Second Chance

Gena’s POV

Over 2 hours. That’s how late Anna is. We were supposed to be testing different types of cakes right now, so she can finally decide what she wants… but she’s a no show. She doesn’t answer her phone, I can’t contact her. It’s kinda annoying. I mean, she’s always late, but never more than 30-45 minutes & even at that, she always call ahead of time to let everyone knows that she’s on her way, but no. I’m just sitting here at this bakery, waiting for her. When I decide to wait for her for 15 more minutes, my phone rings, startling everyone in the quiet little shop. I apologize, grabbing my stuff before stepping outside to answer the well known number… Anna’s number. “Where the hell are you? I’m waiting for you here at the bakery. We’re supposed to be cake tasting, Anna. Did you forget? & why the hell didn’t you answer the phone earlier?” I rant on & on, not giving her any time to reply to me. It doesn’t seem that she’s making an effort either. She just stays quiet, which is weird, so I stop talking, not sure if she’s listening. “Anna? Are you there?” I ask & after a couple of seconds, she answers.

“Yeah. Listen, I’m not gonna be able to make it” She says in soft voice.

“WHAT?” I scream at her. I can’t believe her. “Why?” I ask, letting out a scoff. “You better have a good damn excuse for making me wait here for you” I say in an irritated voice as I start making my way towards the street so I can hail a cab. It’s so damn hard in this fucking city. I don’t know how everyone just loves it here. Huntington is way better than this. You can actually drive a car. Here… you can’t even own a fucking car because you would never be able to drive it with the billions of cars that are in this city. It’s ridiculous.

“Because I had to leave New York” She says & I frown. She never mentioned anything about traveling. I thought she had postponed her trip overseas with Shannon & the magazine. & I know that John is off tour right now, so she isn’t visiting him.

“Are you serious, Annabelle? Where the fuck are you?” I say, finally making a cab stop & I open the door before she answers.

“I’m in Huntington” She says & I freeze at the stop. One leg inside the cab, the other not.

“You’re where?” I ask in disbelief. I’m sure I heard it all wrong. She can’t be back in Huntington. I mean, she hasn’t been back there in 3 years.

“Are you getting in, lady, or not?” The taxi driver asks me. I look forward, before setting inside the cab & closing the door, giving the taxi driver the address of the hotel.

“I’m in Huntington” She repeats herself & now I’m sure that I heard her right this time.

“What are you doing there?” I ask her, before the wheels in my head starting to work. “Annabelle, don’t” I say, before she answers me. “Leave him alone. He needs his space right now” I say, fully knowing the reason Annabelle in there. Eventually, I knew he was the only one who would make her go back.

“I just called to let you know that I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Sorry for making you go all the way to New York for nothing” She says before hanging up. I stare at my phone for a minute, still shocked. When Brian & Michelle left, I never in a million years thought that Annabelle was going to go after him. I mean, usually its Brian chasing Anna, not the other way around. I stare through the window & smile after a while. She loves him. Even she tries to tell herself that she don’t, she does. Which only means one thing… this wedding is so not happening. But I’m still mad as hell with her.

Brian’s POV

I decided to head back home after a couple of countless beers. Johnny’s Bar was packed, but the mood wasn’t right. My mood isn’t right. So why being miserable in front of a hundred people when I can be miserable in the comforts of my house? I got a call from Val, telling me Michelle was gonna crash at her place. She was still very pissed. I didn’t care. Although… if I’m gonna try to move on & make it work with her, I should probably start caring. Oh well… I’m gonna start tomorrow. I parked the car & got out after a short drive, making sure I had my cell phone & house keys before heading towards the door, noticing someone sitting at the doorstep, their head resting in her arms that were placed over her bend knees. It was a slim figure, so I assumed it was a girl. Oh, God… not another obsessed fan, please. “Excuse me, can I help you?” I ask carefully. Don’t want a psycho to attack me. She looks up & my mouth hangs open in shock. It can’t be. “Belle?” I say in disbelief. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask her. I look at my watch & see that it a little over 1 AM.

“I came to talk to you” She says, standing up from her position, wincing from the sore muscles on her body. Only God knows since when she’s been sitting there. I roll my eyes. “Don’t give me crap, Brian. We need to talk” She says.

“Talk about what? Huh?” I say.

“About us” She says. I see that she’s in a pissy mood too. Maybe she’s tired from the flight. Maybe she’s tired from waiting for me. But do I seem to care? Hell no.

“There’s no us, Annabelle. You made that perfectly clear a million times. Why are you here?” I ask her. Why is it the every time I try to get away from her, let her be happy, she ends up appearing everywhere, trying to talk to me?

“Because…” She says, before lowering her voice. “You’re my best friend. I need you. We can’t just end things like this” She says, pulling her hair up into a messy bun.

“End things like what? You ended things a long time ago when you moved to New York. I ended things when I married Chelle. You ended things when we found out you were engaged. & I ended things the last time you kissed me. I think there’s has been a lot of fucking endings to this, don’t you think?” I say, turning around & taking my keys out of my jeans pockets.

“What the fuck are you doing?” She says, stepping down & following me towards my car. I unlock it, before opening the passenger door.

“What the fuck does it look like I’m doing? I’m taking you to your parent’s house” I say, motioning for her to get inside the SUV. She crosses her arms over her chest, standing still a few feet away from the car. “Don’t be this fucking difficult, Belle. Get in the fucking car” I say, groaning at her stubbornness. My patience is running low with her.

“Not until we talk” She raises one of her eyebrows, giving me a stern face. I know she won’t move so I shut the door loudly.

“We both know how this talk is gonna go. You’re gonna ask me to be friends, saying that friendships is all that you have to offer to me. I’ll say that I fucking love you but that if you want to be just friends, then I’m cool with that because it’s better than not having you at all. Then we’ll be all awkward towards each other until one of us messes up & we’ll be in the same spot we’re right now. It’s like a fucking vicious cycle & I’m tired of it” I say, finishing my rant with a big breath. I look at her & see that the arms that once were crossed over her chest are now wrapped around her. She looked like a big bucket of cold water had been dropped on her. Her eyes were wide & her mouth was hanging up. I know my words hurt her, but they are the truth. “We keep doing this over & over again. It’s like we find pleasure in hurting us. & I’m done with that. I’m finally letting you go, Annabelle. I’m finally giving what you been asking from me since day one. It’s killing me but I’m doing it. But I can’t move on with you around. It’s like you want to leave me. Why don’t you leave?” I say, running a hand through my face. I know that the words were harsh & sounded even worse than what I intended, but if we’re gonna move on with our lives, she should do the same that I’m doing, or at least trying to do… she should step out of my way.

“I’m sorry, Brian. I shouldn’t have come here” She says, going back to my doorstep. She grabbed her purse & started walking towards the opposite direction from where I was. I roll my eyes. I knew she was gonna do that. & I’m proud that after all these years, I still know her.

“Belle, come back here” I say. She just keeps walking & I let out a frustrated groan. “Where the fuck are you going?” I say to her.

“Away from you. Isn’t that what you want?” She says, turning to snap at me for a second, before continuing her walk. I roll my eyes again & start making my way to her, following her.

“Belle, stop” I say & she ignores me. So I ran & catch her from her waist, throwing her over my shoulder.

“WHAT THE FUCK, BRIAN? PUT ME DOWN THIS SECOND” She says, one of her hand steadying herself on my shoulder & the other grasping her bag that I can feel hitting the back of my legs. I ignore her screams & walk towards the car. I know my neighbors must think I’m kidnapping her, rapping her or something, but I don’t give a shit. I’m not gonna let her walk around the neighborhood at this hour. I feel her fist pounding my back.

“Would you shut up & stay still for a second, please?” I say, bouncing her a bit in my shoulder. I hear a whimper from her & the thought of me hurting her makes my blood turn cold. I don’t want to hurt her. But when I hear her give out a huff, I know that she wasn’t. I couldn’t help the small smile that made its way in my face. It’s almost like we were the best fucking friends & nothing has changed between us. But that’s wishful thinking. I open the door of the car & throw her, being careful not to hit her head on the door. As soon as I place her on the seat, she huffs one more time, before shoving me & closing the door. Look like I won the battle. But this is gonna be a long drive.

Jimmy’s POV

I hear the door slam shut & a furious Gena storms into the room. She plops herself next to Zacky & we all stare at her. After a couple of minutes, she turns to look at us. “Did you guys know that I spent almost 3 hours on a fucking bakery, waiting for Annabelle, just for her to call me & tell me that she’s not coming cuz she’s in Huntington? I hate waiting on people” She says, crossing her arms & you can see all of our faces fell.

“She’s where?” Matt asks.

“Yeah. She went back to Huntington. & the little bitch didn’t even told me about it” She says, letting out a scoff. We all stay silent, thinking about this. I know what this is. She went back to talk to Brian. She went back to him. This is bad. We were startled by a knock on the door. I guess we were all thinking about the consequences of her decision. This could go both ways. She could actually fix things with Brian & everything will be ok. Or things between them would get even worse than they already are. Meaning that they would be even worse for the rest of us. It’s kinda of tiring to be pulled in different directions with those 2. & although it hurts my heart… if the time comes & we have to chose between her & Brian… she might end up alone & friendless.

“Hey, guys” I turn to see John standing next to Johnny. I didn’t even notice when Johnny had gone to open the door. We all nod at him, finding it weird for him to be standing here. “I was wondering if Bellie is here with you. She doesn’t answer her phone & I’m planning on taking her out to dinner” She says, shuffling his hair & giving us a crooked smile. We all turned to look at each other. I can’t believe she didn’t tell her fiancé that she was leaving & now we have to end up doing it. I realize everyone is looking at me, telling me with their eyes that I should be the one to break out the news. I sigh in defeat, before standing up & walking towards the kid.

“Listen, John, um…” I turn to stare at the rest & they just nod their heads in encouragement. “Something came up & she had to leave” I say, choosing my words carefully.

“Leave where?” He asks with a chuckle. God, this is gonna be hard.

“Back to Huntington” I say & I see his eyes go wide.

“Is everything ok?” He asks in a worried tone. I nod my head & assure him that everything’s ok. He looks down & looks at around the room, almost like he was searching for someone. “Where’s Brian?” He asks, turning to look at me. & I’m sure that my face gave him the answer he was searching for. “Oh, I see” He says, almost in defeat. “Ok” He says, turning around to leave the room. I walk him to the door.

“I’m sure her battery just died. She might call you any minute” I say, trying to make him feel a bit better. He nods his head & just before he exits the suite, he stops & turns, looking at me.

“Is there something I need to know about Brian & Annabelle?” He says. I wasn’t expecting that question. “I mean, I know they were really close. But it seems that, whenever he’s around, Bellie is just so shy & fearful. & I don’t know why. I don’t know if it’s that he scares her, or she’s scared of pissing him off. Almost like the way you act around an ex” He says & I feel my mouth dry. How the fuck am I supposed to answer that to him? “I feel like she’s hiding something from me. She says it’s just hard to have him & all of you guys back in her life, but I know that she’s not being completely honest with me” He says & once more turns his green/hazel eyes to look at me. I’m speechless. “I’m sorry. Of course you’re not gonna tell me. I don’t expect you to. I just don’t like being lied to” He says, before turning around & walking through the hallway. It takes me a second to close the door & stand there. If he finds out, Anna & Brian will be in deep shit. I walk into the room & by the look on their faces… I know that they heard John.

“I think it’s time for us to go back home” I say. Everyone nods. I’m not gonna let Anna & Brian to be making the same mistakes over & over again. It’s times for someone to put an end to this.