The Painting
Starting Over Fresh Chapter 2
Notes: Joanne and Frederick Warbucks and the Sameuls and Abramson families are my original characters. I own no rights to any Annie characters.
The day after Thanksgiving the Warbucks and Abramsons met at South Station to take a 9:45 am train to New York.
Joanne looked at her brother and Casey excitedly. "Aren't you guys so excited to see Anna and Jasmine today?."
Casey nodded. "For sure! Things have been so busy lately. I feel like it's been ages since we've seen them!"
Grace smiled to herself. Casey couldn't be more right. They hadn't seen the Samuels family in quite some time. She was looking quite forward to this visit. It was certainly long overdue.
The train pulled in to Grand Central at quarter of 1. Erica Sameuls ran to meet her friends.
"We're so happy to see you guys!" Erica wrapped Grace and Valerie Abramson in a strong hug.
"Happy Thanksgiving. Did you have a nice holiday?" Valerie asked.
Erica nodded. "Yes. We had Tim's family over for dinner yesterday. Got an update on how things are going in Queens from his brother."
Oliver's brows furrowed. "And?"
Erica sighed. "Unfortunately things are not really improving there. I can't believe it's been a year since Darryl's suicide and they're still having so many issues with drugs."
"Are a lot of people transferring out of Eleanor Roosevelt Jr High?" Rich Abramson asked.
Tim Samuels nodded solemnly. "That seems to be the case. A lot of people to moving to other schools in New York or out of state. A few of some Jasmine's old classmates have actually transferred to their school in the past couple weeks and she was happy to reconnect with some of the friends she had to leave behind when she had to leave the school mid year last year."
Grace wrapped Anna and Jasmine in a warm hug and kissed each of their foreheads softly. "Hello my darlings. It's so nice to see you girls again."
Jasmine grinned. "Mrs Warbucks! We're going to a holiday fair at our school. We've been working on a whole lot of cool projects and can't wait to show them to you guys!"
Grace's grin grew wide. " We're so excited to go back to your school's campus again!"
"Hurry up, Taxi's waiting. We can talk more in the car." Tim Samuels said.
Once they were in the taxi Grace took notice that Anna was awfully quiet.
She reached out the squeeze the teenager's hand. "Are you alright Anna?"
Anna shrugged. "Yeah, I guess.
Erica and Grace exchanged a glance between each other.
Once they got to the campus of the private school they went to a restaurant nearby to grab some lunch. Grace had a moment alone with Erica in the bathroom when they went to freshen up before eating.
"Has everything been alright with Anna in school?"
Erica let out another sigh. "Academically, of course. Not so much socially."
"What seems to be the problem?"
"She seems to be withdrawn from people a lot. Tim and I are really concerned about her. Since we moved here she hasn't really wanted to participate in so many activities."
"That doesn't seem like her at all."
"No, it really isn't. That's why we're so concerned. We've had a few meetings with the guidance counselor since school started to see if we can develop some sort of plan to get her interested in the stuff she used to like."
"Do you suppose it could be related to the aftermath of the suicide last year?"
Erica nodded and tears suddenly filled her eyes. "Yes, that's what we're so worried about. Oh, Grace I just want her to be happy. I hate seeing her like this."
Grace pulled her friend into a tight hug. "Do you want me to try to talk to her?"
Erica sighed. "Sure, Good luck with getting her to say something. She's refused to say anything to us or to her sister."
After lunch when they were at the holiday fair Grace wandered through the student exhibits and noticed a painting that Anna had painted. She looked at it thoughtfully.
Anna came up quietly next to her. "Do you like my painting Mrs. Warbucks?"
Grace nodded. " I do. What's the story behind it?"
"Well I've been thinking a lot about the suicide lately and how I miss Darryl. The two hands that were linked together are supposed to represent our hands and the friendship that we used to have. The broken heart is supposed to represent how sad I have felt without him since the suicide."
"Your parents are really worried about you. You realize that don't you?"
Anna shrugged. "Yeah, I'm not ready to talk to them yet though. I think I will be ready soon."
Grace's eyes locked with Anna's. "What's been going on at school Anna? Have the kids been bullying you again?"
"No, nothing like that."
"What is it then?"
"It's just that I am not sure it was a good idea for us to leave Queens. I've been talking to a lot of my old friends and they really want me to move back. They miss me Mrs. Warbucks and I miss them a whole lot too."
"So you're mad at your parents for moving?"
"Yeah."
Grace sighed. "Anna, you have to realize that your parents didn't feel safe keeping you in that school. Especially with the way kids were treating you and your sister following the suicide."
Anna shrugged. "I'm still pissed about it though. I don't really think the kids here like me very much."
"Have you met any new boys yet?"
Anna looked down at the floor. "No, Mrs. Warbucks. I'm really afraid to"
It didn't take Grace very long to realize that Anna was crying. She pulled her into her arms. They stood in silence for ten minutes.
Once Anna composed herself she spoke.
"Darryl hurt me and made me feel really bad about myself Mrs. Warbucks. I just don't know if I can trust anyone again."
Grace's heart broke. "Oh sweetheart. You're so young and your relationship with Darryl was your first one. You shouldn't be afraid to meet someone new because your first relationship failed."
"Mom and Dad said they didn't want me to date Darryl. In the beginning I couldn't understand why but now I think I do."
Grace nodded. "The kids that Darryl hung around with certainly were a terrible influence on him. If he hadn't gotten mixed in with them things would have turned out very differently."
"I probably still would have broken up with him though."
Grace nodded. "You're a beautiful person Anna and you need to let other people see that."
"Darryl sure made it hard for me to believe that sometimes."
Grace's embrace grew tighter around the teenager. "You need to be more confident in yourself."
Anna sighed. "I know but it's so hard. I just don't want to put myself through another bad relationship again."
Grace kissed Anna's forehead softly. "You really need to tell your parents about this Anna. They want to find a way to help you."
Anna sighed. "I know Mrs. Warbucks. I promise I'll tell them soon. I love you!"
"I love you too."
The rest of the day was filled with taking in all that the holiday fair had to offer. The fair ended around 4:45 and the Warbucks & Abramsons hopped on a train to head back to South Station.
"Whew! What a whirlwind of a day this was! I think I got most of my holiday shopping done today!" Valerie Abramson said to Grace.
Grace nodded absently.
"What's wrong Grace?"
"You didn't happen to take notice of Anna's painting that was on display at the festival did you?"
Valerie nodded. "I have a feeling it has something to do with the suicide. Is that what she told you?"
Grace nodded. "She still seems very upset about everything that happened last year. I think she's depressed."
"Tim & Erica must know."
"No, she hasn't talked to them yet but she plans to talk to them soon. She promised me she would."
"What did she say was the story behind the painting?"
Grace suddenly burst into tears.
"Oh Val, she's heartbroken. Not so much over the dating relationship she lost but the friendship that is no longer here."
Valerie put her arm around Grace. "They were best friends since second grade. It was so hard for me to see their relationship get so strained when he started hanging around with those hooligans. She tried to get him stop doing drugs but he wouldn't listen to her. When he started to abuse her my heart just broke."
Grace nodded and blew her nose. "Her confidence level is at an all-time low. She's afraid to meet new boys and seems to have a lot of trust issues because of how Darryl treated her."
"Poor sweet girl. I have never felt so horrible for her Grace."
"What should we do?" Grace asked.
"I think we need to have an all girls weekend once Annie and Molly are off from work for the holiday break. Anna needs us all to rally around her right now. That painting proves she's crying out for help."
Four days later the Warbucks's phone rang at about 8:45pm. Grace picked up on the first ring. Erica was on the other end of the line. She didn't sound happy.
"What's wrong?"
"We had a meeting with Anna's art teacher this evening. She requested that Anna be there too."
"How did it go?"
"Well that painting she had on display at the festival this weekend certainly raised a lot of eye brows. Parents have sent notes in with their students asking if she's alright and if there's anything they can do to help."
"Did Anna reveal what the story behind the painting was about?"
"It took her awhile but yes she finally did. We're happy for that too. Now we're finally clued in to what's been bothering her for so many weeks."
"Has she been depressed Erica?"
Erica sighed. "Yes, this past year has really rough on her and that painting certainly proves how much she has been struggling."
"Did she happen to mention that she's afraid to meet new boys because she's afraid of getting hurt again?"
Grace could hear her friend choke back a sob. "Yes Grace. My poor baby. My heart is so torn up about all of this."
"Is she still seeing a therapist?"
"No, she hasn't been going since school started. I am going to encourage her to go again. I think she should really start going again. We pay quite a bit of money for to see that therapist."
"What can we do to help?"
"I'm at a loss Grace. I think right now she needs time to sort through her feelings."
Additional Notes: This story and the story before it were very out of my comfort zone to write. I would really appreciate some constructive criticism.