Thanks to those who left feedback. Am I posting this story for nothing? Please review.

Title: FSOG: From Heartbreak to Happiness?

Chapter 24

***Later That Night***

(Kate couldn't believe her good fortune. She just met her dream man after days of wondering if she'd ever see him again. Much to her surprise, her cell phone beeps. She glances at it while relaxing on the couch at home. She smiles wide when she receives a text from him)

Elliot: "Hi. I was thinking about you. Don't know if it's too early or soon to text you."

(Kate giggles as she responds to her new crush)

Kate: "I was thinking about you, too. Nope, it's not too soon at all. At least, I don't think so."

Elliot: "Doing anything exciting?"

Kate: "Just relaxing on the couch and playing on my phone. You?"

Elliot: "Ugh. Thinking about what books I'm going to have to buy when the fall comes. School books aren't cheap, especially the ones I need."

Kate: "Hmm…do your parents help you with your tuition and books?"

Elliot: "I'm trying to do it on my own. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work. We both agreed if I need help, they would help with my tuition and/or school books. The rest is up to me."

Kate: "I'm guessing full time or part time jobs don't help? I went to school full time and my part time job didn't help much. Me and my friend struggled as we went to school for the same thing."

Elliot: "Ha-ha. Then you know what it's like. College can be expensive. As for jobs, yeah, I work part time during school. When I'm not in school, I work full time. I save as much money as I can for when I'm in school."

Kate: "Yeah, it definitely sucks when you're low on cash and you go to school full time. LOL, I couldn't believe my good luck that we have so much in common when we talked earlier. There are times when couples have nothing in common."

Elliot: "I agree. It can be rare when people have that much in common with others. I'm glad. You're definitely interesting, Kate Kavanagh."

Kate: "Hehe. You, too."

(They continued texting each other for the next hour or so about meaningless shit and then more about each other. After eventually saying their goodbye's, Kate smiles in satisfaction as she was glad that she finally found someone in her life. She then shows a sad face as she knew that it could all go away in an instant)

***Earlier That Night***

(While at home hours later playing on his piano, Christian has a flashback of his talk with Ana. He sighs softly as his mind wanders)

***Flashback***

Christian: "Are you ready to tell me what happened, Anastasia?"

Ana: (nods) "I'll tell you. Just be warned, it's not a good story."

Christian: (nods & smiles) "Take your time."

Ana: (sighs deeply) "It started years ago when my best friend, Kate Kavanagh, and I were 16 years old."

Christian: "Go on."

Ana: "Kate thought that her stepfather, Julian, was nice and all. He went to her sports games and cheered

her on as did her mom. That changed completely when Kate noticed a change in him."

Christian: (confused) "Change, how?"

Ana: "Making 'innocent' remarks about her great body. She didn't think much of it at first, because she was always in sports." (raises her eyebrows) "Then, after a bit, it got worse."

Christian: (nods) "Tell me how."

Ana: "He told her one time that she had perfect rounded breasts. She didn't like the way he said that and thought it was a weird comment. Of course, he just laughed it off and walked away. When they'd talk, she noticed how he kept looking her up and down, admiring her body. She flat out asked him if he was staring at her body. He'd shrug and casually ask 'what if I was?'. That freaked her out even more."

Christian: (scoffs) "Scumbag."

Ana: "She threatened to go to her mom about the way that he was talking to her. She didn't think that it was right for him to say such provocative things to her. He just laughed it off until he realized it was serious. He told her if she told anyone, he'd tell her mom that Kate was hot for him. He'd say he'd tell her mom everything she's been 'saying to him' if Kate told her mom he was making moves on her."

Christian: "What did Kate do afterwards?"

Ana: "Kate gave hints to her mom about it. She'd say 'what would happen if Julian ever made advances to someone and they didn't appreciate it?'"

Christian: (nods) "And her answer was?"

Ana: (chuckles dryly) "Her mom, Sophia, sounded surprised at that. She didn't think Julian would ever be capable of doing that. She asked Kate if Kate was hinting at something. Kate knew in that moment that her mother would never believe her. Either that, or she might, but Julian would twist things around to make Kate the bad person. Kate didn't have any proof on what Julian was doing."

(Christian shakes his head in disbelief)

Christian: "So, in other words, it'd be her word against his."

Ana: (nods) "Yep." (softly sighs) "Kate came to me the next day. She asked if she could spend the night at my place. The horrified look on her face alarmed me. I told her that she could. My mom adores Kate, so she says if Kate ever wanted to stay over, that was fine. That night, in my room, Kate was in a panicky mood. I asked what was wrong. She continued to look horrified. She said it needed to stay between us. I agreed right away and she confessed that her stepfather, Julian, had been making sexual advances towards her. She made it clear to him that she wasn't interested. She told me what he was saying to her and it made her very uncomfortable. I asked her if her mother knew. Sophia had no idea and sounded surprised if it did happen as she couldn't picture Julian doing that."

Christian: (sighs) "It is definitely sad when the parent won't believe the truth, even if the child doesn't come out and directly say what's going on."

Ana: "It is, yes."

Christian: "What happened next?"

Ana: (scoffs) "I went to him when Kate wasn't around. I made it clear that I knew what he was doing to Kate and it stops now. He will not hurt Kate anymore. He denied it, of course, saying that Kate was telling tales. I looked directly in his eyes in determination and told him I'd see him in hell first before he hurt Kate."

(Ana shook her head as she looks away from Christian. After getting teary-eyed, Christian gently caressed her hand with his. Like he was encouraging her to continue when she was ready)

Ana: "Julian made it clear to me that he holds all the cards as he has 'proof' that Kate tried getting close to him when he told her he loves Sophia and won't hurt her over some teen crush."

(Ana starts to shake, which Christian notices. He nods and speaks in a low tone)

Christian: "Is this where it gets incriminating, Anastasia?"

(She quickly nods in a panic, causing him to lean forward and take her in his arms to hold her in an attempt to comfort her. He wraps his arms around her, which she quickly reciprocates. After a few moments, she breaks free. She moves her hair out of her face and goes on)

Ana: "When I was outside Kate's house, I could hear loud voices. At first, I didn't know if it was Sophia and Julian arguing. I wasn't going to go in as it wasn't my business. However, the more I heard…I knew I needed to go in. Julian had enough of Kate 'coming onto him' and Kate flat out denied it. I was shocked by what I heard next."

Christian: (encourages her) "Which was what, Ana?"

Ana: "She yells at him to stay the fuck away from her. He tells her he knows that she wants it. She screams for someone to help her. That's when I rushed in and saw Julian having pinned down Kate and her pants are unbuttoned and zipped down with her t-shirt rolled up to her chest. His pants were unbuttoned and his shirt up a bit. I screamed at him to get the hell away from her. I saw bruises on her face from when he slapped her or hit her a few times. He warns me that I messed with the wrong man and I won't get away with it. Kate tells him it stops now because he won't hurt anyone else anymore. He goes towards her with a piece of glass from a lamp that broke during the scuffle earlier between them. He tells her that he's not going down for this, that he'll kill her first. As he goes towards her, I did the only thing I could think of in that moment. I grabbed another lamp on another end table and hit him in the back of the head with it. He groans in pain, but surprisingly, it doesn't stop him and then he comes after me. Kate screams at him as she tackles him to the floor. She screams that he'll never hurt her again. When he's lying on the living room floor, she punches him again and again. As he turns bloodier and blood splatters on the carpet from the force of the hit against him, I grab her off him and say we need to get out of here. We grow silent when he doesn't move. We look at each other in shock and wonder what to do. We're tempted to check his pulse, but we're afraid that he'll try attacking us again."

Christian: "I don't blame you. If he's that strong, he may overpower you both. What do you guys decide to do?"

Ana: (sighs) "One of us checks his pulse and the other is prepared to bring him down again. I check his pulse, which shows no life coming from him."

(Christian sighs deeply and is a bit wide eyed as he speaks)

Christian: "No pulse. Oh, boy."

Ana: "I stand up and back away in a panic. I tell Kate no pulse. She double checks and sure enough, he's not breathing. We can't believe what just happened and panics that we killed him."

Christian: "But you didn't kill him. It was self-defense."

Ana: "Yeah, well, we didn't know that at the time. Yes, we defended ourselves, but we knew it looked suspicious. At first, we decide to go to the police. We know it'll be suspicious because Julian had 'proof' of Kate's so-called coming into him." (scared voice) "We also feared that Kate's mom will believe Julian over Kate. That was Kate's worst fear. Sophia was blind when it came to Julian. We also fear that we'll go to jail. So, we do the only thing we could think of."

(Christian sighs as he nods. He knew where she was going with this)

Christian: "You covered up the crime."

(Ana was a nervous wreck as she nods)

Ana: (whispers) "Yes. We vow to put it behind us and never talk about it again."

Christian: "Do you know what this 'proof' was that Julian had against Kate?"

Ana: (nods & normal tone) "Yes. Kate had a crush on a guy and wanted him. She talked about how she would make him hers and how hot he was. She didn't say the guys name in the recording, so Julian made it sound like she was talking about Julian. Of course, Julian was lying, but she had no proof about it."

(Christian sighs and wipes his face with his hand as he spoke)

Christian: "Shit."

Ana: "My thoughts exactly."

(Christian gets up from his chair and walks around his office as he rests his hand to his mouth. He thinks about everything that Ana just told him. He sighs deeply as he turns around to face the love of his life. He folds his arms over his chest and nods in determination. He is standing next to the chair he previously sat in and stares at Ana)

Christian: "Would you be okay if I brought in my bodyguard and trusted friend, Jason Taylor, into this?"

(Ana looks a bit scared until Christian speaks again)

Christian: "I promise you that he's completely trustworthy. I've entrusted him many times and he's never told a soul. But, I won't talk to him without your permission. I would never betray you like that."

Ana: (hesitantly) "He won't say anything unless I say it's okay?"

Christian: (nods) "I give you my word. He's never betrayed me once."

(Ana briefly looks away while thinking about Christian's request. She faces the man she loved and nods)

Ana: "Okay, you can tell him."

Christian: "I'm going to call him now."

(Ana nods in response as Christian walks to his phone that was on his desk. He dials a number and when the person on the other line picks up, Christian speaks)

Christian: "Taylor, it's Grey. Can you come to my office? I need to talk to you. I have company…Anastasia. Yeah, please come as soon as you can. Thank you."

***About 15 minutes Later***

(After hearing a knock at the office door, Christian tells Taylor to come in. Christian and Taylor shake hands and then both men face Ana)

Christian: "Taylor, meet Anastasia Steele."

(As Taylor nods his head and shakes Ana's hand, he speaks)

Taylor: "Ma'am."

Ana: (smiles a bit) "Taylor, right? Please, call me Ana."

(Taylor looks at Christian, who nods in response)

Taylor: "Nice to meet you, Ana."

Ana: "Same here."

(Taylor, Christian, and Ana compare notes on everything that Ana told Christian. Both men are standing in front of the desk while Ana is still sitting)

Taylor: "It sounds like you and your friend were scared for your lives."

Ana: (snorts) "That's one way of putting it."

Taylor: "Mr. Grey, you mentioned the delivery guy the other day. Did you look at the security cameras to see if you or Ana recognized the man?"

Christian: "No, I didn't. But, I knew you were going to ask for it, so I had Courtney put it together. She came in briefly to grab a few files, so she was kind in doing it quick. The tapes are all set up for you, Taylor."

(Taylor, Christian, and Ana go to the security camera room and watch what was needed. Ana is shocked as she knew who the guy is. Her eyes widen, but quickly covers when Christian asks if she's okay. She lies and says this whole thing makes her uneasy. It's technically the truth, but she didn't divulge the entire truth. She privately vows to confront the man herself)

(Christian didn't recognize the guy, but Taylor promised to look into it. Taylor makes his exit and Ana wanted to go home)

Christian: (concerned) "Ana, are you going to be okay? I don't know if I want you driving in the state you're in. I can have Taylor take you home."

Ana: "What about my car? How would I get to work in the morning?"

Christian: "Taylor will take you home and he'll bring you to work. Just tell him what time to pick you up in the morning. Please. While I won't tell you what to do, it would make me feel better knowing you got home safely."

(Ana sighs in defeat)

Ana: "Okay, fine. Call Taylor and he can drive me home."

(Christian smiles in relief)

Christian: "Thank you, Anastasia."

(Christian makes a call to Taylor, who comes back. Ana thanks him for the ride, which Taylor nods in response. While Christian is still at his office, he makes a call to his lawyers)

Christian: "Ros, it's Grey. I need to meet with you. I need something handled."

***End of Flashback***

(Christian nods in determination as he rests his arms on the piano and he faces forward)

Christian: "Don't worry, Ana. Everything will be worked out. I promise you. You won't be in any trouble. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Chapter 24 Done

Please review and share your thoughts. Is anyone reading?