Here’s chapter 2… Right on time!
I haven’t gotten very much feedback on the first chapter, but what I have gotten is that people like my other story better… or that it’s really different, and you’re not sure where I’m going with it.
Well, I hope you’ll all give it a chance.
It’s gonna take a few chapters, but we’ll get to the sex and the boys and such…
I can promise you that once I get a few chapter in, this is going to be a really awesome love story. And the sex will be just as delightful!
And I think that this story will provide lots of chapters, because I’ve got lots to say on the topic!
So, I hope you like this chapter. The next one will be up on tuesday. I’m on spring break right now, so I’m going to get a lot of writing done during the next few days. Thanks for reading!
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“Ella?” Abby yelled from the other room. There was an edge to her voice, which was enough to get Ella out of her chair and approaching Abby at the door in a matter of seconds.
It was March. Ella was in her senior year now, and Abby was in the sixth grade. Time passed so quickly when Ella and Abby got into their daily routine. They continued with work and school for all that time, and now Ella was months from graduating.
Abby turned when she heard Ella behind her, and Ella could see the scared look on her face. She peered around her and caught a glimpse of the tall, scruffy, bearded man carrying several duffel bags standing with one foot in the doorway, not allowing Abby to shut it.
I quickly took Abby’s place at the door, on high alert for some sort of threat.
“Can I help you?” Ella asked flatly as she sent Abby into the other room.
“Are you Ella?” She didn’t answer. “I’m Jimmy. Your mother told you I was coming, didn’t she?”
“You mean the mother that left a 16 year old here, deserted, with no money, with her child? The one I haven’t spoken to in the last three years?” She couldn’t help raising her voice at this stranger. “No, I don’t think she mentioned that three years ago.”
The look on his face was enough to tell Ella that he wasn’t aware of her relationship with his mother. Her expression softened as he nervously said, “Oh… uh, she-she told me that it’d be fine if I got here before her. She went to go talk to Lily about her old job. Or was it Lola?”
Ella was so confused. A hundred questions flew through her head. Why were her mother and this man in town, just expecting that they could come crash at their house? Why was she in town in the first place? And why did she tell Jimmy that she had spoken with Ella about it? And she was going to speak with Lola, not Lily, about her old job at the salon where she worked as a hairdresser for so many years. She was staying?
Jimmy cleared his throat, and Ella glanced back up at him, realizing that he was just standing there watching her and the many thoughts that crossed over her face.
“When is she going to be here?” asked Ella. He glanced at his watch, and then said, “About 15 minutes.”
Ella finally moved her foot and let him into the house. Abby was sitting on the bed that the two of them shared, looking scared and confused at why Ella was letting a stranger into our home.
“Abby, this is Jimmy, mom’s, uh… friend. I guess mom’s going to be coming to see us.” Ella had always done her best at keeping her opinions on their mother to herself. She wanted Abby to have her own view of her, but it was obvious by the less than excited look on her face, that either Ella didn’t do a very good job, or Abby was just smart enough to realize that she and Ella were on their own for a reason. The reason being that their mother found whichever boyfriend she was currently seeing much more important than she found her kids.
Ella finished cooking the spaghetti she was cooking and put it into three bowls; one for Abby, one for Jimmy, and one for Ella’s mom whenever she showed up. Ella had lost her appetite from the surprise visit, and had a bad case of butterflies in her tummy, that would’ve made eating very difficult. She heard Abby and Jimmy talking in the other room. Abby was already opening up to him; talking about school and friends and hobbies. Ella felt bad for being rude to him. If Abby seemed to like him, he must not be that bad. Abby was a really good judge of character, so Ella figured she should give him a chance. She just didn’t understand what he was doing with her mom. After putting one of the bowls of spaghetti into the microwave for her mom, Ella took the other two bowls into the other room to give them to Abby and Jimmy.
As she walked in, Jimmy was walking quickly out the front door. Ella handed Abby her food and glass of milk and then peered out of the window, catching a few parts of the conversation that was now happening outside.
“What the hell, Jenna?” She heard Jimmy saying to my mom. Ella caught a glimpse of the top of her head as the started up the stairs to the door. Her hair was as bleach blonde and ridiculous as the last time she saw it. “Why didn’t you tell them we were coming? Do you know how rude I just felt, barging in there like that?”
“Well, I’m sorry. I meant to call, but I just forgot. I was going to though, honest,” Her voice was shrill and defensive; a tone Ella had gotten used to all the times that she tried to talk to her about something important since she was 9 years old. Whether it be the fact that their gas was turned off, again, or that one of the many gross men that she let stay over had stolen something, again.
“When were you going to, Jenna? Your daughter said she hadn’t seen or heard from you in three years. You told me that you talk to them all the time,” Jimmy’s voice sounded angry, and Ella decided that she liked him. Ella’s mom didn’t seem to know what to say to this. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then shut it, again. Finally, Jimmy spoke again. “Let’s just go inside, okay? We can talk about this later.”
Ella quickly moved away from the window and glanced at Abby, who was staring into her bowl, eating silently. “Well Abby, I guess Mom’s home.” She went back into the kitchen to get Jenna’s food, and then came back to see them coming through the door.
Jenna appeared surprised at her less than welcoming welcome. Ella didn’t know what she expected… a banner?
After they all ate, and had finally gotten past the awkward niceties, Abby was in bed, Jimmy was sitting in their one dining room chair reading, and Ella and Jenna were going outside to talk.
Ella sat on one of the steps on their porch, and Jenna followed suit. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then finally, Ella’s mom asked, “So, what’s been going on with you two lately?”
Ella looked at her mom with an amazed expression. “That’s what you want to ask me? What’s been going on with us?” Ella laughed, and then continued, “Well, mother, what’s been going on is that you’ve missed three years of our lives. You just up and left us one day. What’s been going on is that I dropped out of school to do online so that I could work two jobs and take care of your child. I’ve been paying bills and making sure that she was fed and on time for school every day, and I just barely turned 18. You missed most of my high school life, and her starting middle school. You would’ve missed my graduation if you wouldn’t have come out of nowhere all the sudden, showing up at my house with your boyfriend, who you lied to about having talked to us!” Ella was yelling now; she couldn’t help it. Her mother made her so furious, just appearing and expecting everything to be the same. Jenna was surprised that Ella was so angry. After finally calming down, Ella said in a hushed tone, “Why are you even here?”
“Well I wanted to see you guys! Jimmy wanted to meet my girls, and I missed you,” Jenna was putting on her hurt-feelings face that Ella could see through so easily. It wasn’t even the tiniest bit genuine, and it disgusted her.
Ella sighed and put her hands in her head. She didn’t know what to do about this, about her mom. “What do you want, mom? Do you want us to live with you again? Do you want to take care of us and be a family?”
“Well… yeah.” Jenna said.
So that was it.
That night, and every night for the next few weeks, Jenna and Jimmy stayed in a hotel. During the day, they both looked for jobs and a bigger house so that they could all live together.
Jenna ended up getting her job back with Lola at the hair salon, and Jimmy got a job as a cook at the diner Ella worked at. They finally found a small three-bedroom house to rent, and they were soon moving the few things in the apartment into it.
Abby was much more excited and willing about this new change than Ella was. She and Jenna had been spending lots of time together; bonding and shopping and baking cookies for Abby’s friends. Ella stayed with her online schooling even though she had the option of going back. She figured it was just easier to finish this way since she only had a little bit longer until she graduated.
It turned out that Jimmy and Ella’s mom had quite a bit of money saved for this move. They seemed to be really serious about being a family, and Ella almost believed it. In fact, every day, she believed it a little more.
It was already the end of May, and graduation was only in three days. One day when Abby was still at school and Ella was in her new room, working on her schoolwork, Jenna and Jimmy knocked on the door and came inside with big smiles on their face.
“Ella, honey, we have something to tell you.” Ella’s first thought was that they were leaving. She was almost disappointed until she remembered that she had been expecting this. It was just so early, still.
She shut her laptop and set it off to the side. “You’re already leaving?” Ella tried to keep her voice from breaking.
Jenna’s face was confused. “Leaving? No, of course not. Why would you think that?” She sat down on the bed as Ella shrugged her shoulders.
“We’re not going anywhere. In fact, it’s you who’s leaving…”
“What do you mean I’m leaving?” Ella glanced up at her mom and saw a thick package in her hands. “What is that?” She asked cautiously.
Jenna smiled brightly and slid it across the bed to Ella. “Open it, sweetie!” She said, enthusiastically.
Ella picked it up and glanced at the front. It was addressed to her and the sticker for the return address said University Of North Carolina – Wilmington. Ella drew in a nervous breath. That was the school she had always wanted to go to, since she was little.
Ella slowly and carefully opened the package and took out the contents. The first thing she saw was a typed letter, starting with Dear Ms. Ella Adams. Glancing at the next line was enough to tell her that she had gotten in.
“I got in?” Ella whispered to herself, and then jumped when her mother squealed and threw her arms around her. When she finally let go, she looked back at the letter, skimming over the rest of it. Finally, she looked up at her mom and Jimmy. “I didn’t even apply here. How did I get in?”
Her mom smiled sneakily at Jimmy, and then said to Ella, “I may have applied you there, just in case. I know you were planning on the community college, but I just knew how much you wanted to go here, so I figured why not?” Jenna was obviously pleased with herself, but Ella wasn’t as enthused.
“Mom… that’s really sweet of you, but I can’t afford this school. It would be amazing to go here, but I have just enough saved for community college. I can’t go here,” Ella didn’t understand why Jenna was still grinning at her.
“That’s the rest of the surprise honey. I talked it over with Jimmy, and we have enough saved for you to go here. We planned on keeping it for emergencies in case something happens, but were doing so well here, that we really don’t need it. We have more than enough money to send you to college, and we really want to do this for you.” She was looking at Ella expectantly, but Ella was still processing this. She got to go to her dream school? And she didn’t have to pay for it?
“All four years?” Ella asked. Jenna nodded. “And what about books? And dorms?”
Jenna smiled. “All taken care of.”
Ella let out a deep breath. She still couldn’t believe this. She knew this was her mom’s way of making up for the last few years, but would it be that bad if she let her? This was her education, her future at stake. She could swallow her pride for this. It was important.
Ella looked up at her mom and smiled. “Wow. Thank you.”
Jenna smiled brightly and pulled her into a tight hug. “You’re welcome, honey. You really deserve this. You’ve worked so hard. And I know it’s been hard for you to get used to this, but I just want to thank you for letting me back into your life.”
Ella smiled again, and hugged her back. This was hard for her. But she knew it was the right thing to do. Her mom was different, and Jimmy was making an impact on her. They were acting like real parents. And Abby loved them. She had to at least try.
A few days later, Ella graduated from high school. There was a small ceremony with only about 25 other students who went to the same online school as her, and that lived in the same area. Jenna, Jimmy, Abby, Penelope, and Jackson were all there. After the ceremony, she and her newfound family went out to eat, and then her friends took her to a party.
A few days later, Ella didn’t know what to do with herself. She didn’t have homework to focus on, she didn’t have a job, and she didn’t have anything to do at all.
It wasn’t long before she decided to get online and see if all her old friends had completely forgotten about her. She had tons of messages.
“Where have you been?”
“Are you okay?”
“Did you die?”
These were the most common ones. There wasn’t anyone else online that she recognized, but she soon had a request to chat from an unknown name, sexybeast17.
She accepted, just out of boredom and curiosity. The avatar had dark hair, dark eyes, and tan skin.
Ben: Hey, what’s up?
Ella: Hi. Not a lot, what about you?
Ben: Same.
Ella: Cool, so what’s your name?
Ben: Ben… what’s yours?
Ella: Ella.
Ben: Hmm.
Ella: What?
Ben: Haven’t we done this before?
Ella: What do you mean?
Ben: I mean, I’m pretty sure that we’ve spoken before.
Ella: Oh… I’m sorry, I don’t remember. I haven’t been on in a long time.
Ben: Yeah, it was a long time ago when we met.
Ella: I’m really sorry. Care to refresh my memory?
And just like that, Ella was hooked, once again, on this website. Or maybe she was hooked on Ben.
Her memory of meeting him long ago was very vague. And she found it either strange or impressive that he remembered so well, since it had been such a long time.
He continued impressing her though. Every time they talked, which was often, they talked about more things and learned more and more about each other. She learned that he like the same music, movies, TV shows, books, and many other things as her. They shared so much in common, and the more they talked, the more she liked. He didn’t break any of the rules that she set for boys, and he even made the one good boyfriend look bad.
But Ella fell back into her fake story of who she was just as easy as she fell out of it. The only time she ever felt guilty for lying about who she was, was when she was lying to Ben.
She could tell he was extremely honest with her, and she felt so bad for not telling him the truth. She had to keep telling herself that it’s not like their relationship was going anywhere. They were just talking. They weren’t going to get married one day.
And even though Ella kept telling herself that, she had to admit to herself that there was a lot more to their relationship that just talking. And soon, she was really going to find herself regretting having lied at all in the first place.