Sorry for the lack of updating. I hope that this chapter lives up to the previous chapter. I must remind you to review because I love all the support and it motivates me to update. :P
Previously...
Teddy is startled out of her memories by Charlie jumping up and down on her stomach. Letting out a grunt from the air rushing out of her, she quickly texts a reply to PJ. Although the slight pain of being jumped on remains, what confuses her is the pit of longing that she feels in her at the remembrance of that situation. She desperately wants PJ to console her like that now, when she needs him to help her through this.
Teddy's curiosity is peaked by the aspect of PJ's situation being better or worse than her own. An uncomfortable sensation of concern nags at her stomach so much so that it becomes painful. She fears that PJ will be worse off for leaving. A part of her knows that she is being selfish for almost wishing that PJ would be missing her as much as she misses him but she can't help it.
Bigger than yours.
Teddy unleashes the baited breath that she didn't know she was holding in. But something about that bothers her. PJ is already starting to distance himself from her by saying that their house is now her house. Desperate fear clutches at her chest as she carefully sends a reply. She can't lose PJ.
I bet. You don't have to share it with any siblings tho… do you?
An idea suddenly comes to mind as Teddy grapples with the thought of losing PJ. Her parents are ban from trying to seek out PJ but PJ can come back to visit if he wants. Her last text summoned the idea that she should be the one to find out where he is so she can convince him to 'visit' them again. When PJ's answer comes back, she already has a plan in mind.
No. Only kid here. Guess wat?
Teddy rolls her eyes at PJ's lack of grammar while texting. He had always been one of those people who likes using text speak. She on the other hand refuses to give in to the idea that not typing one letter will make texting easier. There is a reason school corrects grammar. So on her reply, she corrects PJ. She smiles gently at the thought of him becoming annoyed with her remark.
What? Not wat.
I hav a puppy and a white 2011 Charger! They got it for me.
The desperate fear of losing PJ tightens itself around her heart. She knows that his 'foster parents' are trying to bribe their way into PJ's affections. It scares her to think that it might work. The thought also makes her inexplicably angry. She is tempted to send a very livid text to PJ saying that he shouldn't be bought out by the people who don't even know him but she reigns in her temper.
"Why are you so pissed all of a sudden?" A voice calls out to her, causing her to jump even though Charlie is still very much on her. She turns her head and glares at Gabe.
"Well that just made me mad." She points out. Teddy watches as Gabe walks over from the doorway of the kitchen and sits down by her. Her heart throbs when she remembers what memory she recalled up just few minutes ago. The situation is somewhat similar to that memory. Teddy represses her pained expression into a neutral one.
"No, I mean the one before I said anything. You were smiling before you frowned. Who are you mad at?" Gabe says while absently reached over her stomach to play with Charlie's feet. Charlie sat down on Teddy hard while she was intensely watching Gabe's hand and kicking it away. The two continued their game as Teddy thought about her answer to his question. Should she dare confide in her conniving younger brother?
"It was PJ, wasn't it?" Gabe speaks up after a minute of silence. This startles Teddy out of her thoughts. Glancing down at him, she finally sees the toll PJ leaving and not being related to them took on Gabe. His eyes are lined with a redness that has been no doubt from crying for a while and his face has become skinner already, probably from not eating as much. His usual mischievous gaze in his hazel eyes are replaced by a heavy sorrow that is felt just by looking at him. It makes him look too mature, like his childhood is fading too quickly. Feeling an overwhelming fondness for the poor boy, she reaches out and strokes his hair.
"What makes you say that?" Teddy says softly. Gabe sighs as Teddy fiddles with his hair comfortably and he relaxes into her shoulder. He wishes that they could have been this close without having PJ taken away. He really never knew how special PJ was to him before PJ was whisked away. His heart still is hurting with a pain that he doubts will ever be fixed. He senses his sister looking at him with her upset expression. She probably thinks she looks calm but underneath the very thin layer of facade is a tortured Teddy that is just as pained at PJ leaving as he is. They both were unprepared for his absence from their life. They were supposed to have another year with him!
"He is the only one who can make you smile so genuinely then make you that angry. And knowing him… he doesn't know he made you mad or how." Gabe glances up at Teddy and sees her expression falter to one of defeat. She always underestimated how perceptive he was to her and PJ relationship. They had… or have one that is unusual and probably considered endearing but odd. They always don't know how the other feels when clearly they should. Like the night after PJ left, he heard her go into her room and cry herself to sleep. That's when he knew things would never be the same no matter how much his parents had tried to explain to him that they wouldn't. He started growing up after that. He got rid of the large TV he and PJ had crammed into his room and gave away his game system. The old Gabe would have sold it overpriced but he just gave it to a classmate who doesn't have a lot.
"You're right. But even I don't know why I am mad at him." She confesses. Her surprise at Gabe's perceptiveness has worn off into a worn wariness. Teddy knows she has to step carefully around her younger brother. She bites her lip and tries to decide whether to go further into the situation she is in with PJ. Gabe has shown her that he knows more than he lets on.
"I might know, if you tell me what happened." Gabe's eyes flicker to meet her own before returning to watch Charlie. She too turns her gaze on Charlie as she carefully explains.
"I think PJ's foster parents are winning him over with gifts like a puppy and a new car." Gabe listens as Teddy's voice falters at the end of the sentence. He notes that she didn't mention that they were trying to win him over but instead that they are winning him over. Suddenly he knows why his sister has been overcome with the outlook of being defeated and why she was angry.
"You don't want to think that he can be won over with the simple things like a car and a puppy." Gabe explains like it is the easiest thing to comprehend. Teddy tilts her head to signal that she doesn't follow his logic. Gabe sighs before continuing. "It took you most of your life so far to think that he liked you… if you thought that a new family that he might have known for 5 hours could have made him like them then that would mean that it wouldn't have meant that much to him to like you since you think it took him your whole life to like you… Does that make sense?"
Teddy slowly nods her head as his reasons settle down in her head. He is saying that she is angry at PJ for giving away his affections so easily when it did take him until she was 9 for him to show her any signs of him not being indifferent towards her. Somehow the thought isn't as unnerving as she thought it would be. She finally turns her attention to Gabe and smiles at him.
"Thanks, Gabe."
Gabe nods and gently pulls himself off the couch. He doesn't turn back as Teddy watches him go up the stairs to his room. This doesn't strike her as odd because lately Gabe has been keeping to himself a lot. Being introspective for such a young age is dangerous. He doesn't know who he is yet and PJ not being related has caused his life to be thrown into a state of confusion.
Teddy looks at the new message on her phone. The message strikes her as odd.
Bob gave u the pickup?
It almost seems like he is resentful or surprised that her dad would give her the car. It's not that strange to think that a 16 year old would get a car. So why does PJ seem to be on edge about it. She also notices that he used Bob instead of dad. Once again, he is distancing himself already and the tightening in her chest grows.
Yeah. He and mom are still upset. Mom is crying in their room while dad tries to pack lunches. So who are they?
David and Emma White.
She wants to hate those names. She wants to hate the people that own those names but she knows her anger is not right to rest on them. So instead, she focuses her energy and raw emotion to finding him. It is so frustrating to think that PJ is just within her grasp. She is talking to him but yet he is somewhere far away, where she cannot find him. Teddy texts back and prods further.
Her frustration grows when PJ gives a vague answer that won't help her. She thinks about letting PJ in on her plan to find him and bring him back home but something stops her.
No reason. Just wondering.
After four minutes of nothing, Teddy grows anxious. Did he catch onto her plan and is giving her the cold shoulder? Did something bad happen to him? Does he need her? Her thoughts are racing through her mind at speeds so fast, she can't dive into the emotions behind each of the questions. Her insecurity gets the best of her and she does something she has promised herself not to do. She sends a text before he has replied.
You still there? Hello?
Spencer explained to her when she kept sending texts one after another to him when he wouldn't reply right away that it is annoying to people who don't have iphone's to receive message after message when it just takes a few minutes to reply. So Teddy said to herself that she would not be needy and annoying to anyone else except to PJ when it was on purpose. A smile graces her lips as she thinks about his reaction to her sending him 10 messages in under 5 minutes. They all said the same thing. 'Hi'.
"Teddy! Dinner." Her mom yells out from the kitchen. The smell of pizza wafts through the air as Teddy gets out of her memory. Leaving her phone on the couch, she walks into the kitchen with a renewed goal to change.
What did you think? I really wanted to capture what this story is about. How everyone has to grow up and how painful change can be.
REVIEW! Thanks.