Damn it, Christian. For someone so brilliant, he can be so stupid sometimes.
I walk up along the apartment's walkway and stop at the door. My heart flutters in my chest. I know that this is stupid. I shouldn't be doing this, especially without Christian. Hell, I don't even have my key.
I try the doorknob and am surprised when it turn fully and allows me to push the door open. The apartment is completely black. I quietly sneak in and gently shut the door behind me. I turn on a small table light that is enough for me to see around. Everything looks the way I left it. Nothing appears to be out of the ordinary. A part of me wonders if Kevin ever came back at all. I didn't see his car outside, so maybe he decided to go back to his place or stay out all night.
I tip-toe up the small flight of stairs and creep into the dark bedroom. The first thing I do is change my clothes. I throw Christian's on the floor next to the bed and grab a pair of yoga pants and an oversized hoodie. I slide on a pair of old flats and head out the door when an ear piercing ringing stops me in my tracks.
The phone. It's just the phone. I go over to the side of the bed and grab the phone out of its cradle. The clock says that it's just passed three in the morning. Who would be calling at this hour?
"Hello?" I use my "I just woke up voice."
"Ana!"
"Kate?" I screech into the phone.
"Oh my gosh, Ana. Where in the hell are you?" She sounds frantic.
"Um, I'm at the apartment. Why?"
"Kevin's been looking everywhere for you." The phone almost slips out of my hands. "He came over and couldn't find you and has been going nuts."
My heart quickens in my chest. Kevin knows that I wasn't home. He's out looking for me right now. I bite my lip to keep myself from crying.
"Ana? You there?"
"Yeah." I speak softly. "I'm here."
"Jesus, Ana. I've never heard him sound so freaked out before. He must really love you."
"Yeah. He must." I say. "Listen, Kate, I'm staying at a friend's house tonight for work related things. If Kevin calls you again can you tell him that I'm with you?"
There's a long pause on the other end before Kate speaks. "Sure, Ana." She sounds skeptical. I breathe out a sigh of relief followed by an even longer pause. "Ana, what's going on?"
"Nothing." I say too quickly. "I just don't want him to worry is all."
Kate and I say our goodnights before I hang up the phone. If Kevin isn't here, then he's out looking for me. I need to go get Christian. I wounded what he's been doing this entire time. I head out into the hallway and pass the bathroom when I feel a hand press down on my shoulder. I scream and back up until my back is pressed against the wall.
"Kevin, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I chant into the darkness. My skin prickles in fear and I instinctively hold my hands out in front of me.
"Ana. It's me, baby. It's just me." I hear the softly spoken words, but I still continue to shake. Christian grabs my hands in his and pulls me into his chest. "Shh, you're fine, Ana." He whispers into my ear. His hands run up and down by back.
"I'm sorry." I say into his neck. I pull back and let my eyes adjust to see his face. He looks down at me with tired eyes.
"You should be sleeping right now." His voice is disapproving. I look down and notice that he's also changed into black sweatpants and a navy t-shirt.
"Hey," He lifts my chin until my eyes meet his. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." I snap back at him.
His eyes become hard and his jaw tenses. "I just wanted to check some things." His voice is flat.
"Christian, Kevin is out looking for me." I get right to the point.
"What? How do you know this?" He takes my face into his hands and stares into my eyes.
"Kate just called. He knows that I haven't been home." I can't hide the fear in my voice. "He knows and he's going to find me and he's going to be furious and he's-"
Christian cuts me off with a kiss. His lips crash down and move against my own. I respond back accordingly and pull him closer. This kiss is brief, but I feel as if he's sucked all the fear out of my body.
"He's not going to find you." He mumbles against my lips. "I won't allow it. Understand?" I nod my head. "Good girl." He runs his fingers through my hair.
He takes my hand in his and leads me downstairs into the living room. "Do you need to grab anything else?" He runs his eyes up and down my new outfit.
I shake my head. "Can we just leave, please?" I don't want to be here any longer than necessary. Christian sighs and takes me in his arms as we head out into the chilly night air. We get into the R8 and I slide down into the soft leather seat. I'm exhausted. My lack of sleep is catching up with me and I feel my eyes become heavier and heavier.
"Sleep, Ana." Christian says while staring the engine. I close my eyes and I feel myself begin to drift off when a bright light streams through my eyelids. I open my eyes into little slits and see a car slowly cruising down the street towards our direction. The car slowly comes down and almost stops when it reaches us. I am so thankful that Christian's windows are tinted so nobody is able to see inside. The car hovers next to us for a minute before quickly speeding off and heading further down the street. Christian doesn't seem to notice and smoothly pulls the Audi out into the street.
Realization hits me hard. I throw my hand out and it hits Christian on the shoulder. "Christian!" I start to panic. I'm wide awake at this point and turn around in the seat to see if there's more signs of the vehicle.
"Ana, what is it?" He sounds just as tired as I feel. He stops the car in the middle of the road and glances over at me. "What's wrong?" He sounds worried now.
I look away from the back of the car and look over at his concerned face with wide eyes. "Christian, that was Kevin's car."
He doesn't try to hide his surprise. His face goes pasty white and he grips the steering wheel tight in his hands.
"Christian…" I whisper. I'm terrified. That was defiantly Kevin and he obviously saw Christian's car, turn on, sitting right in front of the apartment…My breathing becomes rapid and I can feel the tears sting behind my eyes. God damn it, I'm so tired of crying.
"Come on, baby." I feel him place his hand on my knee. "We're going home." He does his best to make his voice sound calm, but I can tell that he feels the complete opposite.