Lana

Chapter 2: Every STD Discovered

Lifting my head off the cool table, I gave a small sigh of annoyance before looking up at Annie with her constant blabbering.

Honestly, how the fuck did I get stuck with this girl? She's a migraine maker, a walking migraine former.

I grabbed the beer and brought it to my lips taking a long and steady drink to blur her out and her excessive talking.

Sometimes I just want to grab her by the shoulders and shout 'Shut the fuck up!' But I feel bad and I can't.

"I'm telling you Lana, my dream was insane. I've never been so freaked out, especially because I hate vampires." She cringed and shook her head shoving a nacho into her mouth.

I learned a lot about Annie in the time we've spent together.

The first thing is that she has very peculiar dreams, and often loves sharing them with me despite my 'No' when asked if I want to hear it. It slowly but surely became something I drown out. While she goes on and on about her dreams, I simply close my ears off to her and keep my mind trailed on my own thoughts.

I placed the bottle down and reached over grabbing one of the chips shoving it in my mouth. She gave me a small scowl that I simply overlooked.

Another thing is that she grew up with a pair of druggy parents who couldn't afford to raise her properly, she ate mostly crap food and spent a lot of time trying not to be sold off by her parents to dealers for drugs.

Eventually she got out of her parents shit hole life and managed to create her own shit hole of a life, one where she spent a lot of time fighting her boyfriend who also sold her off for drugs.

The biggest thing I've learned is that she absolutely tests positive for every STD discovered but she's a good kid, she's just very annoying sometimes.

Nonetheless, she's definitely growing on me, a bit like mold or fungus but she's growing on me.

I watched her shove three nachos in and then force herself to chew it all down, the chips clearly cutting into her gums as she cringed, yet she kept chewing.

Running my hands over my face, I watched her feeling the ache behind my eyes grow.

I'm tired, exhuasted, aching in every muscle and honestly I smell like a sweaty man.

This is just not the kind of night I was looking forward to.

I've imagined my perfect night, the calm steady sound of the cicadas and the fish popping up at the water. The sky filled with stars and the moon full and bright.

I imagine myself sitting back in a nice rocking chair on a porch staring out at the lake, the dog by my side and Ben's soft snore in the chair beside mine. I picture the cool breeze, the smell of the fresh air and the wind blowing in my hair softly.

Mostly, I imagine my hand running over a full belly, my child healthy and happy, free from the hell this world thinks it can inflict.

I picture bliss, love and peace.

Ben's always there, always.

"You're thinking of him again." She said softly, pulling me from my thoughts.

I watched her carefully before nodding, "Always Annie." I spoke softly before stealing another chip.