Chapter 5

When dawn came calling, Tuesday morning, Timothy got out of bed and head straight for the kitchen, fixing breakfast for himself and his darling Annie who was still asleep in bed at the time. He certainly, didn't want to disturb her, just yet, knowing that she had a busy day at work the day before and was up keeping his company early in the night, after she had returned from work. But, he had every intention of seeing her and bringing her breakfast to her room before leaving out for work that morning.

Just after having his morning meal, Timothy immediately headed for the shower standing under it for a brief moment trying to wash away any sleepy sensation that was still lingering in his body. Feeling revived, he then went to his room, got himself dressed and ready for work. Soon he was dashing to the kitchen to get Annie's try and bring it to her.

Opening the bedroom door he could tell that she was still sleeping and decided to place the try beside her on the bed. Further, placing one of the pillows in between her and the try; so she wouldn't push it to the floor when she awoke and began stretching her limbs.

Moments later, Timothy was writing a note to tell Annie, telling her that he loved her, he hoped she will enjoy her breakfast, and she should have a great day; and he will call her as soon as he arrived at work. Gently, he place the note on her breakfast try beside her and softly kissed her on the forehead. But, the heat from his breath breathing down on her and the touch from his lips had jolted her from her sleep. Her eyes were now open and widely staring up at him.

"Good morning, my sweet muffin!"

Timothy excitingly exclaimed.

"Good morning, handsome!"

She replied.

Seeing her twisting and turning, and trying to bring back her mind to reality, gave Timothy the tickles, and he began looking down at her and chuckling with amusement.

"You breakfast is on the try beside you, so please eat it, and don't knock it to the floor, or else, you are going to be starving all day!"

Timothy said jokingly.

Looking down on his watch seeing how many minutes he had to spare, Timothy sat on the side of the bed, and began brushing Annie's hair backwards from her face while enquiring if she had slept well.

"I really had a wonderful night's sleep!"

Annie responded, as she held onto Timothy's hand and began rubbing it back and forth sensually; wanting him to always remember her sensual touch while he was busy at work caring for patients, and working against some young nurse who might want to seduce him away from her.

However, time was of the essence - Timothy needed to be on his way now, or else, the massive morning traffic wouldn't allow him to get to work in time to carry out his duties or release his collogues from their night shift.

"Honey, I have to run now, or else I'm going to be late for work! I will try and check on you and bring you lunch later in the today! I'll be leaving the front door unlocked but shut; just in case I can't make it here, and have to send someone to deliver you; your lunch!"

Timothy informed her.

"No Tim, please don't do that... don't bring me lunch or send anyone here with lunch for me! I have some snacks in my travelling back that can keep me going until you return home from work and fix dinner!"

Annie advised.

"Are you sure?"

Timothy asked sternly.

"Yes, I'm quite sure!"

Annie replied forcefully.

Right away, Timothy kissed her on the lips, told her to eat-up and he would certainly see her later. He then was dashing down the stairs case, screaming, "I love you, my darling!!!" while making his way to the front door of the house and then to his car.

Reaching for her breakfast try, Annie could hear the car engine softly revving in the front of the yard after Timothy had started the car engine. She also heard when he backed out of the driveway, and the still silence in the air told her that he had completely gone off the premises.

Alone in the very large house, Annie ate her breakfast and then dragged herself from off the bed, hoping, she would make her way to the shower and have herself energize from the gushing water from the shower head. Without her leg braces, her mobility was quite limited. But she was determine not to lay in bed for the rest of the day and do nothing. But, she also knew, she had to be extra careful in trying to make herself move around the house independently; not causing any scratches and bruises to her hands or face. Especially, since those body parts were what was allowing her to bring home the bacon - obtain a reasonable size pay check.

Seeing a broom leaning up against the wall in the hallway, Annie grab the broom and dragged it with her to the shower, where she used it in aiding her to turn on and turn off the facet since it wasn't too close to her shower chair. Done with the shower, Annie wrapped herself in one of the large bath towels Timothy had given her. Using it for drying her skin and sliding herself on the floor back to her room. Soon, she was pushing herself onto the bed, getting herself dress and applying make-up to her face, as if, she was going out somewhere special.

Just accomplishing those tasks of going to the shower and back to her bedroom, and also, getting herself dressed for the day; had made Annie felt very good about herself. Something she hadn't felt in a long time. Desperately, she wanted to carry the food try downstairs but that would have been too much of a tedious tasks for her, or even, the working of a miracle for her to do so.

Without a doubt, Annie knew that she could make her way down the stairs by herself, by carefully sliding on her rear end while grasping at each stair rail one at time. Putting a reasonable size bag across her shoulders with her goodies; that she could definitely handle, but the food try that would rather be impossible for her to manage. Therefore, she left the breakfast try at the foot of the bed, for Timothy to bring it to the kitchen, whenever he returned home from work and had the time to do it.

So Annie grabbed her travelling bag filled with snacks, placed the straps over her head and then across her shoulders, and made her way to the top of the staircase, where she slowly proceeded to glided down each step one at a time until she was on the main floor of the house. And there, she pulled herself across the floor until she had reached the large black sofa chair and pulled herself onto it, and then had herself comfortable seated with her favorite snacks and television remote controller in hand.

Gradually flipping through the television channels, Annie finally decided on settling on watching the Soap Operas, and upon viewing her third one, her eyes became tired, and she fell fast asleep on the couch. Only to be awakened hours later by a loud noise and crashing sounds, as though, someone was doing another number on Timothy's old car; still parked in the driveway. Opening her eyes, she couldn't see clearly who was at the front of the house disturbing the peace, so she pushed herself up with her hands and tried peeping through the half opened windows.

Annie saw two figures, and one was definitely her dad, but the other, she couldn't make out accurately who the person was, or if, he or she was a male or female.

Instantly, Annie had remembered that Timothy had left the front door open, and so she hurryingly slide off the couch and rolled herself along the floors, severely trying to reach the front door before the intruders came barging inside the house and causing serious harm to her or Timothy's belongings. As she had presumed. Struggling numerous times to reach the knob so she could securely lock the door, seemed futile. Again and again she tried, but kept tumbling to the floor because her legs weren't strong enough to hold her up. Not giving up tough, she eventually succeeded in overcoming her challenge; turning the lock to the door, and securely locking the door from the inside of the house.

Like a miracle, her actions were just in time, because she could clearly hear the fumbling of the doorknob while she sat leaning up against the other side of the door. There were numerous attempts to get the door open... constant giggling and thumping against the door to break it down, but like Mount Everest, the door stood still; unmovable!

There was a phone stationed against the wall in the kitchen and Annie wanted to get to it, so she could call someone; Timothy or the police. But, she was so very scared of moving across the floor, fearing that any shadowing of her body could indicate to her father and his accomplice that she was inside the house alone!

Minutes later, she heard a voice spoke.

"Throw her belongings on the porch, and let's go now!"

It was the voice of her mother, and she had no doubts in her mind about that!

Annie could hear one bag after the other being dashed against the floor and walls of the front porch while she sat silently inside the house hoping they would just go away right now. But, John Mitchell wasn't ready to leave just yet; so he stood there, in front of the house venting and swearing what he was going to do with Timothy and her; his step-daughter who had been under his care for almost all her life. She only wished, she had a record player close by her side, so she could record every word coming from this mouth- all that he was threatening to do to her and Timothy.

However, Annie had just learned from her father, John Mitchell's own mouth during his venting that he had spent an entire week in jail for the damages he had inflicted on Timothy's Blackburn vehicle. And, because his lawyer hadn't bailed him out of jail immediately; like he would have wanted him to, he had to spend days sleeping in a jail cell. Therefore, he was now very much pissed-off with Timothy and her, and carrying deep rooted hatred and anger towards both of them. Especially, Timothy, who had rescued her from both he and her own mother's iron fist.

Annie count her previous words fortunate, since she had encouraged Timothy not to bother come home and see her during his lunch break at work. And she hoped, he hadn't changed his mind either. Or else, he probably wouldn't be able to return to work after falling into a physical scrabble with these two right on his door step.

Because, it wouldn't be about who was right or wrong, but, about who would have gotten injured and how badly or massive those injuries would be. She feared it would have been two against one, and the unexpected violent confrontation Timothy would have encountered in his own front yard. Only because, he was in love with her and helping her to obtain some form of freedom in this place call the universe, and not having her buried behind the hard cement walls of the Mitchell's prison.

She had heard the car engine started but wasn't quite certain if the car had left out of the drive way already. And so, she began muscling up, hoping to make her way over to the phone on the kitchen wall so she could call Timothy or the police whomever was available to her first. Reaching half way over into the kitchen, Annie could see her step-father standing on the back porch with his face pressing close up to the window glass peeping through the tinted windows. Thankfully, the windows were tinted so he couldn't see inside the house clearly. They were now standing face to face, opposite of each other with her looking straight into his face while he failingly tried to make out hers.

"He could soon break the windows!"

Annie told herself.

Therefore, she needed to act fast before he carried out such presumable actions. So on her belly, she wiggled and waggled on the kitchen floor like a caterpillar until she finally made her way to the phone jacked up against the kitchen wall. Determined, she managed to push one of the kitchen stools under where the phone was installed, pulled herself upon it, and then leaned against it for support as she made the call to Timothy. Every time she called, she was placed on hold by the receptionist who stated that she was trying to locate Dr. Blackburn; but he wasn't responding. Annie even went on to tell her, that there was an emergency situation at his house so he should please contact her right away, but Timothy never called until three hours later.

And when he had finally rang his house, he apologized to Annie for not responding as quickly as she had expected him to; stating that he was observing an operation being done on a patient which was essential to his training. So, there was no way he could have just burst out of operating theater and respond to the call.

"Please, come home as soon as you can!"

She begged.

"I will, my sweet muffin, I will!"

Timothy promised before saying good-bye to her.

However, Annie hadn't wasted any much time after she was put on hold the fort time after calling Timothy at the hospital, but instead, she called the police who came out in full force like swarms of bees. Nabbing her step-father from Timothy Blackburn property while he went on venting and raving, cursing and swearing like a Jamaican politician! Saying out loudly that he hadn't done anything wrong and he was only there at the property to drop off his daughter's belongings because he knew she was in need of them.

Marjorie Mitchell, on the other hand, who was so scared to death of going to jail in her old age, and as her husband's accomplice. Took off in lighting speed with her husband's vehicle like a wild horse on the race tracks. Leaving him alone behind to take the full blunt of the law; as soon as she had heard the police sirens blasting and sweeping towards their direction.

Shackled in hand-cuffs once again, John Mitchell presumed that his partner in crime and his darling wife would know exactly what to do this time around... call his lawyer, Vincent Greenspan, to bail him out of jail once more.

Some of the police officers who knew of the Mitchell's warring conflict between them and their daughter, knew of Annie's crippling condition and began pounding down the front door of Timothy's residence to see if she was okay, and also, for her to give them a statement. But as loudly as Annie could muster up the strength to speak, she shouted to the officers that she was alright. However, she was too tired at the moment to crawl back at the door, struggle to open it and give them a statement; so they should return later when Timothy had gotten home from work and then they collect a statement from her.

And there, beneath the installation of the telephone on the kitchen wall, Annie sat on the floor and cried until Timothy Blackburn had returned home from work that Tuesday evening.

Opening the front door of his house and seeing Annie, the woman whom he dearly loved on a heap on the floor; crying her heart out. Timothy dropped his work bag to the floor and rush over to her side. For a moment he too sat on the floor beside her, holding her in his arms until she was comforted and started feeling much better. He then proceeded to pick her up from the floor and brought her to the sofa where he laid her down to rest.

Timothy then went on to rest her head in his lap and began stroking her hair while they spoke about the day's activities and how she had managed to bring herself down stairs and onto the sofa. He was quite amazed to have found out that Annie had managed to drag herself downstairs with her bag of snacks around her shoulders, earlier this morning, and got herself on the big black sofa in front of the television. Learning such information made him felt proud of her, and so he kissed her on the forehead and called her his brave sweet muffin.

Just like the day before, Timothy had a rough day at work. And now that he was at home, he only wanted to be under the shower so he could feel rejuvenated and have a hefty meal in his belly. He was now hoping that Annie could have moved around the kitchen and fix a meal for them both. So upon his return from work, he wouldn't have to face the kitchen or the stove. But instead, shower, eat and share some pleasant moments together with her.

Getting up from beneath her head, Timothy rested one of the sofa pillows under Annie's head to replace his lap, kissed her and rushed upstairs to have his shower. And as soon as he was done doing so, he returned down stairs, headed straight to the kitchen and began preparing dinner for both of them. Pulling out dice chicken and a pack of mixed vegetable from the freezer, boiling a small pot of rice, Timothy started the ball rolling for dinner, but soon, there was a knock on his front door.

Neither he nor Annie, had heard the cars pulling up in the driveway. But, they certainly heard the hard thumping on the front door. Timothy rush to the door to inquired who it was that was paying them a visit, and found four officers standing on his front porch.

"Hello officers, I was expecting you, but not this early in the evening. I was hoping that Annie and I could have dinner before you guys showed up here!"

Timothy expressed.

"Can I speak to Annie Mitchell now?"

One officer asked while peeking his head through the front door.

"I don't know if she wants to talk now or later; because she has not eaten dinner as yet, and as you all might know, she has had a very rough day!"

Timothy stated decisively.

"We won't be long! We only want to take a brief statement from her, find out what had really transpired at this address here today and with the perpetrator who I have come to understand his her father. It will only take us twenty minutes or so!"

The officer persuaded.

Annie who was still lying on the sofa overhearing the conversation between Timothy and the officers, raised herself from the chair and shouted.

"Tim, let them come inside! I'll talk to them - I'll give them my statement now!"

Hearing Annie's advice, Timothy opened the front door of the house inviting to police officers to come inside his living room and interrogate Annie; about all that had occurred in her presence at this residence today.

Forgetting that he was cooking, Timothy took his position beside Annie, holding her hand while she prepare herself to give her statement to the police officers who were standing all around the room; except for one. He took a seat on a chair beside the television with his writing pad in hand while Annie proceeded to turned off the television so they all could hear what each other were saying in the interrogation session.

"So what time, Mr. Mitchell showed up here this morning?"

The officer asked steadfastly focusing into Annie's eyes.

"It wasn't long after Timothy had left for work and I had gotten out of the shower and came downstairs... so around ten o'clock, ten-thirty, I would say!"

Annie replied.

"And what did you hear after they entered the driveway?"

Came the other question from the grilling officer.

"Honestly, I didn't hear them coming in the driveway! What I had heard was a crashing sound, like someone was doing another number on Timothy's car! It was that crashing sound that had woke me from my sleep while I was lying on the sofa. I recalled that Timothy had left the front door opened, so I dragged myself towards it and struggled to get it lock! But as soon as I had gotten the door lock, my dad... Mr. Mitchell began fumbling with the door knob, as if, he wanted to break in off and come inside. I then heard a female voice sounding just like my mother's saying throw her stuff on the front porch, and then I could hear the bags being dashed against the walls!"

"Hold on a second, Miss Mitchell, you said you heard a female voice; your mother's voice?"

The officer asked categorically.

"Yes, officer, my mother's voice!"

Annie responded.

Looking up at all the officers looking around in Timothy's house with their eyes viewing every room in the house; the officer taking the statement grab their attention when he downright mentioned to them.

"We have to pay the doctor's wife, Mrs. Mitchell, a serious visit!"

"So what happened next Miss Mitchell?"

The questioning officer asked.

"Where was I again?

Annie asked, after losing track of what she was saying.

Looking down on his note pad, the officers kindly reminded her that she was saying something about bags being dashed against the front porch wall.

"Okay, thank you officer!"

Annie spoke.

Nodding his head to appreciate the gesture, he then said, "Please, Miss Mitchell, go on with your statement!" as he began writing something that seemed to be of importance on his note pad.

"I heard the bags being dashed against the wall. I then heard the car engine started, then there was complete silence! I thought they had already left, so I try making my way to the phone to call Tim, and while I was sliding on the floor toward the phone, I looked up! And there, I saw my father with his face pressing against the windows peeping inside the house! Soon after that, he began banging on the window, as if, he really wanted to break it! Then, you guys came along, after I called you reporting that someone was trying to break inside my boyfriend's house while he was away at work!"

Annie Mitchell concluded in her statement.

"So Mr. Mitchell didn't break down any of the doors or windows... he didn't get a chance to grab you, hit you, or make any physical attack against you?"

The officer asked, trying to positively affirm that Annie hadn't experienced any bodily injuries from the perpetrators.

"No officer; none of them entered the house!"

Annie answered truthfully.

Thanking Annie Mitchell for graciously abandoning her dinner to give them her statement, the officers then hurryingly left Timothy's premises and was off to pay Mr. Mitchell's accomplice a serious visit.

Left alone with Timothy, Annie began weeping bitterly, as if, she was being tortured. Her tears were meant for the embarrassment her parents were putting her through.

"Why can't they see that I'm now grown and want to see the world and have friends, and a life... a life befitting to me? Why don't they want to see me happy? They have used me up for years for their own pleasures; my heart, my mind, my body, my soul, and now, they still don't want to let me be!" Do I really deserve to be treated like this insane caged animal, the way they are treating me?"

Annie questioned tearfully.

"No, you are not my darling! You deserve to be treated well! You are wonderful inside and out - two damage feet doesn't mean you should be discarded and lock away from the rest of the world! Didn't you see how those police officers were staring at you, like you were the best thing they have ever came across since Italian rolls and mozzarella cheese? They were all sucking up every ounce of your beauty like an icy mango smoothie on a hot summer day!"

Timothy spoke laughingly.

Now Annie was drying her tears, laughing at Timothy's amusing comments and pulling him closer to her, as if she wanted his body to miraculously pierce her flesh and become one with hers.

Thankfully, the loving arms and words of Timothy Blackburn were always there to console her and bring back a little sunshine in her life. He had been faithful to his promise of always being there for her, and now was no exception. He was right there by her side throughout the entire interrogation, and has extended his shoulders for her to cry on and his ears to listen to the pain she was feeling in her heart but was only being reveal by her lips!

Not judging her or condemning her for the vicious rival between her and her parent, but only, loving her!

Seeing his "Sweet Muffin" happy again, Timothy turned on the television to one of those fashion channels to keep her thoughts away for the sad depressing affairs of her mother and father. And onto something that was of interest to her, especially now that she was working in the fashion and modeling industry as a face model. The display of the models and the various showcase of different make-up artist and their work had immediately grabbed her attention, and Timothy, keenly watching the reaction on her face could tell that she was hooked!

Happy that Annie was settled down and was now enjoying the show on the television, Timothy went back to the kitchen to beat head and hands with the pots and pans. Preparing a delicious meal of stir-fry rice with a mixture of vegetables and sauté chicken; a tasty combination they would enjoy, hours before readying for bed.

This was there second time having dinner together downstairs on the sofa, and Timothy felt quite fortunate to have her as his company, and also as his friend. And Annie spent their dinner time feeding Timothy, encouraging him to eat every grain on his plate, so he could be strong enough to lift her and carry her back upstairs. Because, she certainly didn't feel like she had the strength to crawl her way back up to the first floor of the house on her own. While she on the other hand only picked at her vegetables on the plate, stating that she has another photoshoot in the morning to attend to so she didn't want to gain an inch.

Laughingly, Timothy told her that he wouldn't be taking her back upstairs, so she must try making her way back upstairs when she was ready for bed, because he knew she could walk even faster than he could and was only pretending to be immobile.

"Oh, I wish I could walk as fast as you could! Then I would be travelling to a photoshoot every day, and I would be long gone from that prison that has sucked out my soul and blood for years! But then again, I probably wouldn't have met you, Timothy! The only man who ever makes me feel like I can fly, even though, I'm unable to walk!"

Annie commented, as she repeatedly kissed his lips and tightly squeeze her long arms around his strong and bulging body.

"I love you! I love! I love you in so many different ways!!!"

Timothy kept on singing to Annie, as he pulled her to her feet and slowly waltz her through the front door and onto the porch. Then he lifted her from off the steps of the front porch and to his car; seating her in the passenger's seat beside him.

"Where are you taking me... where are we going?"

Annie asked curiously with fire and excitement dancing in her eyes.

"Oh, just a little outing, somewhere special, somewhere that I want to share with you!"

Timothy replied.

"Okay!"

Annie replied.

But the look in Timothy's face told her otherwise!

His countenance appeared to be too serious!

The look on his face told her that something was bothering him inside which he wasn't sharing with her.

"So where is this place my darling?"

Annie asked; hoping he would give her a hint of where he was taking her.

"It won't be long... well, it depends on how we both feel whenever we reach there!"

Timothy replied not looking in her eyes, but only on the seatbelt he was tightly securing around her waist and shoulders.

Returning to the inside of the house, Timothy collected the keys to the car and his wallet and then slid his feet into a pair of rubber slippers he always kept at the back door. Seconds later, he went upstairs and brought back with him Annie's leg brace which he threw in the trunk of his car before taking his position around the steering wheels.

A twenty minutes ride would lead them to a small shopping mall at the outskirt of the Maplewood community where Timothy would stopped; purchasing ice-cream for both him and his beautiful love interest. After asking her what flavors she would like to indulge in.

Filled with intrigue and mystery in her eyes, she told him she wanted butter pecan and strawberry mixed together, and also a bottle of water. Bringing back the items to the car, they were on their way again driving along whining roads as they lick away cold drippings from their large ice-cream cones with pleasure. Now Timothy's car was going up and up a huge hill until, they were on top of a mountain overlooking the entire landscape below them and beyond in amazement.

The shimmering lights of almost every city around central New Jersey was visible to their eyes and looked mystical and heavenly to them. This was something Annie had never seen before and was just filled with excitement about the breathtaking and magnificent view in front her eyes.

"Ho, Timothy, this is quite beautiful! So superb! I've never seen anything quite like this in my entire life before! Thank you for bringing me here! I'll never ever forget this moment!"

Annie exclaimed.

"You love it here... I'm glad you love it here, because I love it here too! This place, means a whole lot to me! And whenever I want to get away from the world or anything that is perplexing my soul, this is where I come! Here has helped to overcome many battles, some good and not so good ones!"

Timothy soulfully expressed.

Shortly, he was opening the doors to the car and swinging Annie's legs to the ground and onto the lush green grass. Timothy then went to the trunk of his care to retrieve Annie's leg braces which he put on her feet and then aided her to stand up. Gradually, he began walking around with her on the grass while encouraging her to make some steps without his assistance; hoping that she would miraculously make stronger strides than she had been doing.

Like a toddler learning to walk, Timothy encouraged her to take one step after the other while enjoying the quietness of the mountain and the beauty of the lights below.

"Come on my sweet muffin, you can do it! Come on! Come on, one more step!" While he held out his hands to catch her, if she ever attempts to fall.

And so, Annie obeyed, forcing herself to make one step at a time with vigor, and as independently as she could, while Timothy outstretch hands set in position gently guiding her as she made every move. But all through his therapeutic session at site romantically inclined, Timothy had other things on his mind. Things that were quite upsetting and frustrating to him, and he wanted to rectify them with Annie before they went any further in their relationship. However, he was patiently waiting for the right words to formulate in his mind so he could express what he was feeling in his heart and what was troubling his mind without it upsetting her or causing her any humiliation.

But, as beautiful as the surroundings were and the bright stars were shinning down on them making the both of them wanting to stay there forever, Timothy felt, it was the right place, but it just wasn't the right time to divulge his thoughts or his concerns about what he had observed or presumed had taken place in his darling, Annie's young life as a child.

And there on the mountain top, hand in hand like two gods of their own universe, Annie and Timothy spent huge time together gazing over the land and looking up at the stars. While they periodically kissed each other as if nothing else mattered in the world. It was a moment they both wish that would never end. Go on forever in magical love. Nevertheless, he had a job to attend to, and she had the responsibility of showing up at her photoshoots to have her beautiful face dolled-up and places against several products to encourage their sales.

Witnessing the pleasantness on her face before he announced that they had to go now, told Timothy that he should start bringing her there to the mountaintop more often, but right now, it was time to go home. So Timothy held her hand and walked her back to where the car was parked and aided her in being seated in the car. A tad later, they were retracing the whining roads from off the mountain top and then on the main road leading back home.

The porch light was on just the way Timothy had left it, but the front door was opened, and Timothy was quite sure that he had closed the front door before he and Annie had venture out to the mountain top. Telling Annie to stay put in the car, he want to investigate, but saw nothing strange on the downstairs, but heard some rumbling on the upstairs. Slowly proceeding up the stairs with his baseball bat in his hand, Timothy inquired.

"Who is here?"

He asked sternly.

His first inquisition had no response but the second one did!

As he warned the possible intruders that he was coming in with a gun, and he was going to blow them to pieces, if they didn't come forth willing and leave his house right now. Not long after his stern warning, came a mocking outburst of repetitious utterances intertwine together with peculiar laughter. The giggling told him he could let his guard down, and so he did. And soon after, his cousins, Henry and Benjamin appeared from behind the bathroom door, laughing away at their eldest cousin who was obviously dripping with sweat like a fountain. As he hurryingly placed the baseball bat in his hand in the corner of the hallway and extended his hands to lovingly embrace them.

The entire house was now erupting with laughter and excitement and Timothy cousins congratulated him for soon becoming a full fledge doctor and for taking good care of their mother's property while they were away.

They loved that he had painted the house, sprucing it up both on the inside and the outside, and painting the front door bright red, allowing the house to standout in the neighborhood and also having it looking fairly new.

However, Annie was still waiting in the car, so Timothy told his cousins that he had someone staying there with him who was waiting in the car, and he needed to go and get her now and bring her inside.

"Just go by the door and call her, tell her the course is clear, so she can come inside now!"

Henry spoke ignorantly.

But, Timothy didn't bother explaining, but shouted, "No, I have to go and get her!" as he hastily made his way through the front door. Shortly, Timothy was back with Annie by his side, leaning up against him like a pregnant woman in labor, leaning against her spouse for support during her child's delivery.

Both Henry and Benjamin were baffled, astonished, and thrown-aback when they had seen Timothy and Annie stepped through the front door of their house. They weren't blind, they could tell she was drop-dead gorgeous from her face to her waist. But what the heck was wrong with her feet and why was she so clingy to their cousin like they were both Siamese twins, stuck together from birth? And why was she walking like that... like she has the shakes?

Were the questions rolling through Henry and Benjamin's minds as they stood there, as they stood looking stunned, trying very hard not to question their shocking observation of Timothy's girlfriend.

Ignoring the baffling stares of his cousin's faces, Timothy went on to introduce Annie to them with a spirit of great enthusiasm in his voice and happiness on his face.

"This is Annie Mitchell, my wonderful girlfriend!"

Timothy spoke, as he pulled her even closer against his side and kissed her on the cheeks showing how much he loved her.

"Annie, these are my two cousins I told you about earlier on when we met. Henry and Benjamin King, one of my aunt's sons!"

Timothy continued on with his introduction.

Immediately, Annie extended her right hand; first to Henry and then to Benjamin, shook them and told them she was certainly pleased to have met them while she parted her lips and gave them a smile.

"Please to meet you too Annie! I must say you're quite beautiful!"

Spoke Henry.

"It's my pleaser to meet you Ms. Annie! I hope to learn much more about you while I'm here!"

Uttered Benjamin.

"There is nothing else to learn about her more than, she is my girlfriend and I'm hoping to marry one day!"

Timothy interjected with a tone of jealousy in his voice.

Wanting to obliterate all the curiosity in the room, Timothy went on to announce to his cousins more details about his girlfriend Annie Mitchell without even seeking her permission to do so.

"Annie is a face and hand model in New York City, and one of their major.... Their top models. Her father is a doctor, but right now, she and her parent aren't seeing eye-to-eye. So she is here staying with me!"

Timothy revealed.

"So where did the both of you met?"

Henry asked curiously.

"Strangely enough, we met right in front of her parent's house! She was standing outside the gate looking like she was posing for pictures, and I was driving by and saw her! I just couldn't help myself but to stop and introduce myself to her! We went on two dates, and we have been together ever since!"

Timothy replied.

Remembering that Annie has to go to work in the morning, Timothy excused himself from his cousins company, lifted her off the sofa and brought her to shower where he got her undressed. Soon, he began assisting her with her bath and when they were done, he carried her to the bedroom and tucked her into bed. After making mention to her that they both would be sleeping in the same bed tonight, because his cousins were there and needed the usage of their own bedrooms. Smilingly, Annie kissed his hand and told him such would be just fine with her.

With Annie comfortably tucked into bed, Timothy returned to the downstairs of the house to hang-out with his cousins for a bit; and thirty minutes or so later, he was back upstairs, comfortably snuggled up beside Annie's warm body. She was already fast asleep, and seeing the tenderness of her face from the moonlight beaming through the bedroom windows, Timothy stared at her for a while before leaning over and kissing her on the cheeks before settling himself to fall asleep beside her.

Benjamin and Henry feeling tired from their trip all the way from California, and didn't feel the need again to climb the stairs and get to their bedrooms for the rest of the night. Instead, they both crash on the large sofa chairs in the living room until it was day break and Timothy and Annie were up preparing themselves to head out through the door for work.

Different day, same thing!

Timothy waited outside on the porch for Annie's driver to arrive and bring her to her photoshoots in the city after he had done making them both breakfast. And when Robert Wilkins had finally arrived there, Timothy carefully walked his girlfriend to the waiting car while Robert open the door, placing her baggage's inside the car. Patiently, he then waited for Timothy to finish kissing away at his price possession face and kips, and bidding her good-bye, before he began tooting his horn while backing his vehicle out of the driveway.

Like scalpel in a surgeon's hands, Timothy had his eyes dead focus on Robert Wilkin's car, until it was completely out of the driveway and speeding down the main streets of Maplewood, before returning to the inside of his house. Where he freshen up the bed and began finish preparing himself for work.