Annaka by Andre Fenton

Author:Andre Fenton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nimbus
Published: 2020-07-27T14:43:13+00:00

Chapter 11

I drove home filled with regret. Why did I keep pushing everyone away? Clay didn’t deserve that, and honestly? Maybe I was a little hard on Mom too. I kept wondering if there was anything I could have done differently with Clay…I knew I couldn’t have taken him to Halifax when we left; he would’ve been seen or caught. So instead he spent his time in Yarmouth, waiting. I thought about him watching all of our memories like the reruns of a sitcom. Just like I did when Mom was away. Over and over and over again. It didn’t sit well with me. No wonder he was hesitant to let me back into his world. He held the same resentment towards me that I held towards my mom. I wanted him to be more than a character in my story. He deserved more than that.

I could see Mom in the backyard smoking a cigarette when I pulled up. I managed to sneak inside by going through the side door. I tried to get upstairs, but a voice called me down.

“Young lady!” It was directed at me. “Young lady, get off the steps and come see me.”

It was Nan’s voice. I could have ignored her, but something made me pause and turn around. She was sitting in the living room on a rocking chair. I sat down on the sofa, not really sure what to say. She smiled at me and said, “I see you around. What’s your name?” She seemed genuinely curious.

So many emotions filled me: anxiousness, fear, sadness. She had no memory left of the times we sat in this very same room, watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. She helped me grow into the person I am, and yet here she was, asking me what my name was.

“My name is Anna,” I said quietly.

“Anna is a pretty name. You from around these parts?”

I didn’t want to confuse her, and I knew if I told her I was from Yarmouth she would ask for a backstory, and who my people were. It hurt to lie, but I said, “I’m from Halifax.”

“Halifax? My daughter wants to move there. She was always the artistic one of the family.” Nan leaned over and gave me a look. “But between you and me, I’d be heartbroken if she left us. I want her close.” She sat back in her chair again and said, “If you have family, Anna, stay close to them. Because at the end of the day, that’s all we’ve really got. When the rest of the world falls apart, they will be the only ones who will pick you back up.”

I instantly thought about Clay. He had picked me up, even after I left him behind. When he saw me panicking he gave me a place to rest, and after my fight with Mom, he was the first person to let me vent. I thought about that night we both sat in the truck and he held on to me as I bawled.

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