Always Been You (2 page)

“Jenna?”

Completely lost in my reminiscing, I only became conscious I was staring blankly at Jacob when I gradually noticed his moving lips and his hand waving in front of my nose.

“Sorry, Jacob, what were you saying?” I said, coming out of my daze.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked, gathering me into an embrace. “You sort of blanked out for a second.”

“Just thinking about things,” I said, returning his hug.

“Was it about Ethan?” he said, sounding concerned.

“No, it wasn’t about Ethan,” I said. “Hey, it looks like you’ve grown a lot. Were you working out the whole time during your trip so you could impress the Australian girls?”

“No, I did not work out. Besides visiting family in Melbourne, I just went for a jog every morning and only got a tan.”

“You’ve gotten more than a tan,” I said, pointing at his arms and legs as I took the bag from his shoulder. “Your muscles seem much bigger since the last time I saw you.”

“Are you only saying this to be nice?”

“Honest, you look great. However, you do know the girls at school are going to be tripping over each other just to get at you now.”

“Did you really have to tell me that?” he sighed.

“Would you have preferred it if I didn’t warn you beforehand and just let the girls show you how much they like your new body?” I grinned.

“No, this way is definitely better,” he said.

“And who is this?”

Upon hearing the feminine voice, I swivelled around to find a gorgeous girl looking at us with a smirk on her heart-shaped face.

“Ash, this is Jenna Chow,” said Jacob. “Jenna, this is my sister, Ashley. She finally has some time off from school and has decided to stay with us for a bit.”

“So you’re the infamous Jenna,” she grinned at me. “I’m finally glad to meet the girl our mom’s been talking about. I must say you really are a good choice.”

“And what has mom been saying to you?” said Jacob.

“If you want to know, you’ll have to ask her yourself,” she giggled. “So, Jenna, how did my brother convince you to be the unlucky one to pick us up today?”

“I think he made sure your mom was in the vicinity when he asked me to,” I said. “He knows I can’t say no to her.”

“Who would’ve thought my little brother has brains in that huge head of his,” she grinned, playfully ruffling his hair.

“Where are mom and dad anyway?” asked Jacob, ignoring his sister’s jab as he pushed her hand away. “I thought they were right behind us.”

“They got held up with their luggage,” she explained. “Oh, look, there they are now.”

Over an hour later, we finally made it back to the North Shore and into West Vancouver. No matter how many times I’ve been over to Jacob’s, I still get awed with the place. As I pulled into the huge limestone driveway, their estate made my mom’s CR-V
look like a red speck of dust.

Their gigantic, gated waterfront house had twenty-foot ceilings and walls made out of glass. The furnishings inside the house were a mixture of custom-made rock fireplaces, cherry wood cabinets and floors, Italian furniture, and plush area rugs. There was even a custom-designed 400 gallon salt water aquarium that was built into the wall by the foyer.

The kitchen, which was a chef’s dream, had stainless steel appliances, a gas stove, marble top counter, and two movable islands. A grand staircase in the middle of the house with glass railings provided a panoramic ocean view of the inner harbour from each of the three floors. Down in the basement was a sauna room, an exercise gym, a poolside lounge, Jacob’s dad’s office, and a huge media room. The media room had top-of-the-line entertainment equipment, surround sound speakers, and a huge flat-screen TV that covered almost half the wall. When you head out any of the glass doors from the lounge, the media room, or Jacob’s dad’s den, they all opened up to the patio that was surrounded by a glass fence. There was a barbecue centre to the right, a pool in the middle, a hot tub to the left, and a pathway leading you onto the beach.

While Jacob lugged his suitcase to his room on the west side of the top floor, I joined his mom in their brightly lit kitchen to help her with dinner, and we began talking like we usually do. Some days we talked about her work as a nurse at the local hospital, or about how grateful she was of me for helping out Jacob in school. Other days we would talk about the girls Jacob’s dated, all of whom she’s never really approved since she always thought most were either too conceited, or that they probably only liked him for his looks. But when I thought she was going to talk about his current girlfriend, Amber, our conversation took on a different turn. It even took all my will power not to blush when I finally found out what Ashley had meant.

Their mom had this harboured secret of wanting Jacob to break up with Amber, so he could go out with me. She always thought I was the only one good enough for her baby boy. In her honest opinion, I was a well-mannered Chinese girl, who was brought up the proper way like her. I was taught to never be rude to elders, to offer help without needing to be asked, and to always be polite and considerate to others.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to her confession, even when she began to cry. However, just as I was about to console her, Jacob walked in.

All throughout dinner, Jacob kept shooting the both of us questionable looks. I knew he was itching to ask why his mom was sobbing in my arms. I couldn’t tell him, not when it could embarrass his mom. Unfortunately, he was too intrigued. And since Ashley had left to hang out with some of her old high school friends, I was the only one he could bug. He even refused to let me go home, unless I told him what his mom had said. I was only allowed to leave when his mom appeared in the living room and began yelling at him for keeping me out so late.

Dawn broke early and bright the next morning, and I literally had to drag myself out of bed just to be on time for school. I was so tired, even if I had a pack of wild dogs chasing me down the street it still wouldn’t make me move any faster.

When I eventually made it to West Vancouver Secondary, I then bumped into my bubbly, sandy-blonde, brown-eyed friend, Nikki Evans, who couldn’t understand why I looked so groggy, crossing the main field near the track. According to her, I should be feeling more excited about our first day of senior year than wanting to crawl back into bed. But instead of letting her know that half of the reason I was sleepy had to do with leaving Jacob’s house around midnight, and the other half was laying in bed thinking about what Jacob’s mom had said to me, I decided to keep my mouth shut and just continue walking. I still couldn’t believe that both his parents approve of me, just as much as my parents love Jacob.

My dad, a short plastic surgeon with a decreasing amount of hair on the top of his head, never really minded who I dated as long as I liked him. But the guy he really favoured and trusted the most to take care of his only child was Jacob. Even after a hectic day at work, my dad always found time to spend it with Jacob whenever Jacob came over to our house.

My mom was completely opposite from my dad. She’s also kind and considerate, but even though she’s very petite, she isn’t someone you would want to cross. Sometimes when she questions me, I feel like I’m one of those guilty convicts on the stand.

Since she was there when I had cried my eyes out over Jacob in the tenth grade, she always became wary, whenever I was interested in a guy. When Jacob came over the first time to my house, only because he was my Chemistry partner, she became hesitant and had been afraid that I would get hurt again. He was only allowed into the house when I had pulled her into the kitchen to reassure her that I was over my crush on him, and that we were just friends. Once she got to know the real Jacob, she actually liked him so much that she even told me if she had to choose the lucky man in my life, only a certain guy with the last name of Bennett would do. Come to think of it, she always found some subtle imperfection in each of the very few guys I had gone out with. If I brought over someone who wasn’t Jacob, she would accept my choice, but then patiently wait until something goes wrong before pointing out how wonderful Jacob would have been.

“Earth to Jenna?”

I let out a huge sigh, broke away from my trance, and was surprised to see Jacob seated beside me on the bleachers. As he stared questioningly at my face, I then took in my surroundings and became aware that I wasn’t standing with Nikki on the field. I guess I was too caught up with my thoughts, I didn’t realise I had aimlessly wandered into the North Campus’ gym.

“Oh, sorry, Jacob,” I sighed. “I wandered off again, didn’t I?”

“It was the same look you had at the airport,” he said. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

“I’m sure,” I reassured him. “Hey, have any of the girls seen you yet?”

“I got here early and came straight to the gym. Why?”

“Then you better remember to cover up those huge bumps on your arms if you don’t want any of them to jump you.”

“You mean this arm?” He lifted his left arm and flexed it in front of my face.

“I guess I was wrong about you being buff,” I said, rolling my eyes as I pushed his arm away. “You’re still a bit flabby.”

“Funny,” he said wryly.

“So why isn’t Amber here protecting her property?”

“I am not someone’s property,” he huffed at me.

“Okay, then how come Amber’s not here protecting her boyfriend?” I laughed.

“Amber and I broke up.”

I thought he was joking, but once I saw his expression, I quickly clamped my mouth shut. “Sorry. When did this happen?”

“Right before I left for Australia,” he explained. “I was thinking of telling you yesterday, but we were having too much fun, I completely forgot about it.”

“You keeping me hostage last night was not fun,” I grumbled. “I’m still feeling the side effects from sleep deprivation because of you.”

“Hey, I should be the one lacking the sleep. I did just come back from the other side of the world.”

“It shouldn’t make a difference. You’re such a night owl.”

“And yet you still won’t tell me what my mom said to you, will you?”

“Like your sister said, if you want to find out, you’re going to have to ask your mom yourself,” I grinned. “Now, what were you saying before I interrupted?”

“As I was saying,” he said, giving me a pointed look. “I’m telling you now because you’ve helped me a lot in dealing with her. I figured you might want to be the first to know before it ends up all over the school. Speaking of relationships, I just realised that I kept you from seeing Ethan last night. He’s probably disappointed he didn’t get to see you before school started.”

“You don’t have to worry about what Ethan thinks anymore,” I said disgustedly. “We broke up about a week ago too.”

“Judging by your tone, I take it didn’t end well, did it?”

“No, it didn’t,” I muttered, turning my gaze towards the guys playing basketball on the gym floor.

“What happened?”

Before I could answer him, we were suddenly interrupted by the sounds of both of our names being called. Amy, who had appeared in the gym, was making her way towards me, while one of Jacob’s annoying friends hollered at Jacob to get back and finish with their pick-up basketball game.

“I guess we’ll just have to talk later,” sighed Jacob.

“I guess so.” I got up to leave, but Jacob quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me back down on to the bleachers.

“Hey, don’t say anything about what I told you to Amy or anyone else,” he said. “I know she’s going to ask you, but I really don’t want anyone to know right now. If she does get on your nerves, then just tell her to ask me about it.”

“Are you sure you really want Amy bugging you?”

“Not really, but then you probably don’t want her bugging you either.”

“No, but she also let’s things go after a couple of hours, unlike someone I know,” I smirked. “At least I got to see you cowering behind me while your mom lectured you last night for keeping me out so late.”

Jacob just smiled and prodded my stomach.

“Jacob, are you coming or not?” yelled his friend.

“Coming!” he yelled back. “I’ll talk to you later, Jenna.”

“Later.”

As I watched Jacob walk away, I then turned my head in the direction of my other friend and smiled.

People always joked around, telling me that Amy could pass as my twin by the similar ways we act. The only thing which makes their reasoning unbelievable is the fact that we are not even the same ethnicity. While I am Chinese, Amy, who is taller than me by two inches, is a British beauty. The hairs on both of our heads grew past our shoulders, but while hers is naturally curly and brown, mine is straight and raven-coloured. We both have brown eyes; except mine are so dark people think they are actually black. We both have natural, full pink lips, but Amy has a curvy hourglass figure that makes every guy go weak in the knees, whenever she walks into a room. Even though Amy thinks my boobs are perky, I think I am somewhat built like a boy. I have straight legs and a waist that almost blends both halves of my body together.

Both of us are stubborn, kind-hearted and strong-willed, except I am a bit insecure about myself—but which teenage girl isn’t—have a sarcastic wit when someone challenges me, and I always tend to overanalyse situations. Amy, whom I’ve known since private school, is defiant, persistent, inquisitive, and very level-headed about many things.

“And what were you two talking about?” she prompted, her brown eyes flickering between me and Jacob.

“Nothing important,” I said.

“Oh, come on, Jen,” she pleaded, grabbing her curly brown tresses in a bun.

“Not a chance, Ames. Now let’s get going before we’re late for homeroom.”

People we passed along the hallway and up the stairs kept staring at us. I swore some were following close enough to eavesdrop since Amy’s constant string of questions was only about Jacob. They appeared to look eager and couldn’t resist trying to listen in to our conversation. They only backed off once we entered into the chemistry lab that was our homeroom.