Past Promises Chapter 6

If Anna thought she couldn’t love Jedidiah any more, she was wrong. The next few weeks was spent in utter love. When she thought of “utter love,” she thought of how he would show up at her door step with flowers in every single shade because he couldn’t decide which one to buy. How he would sing off key at her window after the sun went down and forget the line half way through and sang made up lines. He would randomly show up in shopping malls where she would go and suddenly just wanted to “hang out.” She felt butterflies each time they kissed and every part of her body exploded when his hands accidentally brushed against it. She was on fire when she was near him. She throbbed when he whispered love words in her ears. He was exactly the kind of guy she wanted.

     That evening after spending an entire day at the beach and then cuddling up together to watch the sun go down, Anna came home to find something that would change her entire future. She came home to suitcases packed and set along the kitchen floor. She heard rustling and swearing in the upstairs room. She was shaking as she struggled to figure out what was going on. Her mother came rushing down the stairs, her eyes were red and her face looked as if she had been crying for hours.

     “Mom?” Anna asked.

     “Pack your bags.”

     “What? Wait! What’s going on here?”

     Her mother ignored her. “Did you not hear a word I said?”

     Anna fought to keep herself calm. “Mom, please, just answer me.”

     Patti turned around. “I am through with your father. He can stick it in anyone he wants to from now on. I’m over him!”

     Anna gasped as her mother fled up the stairs and continued to curse. She swallowed and suddenly the only thing that came to her mind was Jedidiah. She was about to go outside when her mother came down the stairs and grabbed her arm.

     “Get going before I leave you with him!”

     “Where are we going?”

     “Somewhere I don’t get to see his face ever again.”

     Anna shook her head. “But I’ve got a life here! It’s not fair, mom. You can’t do that to me. What about Jedidiah?”

     “What about Jedidiah? If he loves you, he’ll figure out a way to come to you. Men aren’t the only things worth living for, sweetheart. Get going now!”

     Her world crumbled as she walked up the stairs to her room. She pulled out her phone and dialed Jedidiah’s number. It rang a few times and then he picked up out of breath.

     “Hey, what’s up?” he asked.

     “What were you doing?”

     “Running,” he said.

     She swallowed hard as tears filled her eyes. “Jedidiah, I don’t think I’m going to be able to meet you tomorrow.”

     “Why not? You busy or something?”

     She bit her lower lip and felt a sob coming through her voice. “My mom is leaving my father.”

     “What?”

     “And she’s taking me with her.”

     “Wait, no! That can’t be fair to you.”

     “Jedidiah, I love you so much. I want you—“

     The line went dead and she looked up to find her mother standing there with the phone cord. She dropped it on the ground and grabbed Anna’s hand pulling her up.

     “Trust me, Anna; no man is worth giving up your life for. He will hurt you!”

     “Jedidiah is different, mom. I know he is.”

     “He is only going to hurt you. Trust me. Come with me and I’ll protect you.”

     Anna let out a sob. “From what?”

     “From pain, from hurt, from tears. I’ll give you happiness. I’ll give you something no one ever gave me. That is hope. I need you in my life. Your father has excluded me and if you leave me too, I’ll die.”

     Anna stared at her mother’s shriveled face and she felt her heart dying. She reached out and held her mother in her arms. How could she leave her own mother? Her mother needed her. She thought of Jedidiah, who was probably on his way over here as she thought. She needed to get out of here before he saw her. She pushed her mother back and brushed her tears.

     “Let’s go, mother. Let’s get out of here.”

     Anna turned to her room, threw her clothes in a suitcase, and rushed down the stairs with her mother. She could hear her heart pounding against her chest and hoped it wouldn’t explode. Thoughts of Jedidiah raced through her mind and she hoped he wouldn’t arrive in time to see her leave. She was afraid that if he showed up, she might not have the courage to go. She’d stay with him because one look at him and she would cave.

     Her mother got her things into the car and she threw her suitcase in the trunk. As she got into the passenger side, her mother came in and backed the car out of the garage. As the car hit the street, Jedidiah’s car came into view. Anna’s heart sank as he parked the car in front of her mother’s.

     “Move your car!” Patti yelled.

     Jedidiah got out of the car and came forward. “Mrs. Ryder, you can’t take Anna away from me. I love her!”

     “She’s my daughter and she goes where I go.”

     Anna felt tears slipping down her cheeks. She was biting her lip to keep from crying out loud. Jedidiah looked from her mother to her and he put his hands up, surrendering. She let out a sob as her mother put the car in park and got out.

     “Get out of here. You will ruin Anna! Love ruins people!” Patti cried.

     “Please, just hear me out. I love her! She’s like the air I breathe. Without her, I can’t live. I know that you think love will hurt you, and sometimes it does, but you can’t use your own mistake to hold your daughter back. It’s not right.”

      “Get out of here if you love her. She’s not ready to start her life with you. She belongs with me where I can keep her safe.”

     “Safe from what? From life?”

     “From the world!”

     “You can’t do that to someone. You have to let her go and find herself. It’s a prison if you do that.”

     “Get out of here!”

     “Please!”

     “Get out of here!”

     “I love him!” Anna shouted.

     She got out of the car and ran to him. She threw her arms around him and looked at her mother. “Mom, I’m so sorry. But I can’t go with you.”

     Her mother reached for her and pulled her away from Jedidiah. She grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Wake up from this dream! No man can love you like you want to. They live only to hurt you. Trust me, I know. Your own father has kept me prisoner for years. Don’t let someone own you. Come with me.”

     Anna began to cry. “But I love him.”

     “I know you do and it’s ok. You’ll get over him.”

     “Don’t listen to your mother, Anna! She’s trying to separate us. She’s had it hard in love and so she thinks everyone is like that. But it’s not true. You know I love you. You know my love is sincere. Have you forgotten everything I’ve given to you? The moments we’ve shared together? Have you forgotten everything already?”

     Anna swallowed hard and looked at her mother’s tear filled eyes to Jedidiah’s handsome face. She thought of how she felt with each person and she tried to pull her hands away from her mother. He saw it and tried to reach for her when her mother pushed him away. She shoved Anna into the car and threw it into drive. She let out a cry as she saw Jedidiah run after the car. She screamed for his name until the thunder took away the words from her lips.

12 Years Later

     Jedidiah dropped the cap of the beer bottle into the trash bin and sighed heavily as he looked up at the pale moon. He was sitting on his Ford pick-up bed after a long night of dealing with angry clients. He still couldn’t figure it out how all the mix up happened. As the owner of a five star hotel, it wasn’t easy when someone messed up and put a special guest in a regular room instead of a VIP. It cost him a few tickets to the Yankees game and a few thousand dollars short in the bank. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He needed to get his hair cut. He gulped down the beer and felt it release the tension in his neck as the alcohol filled his body. But it wasn’t ever enough. Alcohol was never enough to relieve the things in his mind. The thoughts in his mind killed him slowly daily and when he was alone like this, it tortured him until he couldn’t take it anymore.

     Anna. Sweet Anna who he loved so dearly and so tenderly still lingered in him and her kisses, he could still taste. She was always there in the back of his mind. No matter what, he couldn’t seem to let her go. Their romance was something that ate at his heart and it made him hunger for her.

     Try as he might, he never found her. He asked for help from her father, but he had no clue where his wife and daughter had gone. He tried to get information from Meena, but he came up blank. He spent three years waiting and hoping that she would come back. But she never did. He finally gave up and tried to move on with his life. He went to college and invested in a small business that made a fortune and he turned it around into something even bigger until he hit his first million by the age of twenty-six. By then, his father had turned his life around, married a wonderful woman of his age, and settled down in Florida. Everything was going great except for the fact that at night when he was alone, past promises seemed to gnaw at his heart until he became numb.

     Like right now. The moon was teasing him with memories of how he used to hold Anna in his arms and how they spent hours kissing. He looked away and threw his half full bottle on the ground. He rubbed his face and took a deep breath. He felt the vibration of his phone inside his pocket and reached for it.

     “Hello.”

     “Jedidiah, it’s Kelly,” his step mother’s voice came on.

     He smiled. “Hi Kelly.”

     “We’re in town. Are you free to meet up for dinner?”

     He looked at his watch. It was still early. “Sure. Where are you right now?”

     “We’ve just arrived at the airport. Why don’t you meet us at Keys?”

    

     Jedidiah found them sitting together in a booth. They were laughing at something and he enjoyed seeing them. His father had aged over the years, but kindly. He had gone through a hard time when his mother had passed, but he found something in Kelly that saved him. Kelly came in like a knight in shining armor and picked him up from the sidelines, dusted him off, and kept him bright forever.

     Kelly Jones was the same age as his father was, married once to a man who loved her completely and deeply and then passed away. She since then hadn’t been able to find anyone like him until she met his father. He was glad because together, they were a fine couple. She had long blonde hair that she kept in a braid down her back and deep blue eyes that he found his father staring into.

     “Dad,” he said as he joined them.

     They finally broke apart and his father hugged him. Then Kelly took him into her arms. He sat down across from them smiling as they held hands again.

     “How have you been?” Kelly asked.

     Jedidiah smiled and leaned back in his chair. “I’m doing well. I wished you had told me you were coming earlier. I’d have prepared dinner at home for you guys.”

     Bill waved his hand. “You’re busy, Jed. This time of year is always busy for you. Don’t worry. We’ve got the keys to your house anyways, so we could have come there if we wanted to. But we’re here on a short visit and didn’t want to bother you. We’ll be leaving tomorrow at eight in the morning. A dinner will do just fine.”

     He smiled. “You guys look great.”

     Kelly beamed. “So do you! I swear you get more handsome every time I see you.”

     He laughed. “Stop, Kelly, you’re making me blush. You’re the only woman in the world who can do that.”

     Kelly laughed and reached over to pinch his cheek. “You’re making an old woman feel good.”

     Jedidiah smiled, caught her hand, and kissed the knuckle. “You’re the best woman.”

     After dinner with his parents, he came home to an empty house. He undressed and left a trail on the ground. Then he dropped on the bed and shut his eyes.