Darling (Harry Styles)

chap 05

ANNABELLE WILCOX
Green Day Cafe - Harry's Car

The sun is setting outside the window as I finish the monologue of events, Beatrice's eyes wide and teary. My own have just finished crying, reliving the events that haunt me so terribly.

I know my nightmare tonight will just be absolutely horrible.

Silence creeps into our conversation, taking a seat and watching the both of us be worlds apart. The Beatrice I knew is not sitting across from me, in her place is a hurt version of herself who seems lost.

But, she's not the only one whose changed. It's easy to see with the bags under my eyes and the retched stories that I hold in my mind that I'm not the same either.

With change comes recovery though. I know that as I recover from the past, Beatrice will be by my side through it all and we'll grow even more together. Maybe things won't be the same, but I can't expect everything in my life to stand still as I move quickly.

It's going to be okay.

"Are you okay?" My words break through the barrier of silence between us and it takes Beatrice a second to receive them.

She blows out a breath through her pink lips, the once hot coffee in her hands having gone cold now. A slow nod comes from her and she opens her mouth, then closes it, then opens it again, "I-I should be the one asking that."

I shake my head, looking down and chuckling softly, "Honestly, Bee, it's the past. I'm trying to learn that it can't affect me anymore. I have hope for the future even when the past is so bleak."

"You always did," she reminisces and chuckles just as I did, "my mother says the same thing about you. Ol' Anna always knew how to be okay."

I tick my fingernails against my coffee cup, "Does she know?"

Beatrice nods, biting her lip and looking out the window before letting out a sigh. "Everyone knows, Annabelle. Half of our old town calls you a liar, the other half calls Jacob's story a lie. My mother would never believe a lie could come from you—you're apart of the family."

"I can't imagine lying about something like that." I lock my blue eyes with her green ones, a small tear trickling down my cheek, "You think my parents would believe me? If they were still here?"

"I think both your parents would be in jail for murdering Jacob if they were still here." Beatrice reaches her hand out for mine, holding it tightly once she receives it.

She speaks again quickly, "I came in here expecting an apology from you. I came in here angry with you and thinking that I couldn't call you my best friend anymore... that I never would be able to again.."

A beat of silence occurs and I speak up slowly, scared, "And now...?"

"And now I don't know how I could have ever expected any of that." She rubs her thumb on the back of my warm hand, "You'll always be my best friend, Anna. And I owe you the apology—"

I cut her off immediately, shaking my head, "No, no. Don't apologize to me, please. I don't need one, and you don't owe me one."

She nods slowly, "Yes, yes I do. Because I almost believed you were lying too. I saw those bruises on your arms that day, but it just didn't make sense to me how I couldn't notice them before. I thought I imagined it because I didn't think there was any way that I could've not known—and I'm so sorry for that, Annabelle."