Then There Was You (AMBW)

Mementos

The next morning, I woke up early. For whatever reason, I didn't have the energy to sleep anymore so I got myself dressed in a simple t-shirt, jeans, and wedge heels. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, grabbed my phone, and walked out into the main house and into the kitchen where Angela was. She sat at the table drinking a cup of coffee and reading a book. She glanced up at me and smiled. 

"Good morning. Want some breakfast?" She smiled.

"No, thanks though. I'll just take some coffee." I smiled. She stood from her chair and grabbed a cup filling it with coffee and adding sugar. She held up a can of creamer and I shook my head. I sat at the table and slowly began to work some tension out of my head. I groaned and rested my head against the cool table. 

"You, okay?" Angela asked me setting the cup down beside me. Slowly I lifted my head and the pain subsided to a dull ache. I grabbed the cup and took a sip, the hot liquid slowly flowing down my throat.

"Yeah, just a little headache is all. I'll be okay though." 

"Where's your boyfriend?" Angela asked looking behind me to see if Shayne would appear. "Still sleeping." I spoke. 

"You want to talk about what happened last night?" Angela took a sip of her coffee and stared up at me through her dark lashes. I explained what happened last night between me and Zach and then the fight between him and Shayne, but I deliberately left out other things. 

"I know exes can be a pain in the ass." Angela laughed and so did I. It was good to talk with my mother, I actually enjoyed this conversation.

Angela sat down in front of me and slowly sipped her coffee. The two of us sat in comfortable silence before Angela finally decided to speak. "If you're not busy today, would you like to go shopping with me?" 

It would be great to be able to spend some time with my real mother, just the two of us alone together. Something that I didn't get to experience when I was younger.

"I would like that." I agreed. Angela asked if I give her a few minutes to get dressed and then we were headed out. We got into her car, a black SUV and drove into town. We did a bit of window-shopping, occasionally going into stores just to look around and even bought a few outfits and other things. At one point, Angela needed to stop at the grocery store for something and then we were on our way again. By noon, the both of us were sitting in The Tavern eating lunch. Angela smiled and slid a black box across the table. 

"What is this?" I asked putting my fork down and grabbing the box. 

"Open it and see for yourself." Angela said taking a bite of her food. I opened the box and my breath caught in my throat.

"It's a 18K white gold Fleurette pendant. I saved this to give you on your 18th birthday but I was denied the chance. I figured I'd give it to you now." I held the necklace in my hands and held it out to her. 

"Could you put it on for me?" I asked, my voice thick with emotion. Angela grabbed the necklace and stood from her seat and walked towards me to stand behind me. Wrapping the necklace around my throat, she clipped it in the back and rested her hands against my shoulders. 

"Beautiful jewelry for a beautiful woman." Angela smiled. We sat and ate for a few more minutes before deciding to leave. We got into the car and Angela pulled out onto the main road. 

"So, I know this is probably overstepping and you probably don't want to talk about it, but what was life like living with that woman?" Angela asked keeping her eyes on the road. 

"It was a rollercoaster ride. Some days I could tell what kind of day it would be and other days I knew to steer clear. But then there were those unpredictable days and in my sixteen years of living with them, I've only had four of those unpredictable days, and one of them wasn't even her fault. The kids at my school knew I was adopted and because of that they bullied me." 

I relayed my life to her and Angela gripped the steering wheel so hard I'm sure it would break. After five minutes of silence, we finally pulled up to her house where I saw Shayne, Alice and Jace waiting in the driveway. Angela and I got out of the car just as Shayne ran up to me and pulled me into a hug. 

"I'm fine. I was only with Angela for a few hours." 

Shayne did a once over on me and then we all went into the house. We spent a few more hours with my family and then I was ready to go home. While Shayne put our bags in the trunk, I said goodbye to my family. 

"I'm gonna miss you guys but I will come back for Christmas as I promised." I smiled. Phoenix tackled me into a hug, staining my t-shirt with her tears. 

"I'm gonna miss you." Phoenix cried glancing up at me with her tear-stained cheeks. Andrew, my brother, wasn't big on words so he just gave me a quick hug and went back inside the house. 

Ava was next to hug me and when she pulled away, she handed me a piece of paper. "Call me if you ever need anything or just want to talk." I nodded and accepted the phone number. I hugged my parents and then my grandparents.

"Oh, and Dakota, I put a few extra things in your bag. Look at them when you get home, some of those things may come in handy." Angela smiled before leaving and disappearing inside the house. I got into the car, and we were on our way to Colorado. 

What could she have possibly given me? 

After driving for 15 hours, we finally made it to my house. It was five in the morning and I didn't want Shayne to be drive home so I decided to let him stay with me for now. Jace and Alice went to their room and Shayne and I walked into mine. I stripped down to my bra and panties and hopped into bed. I was too tired to do anything except sleep.    
   Shayne climbed into bed beside me and wrapped his arms around me. His hard chest pressed against my back and his head pressed against my shoulder. 

I turned in his arms and rested my head against his chest and let sleep consume me.