Chapter 2- How Can I Choose?
I ran home crying, knowing my life would never be the same again. How could I choose? I loved Popuri in a sisterly way, I mean; we'd practically grown up together! In fact, we had! And my crush finally liked me, but Popuri likes him too! What do I do!
"I should just die." I mumbled.
"Annie, what's wrong? Why are you mumbling? Why are you crying?" My father, Doug, asked. I guess I had had a good relationship with him, especially after Mother died. He was supposed to have been with her, but he hadn't been. She had slipped and fallen, cracking her head open on the rocks on Mother's Hill. He didn't find her until too late. Her brave heart had already stopped beating.
"Sh-shut up! I don't have a mother because of damned you!" I shrieked, and ran into my room, locking the door. I flung my self onto my mother's hand made, love stitched comforter, bawling.
"My life sucks." I whispered miserably between sobs.
And the only person I could turn to: Elli, the world's best friend and crying shoulder. And my unexpected ally.
And she's where I went, miserably. "Elli, I need your help." Elli looked up in surprise. She was a nurse, but I prayed to the Goddess that she could spare a minute for little ol' me.
And sweet, kind-hearted Elli did. I spilled out the whole horrifying story, omitting my swearing, of course. She listened intently the whole time. She even gave me a cookie, chocolate chip, my favorite.
"It sounds like Popuri is jealous." Elli stated the obvious. "Maybe you should talk to her." Elli said, but I got up and cut her off by hugging her tightly.
"Come to the Inn soon, my treat." I said, smiling. She nodded too, and smiled.
"I'm going to hold you to that offer." She said, and you could here Doc calling in the background. "Coming Doc! Bye Annie!" She waved, and ran upstairs afterushering me out.
I immediately went to the Poultry Farm, where a glaring Lilia greeted me. Great, Popuri told her good-for-nothing mother about this.
Rick came up to me. "Good job. You really told that idiot of a half-sis where her place is! If I weren't engaged, and you weren't having a relationship with Lee boy, I'd marry you myself!" And he was sincere. I guess I did have some boy skills after all. He took me to Popuri's room.
"Hey Popuri. Annie's here to see you." Rick ushered me in, leaving me alone with the enemy.
"Well look who it is." Popuri snickered.
"Popuri, why are you jealous of my relationship with Lee? Did you like him too?" The words burst out of me involuntarily.
"What does it mean to you?" She snapped. I looked at a smashed photo on the floor. Torn in half. One half was crumpled up. My half.
"Does our friendship mean nothing to you? How could you do this to me!" I yelled, cursing.
"What about me! How could you not notice that I lived for Lee! Or was I not clear enough?" She bellowed back. I saw the tears streaming down her face. Was this man enough to break up our friendship?
"What about me? I was the one who admitted my feelings for him first. I have the right to be in a relationship with him, now don't I?" I asked quietly, avoiding Popuri's fiery eyes.
She slapped me. "I can't believe you said that! Rather, I can't believe you did that! How dare you!" She began to throw random objects at me, including scissors and picture frames. And I kept getting hit.
She threw a couple of pens, which missed, and then a pair of scissors, which also missed (Thank Goddess!), and then a picture frame.
It hit me in the face, the glass shattering on contact. I remember screaming. I know I stumbled backwards, and I remember dimly falling over. I also know that Popuri was about to stab me before someone came in and stopped her.
And when I regained consciousness in the Clinic, I found out it was Lee.
He and Doc were bending over me, and Lee looked relieved when I groggily opened my eyes.
"Oh Goddess! Annie, Popuri tried to kill you! Oh Goddess!" Lee was a wreck, and he was pacing the floor swiftly.
Doc nodded gently. "You've got 12 stitches on your nose, and 5 on you forehead. Oh, and 3 on your chin." Doc patted my shoulder gently. Popuri had just ruined the little beauty I had. My Popuri, the one I had spent my childhood with, had given me 20 stitches. I guess my childhood time spent with was wasted, since she was destined to betray me anyhow. Looking into the mirror, I saw my image blur as I sank to floor, crying.