Free Paradisal Tragedy by Ada Marie

Chinese,” Annabella replied, knowing that she was nowhere ready to go home.
    Travis smiled, he was glad she accepted, because the more time he spent with her the more he felt for her. He knew this was going to be the start of something wonderful.

Seven

    Annabella stood at the front door of her house after her night with Travis. It was amazing how much he made her feel. When she was with Travis, she felt like good things were possible, but the feeling never lasted when they were apart.
    Standing at the door, she knew on the other side she was going to be faced with a mob of anti-Annabella. When she opened the door, she found an empty room. It was eleven at night, and she was just now getting home. She had a good evening with Travis and his mom. She took an instant liking to Casey, and for the first time she felt envious of him.
    Sure, she loved her parents, but in some ways they could be smothering. The truth was she was happy to be around two people who weren’t telling her what she needed to be doing, how much she’d changed, or how much they missed who she used to be. With them she could just pretend that everything in the world was right, even though it was the furthest thing from the truth.
    As she stepped into the kitchen, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw a text from Travis.

    [Travis:] Just checking to make sure you got home okay.
    [Annabella:] I’m home. Thanks for tonight.
    [Travis:] You got it. Don’t forget tomorrow. This time, I’ll be picking you up. Be there at around noon.
    [Annabella:] I can drive myself. It’s really not a big deal.
    [Travis:] I won’t take no for an answer.
    [Annabella:] Oh, fine Mr. Hotshot.

    She put her phone away when she noticed she was being watched by Matt. He was staring at her, standing there in his pajama pants and a white T-shirt.
    “You scared me, Matt. What are you doing?” Annabella asked, her smile fading.
    “Have you been with Travis all this time?” Matt asked in a disapproving tone.
    “Yes,” she said with a hint of a smile.
    “Do you have feelings for him?” Matt asked, sitting next to her at the counter.
    “Travis is just a friend, Matt, I barely know him. He is a good guy, but he’s only a friend,” Annabella assured him, not wanting to hurt him any more than she already had.
    “Why won’t you give us another chance?” Matt wondered as he scooted closer to her. Her heart began to race in panic, she didn’t want to be this close to anyone.
    “I just can’t, Matt. What we had was nice while it lasted, but I don’t love you. I can’t love you, or anyone else,” Annabella told him sadly. The last thing she ever wanted was to hurt him.
    “Why? Why are you so distant now? It’s like you’ve become someone else, and I’m not going to be like Aubrey and tell you I don’t like the person you are, because I’ll love you no matter who you are, but the person you’re becoming scares the hell out of me,” Matt admitted to the girl he loved.
    “I’m sorry Matt. You can’t choose who you become. Things happen, and people change and the thing is, you can’t control it. I’m not the girl I was those months ago, and I’m sorry if that’s not what you want to hear, but she’s gone,” Annabella told him confidently. She wished for the other girl to come back, but the reality was, she was gone.
    “We can’t be over though, not after everything I did to finally get you to give me a chance. Don’t you think you owe that to me?”
    “I owe you a lot, Matt, but you can’t put that on me. I refuse to lead you on. I’m being honest here,” she explained, letting out a big sigh. “Matt, I’m not worth this, you don’t know me anymore, and you don’t love me. You think you do, but I’m not worthy of your love. And you deserve someone who will treat you as well as you deserve.” And it was true. All the time that he was wasting on her was more time spent where he needed to move on.
    “Bella, I can’t move on from