The Truth About Fairy Tales by Annie Walker Page A

went unused, but it was surrounded by windows on three sides and it reminded me somehow of a lighthouse. All of my hiding places of the past had reminded me of that. As a little girl, I’d gotten it in my head that lighthouses were a place of peace and security for me.
                  It was easy for me to envision not the city of Austin below me, but the ocean. At least, what I’d imagined the ocean to be like because I’d never actually been there. I’d never ventured further south than Houston with my mother. All that I remember about those days are the dirty little apartment with the big city noises all around, or the streets that we’d called home for months.
                  It was during those early years of living so close to the ocean that you could smell the salt breeze, that I’d found my first secret hiding place. A small little room much like this one without windows and definitely a whole lot dirtier. But that hadn’t mattered for a little girl frightened and alone with no one to turn to but a junkie mother. For me that place was where I could set my imagination free.
                  Today, I shoved aside all of those unpleasant memories. I was here today to try to understand why I’d let go of all of my stubborn determination for Jackson of all people? I wasn’t really sure if I even liked Jackson.
                  I spent hours trying to reconcile my feelings for Jackson, but I was no closer to doing so than when I’d first arrived.
                  So when all else fails, the one thing that always works is to talk to my sensible grandmother.
                  I decided this could only be accomplished by seeing her face to face. I packed for the weekend, gathered all of Sidney’s stuff, then left without a single word to anyone.             
    I didn’t even get to the outskirts of town when the man that I’d spent all morning long worrying about called my phone.
                  “You’re not at home, you’re obviously not in class, and Frank tells me you’re off for the whole weekend. What are you doing? Running away?”
                  I couldn’t think of anything to say. After all, that was exactly what I was doing. In my silence, I knew he’d guessed just how close he’d come to the truth.
                  “You weren’t going to tell me anything about this, were you? You were just going to disappear into thin air, is that it?” I could almost believe there was hurt in his voice, but I decided I had to be mistaken. Not Jackson Riley. My imagination must be working overtime, because there was no way he could be hurt by any woman. He’d never let them get that close.
                  “Look,” he added to my silence. “When you decide what you want, why don’t you let me know? Until then, I’ll just leave you alone.”
                  He hung up on me without waiting for my answer, not that I had one for him.
                  I didn’t go home that day. Didn’t go to Santa Anna. I drove around for hours much like the previous night, but this time I was crying. I believed I’d gone too far with him. I’d deliberately been trying to push him away and I’d succeeded.
                  It was late when I stopped my car in front of his house. I wasn’t sure why I’d come there, because I still didn’t have an answer for him. Hearing the finality in his voice earlier had made me realize I didn’t want to let him go either. I didn’t know where he fit into my life and I certainly didn’t know where I fit in his world, but I finally got it: I wanted to figure it out.
                  I walked up to his door with Sidney in my arms, not really sure what I could say to make him understand how frightened I was of losing him.
                  When Jackson opened the door and saw me there, I couldn’t