Darcy // h.s

20: Promises & Teddy Bears

Look for the girl with the broken smile,

Ask her if she wants to stay awhile,

She will be loved, yeah she will be loved...

                                                                   

  I stood in the third isle of the pharmacy with my hands on my hips, debating over getting Harry a teddy bear or a singing get well card. Maybe if I had taken more shifts at Burkhart's I could have gotten both, but there was only ten dollars in my back pocket at the moment. My eyes kept darting to the ends of the isles nervously, and my hands felt sticky and clammy.

  Just make a freaking decision. It's not that big of a deal.

  But then it was. This wasn't just about getting him a little 'get well' present, this was like the symbolic thing of a start of something new, just like the hat he gave me. Maybe years ahead, we'll be going through old belongings and stumble upon this. Which came back to my question: A card or a teddy bear?

  I grabbed the teddy bear sitting proudly on the shelf above me and dug out the money from my back pocket as I made my way to the cash register in the front of the store. Not being able to help myself, my eyes scanned the small crowd of people amung the store. Nobody that looked dangerous or like Nathan whatsoever, and in my mind I let out a sigh of relief. I felt truly paranoid, but who wouldn't when someone was trying to kill you?

  There she was. Just a few yards away, skimming through the get well cards and running her painted fingers through her shiny black hair was Vanessa. I had thought that only a few hours ago she had flown home to go spread gossip about Harry, but my eyes didn't decieve me. That was Vanessa... only why was she here and even if she was here to visit Harry, how could she have known?

  Without thinking, I left the line of people at the cash register and marched straight over to her. To be honest, I really had no idea what I was about to say, but the questions for her just filled my head and I needed answers.

  "Vanessa?" I asked innocently, turning in front of her so she could see my. And I was right, my eyes hadn't deceived me, because there was Vanessa right in the flesh. She was wearing a cashmere sweater that matched her six inch heels and skin tight jeans that looked suffocating.

  "Darcy! It's so great to see you. How's Harry? Did you talk to him? He's okay? In pain?" She blabbered, and it was almost enough to regret even coming over here, but I didn't leave.

  "He's fine." I managed quickly, looking at the ground. Compared to her I looked like a potato wearing clothes with my sweatpants and hair pulled into a messy ponytail. Vanessa had once been quoted in a magazine as the 'goddess of all things beauty' and I felt like I was naked standing in front of her, but too late now.

  "Thank god. I've been so worried." She said. "I'm going in to visit later-"

  "How'd you know?" I interrupted, suddenly feeling bold and impatient. For a moment Vanessa was taken aback, but then she plastered a warm smile on her face.

  "Honey, of course I know. His people called my people and booked me a flight back." Vanessa said plainly. It felt strange how she said 'my people' and 'his people' so normally, like every teenager had people looking after them and doing their dirty work.

  Not knowing how to respond, my eyes fell to the ground. Under the bright lights, a small handle in her pocket gleamed in the light and caught my eye. I peeked back up at her face to she see was now engrossed in reading a card with pink flowers on the front. My eyes followed their way back to her pocket to see handle of some sort sticking out of her denim pocket, which surprisingly fit it considering how tight it looked. Something inside of me said to leave, and so I snuck away as quickly as I had come.