Chapter 12
I scowl as I stare into my eyes through the mirror. I really wish I had the same eyes as Creek or even Finnick. Sometimes, I even wish I had the same blue eyes that Gloss has… That's how you know that I absolutely hate my brown ones.
"Why do you look at yourself in the mirror a lot?" I can see Creek behind me a few feet away. I smile a little before he adds, "What if inside the mirror is a monster?"
"It's just my reflection, sweetie," I grin a little more. "I look at myself to see if I'm any prettier each day, but unfortunately, I'm not."
"But you're not pretty, mommy," he says but I do believe him, and it doesn't pain me one bit. "You're the prettiest mommy in the whole world."
It's his opinion, but I do feel my heart beating faster and faster by the second. Creek hasn't said anything like that before; he has said that he loves me many times, and other stuff but what he just said just makes me feel better. It actually makes me feel beautiful. I still disagree that I'm the prettiest mommy.
"Thank you," I smile and grab my bag, digging through it to try to get my toothbrush. I begin to think about two nights ago when we had dinner with Finnick and his friends. It felt a bit uncomfortable sitting right by Johanna and I'm not sure how I'll be able to get together with them again. Johanna, most likely, will be with us and she'll glare at me repeatedly—probably nonstop. My question is: why didn't Finnick tell me from the start that one of his friends was his ex-girlfriend? Why didn't he tell me when he pulled me away from the group? Is he embarrassed?
He also, for the first time, told me that he loves me. He can't possibly love me. I mean, I guess I feel the same way, but not like that. At least not for right now. I just know for a fact that he's not a stranger to me—I've met him before, not physically, not emotionally, but mentally and possibly spiritually. I've met him before and I feel like I've known him for my entire life! I feel like I know him better than I know Gloss. I know enough about Gloss though: that fake jerk. All he knows is how to use a girl, and play her. He doesn't respect one single one; whereas Finnick, actually knows how to treat a girl. He treated me with more respect than Gloss ever did, and he didn't even know me. He just saw me at the gas station and decided to be polite and greet himself in a nice, romantic way. The real difference between Finnick and Gloss is Finnick doesn't abuse a girl. He doesn't abuse her emotionally, verbally, or physically. Finnick sees women as a gift, a gift that can't be replaced and a gift he shouldn't use or take advantage of. He knows how to treat a woman. Gloss sees women as an object; he sees them as something that he should just use for his own benefit. He doesn't care what they feel, what they think; all he cares about is how they can pleasure him. Finnick is a gentleman. Gloss is a complete hypocritical, selfish, using coward.
I really regret doing everything I did with him.
A knock is suddenly heard from the door and I turn to look at Creek. We weren't expecting anyone at this time. I slowly get up and when I open the door, I'm relieved when I see that it's Foxface.
"Annie," she smiles and hugs me. "Hi Creek," she waves at him as she comes in.
"Hi red-face," he waves back at her while Foxface just smiles.
"Creek," I say, "It's Foxface, not red-face."
"Oh," he smacks his forehead and continues to play with his action figures.
I wonder why Foxface has stopped by; then again, how does she know where we live exactly? How did she get our address?
"Sorry I stopped by unexpectedly," she says, taking a seat on the bed. "I just thought it was best if I stopped by for a few."
"It's fine," I take a seat as well and smile, "I'm glad you came, actually."
"I'm glad too," she says, "I've just been working too much lately."
"You work here?" I question, "I thought you were just here for a little bit."
I get distracted by the weird sensation that strikes the back of my neck. It's an unfamiliar feeling, but I think I always get a similar one when I'm around Finnick. I don't know.
"We are," she says. We. "We're just here for the weekend, and then we leave Monday."
She's talking about Brutus and herself.
"So you guys are still… you know," I try to say it but just can't. I know for a fact that Brutus is just like Gloss. Foxface may not see it but I clearly do! When we were in college, and barely met the two of them, they were hitting on us, trying to get us to sleep with them. I didn't know that they only wanted us for that, but they did. Gloss and I began dating a week after that and had sex the same week—that's when he got me pregnant. I am not even sure if Brutus and Foxface have done that… They probably have—knowing Brutus and all.
I bite my lip to keep myself distracted from all these thoughts, but it's impossible. Foxface cannot marry Brutus, she can't. I care too much for her to let that happen. I don't want her to go through what I went through. What if Brutus abuses her? What is she runs away from him, due to the stuff that he'll probably do to her? She just can't do it. I love her too much for letting her. I mean, I still consider her my best friend.
"Me and Brutus are getting married on Saturday," she says and that's when I feel my eyes beginning to produce tears. "We're getting married Saturday. We're spending the whole day together on Sunday, and we're going to back to San Bernardino on Monday. We have to get up very early to catch our flight."
"Sounds like a…" I begin to speak, "Like a busy weekend."
"Busy?" she responds. "It's far beyond busy! I mean, the wedding is Saturday, the day after tomorrow. It's going to be a freakishly long day, and by the time we get to our hotel, we're going to be exhausted. And tomorrow, we have to sort everything out and make sure everything is set and ready. Who knows what'll go down on Sunday."
Do whatever Brutus wants to do all day. And I know exactly what he'll want to do all day.
I don't respond but decide to take another look at her engagement ring. The small diamonds attract my eyes and I can't lay them off of them. They're too magnetic.
"What's wrong?" she says. "You don't look happy."
I'm not.
"No," I shake my head, "I am. I'm just… exhausted. I guess."
She raises an eyebrow. "You're lying."
"I am not," I say, "I'm being honest."
"Annie," she places her hand on my shoulder. "I know you too well to believe that."
If you knew me too well, you would know that you're making the biggest mistake of your life, and you'll know that I care too much for you to let you do that.
"I'm happy for you," I try my best not to cry. "I really am… I…"
I can't help it. I already feel a tear going down my cheek, feeling the warmness of it. I can taste the saltiness when it reaches my mouth.
"What's wrong?" she gently pulls me in for a hug. "Annie, tell me."
I keep sobbing.
"Whatever's wrong, it's going to be okay. I promise," she gently pats my back.
"No, it's not," I say; I'm not sure if she can hear me. "He won't change."
That's when she stops.
"Wait, what?" she questions.
I release a few more tears before I wipe them off and say, "Foxface… you can't marry him. Please don't—it's the biggest mistake you can ever think of. And this is coming from your best friend; he's not a good guy. You deserve way better."
Her mouth is opened. "I knew it," she shakes her head. "I knew it. I knew you'd do this!"
She stands up but doesn't make her way to the door. Instead, she stares into the mirror; I guess looking right at me through it.
"I… I'm sorry," I stand up as well. "But I just can't let you go through this. I'm saying this because I care about you. I care about your future, about how it may be ruined if you do marry him."
"If?" she enfolds her arms across her chest, "If? You mean 'will.' I don't need your opinion in this. I can take care of myself, and I don't need you to tell me what to do."
"I'm not telling you what to do," I try my best not to raise my voice when I see that Creek is looking at us. "I'm just trying to tell you how I feel about this. Just please, Foxface, please don't go through this. If you marry him, you're going to regret it."
"Well what if I don't want to hear what you have to say about this, huh?" she responds. I don't even think she's listening to a word I'm saying. "What if I don't want your opinion in this? You didn't see my opinion whenever you opened your legs and got pregnant."
That's when I stare down at the ground and feel, probably, the only tears I have remaining build up. I don't want to think about that; I really don't want to, especially since Creek is right here with us.
"I know," I blink the tears away and look up at her, "I didn't hear your opinion about that. You want to know why? You weren't even there for me; you stopped talking to me."
"I stopped talking to you because of Brutus. Can't you see that he was my boyfriend, and can't you see that I'm happy about marrying him in a few days? I mean, don't you even care about how I feel about this?" her words actually make me think a little. I do care about how she feels. But she won't feel happy forever after she does marry him.
"I do care," I say, "I just want you to be happy."
"And I am," she licks her lips and gets near me. "Listen, I'm happy with Brutus. I'm going to marry him whether you like it or not. And if you can't accept that, then you and I are done."
I stare into her amber colored eyes and her sleek red hair. I can see why Creek called her the Joker's sister… maybe he's right, because she can't be joking right now. I've known her for quite a while, and I refuse to let her do this.
I shake my head. "I can't let you."
She just backs away and nods slowly, picking up her small purse from the floor. "Alright then," she says, "Alright. Good luck taking care of yourself and Creek. You're going to need it. And also, with that guy you just met… be careful," she then points at Creek, "You don't want the same mistake to happen twice."
That's the last thing she says before our eyes lock one more time, and she gets out, slamming the door shut.
NOTES: This chapter was pretty intense and kind of sad... if those are the words. I knew from the start that Foxface and Annie weren't going to continue on being friends. Foxface just wants to marry Brutus and won't even listen a word Annie says- in other words, she doesn't care what Annie has to say. All she wants is to be with Brutus; she'll stop being friends with Annie just to be with Brutus... and that's exactly what she just did. Way to go, Foxface! You just lost a perfectly good friend, good luck with Brutus. Sorry, I like talking to myself like that:P Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review:) thank you:)
krikanalo: Thank you:) I hope you liked this chapter.
Juliet's Shadow: Johanna is a shark, like Candice! They're both sharks who'll just snap at any moment. Haha, well I hope you liked this "depressing" chapter and thank you so much for reading:)
Catching Fireflies: Right?! Johanna is just one jealous ***** but then again, it fits her perfectly, at least in my opinion. And I hope you liked the Creek and Annie moment at the beginning:) Sadly, there wasn't any Finnick in this chapter but there will be in the next ones!:D So hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks:)
Michelle (Guest): I love McDonald's as well:D it's so delicious:) And who wouldn't add mahogany to a story?!;) And that reminds me, I'm thinking of adding Effie in this... But I'm not sure yet. You think I should? Well, yeah... the Finnick and Annie moment at the end of the last chapter, I was making it look like they were going to kiss but decided to add a little surprise at the end, so I hope it surprised you!:) And I can't wait to bring Gloss back into this- it's going to darken everything, and just make it much more interesting:D I hope you enjoyed this sad chapter and can't wait to hear your opinion:)
MeaganOneDirection: Aw, thank you so much!:) And Gloss is a stupid meanie! He doesn't deserve a girl like Annie. About that Johanna thing, I thought she was the best character to be Finnick's ex. I was like, "Johanna can be a vicious girl with an attitude who can easily get jealous. And she also is good friends with Finnick in the books, so might as well make her his ex!" XD I'm glad you love this story and hope you loved this chapter as well!:D Thank you so much!
Pieluver (Guess): Oh yes... Gloss will be back soon, pretty soon. I can't wait to bring him back into the story; I feel like it'll make everything tense up and just... I can't even describe. XD I'm glad you love this story and I hope you liked this chapter:) thank you so much for reviewing!:D