This is long overdue, I am well aware.
This is my entry to the Days of Fifty Challenge 2 by the Playroom of the FSoG Sisterhood FB Group... It's the exact same one I submitted, so nothing's changed, an edited chapter will be replacing this one soon.
To be perfectly honest, I had written the next two chapters, but I dropped it because I realized that the content and the theme is no longer relevant to this chapter, which should be the essence of this story.
So, I'm sad (and happy at the same time) to announce that this story will remain as an one-shot! Continuation is still on the list, just not at the top.
Please understand that. If you are interested in what I have initially written as the continuation of this story, PM me or request in a review. Currently, I'm thinking about combining it with another story that's brewing, but with my busy life, I still have to thoroughly consider everything.
All mistakes are mine.
Stand By Me
"Morning babe."
"Morning honey."
"There's a children's day celebration thing tomorrow at the place where Franklin plays and he's specifically asking you to go and sing for the kids. Can you?"
"I'll have to check, but what's the celebration for?"
"I think your parents wanted it to be a propaganda for Stronger than Steel."
Stronger than Steel was the charity organization founded by the Steeles, and their aim was to support orphaned children, aid those who were sick. It was a foundation established by Raymond and his now retired military buddies. They did this because they've seen way too many children being orphaned during war times, and they wanted a shelter and a place for them to live.
"Are they pinning at Seattle Grace now?"
"I don't know, but will you be up for it if they're looking to have it?"
"The current sponsor will definitely not be happy about it. He has invested a lot in Seattle Grace because of his mother's foundation."
"It's not a business merger, Ana, I'm sure he will consider it if your dad came up with a decent excuse."
"Ha, like he'll actually have an excuse apart from just wanting to expand his shelter system."
"Then, don't you think they can perhaps, work together?"
"No." Was all Anastasia said, but when Kate, on the other end, was too stunned by the straightforward rejection, Anastasia spoke again to break the silence. "Will I see him tomorrow if I go?"
"Do you want to?"
"No."
"Okay."
"You haven't answer me yet."
"I can't promise you anything, Ana." Kate sighed defeatedly.
"Then I'm not going." Anastasia replied defiantly.
"You can't avoid him forever."
"Yes I can, and I will."
"You will be seeing him if you're going to stay as my girlfriend."
"That doesn't mean I have to be around your husband's brother."
"But he's family and you're mine, so it's bound to happen."
"Then I'll just do what I have to do to stay away from him."
"Ana…"
"Don't Kate, I'm done with him."
"Fine, then do it for Lucas tomorrow, will you?"
"Only for Lucas."
…
This time last year, just a few weeks before children's day, Anastasia had just finished her last exam, and she was ready to chill in her dorm with her roommate, planning for their life after they graduate. For her roommate, Kate, it was different.
Two months ago, before exam season started…
"Ana," Kate called from her bathroom panicking, causing Anastasia to jump out of her bed, ditching all of her studying material and raced to the bathroom adjacent to hers. "Please tell me you're seeing a negative on this screen." Her voice sounded frantic and shaky, she shoved the pregnancy stick in her best friend's chest with trembling hands in lightning speed.
"Um…" Anastasia didn't know how to react to the situation, because in front of her was a big pink cross that formed a plus sign indicating a positive result. "No, I don't." She said awkwardly. It had never been her worry because she was on the pill to control her menstrual cycle, then she was taking the shot every now and then due to the lifestyle that she participated in secret.
"What am I supposed to do, Ana?" Kate lunged herself on to her best friend and cried into her shoulder while Anastasia stayed stoic in her spot just waiting for her friend to recover while thinking of a resolution.
"We can go to the doctors some time this weekend, the exams start next week, so we'll just spare one day to go." Anastasia suggested, she didn't know if she should ask about the father of the child or just be the girlfriend that Kate needed.
"But my dad will find out if I used my card."
"Then we'll pay cash."
"Do you think it's possible that something went wrong with the test?"
"Who were you with the last time you had sex, Kate?" Anastasia asked instead of giving her a direct answer.
"Elliot Grey." Kate sobbed.
"And it's supposed to be a one-night stand? Didn't you two start fucking a long time ago?" She asked, they had been associated with the Greys since a long time ago. Anastasia's parents had a charity foundation as well as the Greys, and Kate's father had a working relationship with them as well; so, in some ways, they knew bits about the other's family.
"We did, and he'd always use a condom, and I'm on the pill." Kate continued to weep, this time, it was louder.
"Do you remember what happened?" Anastasia knew this was a conversation that they had to go over sooner or later, so she just wanted to get it out of the way.
"Not much, I just remembered that he found me and I went to his place."
"You were upset about him the other day when he told you that he was thinking of asking a girl out."
"Yes, because I didn't think much before we started this friends with benefit and no strings attached thing, but…"
"But you liked him." Kate nodded mutely, it was achingly obvious that both of them wanted more than just sex with each other, but none of them was willing to make the move, and Anastasia was on the verge of setting them up.
"So it's his." Anastasia continued to speak as Kate was unable to. Again, she nodded without making a sound, her face was still hidden in Anastasia's shoulder. "Are you going to tell him?"
"I don't know."
And that led to where they were now. When Kate went to Elliot and told him about the unborn child, although, he reacted just fine, but when their parents urged them to get married, he nearly flipped his shit.
Their parents wanted a shotgun wedding because they wanted the kid to have a whole family when it was born. Anastasia couldn't say she wasn't surprised by the insistence from both parties, because she had warned Kate about it. Anastasia had been acting as Kate's therapist for that few months, helping her get through the rough times.
When Kate told her about the proposal, Anastasia had said, "you're lucky that both of you actually loved each other."
When Kate said their marriage didn't feel right, because it was based on the news of her pregnancy, and Anastasia would say, "well, see it as a catalyst, because from what I can see, you two are bound to get married one way or another." It was all she could say to sooth her, because no matter how Kate interpret the situation, it would seemed forced and wrong.
On her wedding, Anastasia had agreed to be her maid of honor, and there, she met the best man, Christian. She had a feeling that he was the kind of man she had been looking for all along, but she hid the feeling, not wanting to assume anything.
Due to Kate's pregnancy and her wedding, as a journalist majored student, she was able to convince her husband of scheduling an interview with Christian as her last project for the school newspaper. Since she couldn't go, she had asked Anastasia to fill her spot. And, that action led to another arrangement.
"Forgive me to be blunt, Miss Steele," Christian said, once she had signed an NDA from him. Ever since that first encounter they had on his brother's wedding, he had been determined to get to know the maid of honor better. "But, are you a submissive?"
Anastasia sucked in a breath, at his question, she automatically lowered her gaze to the ground. "Yes, Sir."
"Are you contracted to anyone?" He proceeded to ask, heaving out the breath that he was holding.
"Not at the moment, Sir. I haven't found the Dom I was looking for, so I've been going to the club only to scene." She answered.
That was how she obtained the contract she was currently holding in hand, as she sat in her childhood room in Savannah, Georgia, contemplating on it and was on the verge of picking up a pen and signing her name on the dotted line. From the look of the contract and what they've done in the past few days after her interview and before graduation, he was giving her all she wanted in an arrangement.
"Mom, he's not…" Anastasia wanted to say boyfriend, but then she wouldn't know how to define their relationship, because no one knew about her kinky sexual preferences.
"Christian." Carla stood up to greet the guy who had just planted a kiss on Anastasia's cheek and was now sticking out a hand to greet her.
"He's not what, baby?" He whispered in her ear, making her bury her face in her palm with a sigh. She then looked up with helpless looks in her eyes, but her mom took it as she was asking for private times, so Carla stood up and excused herself to the bathroom.
"Just what do you think you're doing here, Christian." Anastasia was in no mood to role play, she didn't sign the contract so she could care less about the formalities.
"Are you not happy to see me?" Ignoring her question, he asked.
"No, not at all." She huffed, glaring at him for actually having the decency to ask that question.
"Are you planning on signing my contract?" He then asked, taking control of the situation quickly, but Anastasia wasn't going to give in, she recently just realized that she only liked submitting to a guy in the bedroom and nowhere else. Leaning closer, he placed an arm around her shoulder to pull her closer to him, but she wanted to pull away, against the wish of her heart.
"Why are you here, Christian? Stop beating around the bush and get to the fucking point." She snapped, "because let me tell you right now, I don't like it when you stalk me all the way to Georgia. I came here to visit my mother and to get away from the lifestyle. You are everything I've been looking for in a Dom, but right now, I'm pretty sure I've blinded by your charm and ability to dominate that first night we spent together." She took his hand and removed it from her shoulder. Christian's eyes darkened, he looked hurt by the rejection, but that only lasted for a split second, because anger was what Anastasia was seeing at this moment.
"You want to get away from me?" He asked angrily, wrongly comprehending the meaning behind Anastasia's words, but she was too angry to even bother to correct him.
When she was about to reply, her mother came back, and both of them put on an act for her simultaneously which made Carla believe that they've got it bad for one another.
Till this day, Anastasia was still pissed about his abrupt visit and what she would call, an interruption. He claimed to be on a business trip, and she had no doubt it was true, but she was also certain that he only found something to do in Savannah because she was there, and he couldn't wait that long for her answer. She admitted that it was why she changed her mind about singing the contract.
Carla thought they made a loving couple as she was a hopeless romantic, so she had urged her daughter to go up to him and stay the night with him. Anastasia did, but not for the reason Carla had in mind, she went up to confirm that she was right about her speculation, that he wanted TPE with her.
The next morning, she left on the first flight back to Seattle, leaving the contract with a note in the envelope, dropping at the front desk and made sure Christian would get it.
Dear Mr Grey,
I have decided not to sign your contract, against my initial wish, solely because I do not agree to your new proposal from last night. In addition to that, I want to express my dislike toward your unexpected visit. I have only ever wanted a Dom/Sub relationship in the playroom and not outside.
As a result, I would like to end our current arrangement. We can further discuss this through emails.
Best regards,
Anastasia Steele
That was only the beginning of the story that led to the dialogue in front. The only question was, who was Lucas?
Christian was stunned by the rejection that he was not prepared for. Not only that, but what he wouldn't admit at the moment was how he had grown to become more attached to this woman than he had ever thought he would to another human being. The meeting on his brother's wedding was one thing, but he had a submissive at that time. Then there was the interview where he had so blatantly asked about her sex life. Now in Georgia where he had so boldly showed up intruding her time with her mother. He didn't know what brought everything on, but he was sure he felt devastation when he read her rejection letter.
…
Anastasia never got to explain to Carla about her relationship with Christian after the visit, but Christian took the first step and confessed to his family about his practice and his early history with the lifestyle. However, Christian being Christian, he was a selfish man, he did everything for a reason and that was, he wanted something in return.
So, when he came clean to his family, and Kate, who was now a part of his family. She cussed him for wanting to ruin Anastasia, claiming she was a virgin. When Christian laughed, he unintentionally let the cat out of the bag. Though, that wasn't Christian's concern, because he told everyone about his lifestyle, and in return, he was expecting them to get Anastasia for him.
"Steele." Anastasia answered her phone one night when she was binge watching the second season of Stranger Things with a tub of ice cream in her hands. She was supposed to be going to the club to check out a new Dom, but she changed her plans last minute, the reason being too lazy to move.
"You didn't fucking tell me you're into kinky sex. There I thought you're so innocent." Kate shrieked into the phone. If Anastasia wasn't feeling so lazy that night, she would've jumped up and demand to know about the source, but she wasn't feeling like digging.
"It never came up." She shrugged, only wanting to get back to her TV show, she couldn't care less about how her secret was out of the bag. "Besides, how am I suppose to tell you that I'm into BDSM?"
"You certainly mastered the innocent girl look." Kate laughed, but Anastasia wasn't in the mood to join her.
"What do you want, apart from sticking your nose into my sex life?"
"Ouch, Ana."
"Seriously, you're interrupting."
"Don't tell me you're fucking someone right now." Kate gasped in horror.
"God, no. I won't be picking up on the second ring if I'm in the club." Anastasia decided to just let everything out, it was easier to live without a secret anyways.
"You go to a club? Is that what your relationship is with Megabucks?"
"I didn't sign his contract, alright?" Anastasia rolled her eyes. She had no idea she would be acting so chill when her best friend discovered her secret lifestyle, she had definitely imagined what might her reaction be when she discovered it some day by accident.
"He offered you his contract? He must be hot in the playroom." Kate commented.
"TMI, bitch." Anastasia face-palmed. "You know shitless about the lifestyle, so do some research before you come to talk to me about it. Or, on second thought, don't. I'm sure Elliot isn't into kinky sex."
"I don't know, he looks interested when Christian talked about it today."
"He told everyone about it? Private my ass." Anastasia scoffed, thinking to the conversation they had in his office when she asked him to talk about himself and tell her something about him. Other than the fact that he was filthy rich and liked to participate in expensive hobbies, practice control in every aspect of life, he was also very private; they were the things that he told her, but it was nothing like the guy she was hearing from Kate, the description simply didn't fit.
"It's only his family, no one else knew. Also, what exactly did you two discuss during that interview?" Kate asked, it was just like the question that Carla asked 'what really happened between you and Christian?', but Anastasia wasn't going to answer to either of them because her situation wasn't that easy.
"Nothing you need to know." Anastasia muttered.
"Come on, A." Kate was trying to play the 'nickname card', but it wasn't working at the moment, apparently.
"Don't you have an unborn child to look after? Stop thinking about kinks until you can actually participate in them." Anastasia concluded as she clicked the end call button, no longer interested in discussing the topic with her best friend.
…
Anastasia never bought any of the stuff that Kate was feeding her, she had a feeling that she got on board the ship that Christian started to sail in order to get her back, because she had no desire to go back to him after knowing what he wanted. Especially after getting to know him, she felt less about him and believed that a person like him would never be attached to anyone apart from his own playroom; but, that also wasn't on an emotional base.
Christian, on the other hand, had believed that Anastasia wouldn't be coming back to him after he had spilled out her secret. He knew she fit him well, he knew she would be everything he'd ever dreamt of, but he didn't know her; hence, he didn't know the reason why she would end their arrangement. Christian thought he figured everything out, but Anastasia was the living proof to him that he was utterly clueless about the people that he cared about.
She wanted a relationship outside of the playroom with her Dominant, but that didn't mean she wanted hearts and flowers, she simply wanted more; she just wanted a boyfriend who she could lean on, share her sorrows with and offer a shoulder to cry on when she was feeling down. He didn't know he wanted all of what she had wanted, he never did figure out, nor did he ever understood why was he reacting the way he was when she ditched him.
All he wanted for the moment was to talk to her, but she wasn't even giving him that, let alone the time of the day.
"You look so fucking beautiful, Steele, I wish I have your body." Kate squealed like a middle school girl, charging at Anastasia as she stepped out of her car.
Anastasia was in an ankle-length dress in plain drab, the dullness only brought out her sparkling baby blue eyes even more, sucking in every other orbs around her when looking at her. Kate, on the other hand, had worn her lose jean because she claimed to have fattened after giving birth and she didn't want people to see her thick legs, even though it was nothing like what she described.
"So do you, bae." Anastasia smiled at her, stepping into her embrace and hugging her back while locking the car with the other hand.
"Looking spectacular, Ana." Elliot came out, kissing Anastasia on the cheek loudly just to emphasize his point. Kate giggled when Anastasia rolled her eyes at his pretentiousness. Elliot always liked to put on a show before his wife when it comes to her only girlfriend, he just couldn't care less about the other female friends that Kate had.
"Fancy seeing you again, El." Anastasia murmured back, giving a 'kill me' look to Kate but only resulted a giggle from her best friend.
"Love that sound, babe." Elliot swung an arm over Kate's shoulder before following Anastasia inside.
"Lucas!" Anastasia called the moment she stepped into the room full of children, completely disregarding the looks from the gray-eyed man. She knew if she allowed the information to sink in and register the presence of that man, her behavior would be deeply affected. The instant she thought of the man staring at her from the corner, her pulse picked up and her breathing quickened, she felt her face heating up but she knew she wouldn't show. She was flushed, and that was the moment when she was thankful for her 'thick-skinned' face, so it wouldn't be obvious to others when she was blushing.
"Hey, Annie." The boy in the wheelchair waved weakly at her. He looked no older than five, yet the lovely, sweet boy that he was got disowned by his parents the minute he was born, due to his disease. He was diagnosed with leukemia in the report after his birth and his parents gave him up the minute the news hit them. "You look pretty." He complimented, always the one to say something nice.
"And, you, my darling boy, look really handsome tonight."
"Are you going to sing to everyone?" He asked, sounding very excited.
As the ambassador of the charity organization, Anastasia had been visiting this orphanage ever since she started high school. She had been to many different orphanages, but she fell in love with this one because of this kid. He looked pale and weary, skinny and fatigue was his standard look, but that didn't stop Anastasia from giving him the special treatment. For him, she picked up her hobby from when she was small and started to play the guitar. It used to be something she was afraid of doing, and she was never confident in playing in front of the others, but she would do it for him. The longer she strummed the strings, the more times Lucas demanded her to sing. It wasn't until one day, when he started to hum along the tune, that was when Anastasia finally found the courage to open her mouth, and let the lyrics flow out.
"Are you going to be okay with it?" She nodded answering his question and then asked her own.
"Why not? You sing very well and I'm sure they'll love it." He replied, her heart swelled just hearing those words.
"I brought you something today, Lucas." She said, suddenly remembering the gift that she had brought with her when she heard about the event.
"What is it?" He asked curiously.
"It's a gift."
"Why?"
"It's children's day, and all the kids deserve to have a present."
"But you're only giving it to me." He frowned, looking confused.
"Yes, because I know you like to share, and you have the biggest heart, Lucas, that's why I brought you this." She said, producing a guitar from the bag she was carrying, it was a guitar, but older than the one she'd always bring when she visited.
"It's a guitar." He observed.
"Yep, little man." She agreed, "but, it's not just any guitar." She added, "it's my very first one, and my favorite."
"It's the one that got you to start playing?" Lucas recalled the stories that Anastasia had told him about her childhood and her adventures through life, he had been the patient listener that Anastasia wished Kate was, but she was glad to have found him. Anastasia nodded, her eyes glinting with happiness when he remembered everything she told him. "It's the one from your crush on Valentine's Day?" Lucas grinned up at her cheekily when that question left his small lips.
"Yes, it's from him." She laughed whole-heartedly, remembering adding this small juicy detail to the story when she told him that day. It was the first time she mentioned this little secret to him, the first time she had openly admitted to anyone that she had played the guitar before and she actually regretted quitting it.
"Why did you keep it? You told me you don't like him anymore." Lucas asked naively, but at the same time, it was adorable and cute.
"I said I don't like him in the girlfriend/boyfriend way, Lucas." She explained, just like she'd done it previously, though she doubted the small kid would understand, but she wanted him to know as much as he could about the world during his limited stay in it, and she wanted him to leave it feeling contented; that was why she never said 'you'll know it when you're older' because she knew he wouldn't get a chance. "I kept it because it meant something to me," she chose to explain it in a different way this time, "he encouraged me to start playing because I've always wanted to, and he taught me how to play it when I first started. That guitar reminds me of the time that I had with him." She would always explain everything to him patiently and answer every question he had.
"What are you going to sing tonight?" Lucas asked, he sounded weak as usual, but his eyes were still shining with enthusiasm, as always, even though he looked tired.
"I'm going to borrow your guitar and sing a song, it's for you but I'm going to let everyone hear them tonight, and I hope you can do the same with this gift." Anastasia explained, holding up the guitar and placed it in his lap.
"Spread the tune to share the feel." He gave her an innocent toothy grin, it was what she would always tell him when she played for him. He took it as something that would make everyone around him happy, but Anastasia thought about it only because she wanted him to be remembered. It was because of that reason, that she started to play and had taught him the basics so he could play for the others while she was there. She wanted him to be remembered, because she loved him like her own little brother, and she knew her time with him was limited. She saw the good in him and she wanted everyone else to see it.
"Exactly, little guy." She smiled proudly, ruffling his hair affectionately.
All the exchange hadn't escape the eyes of one man, whose heart had been aching with the sight in front of him. He wanted to be the one who could encourage her to do the things she wanted, and he wanted to be the man who could create memories with her that she would forever remember, just like that guitar which was the symbol of her childhood crush. Christian wanted more, and he knew he did the right thing to end the contract with Leila, and he knew he made the right decision when he turned down Leila when she asked for more, because at that moment, he saw what he wanted, and he knew it was all he trying to find in his life.
"Are you going to sing now?" Lucas asked, distracting Anastasia from the gaze that was intensifying from the corner where the grey-eyed man in suit stood.
"Yes, and I want you to stay beside me when I do, because remember, between us, this song is for you." She gave him a wink that widened his smile on his face.
Moving behind his wheelchair, she started to push him to the place where there was a stage, and there were magicians and entertainers setting up small stations for children to play with and look at.
When she moved passed him, she could feel the heat radiating off him and even without touching, she could feel the electric current through her veins and they were connecting with him, drawing her to him like two magnets. Closing her eyes for a brief moment to settle her heart beat. Then she told Lucas to stay put, because she was going to find Kate. She only felt relieved when saw Lucas watching a magic trick with a bunch of other kids that he usually socialized with, and with that, she walked away.
"So, you asked me here to be a present for your son?" Anastasia jumped right to the subject once Kate excused herself from talking to her in-laws. "I know it's children's day and I think you know that I'm only here for Lucas, so if it's not a setup for Christian to get close to me, then I'm at lost of your intentions, Kate."
"Look, Ana, it's not my idea to have him here…" Kate started to explain to the best of her ability, she was only doing her part in the plan.
"It's mine." Another voice cut Kate off. Diverting her sight from her girlfriend, she saw Grace approaching them. She looked beautiful as always, and with the glass in her hand, she looked just like the social butterfly that she had always identified herself as. For the first time, she didn't look like her confident self, instead, she looked baffled and somewhat sheepish. "I'm sorry, Ana." She came forward, standing next to Kate, covering for her. "I came up with the idea of this joint event between Coping Together and Stronger than Steel, because I want you to give Christian a chance to explain himself."
"So this is a setup." Anastasia sighed frustratedly, she hated it when people meddled and stuck their nose in her business as if they knew better.
"I asked you to be here for my son." Grace continued to explain. "I just wanted to put him out of his misery. He wants to see you, Ana. You have no idea just how lost he has been."
"Does he even know why I ended with him?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Okay, then I guess I owe him an explanation." Anastasia sighed, and a part of her knew she was playing right into their hands, but she couldn't help but wonder what was really going on in his mind.
"The performance is starting." A waiter came by to inform them before disappearing into the crowd to inform the others.
"Are you the first to sing?" Kate asked, forgetting about the accusation from Anastasia completely.
"I don't know, I don't mind." Anastasia shrugged, she was already thinking about finding her way back to Lucas, but when she saw that he was situated in a place where he looked rather comfortable and enjoying himself, she thought better than to intrude so she stayed put.
…
[Stand By Me — Skylar Grey]
When it was Anastasia's turn to perform, people were now coming down from the high as all the previous performances were reflective of popular culture. Anastasia had come prepared with the best song as the grand finale. It was slow, but despite the slow tune, it wasn't a sad song.
Standing in front of the microphone, she had the ancient guitar strapped on her and Lucas sitting next to her, he was holding a microphone himself because she knew he would be humming along.
She started to strum it string by string, the guitar, despite its age, was still producing clear and melodious notes. The crowd fell silence the instant her voice echoed through the spacious venue. No one had ever heard her sing, only Lucas, and everyone who knew her prior to the event gasped at the sound of her perfect pitched voice; the ones who didn't know her would now have her voice imprinted in their mind. She casted her eyes to the little boy next to her who was now starting to hum along, seemingly to have known the tune beforehand.
Anastasia smiled at him and he returned the smile, only with an enlarged version. She looked at him in the eyes and sang out the line 'so darlin', darlin', stand by me', because it was for him.
The song wasn't written by her, and it wasn't the one she intended to sing that night, but when she thought back to the most recent conversation she had had with Lucas's doctor, she knew it would be hard for him to make it to the summer, so she wanted to sing this to remember him. It was a song to sooth her than to calm him and say her goodbye to him.
She was trying very hard to suppress the feeling that she had tonight, but in the end, he still detected it like a dog sniffing out its toy. She knew he had noticed the change in her and she knew they were both leaving out the subject in a vain attempt to make the moment last longer.
As the song finished, she let a single tear roll down her face as she turned her face to give him a teary smile. She wanted to tell him that they were happy tears, but she'd have to convince herself of that before she was able to convince him of it. The song gave her courage and she hoped it would empower him at the same time.
The party ended on a happy note and in an upbeat atmosphere, but Anastasia wasn't feeling any of it, because she could feel him slipping away. Oh, at that moment, how she wished he was just falling asleep and not fading away from this world.
She knew she was the last to leave the orphanage, she had stayed as long as she could next to his bed, looking as he slipped into peace. Anastasia could only pray that she would be seeing him tomorrow, but something in her told her that she would be seeing him in her dreams.
Anastasia was expecting to embrace the loneliness that she was feeling all of a sudden when she kissed his forehead goodnight and stepped out of the house; she was willing herself to stop her tear from coming out, sucking in a deep breath, she wanted the exhale of air to take away the pain she was feeling. When she finally felt composed, she started to walk toward her car. She felt lighter, physically, as she was no longer carrying a guitar on her back, it reminded her more of the loss of her companion that was foregrounded at that very moment.
Fishing out her keys, she was about to press down the button to unlock the car, but her nostrils were filled with a familiar scent, a cologne. It made her look up. The sight of the man made all of the walls that she built up to keep her emotions at bay crumbled…
She lunged at the man leaning against the car and hugged him as if he would leave her like Lucas did.
"Christian."
…
Christian held her in his arms and let her sobbed in his chest. That night, not only did he become her boyfriend outside of the playroom, but he had also become the emotional punch bag of hers. He offered a shoulder for her to cry on, he soothed her in the time of needs, and held her tight but gave her space to let her overcome her grief.
Throughout her friendship with Lucas, she had been avoiding questions regarding his health and his life expectancy, but he somehow knew that he was going to die sooner or later and he had hinted to her that he was prepared to face death, as long as it was peaceful and harmless. Medicines were still prescribed even till the day he died, but Anastasia had constantly wished to have more money, so she could find him a better treatment than the crappy ones the orphanage could offer. She knew that the organization was on a tight budget and they couldn't spare more for one kid who wasn't special to anyone but Anastasia. She had begged her father to let her get access to her trust fund so she could help Lucas, but he wouldn't allow it. When she met Christian, she had thought about signing his contract so he could afford his medical treatment and be the eighty-three percent who had the chance to survive. It had always pained her that all she could do was to sit aside and watch him die.
That very night, he came into her dream and sung the song to her. He didn't say goodbye to her, because he would forever by her side and in her heart.
"Just as long as you stand, stand by me."
Thanks to
fundays, daytonalay, repunzelclayre, Christian 618, dream2bawrtr, velosewer, Brendalwood, carlarbaptista, Carol222, smills, erinlea16, jfsog, Don't trust your eyes, Pks9704, vamomoftwins, Guest ...
For reviewing on the chapter on the Sisterhood Group's post.
Please do tell me what you think about it! Even just to cuss my out, please review!
Laters, baby x
-SapphireTrafficker-