What Happens in Arizona

Chapter 27 – Blonde Barbie

You’re an asshole John Cornelius O’Callaghan and this is what you do to me, you frustrate me and you make me go mad. But the thing is, as much as I want to rip your face off, as much as I want to kick your balls so hard you’d fall on the ground, as much as I want to pull your hair off—when I see your face, when I hear you talk, everything would seem alright. I would forget everything you’ve done but I’d still hurt, what is it with you?

The fact that I want to move on with Joel makes it much harder, because I can’t. Joel is such a nice guy and I don’t want to hurt him, but I can’t love him the way I love John so that’d be problem. This was so too much for me to handle and I don’t think going back with them would be such a good idea, so I didn’t. I stayed in London for a couple of days, maybe almost 2 weeks and fortunately found the guts and will power to face everyone back home.

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“Princess, I have missed you!” Dad greeted, as he took my luggage and putted it inside the trunk. He slammed it closed and we both hopped in at the front seats, “So how‘s London?” He asked.

“Well it’s awesome, Dad. Maybe I can bring you there someday soon!” I replied cheerfully, forcing out a soft laugh.

He laughed a bit and turned to me with a smile, “Hmm—I’d love to tour there sweetheart, oh by the way—we’ve got a few things to talk about when we get home.”

My lungs must’ve fallen down from its place; I felt my body cringe when Dad finished his sentence. What could it be? I felt anxious and nervous at the same time as I swallowed hard, “Oh uh—can I ask what is it that we have to talk about?” I asked nervously.
“You’ll know it when we get home.” He replied indifferently, stomping on the gas pedal and drove us back home.

The car ride was silent and awkward, I was busy fiddling with my cell phone key chain and thinking of what we could be talking about 20 more minutes from now. And dad was focused on the road; I could tell that he was also in deep thought.

As we reached the corner to our house, my heart pounded faster and I got a little constipated thinking of whatever could happen. Dad took a left turn and a few moments passed, we were parked in front of our lawn. He took the keys out from the engine starter and hopped out; he opened the trunk, grabbed my things and made his way inside. The whole house looked a bit crowded from a far, looked like everyone’s waiting for my arrival. Obviously, it’d be Ella, Kennedy, Lily, Pat, Garrett, Brooklyn, Tessa and Jared—yup, I purposely left John out.
I followed my dad and headed towards the house, took my first step at the porch and breathed deeply. I held the door knob and twisted it, opened the door slowly and bam!
Familiar faces surrounded me, big smiles plastered across their cheeks. And to my surprise, Joel was there and he was holding a cake—next to John, and a blonde…girl…with her hands…placed firmly…on his…thigh. Wow, what a great way to welcome me. My eyes unconsciously wandered off to John and his new blonde girlfriend and I was casually glaring at the both of them, Ella took notice of it and quickly stood up—motioning me towards the kitchen and I went there.

“Well this is a nice surprise from all the people I love the most! Except one! No, wait—scratch that. Except two! Because I don’t even know who that other one is!” I vented out, walking towards the counter.

Ella looked at me worriedly as she followed my every move, “Amy—please calm down okay? We didn’t know he was going to bring that girl, whoever she is.” She tried to calm me down.
“No Ella, I won’t calm down! I’m fucking pissed off of my guts at the moment, now I’m gonna go upstairs and cool myself down. I don’t want anyone going up there to talk to me if isn’t that important so please, I came back to finish things.” I snapped, took a deep breath and turned to her. “Look, I’m sorry I snapped. I just don’t—,”

“Its okay gurl, we all have one of those days. Now go freshen up, you still have a long day ahead of you.” She cut me off, walking towards me and pulled me in for a hug. “I’ve missed my best friend.” She said softly.

“I’ve missed you too, sorry again.” I replied, pulling away from her.

“It’s okay grumpy butt. If I were you I would have pulled all of her hair off anyways so yeah…haha! Now go~” she said, pushing me out of the kitchen towards the staircase.
I headed upstairs to my room and slammed the door shut, took off my clothes and went to the bathroom. I spent almost an hour lying on bath tub thinking, thinking of the things that could happen next. Then the door knocked, it must be Dad. I stood up, wrapped myself up with a towel and headed towards the door. I didn’t even bother to look at the peep hole; I quickly opened the door and saw Joel standing outside with a cake in his left hand.

His mouth fell open slightly but quickly closed it, “Uh—uhm, I’m sorry I didn’t know you were in the shower.” He stuttered, trying to look away from me.

“Eh—it’s okay, come on in!” I replied cheerfully, pulling him inside and sitting him down to my bed.

“Uh—I got you some cake,” he said awkwardly.

I let out a small laugh by how adorable he sounded, “Ooh, thank you! That’s so sweet of you.” I replied, taking the plate from his hand and sitting down at the sofa across him.
“You’re welcome, uh well I better go. It’s seems like you’re still changing so I’ll just go wait for you downstairs.” He said, standing up and headed quickly towards the door.

“Oh no it’s fine—you can stay.” I replied, following him and blocking the door with my arm. “Really Joel—you can stay.” I smiled mischievously.

Well, that was definitely an inappropriate thing for me to do. But I kind of felt silly since I just spent more than half an hour under water, he slowly backed away from the door and walked over to the bed and he flopped down. He mumbled something that I couldn’t hear but I just shrugged it off, I walked over to where he was and looked down on him.

“I’m gonna get some clothes on okkay?” I said softly. He nodded slowly and looked over to me as I walked swiftly into my closet.

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“You have a Ninja Turtles shirt?” he exclaimed, standing up from the bed.
I nodded and smiled, “Hmm—my Dad gave it to me 2 years ago, I can’t believe it still fits! And it’s loose and comfortable to wear.” I replied, adjusting the sleeves of my shirt.

“That’s awesome okay,” he said, rising up from my bed. I smiled at him and we headed outside.

Dad was coming out of his room with a phone in his hand, “Oh hey kids—did you already ate some cake?” he greeted.

“Yup, uhm Dad—what is it that you wanted to talk about?” I replied.
“Well come on, let’s talk on the kitchen.” He said, Joel glanced at me and I smiled at him. He excused himself and headed downstairs first.

I turned to Dad and smiled, he smiled back and we headed downstairs to kitchen together. Jared and the others were at the living room playing Spin the Bottle while Ella stayed at the porch with a crease on her forehead, Kennedy was busy playing with them.

“Ames,” dad started, motioning me to head inside the kitchen.

“So Dad—what is it?” I asked him directly.

He sat at one of the elevated chairs next to the counter and turned to me, “What exactly happened in London Ames? Why did John suddenly came busting here one night, headed to your room and locked himself inside?”

Then I was speechless, I don’t know why to be honest. My mouth slightly fell open and I started to speak, “Well—dad, something came up and we just had a misunderstanding. That’s all.” I lied.

He seem to have bought it and he just shrugged it off, “Hmm—then if that’s it, I’m sure you two will figure something out soon. I mean to be honest Princess—I like John, I like him for you. And it would be such great news if you two end up together.” He replied.

And this isn’t good, if Dad expects that I and John would live happily ever after then disappointment is already on its way. I was about to say something when he stood up quickly and bid me goodbye, “Wait Dad—where are you going?”

“I’m going to your Uncle’s—we’ve got business.” He replied, and headed outside the door to his car. He drove off from the lawn and I watched him as he disappeared from my sight, my heart pounded faster as a loud scream escaped my mouth when Ella popped up behind me.

“Shh! Haha, you’re going to startle everyone!” she laughed, trying to cover my mouth.

“I hate you sometimes you know, ugh don’t do that again.” I replied, swatting her hand off.
We headed to the living room and everyone stopped to look at us, Kennedy and Joel were the first ones to stand up and approach us. Kennedy walked towards Ella; he leaned close to her and lavished her lips with passionate kisses. I forced out an awkward giggle and everyone followed, Joel came up to me and pulled me to the seat next to him. I saw John glare at us at the corner of my eyes which just befuddled me much more, this man needs counseling.

“So Amy, how’s your job in London?” Tessa started.

I turned to her and smiled, “Well it’s great, actually I’m hoping for a promotion soon though but it would require me moving to some other place else again.” I replied gleefully.
Everyone suddenly stopped and turned to me, their faces had the same expression. Their eyes narrowed down to me, creases formed in their foreheads. Ella opened her mouth to talk but Jared cut her off, “So you’ll be moving again?” he asked. The tension started to build up, John was glaring at me and Tessa looked at me worriedly.

“Uh—y-yeah, I’ll be moving again soon probably.” I replied, forcing out a smile.

The blonde Barbie sitting next to John shifted her position towards John and flicked her fake golden hair to her back, “Hmm, so where will you be moving Amy?” she asked in her annoying high-pitched voice.

I let out a deep sigh and turned to her, “Uhm, I’d probably be moving to Paris, France.” I replied politely, she crunched her nose and turned her attention to John. Well that was fucking rude, ain’t it?

Tessa shrugged and started to speak, “Oh! Paris is such a wonderful place Amy, I’m pretty sure you’ll have so much fun working and living there.” She said.

“Hmm, yeah I agree.” I replied cheerfully.

Ella seemed to have cooled down and joined the conversation too, “Maybe you might also find your one true love there too Ames, you know—since Paris is known for its romantic environment.” She added, grinning mischievously at me.

The pressure got closer to me when I saw John ball his fist, his expression changed. He looked like he was about to explode, and it got worse when Joel wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Oh this man is definitely testing John’s temper and he is winning, awkward silence filled the whole living room. I’d gladly break the silence but that would definitely be a wrong idea, good thing Jared did.

“So guys, let’s go eat dinner!” he exclaimed, motioning all of us towards the dining room.
They all started to rise from their seats and head to the dining table, the blonde Barbie even fixed her boobs first before walking behind Lily and Pat. Brooklyn stood up and turned to me with a smile; I glanced at her and smiled back. Joel and the others followed Jared and they all sat down, except for John—who sat slouchy at his place on the couch. He was hard to ignore to be honest; I walked slowly away and headed towards the kitchen when he called out my name.

I slowly turned around to face him and found his eyes glued to me, he had a fierce look on his face and he did not looked amused. “Yeah?” I replied indifferently.
He stood up and walked towards me slowly, he went up to me so close that his arms cornered me upon the wall. “Listen—about Stephanie, I—…”

“Oh, so that’s your girlfriend’s name? Oh what a lovely name, really John.” I exclaimed, cutting him off quickly. He looked at me and sighed, and then his face fell.

“She’s not my girlfriend…” he mumbled, clear enough for me to hear.

I let out a sarcastic laugh and pushed him away a little, “Oh of course she’s not—is she? She’s just one of your playmates, you’ve decided to hang out with after bitching out on me when were in London. Gee John! You should’ve told me earlier!” I said sarcastically, I knew my voice was loud enough for the people in the dining room to hear—but who gives a fuck at the moment, right?

John looked at me when fearful eyes and I felt Goosebumps shiver down my spine, “Amy—I told you I was going to play fair! But the battle had just started and I’m pretty sure you’ve already picked your champion!” He shouted back at me, his face turning red.

“What? I went out with Joel for one time for heaven’s sake, what the fuck are you talking about?!” I retorted.

Jared suddenly poked out from the dining room and walked towards us, “Guys—please. Can we settle this down in a much more peaceful and quiet way?” he asked, trying to calm both of us down.

I shook my head and turned to him, “I—I don’t wanna talk to John anymore.”

Jared nodded slowly as I ran upstairs and locked myself up in my bedroom, I didn’t give John a chance to answer me—I just wanted to get away from him. He was the most unreasonable bitch ever, and I can’t stand him as of the moment.

It pained me to hear those words come out of his mouth, and what’s much more painful is the fact that we just fought loud enough for Joel to hear every single thing. Tears started streaming down my cheeks, my eyes burned and turned red. I tried to stop myself from crying but it seems more difficult when you try to prevent the tears from falling. And then there was a knock on the door, three times. Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Amy, are you there? Please tell me you’re alright,” Tessa called out from the other side of the door.

Deep breaths, relax, I stood up and walked slowly to the door. “Yeah? I’m fine Tessa, what is it?” I replied.

“Oh thank God, listen Amy—uhm Joel’s here and he wants to talk to you.” She said softly.
Well this is just great, I’m not prepared to face him but I guess I have to. It’s better if I talked to him as soon as now, at least I won’t have to worry about it in the future. I took a deep sigh and pulled the door open slowly, “H—hi.” I greeted softly, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

“Amy! Are you okay?” Joel exclaimed, rushing towards me and threw his arms around me for a hug. I glanced at Tessa and she smiled at me, I nodded and smiled back in response then she excused herself and headed downstairs.

I pulled away from Joel’s arms and smiled at him, “Yeah, I’m fine now. Joel, listen—”

“No Amy, wait. Let me speak first,” he cut me off. I nodded slowly and looked at him, “I’m sorry—since it’s kind of my fault why you and John are fighting like this. He thought I was competing with him but I’m not Amy, from the start I knew that you and John—you two were meant to be. And I guess that night we talked outside your flat in London, that was just my competitive side that came out.” He continued.

“Don’t be sorry Joel, that’s silly. You didn’t do anything wrong okay? John is just a selfish brat sometimes, but I can’t let it pass this time…and he really sucks at giving assumptions.” I replied with a smile.

He smiled back at me and planted a soft kiss on my forehead, “Just give John a chance okay? We’re not gonna let you deal with him alone.” He said.

“Hmm, but he really thinks that you and I are—you know.” I replied.

“Oh, that. I’ll talk to him later and explain everything then, maybe that’ll clear his mind.” He said. He seemed so calm even after what happened a while ago; I guess he might have already seen this coming.

“And I’ll also tell him that I really just wanna hang out with often because I think you’re cool, and you like cats.” He added, laughing softly. I let out a soft giggle and walked towards him, “Alright—thanks for everything Joel. You always know how to brighten up my day…and night.” I replied, giggling softly.

He walked up to the door and opened it widely, “Then let’s tell everyone your okay already and don’t worry, John already left.” He said. I looked up to him with narrowed eyes, “And he forgot about his Barbie, oh if you only saw what her face looked like when John dashed through the front door leaving her behind.” He laughed.

I laughed with him and we headed downstairs, “So he really forgot about her?” I asked.
He nodded quickly with a smile, “Her face looked so funny too haha! And then she rushed outside, no one knows where she headed.” He replied.

We both laughed in unison and headed to the kitchen where everyone was waiting for us, they all comforted me with hugs and kisses which just made me feel entirely better. Jared was the last one to hug me and he smiled, “We’re not gonna let you deal with this alone you know.” He said, I glanced at everyone and they were all smiling at me.

“Hmm, I know.” I replied with a giggle.

Well, I hate to admit it but things just keeps on getting better.