked up at him. "You own a ranch?"
"Yeah, we bought it a few years ago." He went around and opened my door. I stepped out and looked around. It was a shady area with many oak trees and fields of rich green grass. Beautiful brown, black and white horses were corralled in pens made from oak posts.
"This place is beautiful," I muttered, walking around. He took my hand and led me inside one of the pens. He went into the barn, and grabbed to saddles.
"Whoa, wait a minute," I said, leaning against one of the posts. "We're going riding?"
"No, I thought I would carry these heavy saddles for my own health," he spat sarcastically, and I narrowed my eyes. He put a bridle on the two black horses and saddled them.
"May, meet Noir," he said. I slowly eased over to the horse and patted it's head. It's eyes were a glossy black, like black marbles. He whined and moved his head, and I leaped back.
"This is my first time with horses," I said uneasily, chewing on my lip.
"They don't hurt you, she's kind." He grabbed my hand and pulled me over.
"Put your foot here," he said, and grabbed my foot and putting it in the foot holder. I swung my other leg around, and sat down. He placed my hand on the saddle and I gripped it for all of my life.
"Grab the reins," he said, and handed them to me. I held those tightly.
"When you want to go right, nudge her in that directions. Vice versa with the left. If we go down hills, lean back, and going up hills, lean forward. Got it?" I nodded and he ran inside and grabbed two water bottles.
"Put this in your bag," he said and I did so. He climbed onto his horse and trotted forward.
"I've got this neat little trail, follow me. Oh," he said, looking back. At that moment, I caught a true glimpse of Joey. A patch of sunlight illuminated his face, and he almost looked angelic. His brown eyes sparkled, and the smile on his face was tingling my spine.
"When you want to go, kick the horses sides. Don't kick too hard. And you don't have to say 'Giddyap.' That's only in the movies." I nodded and smiled. He backed up.
"OK, let's go Noir," I whispered, and kicked the horse. She grunted and trotted forward.
"I did it!" I cried. Joey laughed and caught up next to me.
"It's easy," he said. He went on the main road and past the house.
"The house is huge," I muttered, looking over.
"Yeah, we don't use it very much. It's kinda like a guest house," he said. We came out of the trees and started to walk through the grass.
"This is such a pretty place."
"We bought it a few years ago." We turned slightly left and started to go through the forest again.
"What's your horses name?"
"Onyx. Yours is Noir. In French it means 'black,'" he said.
"It's a pretty name." I paused. "Joey?"
"Yeah?" He brushed a branch out of his way.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"For being such a brat. I mean, I guess I've been feeling sorry for myself for a long time. I dunno," I mumbled, lowering my head.
"Hey, don't get yourself down," he said, reaching over to lift my chin. We were side by side now. I looked up at him, and he smiled.
"You're really pretty May," he said softly. I blushed and looked down at the ground.
"Really, you are. Your hair is the pretties color of blonde, and your eyes, they're like watercolor blue. Watery, deep, it's like, whenever you look at me, I get swallowed in." I looked up.
"May, I like you, a lot," he was the one that shifted his eyes away. I felt like I was in fifth grade again, when my first crush, Brian Charles, had admitted that he had liked me, and told me how pretty I was. But this was much better.
"I like you too, Joey," I choked. "I guess I've liked you for a long time, even when we ran into each other the first day that we met each other." My cheeks were flaming red by now, but I didn't care. I liked Joey, a lot.
"Hey, let's stop here," he said. It was in a huge field of emerald green grass, with a small creek running through the middle with a quarry of rocks surrounding it. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, there was nothing that could go wrong. Joey hopped off and led his horse over to a tree and tied it up, along with my horse, and lifted me off, like I only weighed as much as a feather. We walked over to the field, Joey carrying a wicker basket.
"Where did that come from?" I asked. I didn't see him bring it out earlier.
"I have my magic tricks," he replied and pulled out a blanket and spread it out by the creek on level ground. I sprawled out and looked up at the sky. He had set up a picnic!
"Is this a date?" I sang, sitting up and bracing myself on my elbows. He chuckled.
"Maybe." He pulled out two sandwiches and handed one to me. Turkey with provolone and mayonnaise. I took a bite and groaned. It was the first piece of food I had eaten in practically 2 weeks! It felt good as it traveled down my throat and I ate ravenously.
"Slow down there," Joey laughed, handing me a water bottle. I drank that in one gulp.
"Food is good," I said. After that, I devoured a bag of chips, and a box of cookies.
"Full?" Joey asked, and I nodded, burping. I giggled and went to wash my hands in the creek. The water was cool, and I splashed some on my face. I sat up and took out my hair, brushing it with my fingers. It was very long now. It was down to my mid back, and it covered my shoulders. I took off my jacket and lay it down and sprawled out on the grass, looking up at the sky, a few clouds drifted by, and I tried to make shapes out of them. Joey sat down next to me, and he grabbed my hand. A shiver went up my spine, but I didn't let him know it.
"You have a very feminine hand," he noticed it, tracing the outline of my hand.
"I use Rose oil lotion," I said. He leaned forward and kissed my fingers, and I snatched them away. He sat up.
"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to it," I said.
"I like you a lot May. You're beautiful, talented, smart. Every time I think of you, my heart goes out to you."
"I've never been in a relationship before Joey," I said hesitantly.
"I'll take it slow," he whispered, and I threw my arms around his neck, and we held each other.
I could have burst with joy. I loved Joey, I truly did. From the first day that I had met him, the first time we had ever interacted, I had loved him. His eyes, his hair, his smile. I was drowning in love!
After a while, which seemed like an eternity, we let got of each other, and we headed back to the horses. He untied them both, and helped me back up, since I didn't get the hang of it yet. We rode back to the ranch quietly, both lost in our silence.
Once we had gotten back, he corralled the horses, and he took me inside of the house.
"This is like the ski lodge on the mountains!" I cried as I walked inside. On the far back wall, a large moose head was mounted over a marble fireplace. A large bookshelf stood next to it, containing fine literature book, cook books, and novels. On the right wall, a large entertainment center stood there, with A DVD player, CD player, VCR, 16' TV, and a stereo. In the middle of the room in front of the TV, a large black leather couch was placed there, next to a bear skin rug. The stairs were on the back wall, and there was an entrance into the kitchen. Joey went into the kitchen, while I sat down on the couch.
"This is all so expensive," I said. He came back with two grape sodas.
"Not really." He thrust a soda at me, and I took it from him.
"The rug is worth five thousand dollars!" I shrieked. He laughed.
"I guess so." He opened his soda and started to chug it down. I sipped mine and put it on the table next to the couch.
"Turn off that lamp," he commanded, and I did so, lying back on the couch. He touched my cheek, and I turned my face in his direction, and he crushed his lips on top of mine suddenly, I jerked back. He groaned.
"I'm sorry Joey, I'm just . . . scared."
"Of?"
"I dunno, but I am. I guess from what I've seen. People get wrapped up in love so much, and then their hearts get broken, and it's all over. My hearts already been crushed, I don't want it to happen again."
"May, you know that I would never do that to you. I love you. Yes, I love you. And there is nothing that could come between us." He grabbed my hand. "I promise I will go slow, and if I go too fast, please, stop me." He embraced me and lightly kissed my cheek. My heart was pitter-pattering against my chest. He kissed it again, and cupped my face and looked at me.
"You're so beautiful." Slowly, he brought his lips to mine, and I accepted his kiss.
"You're so soft." He murmured. My arms went around his neck, and I let him kiss my face and my neck, but when he started to get lower, I moved his lips back to mine. Slowly, I was learning. He was my first kiss, and I hoped he would be my last.
"Joey," I mumbled.
"Yeah?"
"We should probably get going. It's getting late." He sighed and let go of my face, and smiled.
"Let's get out of here." We ran to his car, and he drove me home quickly.
"Thank you so much for this day Joey. I had the greatest time." I leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"Call me later," he called after me as I ran into my house, slamming the door behind me. Mommy and Daddy were in the kitchen, and I ran through there, smiling broadly.
"Hello May, did you have a good time?" Daddy asked.
"I'm in love and I don't care who knows!"
I couldn't stop thinking of Joey. He was burned on my brain. Everything I did, it somehow reminded it me of Joey. I didn't care that I was adopted anymore; All I could think about was Joey! I floated around the house, I went back to summer school, and I counted down the days until school started. Eight weeks. Eight weeks! I could hardly believe it, it was that close.
My parents were quite annoyed with my obsession over Joey. "May, get your heads out of the clouds," my parents constantly reminded me. But I ignored them.
I talked to him everyday. We were constantly on the phone with each other. We talked about the most controversial things, like music, and movies, and on a more milder subject, how our feelings were.
I usually gushed to him. He was slightly hesitant, which made me worry. But he told me that nothing in the world could take me away from him. That made my heart race.
Emilia was quite annoyed with the situation between us.
"May, you've got to stop thinking about him!" she screamed in my ear. I looked at him sharply.
"I- I don't understand you May. You've never been this gaga over a boy before. Ever. And you've had some wild crushes." I flashed back quickly to all of the grade school days that I had spent crushing on boys that were out of my reach. I frowned.
"Did you have to make me think of that?" She smirked.
"You, and your hormones, need to simmer down now." I sighed.
"But Emilia, I love him!" I cried. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.
The one day that I didn't talk about Joey, or even think about him, was when me and my parents had a serious talk.
"May, can we talk to you?" Mommy asked softly, knocking on my door.
"Sure Mommy." I said good-bye to Joey and went down into the living room.
"You might want to sit," Daddy said as I entered the room. I looked at them both cautiously and sat down. A shiver went up my spine. Something was wrong.
"May, we need to talk to you," Daddy said. I nodded.
"I know, Mommy told me," I said slowly.
"It's about Joey," she blurted. My heart leaped into my throat.
"Joey?" I choked out, my throat dry and scratchy. They both nodded.
"We're having somewhat of a-" he paused, tossing his hand in the air. "Problem."
"Problem?" I sputtered.
"May, we're not exactly thrilled with your, friendship, with Joey," Mommy blurted. I stared at her in disbelief.
"Wait, what?" I said, shaking my head.
"You, you heard me May," Mommy said hesitantly. I stood up.
"But-But-But. . ." Daddy held up his hand.
"You've been head over heels in love with this boy, and I'm not sure if you, or your Mother and I, are ready for this." I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I loved this boy! I would die for him! He saved my life! He told me he loved me! Alarms went off in my head. This couldn't be happening.
"I- I don't think I'm getting this." They both looked at each other, their eyes wide.
"Now, May, we know you're still fragile from what happened," Mommy replied, touching my shoulder. I shrugged it of.
"All right," I said. "So, you don't, approve, of me and Joey?" I started shaking. Mommy's eyes widened.
"Jim, she's having a mental breakdown!" she shrieked. My shaking was getting worse and my teeth began to chatter. Mommy ran to get a blanket for me, and Daddy scooped me up.
"No Daddy, I'm fine," I protested, shaking my head. He grabbed his keys, and headed to the front door. Mommy came and covered me with a blanket, and we headed out the door.
My heart was pounding faster than it ever had before, a sweat was breaking out on my brow. My breath was trapped in my throat; I couldn't breathe, and my vision was growing blurry. I had a terrible headache; my heart felt like the jaws of life were being clamped onto my heart.
"Daddy," I moaned. My lips were dry, and my voice cracked. He didn't answer as he lay me in the back of the SUV and sped off to the hospital. Mommy burst out into tears as we drove.
"We shouldn't have told her Jim. We should have just kept it to ourselves," she wailed.
"Now is not the time Amanda," he snapped at her, accelerating the car. My eyelids drooped closed.
"May, stay awake, we're almost there," Daddy called. I groaned again, and forced to keep my eyes open, but it was impossible. Even the dim lights from the passing street lights hurt my eyes. It seemed that my heart rate had gone faster, I was shivering, and sweating at the same time, and my brain thumped against my skull agonizingly.
"Almost there. . ." The car came to a screeching halt, and Daddy leaped out of the car, scooped me up into his arms, and carried me into the ER. A nurse walked over to us.
"What's wrong?" she asked quickly. I could see that she a short, plump woman.
"Yes! Yes! Please help! My daughter! My daughter!" he cried. Mommy had turned into a pale mess. The nurse called for a wheelchair, and Daddy plopped me inside, my head drooping to the side. I could feel the soft wind on my cheeks as we whizzed by rooms and down the hallway to an examining room.
"Hold on honey," Mommy said weakly, squeezing my hand. I groaned in response.
"Where are the doctors?" Daddy roared. I groaned.
"Just hold on," Mommy said. I started to cry.
"Mommy," I choked, and she started screaming.
"Amanda!" Daddy yelled, and pulled her out of the room and into the hallway. I could hear her faint screams.
Doctors started hooking me up to machines, loud beeping ones, an IV, and a heart monitor.
"You're going to be just fine, dear," the nurse said. They hooked me up to an oxygen machine, and she told me to inhale deeply. I started coughing, and slowly, it seemed like I was drifting away. The voices got louder, my body lost control,
Hold on, hold on. . .