My dear little broccolis💚💚💚,

💚 So, this is me doing a favour to the same someone who PMed me and asked to upload two of my stories with the FSOG names. I already did it for Forbidden Fruit, and now, here comes the second. The original fic is published under the Mortal Instruments franchise. If you're one of my old readers, well, you already know this story, so only read it if you want to read it with other characters in mind; if you're a new reader, well hang on and let's see how this Ana and Christian work in here.

💚 So we're getting to that point guys ...

Chapter 20 ~ Ghosts That Haunt You Down (3,2K)

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Ana's PoV.

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The blaring ringtone of my phone wakes me from my deep, harmless sleep. I finished work an hour ago, which means that I got home half an hour ago, and lay in my precious bed (that I bought three months ago with Christian) only fifteen minutes ago. So I know that it is not my alarm waking me from my nap.

With a grunt, I answer, not even bothering on removing the covers from my head, and mumbling under my breath: "Hello."

"Shit! Am I waking you up?" Christian's voice echoes on the other end of the phone, and I uselessly shake my head to reassure him that it's no bother. But then I realize how stupid it is, and vocalize my thoughts:

"It's okay. I just got to bed, anyway."

"Well, I'll let you go back there quickly then. I'm sorry babe, but I have to cancel our movie night. There is this case that Franklin insists on finishing today, and I feel like we're here until the wee hour," Christian tells me, his voice full of guilt. I restrain myself from rolling my eyes at this, because I know he's apologizing for cancelling a date night and not for not spending time with me.

Ever since Elliott came to live with him two weeks ago, Christian didn't spend a single night at his place. He slept with me every night (not that I'm complaining). But due to that, we didn't actually do anything much together. He comes back from work rather late, and I wake up really early. So we only sleep together. And every time that I tried to organize something throughout the past couple of weeks, Christian cancelled last minute because of work. Just like he just did.

The thing is, I don't mind that much. I know how much he loves his job and how important it is for him. And never would I even consider throwing a fit because he loved his job. Or maybe it's just that I don't want to become like my mother. After all, this was the reason she left my father. I don't know. I just know that I don't mind Christian cancelling on me so often. Probably because I still get to have him at night, and that I would trade that for nothing in the world.

"It's okay, Christian. It just means I get to sleep a little bit more. Are you coming home tonight?" I reassure him, and I can almost picture Christian gently shaking his head at me, with a small smile on his lips.

"Of course I am. I am really sorry about tonight. I'll make it up to you Sunday."

"Well … now that I've seen Minnie mouse first hand, you have to work really hard to top that," I tease, still not fully recovered from our wonderful trip to Disney.

I think that I can honestly say that I had the time of my life there. While we were there, Christian gave me the blast of my life, knowing which rides to take, where to go when we were tired, how to avoid waiting for too long in queues... But what I liked best was just being with him, being ourselves, away from work, away from stress, just in our little bubble. I love how we were so cliché by going to the restaurants, going to picnics, taking tons of pictures and selfies. I actually developed several of them, and have one of the two of us displayed proudly in my living room (because I am cheesy like that).

"Oh … So if I happen to have heard that there was a convention happening next town and that a certain cast of a certain show was to be there, you would not really care, would you?" Christian says with a light tone as if nothing, and I am torn between believing that he wants to take me to the convention where Dean Winchester will be, and just believing that he's just toying with me. I mean, you never know with lawyers, and he does tease me a lot about my obsession over Dean.

"What … You're just playing me. That's not nice!"

"Trust me, babe. I would never play when such a level of bliss is involved for you," He retorts in that low voice that makes me blush so deep. It's when he uses this voice, or when he says that kind of things that I like Christian the most. Because … it makes me feel so special to him. It makes me feel … unique and cared for like he never cared for before.

"I'll make you banamuffins," I simply say, because what else can I respond to what he just said? 'Thank you' would seem just arrogant, I think.

"Making sure that I come home not too late?" He teases, and I roll my eyes again, repressing a yawn as I strongly retort:

"Don't be ridiculous Christian. You know you can come home anytime, I won't mind."

"I know. That's one of the reasons I … like you so freaking much! Anyway, go back to sleep, I'll try not to make too much noise."

And on those sweet words, he hangs up, letting me go back to sleep. I don't take long to find Morpheus arms, rocking my mind to sleep with the sweet memories of our trip, and not even lingering on Christian's last hesitation. I am just so blissful at that precise moment.

Though, to be honest, I have to admit that I am nervous about the evolution of our relationship. Mostly because of what Kate said. She almost freaked out when she learned that Christian and I never went further than second base. She went as far as asking if Christian still had all his man parts because we've been together for 'ages' and that, normal guys consummate at this point of our relationship. She didn't insinuate anything about him cheating on me, but rather that he might be the kind of guy to put a ring on a finger before going any further. This got me thinking a lot, but I wonder if she would still say the same thing if she knew my story.

I keep on delaying telling her because … because I am scared that she will go all shrink on me. Kate is very sweet and fun, but sometimes she analyzes situations a little too accurately for my liking (like my relationship with Christian for instance). Maybe she should take lessons with Lily to become a shrink. Or maybe this is part of being a good bartender. I don't know. All I know is that I am scared of her analyzing everything I would tell her.

And anyway, I feel like Christian and I will soon pass this whole thing. Because every time he touches me, I have new sensations running through me, that make me blush when I think of them afterwards. It's more than the butterflies in my belly. It's … lower … and stronger. And it takes all over my senses. And I actually like those sensations very much. To be honest, I am even a little bit disappointed when my brain decides that I had too much action when Christian and I are in these situations.

I am suddenly torn out of my sleep/thoughts by someone ringing at my door, making me grunt loudly at the impossibility I have to take my precious power nap. Why does the world hate me? I check on the time and see that it's past six, and I have this ridiculous hope that Christian is here early because he already finished all his work. But once I am up, I still have the good sense of putting on some trousers because I recall that Christian has the keys to my place and so he doesn't need to ring.

I honestly don't know who that can be, because Kate is still working, Elliott never sees me if Christian isn't with me, and Mrs Lincoln is at her grandson's for the week. So I have no reason to have any sort of visitors, and this is why I pick up the metal baseball I bought a few months ago as I go open the door.

There I find a middle-aged man standing on my doorstep, wearing a grey flannel shirt with dark denim jeans. He is taller than me (which doesn't say anything), with dark brown hair; and his Hawaiian ocean blue eyes are hidden by glasses. I really have no idea who this man is, and so I grip my baseball bat a little tighter, though it is hidden by the door.

"Miss Wilks? I am officer Banner," He says with a very professional tone and all my blood leaves my face.

He just called me Miss Wilks. No one here knows my real name. I am Ana Steele to the world, now. The only place where I was known as Anastasia Wilks is the town where I come from. The town I fled. The town where he lives.

This is my worst nightmare coming to life. They finally found me. And they did it too early. I am still a minor, which means, they can still force me to live in the Hell hole I escaped. They are going to send me back there. They are going to send me back to Hell. Life is unfair and will never leave me at peace. I should have known that lucky stars didn't exist. Life only made me believe for a second that I could live happy, before snatching the happiness away from me with cruelty.

I take a minute step back, bringing the door a little bit closer to closure as my breath starts to be rarer and rarer; but I am still conscious enough to plead, my breath coming out in pants: "Don't! Please don't bring me back there! I won't go back there! I swear that I'll kill myself rather than go back there!"

I know it's useless to plead like that. He's a police officer, and he is here to do his job, but that doesn't mean I can't try. The officer looks deeply into my eyes with his piercing blue eyes, before slowly looking at my face, and then, at the little he can see of my apartment. I swear it looks like a hundred years passed, but barely a minute did when he finally asks with a wary voice full of undertones:

"Is there a crime of any kind that you would like to report? A crime that would justify your presence to remain at the police station rather than me dropping you directly at your mother's house?"

I shake my head, avoiding his eyes; and stubbornly whisper: "Please, I don't want to go back."

I know that he just gave me an opening to report Michael. And I know I should have done that long ago. Christian does tell me every now and then that it is never too late to press charges for what he did to me. There is no prescription period for that sort of crime. But … I don't want to live through all the things reporting Michael implicate. And I am scared that he'd still get walk free and get to take me with him. I just want to live that beautiful life that I built for myself. The life where I have nice friends and a sweet boyfriend. The life where I do what I love for a living and where I manage to save so I can build my dream shop. This life that I call mine.

The officer keeps on looking at me, until I look back at him; and once I do, he holds my gaze and says very slowly, stressing on his words: "I do not have the jurisdiction to force you to come with me. I have to go to the police station in this county to bring an officer with me so I can take you in and bring you back to your parents. Which means, I will have to leave this place and will be back in approximately an hour. I expect you to do the responsible thing and what's best for you."

And after a last meaningful glance, he leaves my doorstep. I stare blankly at the empty space that he just left before rushing back to my flat. Without even thinking twice about it, I go to my room and open my bean bag, throwing in it a few clothes. Then, I go to my closet and take out the shoebox where I have a lot of my savings in (the ones I didn't put in the bank) before stuffing it in my bean bag. Then I take my wallet, put it in my purse, and leave my phone on the counter of my kitchen, after sending a single text to Kate saying Sorry. I am about to leave and run wherever I can go to hide when my eyes fall on the framed picture I have of Christian and I. The one from Disney where you can see the castle behind us and where Christian is holding me in his arms while kissing me. We were supposed to both face the camera when he surprisingly swept me off my feet and kissed me while someone took the picture.

Tears start to form in my eyes, when I think of all those things I have here and that I will have to forget forever, Christian being one among many, and I put the picture in my bean bag as well. As a reminder that life has been kind at some point with me. With a lump in my throat, I close the door of the apartment that brought me so much joy, and leave a note to Mrs Lincoln, with the rent for the end of the month. I don't explain anything, I just write 'Sorry' like I did for Kate, and put the envelope in her mailbox.

As I leave my building, I still don't know what I'm going to do. Changing states didn't do me any good. So maybe I should change the country. Go to Canada … or even Australia. Or maybe even France so I could learn to be a better baker. Though I'd have to learn French. I don't know. I don't want to leave. But I don't have a choice, so I just walk fast through the city; and when I pass, ten minutes later, in front of the tribunal, hope lights up in me.

Maybe I won't have to leave. Maybe Christian can help me. He's an ADA, after all. maybe he knows some hidden and unknown law that would allow me to stay here, far away from Michael and his vices. I mean, Christian knows a lot about my past, so he knows I don't want to go back. He knows that I shouldn't go back.

So I do my best to keep my rising panic inside of me, and I wipe off the tears of fear that escaped my eyes before walking to the tribunal. There, I ask the receptionist where I can find the ADA's office, and when she asks me what business it is for, I simply tell her that I am Christian's girlfriend and that it is personal. She doesn't add anything to that and indicates me how to go to Christian's office. Isn't it weird that all this time I've known Christian, I actually never went to his office?

After doing my best not to get lost, and not to look like a scared little puppy, I finally find the door the receptionist indicated me; and just as I'm about to knock, Christian startles me from the side. "Babe? Are you okay?" He looks worried, though surprised; and there is a deep frown knitting his brows. I do my best to swallow my panic, keeping my tears in, and stuttering with as little emotions as I can:

" I … can we … talk?"

Christian seems slightly conflicted, and I know that I am putting him in an uncomfortable situation, here. He just told me that he has tons of work, and I know I shouldn't ask this of him. This is my messed up life, and I should deal with it on my own; but … I can't, and I don't know what else to do. I don't want to go back to the Hell hole. I won't go back to the Hell hole.

"Just give me five minutes," He asks, and he waits for me to nod before kissing my lips in a brief and reassuring peck.

Then he goes in his office, and I sit on the chair beside it, wrapping my hands around myself to stop shivering. What if Christian can't help me? What if he has to follow the law because his a lawyer, and I am sent back to the Hell Hole anyway? What if he doesn't want to help me? Oh God! Maybe I should just leave now. I only have twenty minutes left before Officer Banner comes back to the apartment. I am wasting time here. I have enough money to make a whole new life elsewhere. I could go to Canada by bus, learn French there and then go to France.

"Ana?" Franklin's voice echoes just above me, surprise clear in it. I blink a little, discreetly wiping my face in case I cried or something, and I rise to my feet to face him. At first, he smiles to me with that smiles that I always loved about him. That smile that says that he's happy to see me. But the smile is quickly replaced by a frown of worry, and so I do my best to smile to him to ease any worry he could have.

"What are you doing here?" He asks, and so I tell him with a small voice:

"I'm waiting for Christian."

Franklin slightly narrows his eyes in the direction of the office door, before gently smiling back to me. But I can tell, it's just a polite smile. Then, he goes to the office, but when he closes the door, there is a little rebound that forbids it to close properly; and as he starts talking to Christian, I can hear everything that they say. Everything. And this is when my world completely collapses when I realize that life has never been kind to me. When they keep on talking, and my ears beg not to hear any more while my eyes see the ugly and awful truth:

Office of the District Attorney

Franklin Lambert

And of the Assistant District Attorney

Christian Grey

City of *****

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‼️READ THE NOTE BELOW‼️

💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚
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💚 Mouahahahahahahaah. Ha, how I missed you cliffies! Really! So, just to make it clear, the little *** at the end of the chapter are here in purpose. Because if you paid attention, I never said what was the city Christian and Ana lived in. It is done on purpose. And that's also why Disney is just Disney now. I didn't know there was a difference in the name of the one in California, and the one in Orlando, but just pretend you didn't know. Basically, we can't exactly tell where they live, and it's done on purpose.

~ Anyway, question times:

1. What do you think Ana heard at the end of the chapter?

2. What do you think will be her next move?
3. Knowing that the next chapter will be Franklin's PoV, what do you think will happen now?
4. And what was your favourite moment of this chapter?

Anyway, E.L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, everything else is mine.

Love, Mina 💚💚💚