Gravity (Free Falling) (47 page)

At 5:45pm
, the door opened slowly and AJ crept inside with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.  He was dressed in an all black suit with an ocean blue shirt and matching tie.  My face lit up when I laid eyes on him.  Even after nearly eight months, he was still like a breath of fresh air to me.

             
“I’m glad you’re back,” I said softly.

             
“That makes two of us.  How’re you feeling?”

             
“Better than I look,” I replied.  He looked at me curiously, and then realized from my expression that I’d snuck a peek at my face.

             
“If you’d waited another week or so, it would’ve had more time to heal.”

             
“A week or so?  Are we talking about the same face?  I look like that little girl from the
Exorcist
!  Hair and all!”

He tried not to laugh, but it slipped out.  “Well
, you still look good to me,” he replied mocking Antonio from the other day.

             
“Shut up.”  I looked at the duffle bag questioningly.  “What’s in there?”

             
“Just a change of clothes.  I wanted to come straight here, so I brought my stuff with me.”

             
“Awww……isn’t that sweet?” I replied jokingly.

He smiled.
“Whatever.  Be back in a sec.”  I watched him as he turned to head for the bathroom down the hall.  My parents returned before he made it back.

             
“Have you heard from AJ yet?”  Daddy asked. 

I was a little shocked that he cared.
  “Yeah, he’s here already.  He just went to the bathroom to change out of his suit.”

Daddy looked thoughtful for a mome
nt.  “I was wrong about him,” he said as he shook his head from side to side, scolding himself.  “That boy’s been here for you just as much as we have.”

Mom looked at me and smiled.
  “He really loves you.”

             
“I know he does, and I feel the same way about him,” I replied.  Daddy continued to think to himself.

AJ
walked back into the room at that moment, dressed in jeans and a plain white t-shirt.  All eyes were on him and he seemed to be surprised.

             
“We were just talking about you,” my mother said cheerfully.

He smiled in response.  “Something good I hope.” 

She moved toward him and touched his arm.  “Of course.  We were just telling Samantha how much we appreciate you being here for her the way you have.  That means a lot…..to
all
of us.  Thank you.” 

He smiled at her appreciatively. 
“You don’t have to thank me.”  The smile on his face faded a little as he stared at me.  “There isn’t
anything
I wouldn’t do for her.”

Chapter
Nineteen

It must’
ve been 90 degrees outside, the hottest day of August thus far.  Inside, mom had the air conditioner on making it about twenty degrees cooler.  AJ and I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as we walked through the door.  We’d spent most of the day out in the heat shopping - getting a few things that we needed to survive campus life and for our trip to New York.  I wanted to buy a new comforter and a couple sheet sets for my bed because I’d be going from a queen to a twin, and there were a few other random items on my list.  AJ insisted on buying matching laptops to make communicating with one another easier while we were apart, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.  We were both leaving for school in only two short days and we were secretly meeting back up in New York the day after that. 

Mom invited
AJ to stay for dinner since he was already coming by to help me finish packing up my things.  We could smell the food as soon as we walked in.

             
“We’re back,” I called out to my mother in the kitchen.

She walked into the foyer
to greet us.  “Looks like you two had fun.”  She looked at all the bags AJ was carrying.

             
“Yeah.  I guess so,” I replied unenthusiastically.

             
“What’s wrong?”  She asked, noticing that I wasn’t as excited she expected.

             
“Just dreading this move,” I replied softly.

“Oh, you’ll be fine. 
Besides, you two will have each other.  It’ll be fun.”  I saw tears welling up in her eyes and she quickly turned and pretended to be checking on dinner.

             
“That’s two times just today!”  I whispered to AJ.  In the past two weeks I’d seen my mother cry more than all of my eighteen years combined.  He smiled and grabbed the one bag he’d allowed me to carry. 

“Where do you want these?”  He asked.  I pointed him in the direction of my room. 
AJ, being paranoid about my health, insisted on treating me like a baby even though I was healed from the accident.  It had been almost twelve weeks and even the marks on my face were almost completely gone.  Most people didn’t notice them at all, but the doctor assured me that in a few more months the scars would lighten and they’d virtually disappear.

             
I joined mom in the kitchen and grabbed the plates and silverware to set the table.  Ten minutes later she sent me to Daddy’s study to get him for dinner.  After we ate, AJ and I retreated to my room – leaving the door open of course – armed with boxes and tape.

             
“Ok, where do you want me to start?”  He asked.

             
“Mmmm…..Can you box up my CD’s and DVD’s?” 

He smiled.  “That’s not as exciti
ng as doing your panty drawer, but hey, whatever I can do to help.”

             
I rolled my eyes.  “You’re so
nasty
!  I honestly don’t know why I even talk to you,” I joked.

             
“That’s
exactly
why you talk to me.”

             
“Shut up!  My parents are gonna hear you!”  I said, fighting back a laugh.

             
“We can’t do it, and
now
I can’t talk about it either?  That’s not even fair.  Do you realize it’s been like five months?  You’re
killing
me,” he complained.

             
“It hasn’t been easy for me either, but I think we’re doing good though,” I said while shoving all of my books into one of the boxes.  “Don’t you agree?” 

             
“Whatever,” he replied.

I threw one of my pillows at his head.  “I
said,
don’t you agree that we’re doing good?”

He laughed.  “I guess if that’s what you consider
‘doing good’?” 

I sig
hed, pretending to be mad.  He called me a brat under his breath, still smiling as he sealed up his box.  After a few seconds of silence from me he walked over to where I sat, pulled me to my feet and hugged me. 

             
“Move before my mom comes in here and thinks you’re taking advantage of me again.”  I pushed him playfully.

He backed away from me
willingly, not wanting a repeat of the attic episode.  “I’m wearing you down,” he said confidently as he walked over to finish my CD’s.

We were finished in a short two hours.  My room looked eerily
empty - it felt strange and unfamiliar to me.  “I’m scared,” I admitted.

             
“That’s just because it’s something new, but you’ll be fine.  Plus, Karl and Deanna are gonna look out for you until I get there.”

             
“Five months just seems so long.  I don’t even know how we’re going to see each other.” 

             
“I’ll be there.  Don’t worry about that.”

We were startled by M
om’s voice beckoning us from downstairs.  “Are you two finished yet?”  She asked.

             
“We are now,” I replied.

“Well, why do
n’t you guys join us down here?”

I glanced over at
AJ before responding.  “Sure.  One sec.”

My father was
seated in the living room waiting for us.  He smiled warmly when AJ and I walked in and sat side by side on the couch.  It was so unbelievable that things had changed this much.  It wasn’t long ago that my father was trying to separate me from AJ, and now he was starting to grow fond of him.

             
“So, AJ when do you make the transfer from Westwood to Charleston?”  Daddy asked.

             
“January, at the beginning of the semester.”

“What field of study are you majoring in?”  Daddy inquired.  I glanced over at
AJ to see if the questions were making him nervous, but he stayed calm and spoke confidently.

             
“I’m dual majoring in Business and Communication.” 

Daddy cocked his head to the side.  “That’s a pretty general area of study.  You can do a lot with a degree in both of those fields.  What career path are you planning to take?”

              “Well, my family’s in the construction business.  Have you ever heard of Arata Building Company or A.B.C.?”  AJ asked.

             
“Of course.  Who hasn’t,” Daddy replied.

“Well,
My grandfather Jun came here to the States over fifty years ago and started the company with whatever was left of his life savings after traveling to America.  My grandmother, Misaki, helped him build the company from the ground up and for the past two years it’s grossed over a billion dollars in profits.  My father’s the Chief Executive Officer for now, but once I finish school and he trains me for a couple years, he’s passing the torch to me so he can retire.”

Daddy stared at
AJ for a few seconds and then smiled.  “C.E.O. of Arata Building Company,” he said to himself as his smile grew.  “Sounds like you have a bright future ahead of you.”

AJ
smiled back.

Mom entere
d carrying a tray with drinks for everyone.  She passed them out and sat in one of the arm chairs. 

             
“Oh, Samantha honey.  I forgot to tell you that Dr. Harp called to say that he transferred your medical records to the doctor you chose near school.  He wanted me to remind you to schedule the last CT scan as soon as possible.  He just wants to make sure that everything’s alright.” 

             
“Ok. I’ll call first chance I get.” 

As she thought of the
accident, Mom closed her eyes and shook her head.  “I’m glad that after this last appointment this whole thing will be over and done with.  I hated seeing you go through that.”  From the corner of my eye I saw AJ glance down.  “Why didn’t anyone see that this Leila girl had issues and do something about it?  Didn’t her parents notice?”  She asked.

I started to answer, but surprisingly
AJ spoke up.  “Her mother passed away a few years ago and she had a really hard time.   Her father was in denial that anything was wrong, and plus he was too lost in his own hurt from losing his wife to notice that Leila was having problems.”

             
“I’m still trying to understand why she did this.  It doesn’t make sense that someone would hate someone so much that they’d do a thing like this.  Did you date this girl?”  Mom asked.  I was embarrassed by her forthrightness.

             
“
Mom!
”  I scoffed.

She became defensive.  “What?  It was just a question.  If he doesn’t want to answer, he doesn’t have to answer.”

AJ laughed at my short quarrel with my mother.  “It’s fine, really.  I don’t have anything to hide.”  He cleared his throat before speaking.  “Yes, we were together for a little while, but she started acting strange and I tried to back away.   She didn’t like that too much and that’s when she started following
me
.  I ignored her for the most part because she hadn’t done anything too drastic, but then when Sam came into the picture Leila kicked it into overdrive.  I tried going to her house and talking to her father before she went too far and tried to hurt Sam, but he blew me off.  But I hope you understand that I did everything I knew to do to protect Sam.”

Daddy was obviously pleased t
o hear that AJ had stood up to Leila’s father in my defense.  He was learning new things about AJ and I could see in his eyes that he had now completely knocked down the walls that were built up between them. 

We sat there talking like
this until after two in the morning.    My parents seemed to enjoy hanging out with AJ and I as much as we enjoyed them.  Daddy locked up as Mom straightened the living room before they went up to bed.  They said goodbye to AJ and retreated to their room.  I watched him pace toward his car, and I found myself missing him even before he was out of sight. 

*****

The next morning, mom woke me up at five minutes to eight.  She’d planned a big day for us.  She made nail, hair and massage appointments.  We had reservations at a restaurant near the spa for lunch too.  I rubbed my eyes sleepily, threw my covers to the floor and dragged myself to the bathroom to shower.  That woke me up a little, but I still dozed off once while I was eating my cereal.  The long night had me feeling a little disconnected, but mom was alert and chipper –
annoyingly
chipper. “Come on honey.  We’ll be late,” she said.  I followed her to the car unwillingly, trying to muster up some excitement, but it was useless.

Six hours and one bad hairstyle later, we returned home.  I
couldn’t wait to get to my room to fix the mess of curls that were fluffed out all over my head.  I stared into the mirror at the poodle-like do.  The only thing missing was the tiny bow in the front.  I grabbed my comb and raked it through my hair – breaking a few of the teeth out of it as I pulled it.  I heard the front door open downstairs and Daddy was talking to someone but I couldn’t make out the other voice.  I peeked out my door and down into the foyer, but Daddy and whoever the visitor was, were no longer standing there.  After I turned and walked back to my bedroom, Mom called me down to the living room.  My hair still wasn’t cooperating, so I pulled it up into a messy puff ball on top of my head and gave up with a sigh.  I tossed the comb back onto my dresser and traipsed down the stairs.

I rounded the corner to the living room to find Mom, Dad, and
AJ standing there.  AJ was smiling at me as soon as I entered. 

             
“What’s going on?”  I asked suspiciously.

Mom didn’t say anything as she moved toward me smiling.  She covered my eyes and led me
out the front door.  AJ grabbed my hand and helped me down the walkway and when we came to a stop, mom uncovered my eyes. 

My vision was a little blurry at first, but it didn’t take me long to realize what they’d done. 
“Surprise!”  Mom screamed.

             
“I love it!”  I yelled.  It was a brand new car – a sleek red convertible. 

             
“Your father and I were planning to get it for you as a graduation present, but it became a necessity after the old one got totaled.  AJ met Daddy here and hid his car in the garage after you and I left this morning.”  She was so proud that she’d pulled this off without me having any idea what was going on. 

I hugged her tig
htly around her neck.  “Thanks, Mom.  It’s perfect.”  I ran over to Daddy and hugged and kissed him too.  They went back inside and left AJ and I outside to take the car for a test drive.  I hadn’t been behind the wheel since my accident, so I was admittedly a little nervous. 

The
engine barely made a sound as I started it up and gripped the wheel tightly.  When I didn’t move for a few seconds AJ realized that I was hesitant.  “If you’re not ready, no one’s forcing you to do this.  It may take some time.”  He said reassuringly.