A/N: You can be frustrated and you can tell me how mad you are in reviews, but please stay with me for the next one. It will make you so, so happy. Xx

Chapter 29: Reminding me to forget.

"God damn it, how much longer do we have to wait?" I growl to nobody in particular.

Elliot and I have been waiting for two hours now, and we are still not allowed to board the plane that will take us to Georgia. If I look outside the window, I can see the plane already standing there, but apparently, there is something wrong with the engine which is the reason why we can't board. After all the waiting, a fucking plane will make the waiting a little longer. Unbelievable.

"I don't know man, but I am ready to sleep. Jesus Christ." Elliot curses behind me, obviously done with waiting as well.

Our flight was supposed to leave at 10 pm, but it is now past 12 and I have to admit I'm getting tired as well, even though the adrenalin is pumping through my veins. Waiting fucking sucks.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, passengers for flight GA 182 to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport will be able to board in 10 minutes." It sounds through the airport.

"Thank fuck." Elliot breathes before standing from his seat to do some stretch exercises.

I nod my head in agreement before also standing. I want to make sure I am first in line to get into the plane. I know I have to wait for departure until everybody else is on the plane as well, but it makes me feel closer to Ana if I'm in it. I need to be closer.

"I hope I will be able to catch some sleep on the plane, else tomorrow will be a long ass day." Elliot says while we are walking to the doors that lead to the plane.

"Fuck, me too. Else I will look like a zombie and that is not good." I chuckle.

Elliot laughs as well. "Yeah, then she will probably whoop your ass back on the plane and ask herself where that pretty boy from Italy went."

I shake my head while I laugh. Elliot has always teased me with the way I look even though I can't help it and he is just as much a good looking guy as I am. I guess we have good genes.

"Have you thought about what you are going to say to her?" Elliot asks after a short comfortable silence.

He has been very supportive of this whole thing. He even made sure we can crash at Rick and he also made sure we have a transfer to his dorm. He convinced Rick to let us borrow his truck so we can go to Ana's house. He isn't such a bad guy after all, that douchebag brother of mine.

"The truth. That the time apart made me realize that I really like her and that I want to try with her, if she is willing. I don't know, I think I will just let all my feelings out and see how she will react." I tell him. I am nervous about seeing her again and telling her why I came to see her. I can only hope that she will feel the same as me. If she does, then we can figure out the rest.

"Romantic son of a bitch." Elliot snorts, making me laugh as well.

He is the one to talk. Right before we went to the airport, Mr. Grey over here needed to make a quick stop at Kate Kavanagh her dorm, because he needed to give her chocolates and a kiss goodbye. He is like a lovesick puppy.

"It'll be a great story to tell when I marry her," I smirk, completely shocking the fuck out of Elliot which was precisely my goal.

"Woah man, marriage? What the hell?"

Now I am laughing at him. Fuck he is so easy. "God, kidding. Relax. I'm sure you will be first with that Miss Kavanagh of yours." I reassure him.

"Right, let's fucking hope she still likes me after I come back. She hated the fact that I'd go to Savannah with you to visit Rick. I still don't understand why I couldn't tell her about Ana. Now she is thinking I'm going on a fuckathon in Georgia." He says while rolls his eyes.

I have asked him to keep it quiet. He and I are the only two who know. We've told my parents that we are going to visit Rick as well. I don't want them to know, because I just know how they will react.

Mom and Mia will go insane. I wouldn't be surprised if they demanded to come along. They would think this is some insane life-time romance for their entertainment. And dad, he would probably just tell me to focus on school, which he already does on a regular basis. Thank, but no thanks.

I also want to keep it quiet because I want to be sure that Ana feels the same and that this trip will be a success. If she has moved on or she doesn't feel the same, then I don't want to have to tell the story over and over again. I don't want people to pity me and I definitely don't need other girls around campus to know that I flew 7 hours to see a girl I've met in Italy. They would totally love that and think I am one of those romantic fuckers that are looking for a relationship. I don't need that. I just want that with Ana and if she doesn't want that with me, I'll move on and be my old self again.

"Trust me, man. She will. Just buy her something nice and go to her the moment we get back. Kiss her, fuck her and make her come and then give her the present. She'll forgive you before she moaned your name." I tell him. I know what girls want. They want to hear how much you've missed them before you fuck them senseless.

"Such a filthy language for such a handsome boy." A small grey-haired woman with glasses says from behind me, making Elliot snort.

"Excuse me, but it is very impolite to listen to other people's conversations," I tell her before looking in front of me again, making Elliot laugh out loud.

"Flight GA 182 to Savannah/Hilton International Airport is ready to board." We hear through the speakers again.

Perfect timing.

Since Elliot and I are in front of the row, we are the first ones to get in. Our seats are right at the wing by the window. Because I'm walking in first, I take the place by the window which means that Elliot needs to take the place in the middle.

"Fuck you, man." He chuckles before taking my bag to put it in the luggage cabinet above our heads. When he has done that, he takes a seat as well. "That little missy clearly needed a dick."

"I know right." I chuckle but I stop instantly when I see to who the seat next to Elliot belongs to. Talking about karma.

"Fucking hell man. Now I really hate you." Ellipt mumbles while I need to try really hard to hold an hystirical laughter.

"Well, well, well. Looks like I can teach you both some manners during this flight." The little grey-haired woman from earlier smiles while taking the seat next to Elliot.

This is going to be a long flight and something tells me that there will be very little sleeping.


After indeed a very, very long flight with no sleep at all because the little woman took her task of teaching us some manners very seriously, we now finally arrive at the dorm where Rick lives. Thank fucking God. I'm hungry, I need a shower so I can look somewhat good and the most important thing; I want to go to Ana.

"Elliot, wanker, how are you?" Rick says enthusiastically while walking out of the front door of a very big house.

Elliot grins and walks to him as well, hands outstretched to give him a friendly hug. "Ricky, how's it hanging?"

"Slightly to the left like always." He grins before pulling out of Elliot's hug to great me. "Chris, nice to meet you, man. Are you ready to meet that dorky chick of yours?"

I force a smile on my face and shake his outstretched hand. I am really not liking the way he talks about Ana, but I hold my breaths since he needs to provide me from food and a shower.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Although I could use a shower and some breakfast before we'll go." I tell him, hoping that he will catch the hind. Thankfully he does.

"Right, come in. One of my roommates just made pancakes. Let's eat and after that, you can have a shower. You'll sleep with me in my room, I already have two airbeds ready for you, so you can also have a nap if you want." He says while we are walking into the house.

"We're okay. Just a shower and then I want to get going." I tell him and Elliot. I can tell Elliot was more into the whole napping thing, but if he wants to join me he'll have to wait. I want to get to Ana as soon as possible.

The nervous are drastically starting to kick in at this point. I think it is because I'm so close to her now. Just a small hour away from her house, and I swear it makes me feel better already. Now I only have to pray that she hasn't moved on.

"Alright. Let's eat." Rick says. He is excited that we are here and I have to admit that he does seem nice.

He and Elliot are already catching up, talking animatedly to each other while laughing hard. The dorm also looks decent. We are standing in a big kitchen with a huge table to the left and to my surprise I don't see any gross, old pizza boxes or leftovers. I can't say that of my own dorm.

We all take a seat at the table and start eating. I'm eating like a bulldozer because I'm hungry and because I want to get this over with.

"Someone's excited." Rick chuckles while he looks at me.

"You have no idea," I tell him. "Thank you again for your efforts. I really appreciate it."

"Your welcome man. You should bring her here. I'm dying to meet her after all the trouble." He smiles before taking a bite of his pancake as well.

I'm not sure if I will do that, considering this is a house full of guys, but I nod my head anyway. To be honest, I have no idea what we are going to do if she feels the same way as me. We will probably just take a walk and talk. I have missed talking to her. And tomorrow I maybe take her out for breakfast. Our flight will leave at 3 tomorrow so it is a short visit, but I know it is all worth it if Ana tells me she feels the same.

"Where is the shower, Rick? I'm going to freshen up." I ask Rick when I've eaten enough. I'm so nervous I only managed to eat two pancakes, but it'll hold me up until dinner.

"Upstairs to your right and then the third door to your left." He says. He and Elliot are still eating and I think that Elliot will not be full until he has eaten them all. I just hope he eats them quickly so we can get into the car.

Only 50 minutes away from Ana. I. Can't. Wait.


"Jesus fuck, will you stop that. It even makes me nervous as hell." Elliot says for the fifth time this ride. I can tell I'm pissing him off but I can't help it. I'm tapping my foot up and down so hard, I think the car is shaking and Elliot obviously doesn't appreciate it.

"Sorry," I mumble, looking out of the window if I already see a sign of Ana.

We just drove into the street she is living, and I am on the top of my nerves. I swear it feels like I'm having a heart attack. All kinds of thoughts are going through my head. Did I make a mistake to come here? Will she feel the same? Has she missed me? This shit is costing me years of my life, I just know it.

"Alright, it is the house with the blue front door," Elliot says while nodding his head towards a house to my right.

It isn't a very big house, but it does have a big yard. I take a moment to really check the place out. This is where she lives. She is in there right now, at least I hope she is. I fucking hope she isn't out with some douchebag asshole. If she is, I will haunt this place down until I've found them.

"Are you just going to stare at the place or are you going to ring the bell?" Elliot asks. I can tell he is getting impatient and he might be a little nervous as well.

"Yeah. I'm going. Wait here." I tell him while opening the door and getting out of the car. I don't need him right next to me when I see her again. She'll meet him later after I've said hello to her properly.

I'm walking over the yard to the front door and I feel like my legs are going to give out. I feel like some insecure kid who needs to do a speech in front of the whole class. I don't like this feeling. Once again, Ana's got me all insecure. What the hell does she do to me?

When I'm standing in front of the door, I press the bell and hold my breath. I fucking hope that Ana's father doesn't answer the door. Her mom is fine, she liked me, but her dad. I think he didn't like me at all, even though I was polite. It might have something to do with the fact that I made her ask if she could spend the night with me, but still. I treated Ana right.

I'm waiting for the door to open, but nothing happens. I press the bell again, a little longer this time, hoping that maybe they didn't hear it ringing but I soon realize there is nobody home.

Elliot, who obviously saw from the car that nobody opened, is now walking towards me.

"She isn't home, is she?" He asks.

I shake my head. "Don't think so. Damn it."

I walk to the front window and look inside to see if I maybe see someone. I know she isn't home, but I still have hope. The moment I look through the window however, I can instantly tell there hasn't been anyone in this house for a while. The only thing I see is the kitchen, a few cabinets, and the curtains that are hanging in front of me, making my vision limited. Everything else is gone. No couch, no tv. Nothing.

This can't be happening.

"Are we standing in front of the right house?" I ask Elliot, even though I know we are. I don't want to believe that this is happening.

"We are." He mumbles while looking through the window also. "Fuck man. It looks empty."

"That's because it fucking is, asshole," I growl.

"Easy man. Come on, let's ask the neighbors. Maybe there is an explanation." He says, pulling me to the house next to Anas.

We both walk to the front door of the house and Elliot knocks on the door. Not long after, a middle-aged woman opens the door. She looks at us with a sweet smile on her face.

"Can I help you?" She asks. I fucking hope so.

"Yes. We were wondering, we are here for the Steele family, but we've noticed that their house is empty. Can you tell us more about that?" Elliot asks, clearly understanding I am not able to talk right now.

I can only feel depressed. I know she is gone. I don't know why but I feel it. This is it. She doesn't live here anymore.

"Oh yes, they move out just two days ago. It had something to do with Mr. Steele his job. They couldn't tell me the reason." She says before moving forward a little like she wants to tell us a secret. "But I have doubts about that story. Just a week and a half ago, there was an ambulance and a police car here. They went inside the house of the Steeles. Just minutes after they came out with a stretcher with a girl on it. It was the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Steele, Ana. I have no idea what happened, but I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with their sudden choice to move."

My mind is in overdrive instantly. Ana. What the hell happened to her?

"How did she look? Ana, I mean? Was she hurt?" I ask the woman desperately, making her eyes widen a bit.

"Oh well, I didn't really see her that good, but she was not really moving. As I said, I don't know what happened. Nobody talked to them about it."

"Fucking fuck!" I curse while turning around to calm myself down. Fucking useless neighbors.

"Excuse my brother, he is a bit emotional when it comes to Ana. Do you maybe have a phone number we can use? We came from Seattle and we wanted to visit Ana. She and my brother haven't seen each other in quite some time." Elliot says, trying to justify my weird behavior.

"I've got the number of Carla's cellphone. I always used it to make an appointment for my hair. I have no idea if she took it with her, but we can try." She says before turning around. "One moment."

I turn around again and wait. Elliot is scolding at me in the meantime.

"You might want to keep your anger in check, asshole. She might call the police if you keep it up."

I don't have time to answer because the woman returns before we know it, with a small paper in her hand.

"Here you go. I hope it works. Have you known her for long?" She asks me, a sweet smile on her face. She looks very friendly.

"I've met her in Italy," I answer, really not in the mood to tell her the whole story.

"Ah, summer love." She signs dreamingly. "I hope you'll find her."

"Me too." I nod before grabbing the paper from her and walking back to the car so I can grab my phone. I insert the number like a mad one, dying to see if I can get a hold of them. I'm fucking desperate.

After two tones, I hear someone pick up and suddenly I have hope again.

"Carla Steele." The woman on the other end of the phone says.

Bingo.

"Carla, hi. This is Christian from Italy. From Ana. You know, from the resort." I ramble. God, I really am using all my power to not go crazy right now.

It stays silent for a moment before I hear Carla whisper. "Christian?"

I know she knows who I am. I think she is just surprised.

"Yeah. I've got your number from your neighbor in Savannah. I came to see Ana, but I noticed your house is empty." I tell her, hoping that she will fill in the blanks.

"One moment." I hear her say before I hear movements. I also hear voices talking, but they are too muffled to understand what they are talking about. After about a minute, someone talks again.

"Christian? This is Ray Steele."

"Hi, Mr. Grey," I say, a bit surprised. "How are you?"

I decided to ask him how he is doing first, to be polite and hopefully make a better impression on him than last time.

"I'm fine. I understand that you came to Savannah to visit Ana?" He asks. He is sounding very formal and I don't like it.

"I am. I've done quite some research and I eventually I was able to get your address. I really would like to talk to Ana for a moment if that is okay?" I ask hopefully.

"I see." Mr. Steele says on the other end. "I'm afraid that isn't possible."

My heart stops beating. Why the hell not? Oh god, I hope it hasn't got anything to do with that ambulance the neighbor was talking about.

"Why not? Did something happen to her? Is she okay?" I ask. I'm worried as fuck right now. Please let her be okay.

"Listen, Christian. I'm afraid I can't tell you. I have to ask you to stop looking for Ana." He says after a moment of silence.

What the fuck? Is he insane?

"Why? What is wrong? What happened to her? Has it got something to do with that ambulance? What happened?" I ask him, raising my voice.

"Just stop looking, Christian. It was a summer thing you and Ana had and you need to move on and treasure the memories." He tells me.

"Why the fuck do I need to do that? What the hell happened to her?" I'm fully yelling at him now and I don't even care. I need to know if she is okay.

"Listen, I'm saving you from a lot of drama, boy. She has moved on. Stop looking " He says forcefully before hanging up.

"Fuck man, what the hell was that all about?" Elliot says from behind me.

I don't answer. I just let everything Ray told me sink in. And only one thing stays in my head, it keeps playing on repeat. She has moved on. She doesn't feel the same.

"We can maybe go and find some of her friends, maybe they'll know more about where-" Elliot starts, but I cut him off.

"No. She has moved on." I tell him before getting into the car. "Just head to Ricks."

Elliot doesn't ask more and just gets in the car as well and starts driving. I can tell he is confused by my reaction but I don't care. Ana has moved on. It doesn't matter if I find her. If I do she will only tell her that herself which will make it even more painful. Not to mention that I have no idea if she has friends here. The last time I spoke to her she told me she hadn't. I just have to accept it. She has moved on.

"Do you want to grab a beer somewhere?" Elliot asks. I can tell he is looking for a way to get me to talk.

I shake my head. Like we are going to get a beer somewhere anyway.

"Just go to Ricks. I bet he has something strong that can take my mind of things." I tell him, not looking at him.

"Alright." He signs, still not understanding my reaction but I can tell he is letting it go for now.

"And Elliot, not a word. To anyone or to me. Ever again." I tell him while I do look at him now to show him how serious I am.

He nods his head. "I promise. Not a word."

I nod my head and look out the window again, feeling numb and angry but above all, I feel sad. This is it. I need to move on. I tried finding her and it didn't happen.

Old Christian needs to come the fuck back, right now.