ROSEHAVEN

Chapter 2

ANNA EDWICK

“Adam, what are you doing here?” I whisper, nervous that my uncle will storm out of the house at any minute. 

“I needed to see you, Anna,” he says as he grabs my hand to steer me away from the house.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, keeping my voice low.

We are now walking in sync, going toward the lake behind my neighborhood.  How did Adam know there was a lake there? He’s never been to my house before.  He doesn’t say a single word.  He just keeps putting his hand through his hair.

Adam finally speaks when we stop in front of the lake.  “I needed to see you, Anna,” he says this with less urgency in his voice than before.

“Why did you have to see me?” I ask.  “You could have called.”

“I’m leaving for Hamptten tomorrow.”  He says it so fast I almost don’t catch it.

“But I thought you were leaving in two days?” This can’t be happening.  I’m losing him too fast! I can see that he’s not himself tonight, but I don’t understand why.

Adam motions for me to sit next to him on an old bench people sit on to throw bread to the ducks.  It’s a beautiful view with the moon reflecting off of the lake.  “My mom wants to drive me down earlier so I can get comfortable with the area,” he says, but I keep my head down and start playing with my ring.

“I guess its official then,” I say.

Adam’s staring at the lake and I don’t know what to say to him.  He turns toward me and takes my hand.  “I have something I want to tell you.”

“Okay, what is it?” He starts to rub my knuckles with his thumb and my heart starts to race.

“I can’t leave for Hamptten without telling you how I truly feel.”  His eyes are so bright, burning with the truth.  I can’t turn away from them.  “I think I’m in love with you, Anna.”

I sit there and I don’t know what to say.  I’ve waited for this moment for so long, and yet it seems so unreal.  “Adam, there is no way you could be in love with me.  We’ve never even seen each other outside of school.”  I start to shake my head in doubt.  “You don’t really know me, Adam.  My whole life is screwed up.”  I let go of his hand and start twisting my ring around my finger again.

“I didn’t need to see you outside of school to know that I love you,” he says as he stands up and offers me his hand.  I hesitate for just a second and then take it.  He pulls me up with ease.  We are standing only a few inches from each other now.  I can hear his rapid breathing.  “You are beautiful, Anna, inside and out.”

Adam touches my cheek and looks into my eyes so deeply it’s like he’s looking right into my soul.  “You know everything about me, and my life is not perfect.  I’m not scared of your crazy uncle or about your mysterious past.  I only care about you.”

Everything he is saying is hitting me like a freight train.  I try so hard to keep the tears—of joy—from falling.  I know that I love Adam, but there is no way it will ever work.  He’s going to be three states away for college, and he’ll find himself a gorgeous blonde in a week.  I want this to work, but I have so many doubts that start to creep into my heart. 

“I know, Adam,” I say, a lump forming in my throat.  “I wish things could have been different.”

“They can be, Anna.”  At that moment he puts his hand through my hair, leans down, and kisses me.  It’s the sweetest kiss.  Everything I imagined it to be like, times a million.

Adam eventually pulls away and smiles.  “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”

I smile back.  “And I’ve wanted you to do that for a long time.”  We both laugh; our laughter intermingles.  We hold each other’s gaze for dear life, because we don’t want this moment to end.

“I should probably get back,” I whisper eventually.  Adam sighs then takes my hand.  We start walking back toward my house.

“I’m going to miss you Anna,” says Adam.  We’re now standing in the front yard.

“I’m going to miss you too, Adam.”

We kiss again, but this time it’s more intense, like we are engraving this moment in our minds.  We stop kissing and Adam says, “Anna, I wish you the best of luck this summer.  I know you’ll find your mother.  I love you.”

I smile and know in my heart that I would never again find a true friend like him.

“Thanks.  I love you too, Adam, and I’ll come see you first thing in the morning before you leave.”  I quickly kiss his cheek and run into the house without looking back.

I walk up the stairs quietly and walk by my uncle’s room to make sure he is still sleeping.  His snoring is the most welcoming sound I could hear from him at this moment.  I slowly walk back to my room and start crying quietly.  I fall asleep quickly.  I don’t have the haunting nightmares that have terrorized me since my father’s death.  Instead, I dream of Adam and what our future could be like together.  In my dreams, everything is just like it should be.

I wake up to my uncle screaming, “Anna! Get down here now!”

I look at my clock.  It’s seven in the morning.  My uncle should be on the road for work.  What is he still doing here? “I’m coming!” I run down the stairs and go to his office, where my uncle is looking through some mail.  Oh my God! Mail! I am usually the first person to go through the mail each day.  But yesterday I forgot about it.  I try to stay calm.  “Yes, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on your way to work?” My heart starts beating extremely fast, because I know it’s time to finally tell him what I’ve been scared to tell him all along.

“I took a personal day, because I have a doctor’s appointment at eight.”  He puts both his hands out on the desk.  “I found this letter postmarked to you.”

I take the letter that’s in front of him and quickly skim through it.  He always opens my mail if I don’t get to it first. 

“So are you going to tell me what this is about?” asks my uncle.

“Well, I was going to tell you about it before you went and opened my mail,” I say in my defense.  This is one of the reasons why I have to leave this place; I have no privacy.  I have to play my cards carefully.  “I was thinking about trying it only for the summer.”

My uncle keeps looking at the letter in front of him.  “So when were you going to tell me about this? You know you can’t go to Connecticut, right? I won’t allow it.”

“You won’t allow it? I thought it would be a great experience for me.  The art gallery promises to provide me with room and board for the summer while I work there.  They’ll also take care of all my meals.  So you don’t have to spend a penny.”

My uncle shakes his head.  “Why can’t you just do as you’re told?”

Is he really asking me that? I’m so mad I feel I can’t control myself, but I know I have to be very careful with what I say next.  “It’s not like I decided anything yet; I was going to talk it over with you first.”  My left hand is clenched tightly into a fist behind my back. 

“Well there is really nothing to talk about then.  That’s the last I want to hear about this.”  He stands up and gets his jacket.  “I thought we talked about you doing a college online program from home.  I think you should get started on that.”

I just have to let it go for the sake of my sanity.  “Okay, I’ll start on it today.”

“I have to go to my appointment now.  I’ll see you tonight for dinner.”  As he heads toward the front door, I know that he won’t see me tonight, or ever for that matter.  Today was the day for a new beginning in my life, and I wasn’t going to let my uncle get in the way.  I watch him get in his car and drive off.  With the letter still in my hand, I grab the telephone and call the art gallery in Connecticut.