The power of love

I narrowed my eyebrows to ask what had happened to Nick to make him believe that, but he cut me off. “I have to go.” He muttered, before turning around and walking off. I watched him as the moon caught the side of his face as he walked away from me. I crossed my arms over my chest as a cold breeze caught me. I studied him as he climbed into his car and zoomed out of the parking lot. I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging on it slightly. What was I thinking? Asking him such a stupid question. I hardly knew him and I was asking stupid questions like that. I fell to the sand, and ran my fingers through it. I sighed, before stretching out my legs. Out of boredom, I drew a heart in the sand with my index finger. Getting annoyed at myself, I rubbed it out vigorously, before jumping up and storming across the beach. I walked over to my car, grabbing my shoes off the roof. I shoved on my boots, not even thinking about putting my socks on. I dived into my car, shoving the keys into the ignition before driving out of the parking lot. I looked over at the clock, which read 2:45am. I groaned as a yawn hit me. Tired-ness slowly crept up on me. I ran my fingers through my hair as I pulled into the drive. I jumped out of the car and opened the door slowly. I placed my keys on the table, along with my phone. I slid my boots off and left them at the door. I wandered upstairs and heard the sound of Jake crying softly. I pushed the door open, before wandering in. I flicked the light on but it wasn’t as bright. I leant over the cot to see Jake kicking his legs up in the air, whimpering softly. I picked him up and walked over to the rocking chair. I placed him in my arms and started to slowly rock. I watched him as his eyes slowly started to shut, which lead to mine.

~~~~~

“Madison.” Someone shook my shoulder. I groaned and opened my eyes slowly. Rachel was standing in front of me, smiling softly. I looked down to see Jake looking up at me. I flashed my teeth at him and he burst into giggles. I looked up and smiled at Rachel. I stood up and passed Jake over to Rachel. I stretched my back clicking at the same time. She screwed her nose up at me. “That is disgusting.” I laughed and smiled at her.

“I can’t help it.” We both laughed as we walked out of the room. “What time is it?” I asked, as the both of us walked into my room. I flopped onto my bed and turned onto one side.

“It’s about 9am.” I pushed my hair out of my face and yawned at the same time. Rachel narrowed her eyebrows at me and I laughed. “We’ve got guests coming around tonight.” Now it was my turn to narrow my eyebrows. “My niece, Lauren, is coming around with her boyfriend and his family.” I nodded my head and smiled. “They will be around about 3-ish.” She informed me. I flashed her a smile once more, before she walked out. I rested my head against my pillow and sighed. I still felt really bad about last night. I was stupid and selfish. I didn’t even know Nick and I jumped down his throat, demanding that I had to know everything. I groaned once more, before rolling off my bed. I quickly grabbed a skirt and tank top before dashing across the hallway into the bathroom. I jumped into the shower, letting the water run down my body. I sighed and tried to hurry up. I washed my hair quickly and jumped out, wrapping myself in a towel. I dried as quickly as I can, and then got changed. Deciding that I would leave my hair wet so it went curly, I wandered back into my room, throwing the clothes into the hamper. I pulled my hair moose out and squirted a load into my hand. I ran my fingers through my hair, scrunching it together. I wandered downstairs, and into the lounge. Rachel sat on the couch, feeding Jake. “Nice shower?”

“It was lovely.” I said, sitting next to her. Jake saw me and started wriggling, making it harder for Rachel to feed him his bottle. I laughed at my little brother.

“Aren’t you a nosey little monster?” She lifted him up so he was facing me. He smiled at me, and let out a rather large burp. Me and Rachel shared a look and it made us both laugh. “Would you like your big sister to feed you while mummy went to get changed?” She looked over at me, holding the bottle out. I look it off her and then Jake. I placed him in my lap, and held the bottle over his head. He moved forwards as if he wanted it. I slid it into his mouth and he started to drink it straight away. Rachel flashed her teeth at me, before running upstairs. I looked down at Jake, who was happy with his bottle. My dad walked downstairs and smiled at me as he walked into the room.

“How are my two favourite people in the world?” He asked, sitting down on the couch, next to us. He leant forwards and tickled Jake’s stomach. I smiled at my dad before looking down at Jake. “He is getting so big now.” He said, smiling at me. I looked once more at Jake, who had finished his bottle and slowly shutting his eyes. I handed my dad the bottle and rested his against my shoulder. I rubbed his back and waited for him to burp. My dad smiled at him. “You are going to be a good mother one day, Madison.” This statement made me blush bright red. “But I don’t want any grandchildren yet.” He said, tapping my nose before walking into the kitchen. I laughed and carried on patting Jake’s back. He burped softly, making me smile. I looked down at him, rubbing his back still, hoping he would fall asleep.

“Jake, listen to your big sister.” I whispered to him, feeling rather stupid, talking to my 2 month old brother. “In life you will mess up, more than once. I promise you that. But you can’t do things that you know are bad. Otherwise you will just screw everything else up, got that?” In reply, I got another loud burp. I laughed to myself as Rachel walked into the room.

“How’s my baby boy?” She asked, sitting next to me. I handed her a sleeping Jacob and smiled at her. “Would you like to come shopping with us?” Rachel asked me. I nodded my head, smiling. “I need to feed the 1000 tonight.” I laughed at her.

“How many are there tonight?” I asked, out of curiosity. It went silent as she counted in her head.

“11. If you miss out Jacob.” My eyes widened. Rachel laughed at my facial expression. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. They are a nice family.” I nodded my head and smiled. Rachel stood up and hoisted Jake onto her hip. “Ready?” She asked. I nodded my head and stood up. As Rachel went to tell Dad where we were going, I picked up my keys and my phone. I looked down at the screen to see a text from the mother. I pressed open rather swiftly.

From-mother.
I didn’t get a phone call off you last night, but I suspect you arrived safely.

I rolled my eyes at her. Any decent mother would be phoning all the time, ringing my dad, making sure that I was okay. But I get a single text that was, behind the lines, a stab at me for not getting in contact with her. I slid my phone into my pocket as Rachel walked back in. “Can you grab the stroller please?” She asked, balancing Jake on her hip. I nodded my head, picking it off the floor and carrying it out to the car. I placed it into the trunk as Rachel put Jake into his car seat. I ran around and jumped into the passenger seat. Rachel jumped into the driver’s seat and we sped down the driveway and onto the main road. “So, now you’ve finished school, what are you thinking of doing?” She asked, staring out the windscreen as we drove along. I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’m not sure yet. I’ve applied for a couple of colleges in Arizona. But I haven’t heard anything back yet.” I said, smiling softly. “But I’ve got 3 months until I have to make up my mind, so at the moment, I’m relaxing.” I leant my head against the back of the chair. Rachel laughed.

“What do you want to study?” She asked. I shrugged my shoulders and sat up properly.

“Erm...I’m not sure yet. Maybe journalism or media.” I shrugged my shoulders once more. Rachel sighed, which made me look over at her. She narrowed her eyebrows at me and shook her head.

“And what would you like to do?” She asked. I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed heavily.

“Something like law.” I said, smiling to myself. Rachel smiled and nodded her head. She was more than a mother than my own was. She could tell I was lying before my own one could.

“I knew that it was something that was bothering you.” She flashed her teeth at me. “If it’s something you want to do, why not do it? Why let people hold you back?” I bit my thumbnail and rested my forehead against the window. It was a while before I started to talk again.

“I want to make her happy.” I muttered. I kept my forehead pushed up against the window as we pulled up at the light. The people in the opposite car probably thought I was mad. “Have you ever done that, Rach? Done something to make you happy?” I asked, turning to her. She nodded her head, but kept her eyes on the road.

“Many times.” She said, stepping on the clutch to send us flying away from the lights. “But I always seemed to regret it. Because giving into someone always makes them stronger than you.” I stared at Rachel as we pulled into the car park. We shared a look before she turned off the engine. We both jumped out. Rachel grabbed Jake as I pulled out his stroller. She clipped the car seat into it then walked off to get a cart. I pushed Jake and met her halfway. I flashed her a smile, before we walked into the store.

“So what’s for dinner?” I asked, smiling. Rachel laughed.

“Something big.” We both burst into giggles. We walked around the store, chatting away with each other. “Candy?” She asked, as we came alongside the isle. I grinned at her and nodded my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I recognized the curly hair. I turned around slightly as Rachel picked out random candy. Nick was standing against the wall outside, swinging his ring around his finger. He looked perfect standing there, as if nothing was bothering him. But we all knew there was something wrong with him.