Please excuse any and all grammar errors.

Enjoy,

Kris Xx.


APOV

"What. The. Fuck. Do. You. Mean. Not again?" Christian gives me a murderous glare.

Shit! Why did I have to open my big freaking mouth?

"Christian…" I try to say, but it comes out squeaky.

"Answer me!" He jerks his hand out of mine. "Damn it, Anastasia. What the fuck is going on?!"

I dart my eyes back to the rear view mirror, to Christian and then back to the road.

"Fuck this! Pull over." He demands.

"What? I'm not pulling over."

"Pull the fuck over, Ana. I want to see what this asshole wants." He slams his hand against my dashboard causing me to flinch.

I don't think I've ever seen him this mad, at least not at me. I'm trying to hold back the tears, but hearing him speak to me this way… hurts.

"Christian. I'm not pulling over." I tell him.

"Pull the fuck over, now!" He yells again.

"What if he pulls over too?" I ask.

"Good. That's what I want to see what this asshole wants with you. He's been following you, yeah?" He states more than asks, shaking his head.

"What if he has a gun or something?" I try to reason completely avoiding his question.

"Christ, Ana. It's Jared. He doesn't have a gun." He says trying to control his temper.

"Would you have thought Leila had a knife?" I retort.

"Now's not the time. Pull the fuck over, Ana. You're testing my fucking limit."

"No Christian…"

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you to." He glares at me.

"And I'm not fucking 5, I'm 17 and I'm saying, no."

He turns around to look at the car following us.

He's still there.

"Take the next exit." He tells me. "I want to see if he follows us."

This all sounds very deja vu. For whatever reason, I can't control my fucking mouth before it comes out, "What if we get lost again?"

"You're just full of little fucking secrets aren't you, Ana?" He says so harshly that I can no longer fight back the tears.

"Oh great, here come the fucking water works." He says sarcastically.

I don't say anything back, every time I open my mouth I say something I immediately regret.

I take the exit.

"Son of bitch." He mutters looking behind us, "Make a right."

I follow his instructions until finally I hit a red light and need to stop. Once we hit the stoplight, Christian removes his seat belt and gets out.

I put the car in park and follow him.

"Christian, get back in." I tell him where he awaits Jared who is coming down the road about a few hundred feet behind us. He fell behind when I skimmed through the last stop light on yellow.

"Get. Inside. Ana." He hisses between his teeth.

"No. Only if you do."

"Get in the damn car, Anastasia!" He yells.

Jared gets close enough to see us outside at the stop light, looking like idiots in my opinion. He pulls up to the right of us, for a moment, I think he's going to get outside of the car too. He doesn't do a complete stop, but steps on the gas and makes a right.

Christian turns to look at me with his hands gripping his hips. Fury, anger, pools in his eyes. And… it's all toward me.

He doesn't say a word to me. Just stares at me, he shakes his head a couple of times. I swear I hear him say unbelievable under his breath.

He walks towards the drivers side of the car and gets in. For a brief second, the thought of him leaving me here, passes through my mind. He's never not walked me to my side to open my door.

I don't move. I don't know what I should do. Get in the car? Stay here?

He makes the decision for me when he gets out, goes to the passenger door, opens it and motions for me to get in.

"Get. In." He says when I stand still.

I get in. He slams the door closed which makes me wince a little. He's being so harsh.

He gets in the car just as the lights turn green. I turn to face him, you can see the angered flush he is wearing, his veins in his neck bulging. His knuckles gripping the steering wheel, are white.

I go to grab his hand that he has on the gear shift to try to calm him.

"Don't."

He moves it out of my reach. He replaces it only when I move my hands back to my lap.

He makes a sharp turn at a fast speed, making us tilt in our seats. I grab onto the door handle, because I'm scared. He shouldn't be driving this upset, but I'm scared to say anything.

When I turn to look at him, I notice we are going way too fast. "Christian, please slow down." I plead with him quietly.

He lets out a sarcastic chuckle and speeds up even faster.

"Are you going to start talking or do I need to go find out from Jared what the fuck is going on?" He asks when he merges back onto the freeway.

"Christian… babe,"

"Not now, Ana. Now?" He turns to look at me "I want fucking answers." He looks back at the road.

"What do you want to know?" I ask in almost a whisper, brushing the tears away with my fingers.

"Do you even have to ask? Everything, Anastasia." He runs his hand through his hair.

"I didn't know it was him," I begin.

"But someone one was following you, and you didn't fucking say shit? How long?"

"I didn't even know someone was following me."

"Bullshit."

I take a deep breath, "Ba… Christian, please…"

"Start talking." Is his only answer.

"I started noticing it maybe in March."

"For fucks, Ana, March?" He questions.

I can only nod.

"He was just always around. Kate and I would go running and he just happened to be there. Sometimes before we even got there." I say with tears.

"And you didn't think to say something? Did he ever talk to you? Approach you?"

"No! That's why I didn't say anything. Because he would sometimes give us a nod of acknowledgement. Not once did he try to say or do anything."

"And him always being there wasn't a damn red flag in your head? For someone so smart…" He trails off his tone angered.

"I didn't think anything about him actually following me until the night Kate and I ran out of gas." I tell him.

"He was on the freeway behind us, just like today. Kate took the exit and begun to make all types of turns, the car did the same."

"The car or Jared?" He snickers.

"I didn't believe it was Jared!" I exclaim "Okay? I didn't want to accuse him of something I didn't know he was doing. It's a damn free country he can run wherever he wants. Be wherever he wants. It doesn't mean he was following me." I huff out.

"This is just damn perfect. He's fucking harassing you, stalking you, and you… you are defending him? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Did he really just say that? He has never spoken to me this way before… the time when he got back from L.A. comes close, but not like this. He was jealous then. Now he's just pure angry.

"Christian… He was just around. When he was on the trail before us, or at places before us I didn't think anything of it… just a coincidence."

"No, Ana. A coincidence is when you and Kate wear the same damn top. Not when some fucking asshole is stalking you. Tell me about the night we went to pick you up at that shitty gas station." He demands.

"Like I said, Kate thought it was Jared-"

"And she didn't say shit either? What … she thought it was some random asshole following you girls around like a fucking creep? That makes it better."

"She knew it was Jared. She recognized the car."

"And you didn't?" He looks at me as he hits the gas pedal to go faster.

"Christian, please …. slow down… you're scaring me." I plead to him.

I catch the brief moment where he softens his grip, then lays off the gas. For a second, I'm sure I saw apologetic features, but they were quickly masked with his anger again.

"You didn't recognize the car?" He asks a tad quieter.

"No. Maybe?"

"That's not a fucking answer."

"What do you want me to say? I never paid attention. I knew he drove a black sports car, Christian. How many fucking people drive a black sports car in Washington? Lots. It's not like I was ever near his car to pay attention to close detail."

"You sure about that? Kate was able to recognize it a mile away, sounds like."

"What is that supposed to mean? You think I'm lying to you?" I ask offended.

"I never thought you would keep this shit from me and I was wrong, so who else knows what I can be wrong about..."

That was like a slap in the face, perhaps worse.

"I can't believe you just said that to me. I've never lied to you."

"And I can't believe you hid this shit from me." He slams his hand on the steering wheel.

"I didn't hide it! I just wasn't sure about it. I haven't seen the car since that night! I haven't even seen Jared around since the summer!" I yell through my tears.

He gives me a look that makes me feel like I'm completely dumb.

"You couldn't put two and two together? For fucks sake, Ana. Jared hasn't been around because he's been off to school, at Brown. The whole fucking summer… starting in spring… someone was following you, as soon as summer stops, it ends. Think about it, Ana. You're smarter than this. I know you are." He says the last part mostly to himself.

He's making me feel awful. He doesn't understand. How can I tell him or anyone something I'm not even sure about? I wasn't going to start shit over something I wasn't even sure about...

"Christian," I continue to cry. "I wasn't sure he was following me… the black car? I wasn't sure it was him. I'm still not even sure it's-"

"Don't even finish that sentence, Ana. I'm damn sure it was him. I saw him. As soon as he saw me outside of the car, he sped up to go the other way. The fucker knows I saw him too."

"Okay," I breathe out, "Even then, how could I be sure he was following me? Just because I saw him around a few times? Hell, we saw Elena around too."

"That doesn't even fucking compare…"

Okay, he's right. It doesn't compare.

"Fine. It's obvious you don't care how I think." I cross my arms.

"Don't even pull that shit right now. So far, you haven't even said shit. You're just looking for fucking reasons to defend him, or say it wasn't him which is just pissing me off more. Why Ana? Why are you defending him?" He shouts.

"I'm not!"

"Yeah? What happened to "it's a free country, he can run wherever he wants, be wherever he wants', that you said two fucking minutes ago? That's defending him…"

I narrow my eyes at him.

"2100 SAT score? Where is it?" He tells me with mock laughter as he shakes his head.

I feel my mouth open, my brows furrow… It's one thing to be mad, but that was just plain cruel.

Knowing that we are not getting anywhere, I shift in my seat and stare at the road ahead of us.

Why did this have to happen today? We just barely had a chance to recover from Leila's bull shit. I close my eyes and let the tears consume me. I know this is far from over. I'm just thankful Christian is letting me have a break, hopefully he'll calm down before we make it home.

Yeah right, we're twenty minutes away. He's not calming down in twenty minutes.

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I don't even move to reach for it. I could care less who it is right now. Not that I could speak to anyone in my state. The tears haven't let up and I'm trying to control my sobs.

At one point I just want to tell him to pull over and I'll have Kate or Mason come pick me up, but refrain because I don't know what the answer will be. A part of me prays that he would say that I'm being ridiculous, but the other part of me knows that there is a good chance he would let me out.

He was mad about Eric, but not this mad.

But you talked to him, Ana. You calmed him down.

"Christian," I start when I realize we're a couple of blocks away from my house.

"What, Anastasia?"

Yeah, he's still mad.

"Can we talk about this?" I almost beg.

"You can bet your fucking ass we're talking, but before that I need to go see someone ." He says with venom.

"Who?"

"You know who…" He says as he puts my car in park outside my house.

"Jared? Christian, please be reasonable." I tell him.

"Are you fucking kidding me, right now?" He yells.

Next thing I know Christian is at my door, motioning for me to get out of the car.

"Christian… please, just listen to me." I hold on to his tense arm getting out of the car. My heart jumps a little when he doesn't refuse my touch.

He doesn't say anything so I continue.

"I didn't want to say anything because I wasn't even sure. Imagine what would have happened if I accused him of something that wasn't happening? You would have gone over there, probably starting something… and for what? What if it was just a damn coincidence? What if he wasn't following me?"

"But it turns out that he was, Ana." He runs his hand through his hair gripping it tightly. "If you would have told me, I would have gone over there and laid him out. Like he deserved to be. If you were wrong, well then you were wrong. But you weren't!" He shouts. "You weren't wrong… he was following you… he was stalking you."

I can't answer. I just let the tears flow down.

"He could have done something to you." He says quietly, but still full of anger. "Then what?"

"He didn't … he wouldn't."

He chuckles dryly, "You just don't get it. You don't fucking get it. That asshole has wanted in your panties since he first laid eyes on you. Why else would he be following you around? Think about it, Ana… If he just wanted to talk to you, why not text you like any normal fucking person? Don't doubt I still would have been pissed, because he wants you. But it would have been better than this." He raises his hands.

"He doesn't want me, Christian."

"You're so naive… of course he fucking wants you, why else would he be doing this shit?" Christian yells.

The front door opens and my father and Vivian step out.

"What the hell is going on here?" My dad asks loudly.

Vivian comes over to console me, putting her arm around my shoulders, pulling my tear stained face into her chest.

"Are you okay, Ana?" She asks softly.

No.

But I know her meaning.

I press my lips together, nodding.

"Ray," Christian runs his hands over his face. "I have to go."

"Now wait just one fucking second. I come out here to find you yelling at my daughter to the point where she's in tears. You're not just going to walk out of here."

"Ray excuse me for losing my temper, but when you find out you're going to lose your shit too." He tells him simply.

"I don't care what she did, Christian… look at her." He points to me.

Christian rests his hands against his hips, something he does when he's struggling with his anger. He lifts his gaze to mine, for a second I can see that he feels bad, but his anger takes over.

"Not you or anyone is going to treat her like that." My dad says in what would be in Christian's face if he were his height.

"Now tell me… what the fuck is going on."

Vivian continues to comfort me, rubbing her hand up and down my arm.

"Ray, it appears Ana has a little stalker."

"Yeah, Carrick told me. Leila was already served-"

"It's not Leila. It's Jared Pitchard. He went to school with us."

"What do you mean stalker?" My dad asks now that he knows it isn't Leila.

"From what I got through Ana's tears, following her around whilst she was running, following her around in his car when she's driving. We just had a run in with him, he took every single turn we did."

"Are you sure?" My dad asks shocked.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. He slowed down until he saw I was there, then sped up and drove the other way. During the summer there was another run in. Ana was with Kate when they noticed the asshole. They tried to lose him, but they ended up getting lost. Elliot and I went to get them." He tells him.

"Ana? Is that true?" My dad asks me.

"Dad…" I start, but he interrupts me.

"Just answer the question." He says sternly.

I nod, then mutter a whispered, "Yes."

"Jesus Christ."

"Now, can I leave? I'm going to pay that asshole a visit."

"I'm going with you." He tells Christian.

"Dad, Christian, please just-"

"No, Ana. I'm going to see what the hell is going on. You stay here, I'll talk to you when I get back." My dad tells me.

Vivian pulls me into the house as they turn to my dad's car to leave.

"Ana, what happened sweetie?" Vivian asks me once we're seated on the couch.

Finally my mouth opens and I let it all out. She listens carefully, sighs every now and then with an Oh Ana.

"I swear, I didn't think anything of it. When I did, it stopped. I stopped seeing him around. Christian has a point… he went to college, so he was out of the state. I guess since it was Thanksgiving break, he came back to visit."

"Ana, how did he even know where to find you? Or where you were?" Vivian asks.

"I don't know." I tell her honestly.

"Christian was so busy. I didn't want to bother him with this."

"And your father? You know he would have dropped everything. Checked it out, made sure everything was okay. Why didn't you tell him, sweetie?"

"I didn't want to start anything. I would tell myself, if he approaches me, I will then talk to my dad or to Christian. But he never did. I didn't want to bother with it."

"Ana, I get it. But you have to understand, they worry about you. If something would have happened they both would have been beside themselves."

"I know." Is the only thing I can answer.

I still think they are overreacting a little by going to confront him, but why did I have to be so stupid?

I should have just told my dad. I should have told Christian. I should have told someone. I tell myself.

"I may have a piece of chocolate cake for you." Vivian smiles.

I smile back at her. "Maybe later."

I head into my bathroom and wash my face with cool water. Looking into the mirror, I tell myself,

"You're so stupid, Ana."

"Why didn't you say something?"

Kate even told me they should know. But I didn't listen. Why didn't I listen?

Christian is so mad at me.

I decide to take a shower hoping that the hot water will soothe me. It doesn't. The only thing they will soothe me, calm me, is being in Christian's arms.

That's going to be a while…

Not knowing what's going to happen I decide to just get dressed instead of getting into my pajamas. I lay on my bed and grab my phone to see who had text me earlier.

You looked so beautiful today, Ana. It's been a while. - JP

Of course it was Jared… still thinking it wasn't him?

I debate if I should call Christian or my dad to tell them about the text.

I decide to tell them when they arrive and clutch my teddy as if it were my life line.


CPOV

"Right there." I point Ray towards Jared's house.

Ray pulls up outside the house, placing the car in park and shutting off the car.

I go to open the door, when Ray stops me, "Christian, I know you're mad. I am too. But we need to go in there calmly."

Mad? I'm fucking livid. I'm ready to kill this fucker. Who the fuck does he think he is stalking my girlfriend?

My girlfriend.

Who kept this shit from me, why? No fucking good reason.

I give Ray a brief nod and exit the car.

Asshole was waiting for us. He comes out of his house, shirtless only in basketball shorts, smirking.

"Well, well, well Christian-"

He doesn't get to finish that sentence as my fist connects with his jaw.

"Fuck you, you bastard." I yell at him as he recovers wiping the blood from his lip.

"Damn it, Christian." Ray huffs, "I said calmly."

"That was calm." I answer Ray.

"That wasn't how I expected this to go…" Jared chuckles.

He doesn't have a shirt to grab him from, so I kick his knees causing him to fall to the ground. Grabbing his hair I pull his head back, "If you ever… and I do mean ever, come near her again, you're going to be fucking done for, You got that?" I make sure I'm right in his face so he knows there is no fucking joking in my words.

"Christian, I was just going to say, hello to your sexy ass-." He laughs.

I throw him on the ground face forward, he tries to shift, but I grab his arm, twisting it, holding it behind his back.

"Don't come near her again! That's my last fucking warning." I let him go slamming his head against the ground.

"Fuck, that hurt more than your fist." Jared groans, fucking goading me. I go to hit him again when Ray pulls me off of him

"Christian stop. You don't want an assault charge." Ray places his hand on my chest.

"From what I understand you've been stalking my daughter. Be sure that I've already contacted a judge to get a restraining order drawn out, by Monday you should have it your hands." Ray tells him smoothly.

"Based on what? I haven't done anything to her." Jared spits out, he's not laughing now.

"Based on the fact that she's my daughter. You followed her around for months."

"But I never did shit to her, she was always with someone."

Does that mean he wanted to do something to her?

"You fucking asshole." I go after him again.

"Christian, stop. He's trying to rile you up. He had a smile on his face. Don't play into it."

"Listen you little punk," Ray's all serious now.

"I don't give a shit if you were there to tell her hi, or if you were there to tell her that you're dying of cancer. Don't come near my baby again. I know about those MIP's you have, not to mention the DUI along with another MIP you got in Rhode Island and how Judge Jackson gave you a break and had it sealed. I will make sure it's unsealed and plastered around the whole fucking United States. Then, you tell me how easy it would be able to get your Doctor's License with being a doped up fucking idiot."

"You can't do that. It's sealed." Jared shouts.

"I can do whatever the fuck I want. I got more friends in higher up places than you ever will. You don't want to play this game with me."

"Fine. I wasn't going to do anything, anyway. Like I said…" Jared shuts the fuck up with one glare from Ray.

"Your father still the CEO of PIT Advertising?" I ask interrupting this asshole that even dared to mess with me, that dared to mess with my girlfriend.

"Yeah, you jealous?" He tries to brag. Good company, but GEH is already more successful.

"Well, you keep this shit up, and Monday you'll be receiving the restraining order, and your father, he'll be receiving a box to empty his fucking desk." I tell him feeling the need to hang something over his head as well.

"Look, I got it okay? No more wanting to say 'hi' to Ana." He says getting up. He spits blood from his mouth to the side. "I'll stop."

"You fucking better." I match Ray's glare.

He walks into his house; Ray and I leave.

"How did you know about his record?" I ask Ray as he drives back to the house.

"Did you not hear me on the phone on our way out here, Christian?" He looks at me confused.

I must have tuned him out. The only thing I could think about was Ana. So fucking confused about it.

I can't believe half of the fucking shit I said to her. I basically called her fucking stupid. I run my hand down my face, trying to block the image of her crying out of my head. I can't stand to see her crying. I can't stand to see her fucking like that, and then to know it was at my hands?

But I was so fucking angry, I'm still so fucking angry. At her, at Jared. At the fucking world.

Why didn't she tell me? Doesn't she fucking know I would do anything for her? Does she not trust me? I would have put a stop to it.

I hate to think what must have been going through her mind.

"I was on the phone with Taylor," He says.

"Taylor? Jason Taylor?"

"Yep. He's doing security work, so he has access to this shit." He sighs "I don't think he will, but you know he can press assault charges against you. You busted his lip, I'm surprised you didn't rip his hair out with that grip."

"I wanted to, Ray, believe me. I fucking wanted to." I tell him. "I'm not worried about the charges, he's a little fucking pussy. He's not going to do shit."

"Do you use that language in front of my daughter?" He raises his brow at me.

Shit, "Not quite so explicit." Ride it out, ride it out.

"Uh-huh. I'm going to tell you this. I know Ana messed up, and I'm going to tell her, but shit Christian, lay off of her. If you can't talk to her reasonably then you need to step away and come back later. You never get upset with a woman to the point where she's like that. Especially if that woman is my daughter. I was halfway to the gun safe when Vivian pulled me away."

Shit.

"I didn't have a chance to walk away, we were still about 30 minutes away." I tell him honestly.

"Then you bite your fucking tongue, until it bleeds if necessary." He states.

I don't answer him. He hasn't said something I don't know.

"What about the restraining order? Do you think he'll stick to it? I mean what good do those damn things do? If he goes after her is she going to throw the damn paper at him?"

"Well after the talk I have with Ana, if he's within 100 feet of her she'll call the police, or me."

Or me. I mentally add. But I'll fucking kill him.

Was he fucking doped up during these times? Was he planning anything?

I close my eyes and try to control my feelings, my thoughts.

The way Ana's hand was gripping the seat, the door handle, scared, I can't shake that image from her. The way her tears came falling down. I've never seen her that way, she was scared of me.

This is all just fucked up.

"Why didn't she tell me?" I ask out loud.

"I'm about to find out." He answers. When I look up I see that we're already back home.

"You coming in?" Rays asks me. I still feel my veins trembling inside me.

I want to see her. Hold her in my arms, tell her I love her. But I can't. I'm still too fucking pissed. If I go in there now, I won't say anything of that nature.

"No. I need to calm down." I tell him.

"Good choice, son. You take your time, calm down, think real good about what you want to say." Ray advises me.

I nod and head to my house, fisting my hands at my side.

Yeah, I'm still way too fucking pissed.


APOV

"Ana, open the door. We need to talk." I hear my dad talking.

I must have fallen asleep. I look at the clock as I walk to the door 11:32 pm.

How long was I out? How long have they been over there?

"Dad." I open the door. I try to glance behind him without him noticing, but he does.

"He's at his house. He needs to calm down. Trust me. That's a good thing."

I nod as he steps in and takes a seat.

"Why didn't you say anything, Ana?"

Well I guess we're getting right into it.

"Dad." I sigh "I don't know. I wasn't thinking right." I sit on my bed, crossing one of my legs under me.

"The short version? I didn't want to bother you guys with petty things."

"Ana, this isn't petty. This is pretty serious." He says.

"I know. But what if I was wrong? What if it wasn't him? What if he wasn't following me?" I tell him honestly.

"What if you were right? What if it was him? What if he was following you? Huh, Ana?"

Okay, he's mad at me too.

"What if he went crazy just like this Leila girl? What if during one of these times he tried do something to you? Ana… you would have done a lot better being wrong then, than being wrong now."

"Dad, I know okay? I messed up. Christian's already told me. Vivian's told me. I looked myself in the mirror and told myself. I should have just said something… but I didn't. Kate even told me to tell you, and I didn't. Like I said, I didn't want to bother you." I tell him honestly.

"Annie… you will never be a bother to me. EVER. Get that through your head. You're my daughter. I love you and my job is to make sure nothing happens to you, but I can't do that if you don't tell me these things."

"I'm sorry." I feel the tears starting again.

"I know you are. But I think this is going to take a little more than an I'm sorry. I know you've had an eventful day, but tomorrow, we're going to have to go through each instance. I need to put it in the restraining order petition."

"Restraining order? Dad is that really necessary?"

"Don't start. I may be sitting here talking to you calmly, but it took a few hours for me to calm down. I'm still upset over the whole situation. And yes, it's completely necessary."

"Okay."

He says goodnight and heads out. I grab my phone once more, hoping to see something, anything from him.

Nothing.

I text him.

I'm sorry. I love you.- AS

I wait a few moments begging for my phone to vibrate in my hand. Seconds, minutes, eventually an hour goes by. I haven't let go of my phone; checking every so often in case I missed it.

Still, nothing.

Do you blame him, Ana?

My tears begin again- or as Christian said, the waterworks. Remembering everything he said to me causes my tears to become uncontrollable until sleep finds me.


Sunday Afternoon

I stare at my phone willing it to ring, vibrate, shudder, just do anything. It doesn't.

He hasn't responded to any of my messages. I tried calling him, but he didn't answer.

You really fucked up this time.

All morning I've felt that I've been interrogated. My father called over one of his junior associates to get my statement in writing.

I showed him the text message that will be added to the complaint.

"Sir," Jonathan, the junior associate, says "there is a lot of material here, but it's all circumstantial. None of this indicates that Ana was in any harm with him being near her. He was merely at the same place she was."

That's what I've been saying!

"I know what we have. Just write it up." My dad orders him.

"I have the incidents on the trails, the mall, and the following you around in his vehicle. Is there anything else?" Jonathan asks me.

"I don't know if this is something, but he text me last night-"

"He did what?" My dad exclaims.

"He just sent me a text."

"Let me see it, Ana."

I give him my phone.

"Jonathan throw it in the complaint, but it was before I had my little talk with him, so we'll just leave it at that."

"What did you guys tell him?" I ask.

"To stay away from you." He shrugs.

"Ana, when this order is in place, I need you to do the right thing." He continues.

"You should have told us from the beginning instead of letting it get to this, but it is what it is. In the future, if you see him around you, you are to call me. Got it?"

"What if it's at the mall or at a restaurant? We still have some mutual friends, we're bound to run into each other." I tell him.

"Then call me and I will consider the circumstances and determine what the next step should be."

"I think this is a bit much." I mutter.

"Ana," My dad sighs. "Being in the courts, you don't know half the shit I've seen. It may be an overreaction, but I don't care. You're my daughter. The ball was dropped with Leila, I won't let it be dropped with Jared. Now, the only thing left to say is that you understand and will call if you see the assho- if you see Jared." He corrects his language.

"I understand. I will call if I see him." I say.

"Ana, lunch is ready." Vivian says at my door.

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry." I tell her.

"Ana. You need to eat something, you only had a slice of toast this morning before your jog." She says concerned.

I needed to get out of the house. Clear my thoughts. My father wouldn't let me leave alone, so Mason tagged along.

My feet pound the ground hard as each stride lands. Why did this all happen? I turn up my music to try to blast these thoughts from me, but it's all still there.

Why did Leila have to come back? Why did Jared have to show up again? Why can't that they just let us be?

Why didn't I listen to Kate when she told me to tell someone?

My head is filled with all these 'why' questions.

I pick up my pace confident that Mason can keep up. It should be Christian with me. I think to myself.

He didn't even text or call me last night, you really think he'd be running with you? My subconscious shouts at me.

I slow down as I hear Mason shouting at me.

"What's up?" I ask breathless.

"Ana, calm down. You're not running a marathon." He tells me.

"Mason… please." I roll my eyes.

"Ana, I'm not going to ask you what's the matter, I've heard enough, but try to calm down."

"Mason, I just can't. Everyone is so mad at me." I tell him becoming teary eyed again.

"I know. But they'll calm down. I think it's just too much too fast. First Eric, then this Leila chic coming back, and now this Jared fucker."

"I know." I sigh, "But what do I do?"

"Just try to talk to him. Tell him your side of the story."

"I've tried. He won't listen to me. Yesterday, I kept on trying but he would just fluster the shit out of me with all his questions and yelling."

"Then give him some space. When he's ready he'll come to you." He tells me.

"What if … what if he doesn't?" I force myself to ask.

"He will."

"But what if he doesn't? What if I've pushed over his limit?"

"Ana, you didn't do anything to push him past his love for you. He's just angry."

"He's sooo angry. He's never been this angry with me. Not even after Eric."

"But you also forced him to talk to you." He says.

"So what do I do? Go over his house, force him to talk to me? He needs to be at the airport by 1:30pm. What do I do then?"

"No... don't push him this time. Let him calm down, then he'll contact you."

"He's never gone to sleep without texting me 'goodnight'." I tell him, "last night, he did."

"Have you ever thought about maybe taking a break?"

"What? No. Just no. What do you mean taking a break?" I let out shocked. "Has he said he wants a break? Mason, has he said something like that?"

"For fucks sake, chill woman. Breathe." He chuckles.

"How can you laugh? This isn't a laughing moment. Tell me… what has he said?" I tell him.

"You're right. Sorry. Ana, I haven't talked to him since Thanksgiving. Never has he said wanting a break…" He clarifies.

"He must have said something, for you to suggest it."

You were never good enough for him, you were bound to fuck up. I tell myself.

"Ana, stop crying."

Like I can control it.

"Sam and I have had to take breaks. When we get back together, we're usually stronger than before."

No. This isn't the right option for us. Taking a break would destroy us.

Would it, Ana? Maybe it's what he wants.

No. He can't want that.

"Hey, it was just a suggestion." Mason nudges my shoulder.

"Do you think he wants that?" I ask, fearing the answer.

"I don't know. You guys are so fucking intense. It's like what you guys feel for each other radiates the fuck out of you guys. Maybe try toning it down, if you don't want to take a break."

"Maybe a little later." I tell Vivian who looks at me with concerned eyes.

She gives me a brief smile of understanding and leaves.

I feel my phone vibrate.

I'm filled with disappointment again when I see Kate's name.

"Kate." I answer.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"What?" I ask. I settle down on the bed and try to focus on what she's saying.

"Did you and Grey fight? Elliot said he's in a fucking mood. He's about to take him to the airport, which I thought was weird since you usually do, or go with. So, I figured you guys were fighting."

I look at the time on my clock, 12:30, he'd be leaving shortly. Usually we leave even a little earlier to just spend time in each other's' arms. I guess this means he doesn't want me there. Can you blame him?

"Spill it, Ana."

"Kate…" I cry.

"What happened, Ana? Do you want me to go over?"

I want to tell her no, because I have hope that he will come over. That he will call and tell me to come over so I can go with him. He wouldn't leave without telling me goodbye, would he?

Unless, he wants a break.

"That's it, I'm coming over." She says when I just sob.

"No, Kate it's fine. It's just that… yesterday he found out about Jared following me." I tell her.

"You told him? He probably went ape shit on his ass. I'd love to see his face." She giggles.

"No, I didn't have to tell him. He found out." I say quietly.

"How the fuck did he find out… ohhh… shit, Ana. Don't fucking tell me, he was following you and you were with Christian? Huh? Shit, Ana. I told you to tell him."

"I know."

"What did he do?" She asks

"Went thermonuclear. Yelled at me, went to his house. I don't know what happened over there, but I imagine he hit Jared because my dad was talking to Jonathan about looking out for an assault charge."

"Of course he would. He probably put him in the hospital. Who's Jonathan?" She asks.

"One of the firm's junior associates. He's drawing up the request for a restraining order."

"Shit. He told your dad?"

"Mhmm. Kind of hard not to. He was yelling at me outside, my dad heard and went to find out what was going on. He's not too happy with me either."

"Oh, Ana." She sighs.

"Mason thinks we should take a break." I tell her crying.

"What? No. Mason's dumb."

"He says it works for him and Sam."

"But it won't work for you. Don't listen to him." She says. "He's a guy, he doesn't know what he's talking about."

"But…." Oh my gosh I don't even want to think about it, "What if Christian wants a break?"

"Don't be dumb, Ana. Christian wouldn't want that-"

"Kate hold on, someone's at my door."

"Come in." I yell and begin wiping my tears.

Finally.

It's him.

Christian.

"Kate, I'll call you back." I tell her, before hanging up and tossing my phone to the bed.

I stand as I take him in. His hair's a mess, like he's run his hands through it many times, he has on a black shirt, dark jeans, and sneakers. He looks totally hot, but the look he carries on his face sends a clear message to back off.

"Hey." I say as he steps in my room.

"I just came to say bye." He says softly, but his voice still angered.

"Do you want me to take you. I can totally take you, let me grab my keys." I stand to grab them.

"Ana. Stop."

I freeze.

"Mia's taking us." He says.

"Mia?" I thought Kate said Elliot.

"Yeah, she's taking Elliot and I."

"Oh." I'm sure my face falls.

He doesn't want me to take him.

"Yeah."

"Christian, I'm so sorry." I blurt out. "I'm so sorry." I cry.

"Come here." He grabs my arm, pulling me into him.

My arms immediately go around his waist, as I continue to cry into his shirt.

"Shhh." He rubs and kisses my head.

"I've got to go. I just came to say bye."

The way he says it makes my heart break.

"Christian, please." I beg, not even sure for what. "Don't be so mad at me."

"Ana, I'm not ready. I'm still too pissed off and don't want to say shit I'll regret later."

"Okay."

He loosens his grip on me, reluctantly I follow his movements.

"No matter how upset I am, I couldn't bring myself to leave without saying goodbye to you, Ana."

He was thinking about it? Leaving without saying bye? I stare at him trying to find answers to my unspoken questions.

He was.

"Have …. have a good flight." I sob.

"Ana, please, stop crying." He sighs.

I can only manage to nod, as he wipes my tears with his thumbs.

He tucks my hair behind my ear, before he leans in to kiss my cheek.

"We'll talk soon." He says in my ear.

"I love you."

"Me too."

Once he's gone I lie on my bed and sob. He only kissed me on the cheek. He didn't say I love you he said "Me too."

Maybe he does want a break. What did you do, Ana?

Like last night, I grab my teddy and squeeze him tight.

I cry harder when the teddy says in Christian's voice, "I love you."


Thank you so much for your continued support and reviews! Sorry for the delay, I was in a funk, I'm not totally happy about this chapter, but I wanted to give you guys something!

Pinterest will be updated tomorrow!