Never Bend

Chapter 8 : Opposites attract

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Secrets, should they be counted as betrayal?
It's a matter of time.
The truth will come out.
Should Annie fight for the truth or give in?
MJ1
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Annie POV

I lie half-awake on my new bed, trying to make sense of the few words that reach my ears. Magic, danger, warning. I rub my face against my new pillow, trying to make sense of it all.

Then I hear my name. My curiosity has been aroused to the point of disregarding common courtesy. I stand on my tiptoes and slowly open the door to eavesdrop.

"But how can you ask that? You haven't seen her. Does she know what she is? She's out of control... "

I stop breathing, my mind goes numb.

"Why can't we explain everything to her? I can't protect her from herself. She's a danger to everyone."

My stress level goes through the roof. Does this have something to do with the events from last night? I am quick to dismiss it, how could it? Magic doesn't exist. I cross my arms around my torso, trying to hide my pounding heart. What am I missing?

"Annie?" a voice calls out to me.

I jump away from the door and slowly emerge from my hiding place like a child who has been caught doing something naughty.

"Hi, what time is it?" I ask, trying to save my honor, knowing full well that I shouldn't be eavesdropping on this conversation. It's not usually like me, but I couldn't help it after hearing my name.

He points at the phone next to his ear. I nod with a fake smile on my face, aware that I am blushing.

With an awkward motion, I point my finger in the direction of the kitchen. Drama is obviously not my major and never will be, I am a bad actress. Today I wish I was to play the game like so many others master their way into getting what they want with a bat of an eyelash.

"All right, I said I'll do my best and take care of it." His voice seems annoyed, like he wants to shut down the communication, but the person on the other side is still shoveling his opinion over his. "Huh-hum." The sound alone proved me right. It makes me smile. I often did that with mom whenever she was being unreasonable.

Still, 'I'll take care of it,' I close my fists. My grumpy stomach enhances my emotions. They boil on the surface, a lump in my throat fighting to get out. Why am I so susceptible lately? I puff, maybe because my mother ditched me and told me that I didn't fit in the family picture anymore.

"Uh-hum," Tom struggles to keep his cool. I know how hard it is to speak up sometimes, having used the same sounds many times with my mother. I guess money doesn't guarantee a paradise.  Open the fridge. To my amazement, there is nothing in the refrigerator but some juice, soda and alcohol.

"I said it's okay! Dad..." His annoyed tone mirrors my feelings about the contents of his fridge. My hands tremble, this isn't like me, but then again I'm not at home and this refrigerator was proof of that. How could my own mother rip me away from my family and her existence without blinking an eye? At least the fridge was filled, I made sure of it with the little money she gave me. Two nights before, I had my whole life planned out, and she turned my life upside down in the blink of an eye. Richard, that man, her boss. He had turned my mother against me.

He had brainwashed with a promise of a better life in exchange of disposing of one of her children, me. That man was no good news. An empty apartment, deprived of family pictures or personal possessions were telling enough. But opening the refrigerator was a revelation on its own. He was abandoned like me.