You can thank my hubby for this early update, he decided not to wake me from my nap this afternoon and let me sleep for five hours, now it's after three in the morning and I still can't sleep, so I decided to post another chapter ;-) and for those of you who are waiting for an update for The Wild Ones, it will be up either in two or three hours or tomorrow...
A little warning some of you are going to love this chapter, others are going to absolutely hate it... but it is what I was intending to do all along so... here it goes...
Oh and one last thing, I didn't have the time so far to reply to any pm that came in in the last two weeks, so please be patient with me, I'll try my best to reply to all of them next week.
2 years later
Ana
Oh I can't believe this is happening yet again. I promised myself I would just stay in bed for five more minutes and now it's an hour later and I am running around my bedroom like a headless chicken trying to get ready.
"For the love of God Arnaldo, can you make yourself useful instead of just watching me?" I snap at him, but he just grins, stretched out naked on my bed and points to his very prominent erection.
"That's not helping that's distracting me even more, now please get up and fix me some breakfast to go, I have to be in Brooklyn in less than an hour."
"Sure, but I have to say I was really enjoying the show" he snickers and I glare at him.
"Thank you, and please put your boxers on, I don't want you to walk around naked when Ireland is home."
"She didn't seem to mind the last time she got an eyeful of me" he jokes but puts his boxers on and leaves the bedroom.
Damn it, I knew I should have told him to go home last night. Since we started our friends with benefits arrangement I'm always late, because he is always keeping me up half the night. Not that I am complaining, but still I hate to be late for my appointments, it's unprofessional.
The last two years have been the most amazing ride for me. After Gideon told me about his past I just couldn't stop to think about all the children who have to go through something like this with no one they can confide in or no one who believes them. And then I realized that I could help change this and so I talked to Gideon, quit my job and started to work for the Crossroad Foundation fulltime.
I also went back to college to take several business and psychology classes. I felt like the more understanding I had of how to help the foundation run smoothly and how to help children the more I could do it terms of helping. With time I've built a network of people who are very knowledgeable in this field and I've learned so much from them that by now I have become a spokesperson for the Crossroads Foundation.
With my team I visit schools and youth centers where I talk to the children about abuse and what steps they can take to get help. We also invite he parents to come to the events and in many schools there are now groups of parents who have volunteered as support groups, so that children who are suffering from any kind of abuse can talk to them. We also have a 24/7 emergency hotline and chat for children and young adults where I also take shifts and then there is Safe Haven.
After realizing how often children have to go in state care, because they are abused at home I decided I wanted to help those children, too. So, I got in touch with Sarah Carter who works for the Child Protective Services and asked her what I had to do in order to open a home for children who suffered abuse. At first I was a little overwhelmed with the list of things I had to do, but with her help and Gideon's I managed to get a team together, get all the permissions I needed and found the perfection location.
Originally the land was a farm, but we remodeled it completely and now 25 children live there and learn how to enjoy life again. It's a great place and I stop by every other weekend to do art projects with the kids or we take them out to go swimming, ice skating and all kinds of stuff, so they can have a good time.
Turning Safe Haven into a home for children was also what helped me to get through a really hard time in my life. About a year ago Ray passed away. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I had come to Montesano to visit him for a weekend and we had a great time, we went fishing and talked so much that weekend. When I woke up on Monday morning ready to go to the airport I went downstairs, but he wasn't there.
I looked everywhere for him and when I couldn't find him I went to his bedroom. At first I thought he was asleep, but when I came closer to the bed I just knew that something was terrible wrong. He had died in his sleep of a heart attack, was what the doctors told us later. Still to this day I can't really remember what happened after I've found him, Gideon later told me that I called him absolutely hysterical and he dropped everything and got on a plane with Ireland, they stopped in Georgia to collect my mom and arrived in Montesano late in the afternoon. Without them, I don't think I would have survived losing my Dad. After the funeral my mom even came to New York with me for a week and only left when I told her that I was going to be fine.
I still own Ray's house. I'm not ready to let go of it yet. Maybe one day, but for now I want to keep it.
But there were also many, many happy times in the last two years. Kate's wedding for example. She and Elliot had the most amazing wedding and Kate was a stunning bride. At first I was planning on going alone, but after I'd found out that Christian wasn't attending the wedding I decided to bring Gideon and we had a great time. I think he has a crush on Mia, but he would never say that out loud. My brother thinks he is not dating material. I highly disagree, but he has to make small steps. At least he finally agreed to do therapy.
A year ago I've met a female psychiatrist who is known for helping abuse survivors. I wasn't sure if he was willing to meet her, but in the end he agreed and is seeing her two times a week now. It is really helping him with his nightmares and he seems to be so much more happy.
And then there is Ireland. I still shudder thinking about the night I've picked her up in the park. We went to the police to report what happened and of course Christopher lied and told them that Ireland was mentally unstable and couldn't be trusted. To make things worse her mother agreed with Christopher and we really thought that the police wouldn't believe us, but in the end it was Ireland's father who finally found the courage to speak up. He told the police that his son was notorious liar and also had a drug problem. Her father knew for a while what was going on in his house, but even he was afraid of Christopher. That shocked me, how could this man leave his daughter with his sociopath of a son, when he knew what he was doing to her?
Well, I'll never know, because after he made his statement he just left the country. Gideon's security found him on St. Lucia, but he refused to come back to the states. Ireland was devastated and her mother insisted she would come home, now that her son was in rehab and would have to face charges once he was out of rehab, but of course Ireland didn't want to go.
Thank God she turned 18 only two weeks after all of that happened, so she could officially become my new roommate. Now we are like sisters and enjoy to go on trips together or have movie nights with our friends.
As for Christopher, he came out of rehab and had to do social service. They couldn't charge him with more as Ireland was never physically harmed, which to me is a joke. The last I've heard of him was that Elizabeth has sent him to rehab for the fifth time. Gideon has someone watching him, but as it is he is a bigger thread to himself than to anyone else.
Then there are Hyde and José. Hyde was sent to prison for 40 years after three of his former assistants confessed that he had raped them and then blackmailed them with the tapes he took of it. Jose on the other hand is still in a mental facility and won't come out anytime soon. He still to this day believes that I am his girlfriend and tells anyone who listens that once he is out of the facility he will find me so we can be together forever, meaning now he wants to kill first me and then himself. At least they have transferred him back to the State of Washington, so I don't have to worry that he will show up at my door for the unrealistic chance that he manages to escape.
Despite all of my work I also started to really live my life. I've made many new friends and I started to travel making my dream to go to London come true. I've also been to Thailand, France, the Caribbean and last month I've spent a week with Ireland, Gideon, my Mom and Bob in Aspen where I took some more snowboard lessons. Arnaldo wanted to come too, but his schedule wouldn't allow it.
Arnaldo... I never thought I would ever have this kind of relationship. Friends with benefits always sounded like something that was bound to end in a disaster to me, but it is working for us. We've become good friends with time and we both felt sexually attracted to each other, we just never fell in love. I was on a couple of dates with other guys, but it never worked out and one night when Arnaldo stopped by for a glass of wine we ended up having sex. It kind of went from there. The only thing we agreed on is that we are exclusive and that we will end our sexual relationship before we get involved with someone else.
Gideon wasn't too happy about our arrangement, but once he saw that we are happy with it he stopped giving us grief about it. I guess as my big brother he just wanted to make sure that Arnaldo hadn't talked me into it. But I have to say I'm really happy with it... for now anyway. Sure in a couple of years I want to find my Mr. Right, get married and have three or four kids, but I am only 24, so for now all I want is to enjoy my life and devote as much time as possible to my charity projects.
"Ana, hurry up. Your driver called he will be here waiting downstairs in 5 minutes" Arnaldo calls out and I glance at myself in the mirror. Since I am visiting a school today I am dressed casually in a long-sleeved blue button down dress with a wide brown belt, legging and boots. My hair is pulled back in a loose bun and I'm wearing a light make up. Before I leave my bedroom I grab my purse and wrap a white loop scarf around my neck.
"Wow, what's that. It smells delicious" I moan appreciatively when I enter the kitchen where Arnaldo is cooking wearing nothing but his boxers.
Damn, if I wasn't late already I would jump him right here in the kitchen.
"Don't look at me like that, Ana. No time for sex" he chuckles and puts a travel mug of coffee in front of me.
"I've made you a croissant with ham, egg and cheese and some cut fruit. Are we still on for Friday?"
"Sure, I'll see you at the club and thanks for the breakfast" I grab the box with my food and the travel mug and leave the apartment.
Once outside the building I struggle to find my sun glasses in my purse and bump into someone on the sidewalk.
"Sorry" I mutter without even looking and finally find my sunglasses. I put them on and Carlos my driver holds the door open for me.
"Good morning, Miss Steele"
"Good morning, Carlos." I give him a bright smile and slight into the backseat of the town car before he closes the door for me. I still drive in my free time, but when I have an appointment one of Gideon's security guys drives me where I need to go. It is just easier for me to have someone who is driving me as I can use the time to answer emails or make phone calls instead of getting annoyed with the New York traffic.
As Carlos pulls into traffic I take the newspaper he always places for me in the backseat and read it while having my breakfast, but I am interrupted by my phone. Scowling I put what is left of my croissant back into the box, take my phone out and frown when I see that it is Kate who is calling me. We have remained good friends and she and Elliot have visited me here a few times, just like I went to Seattle to see them a couple of times.
"Hey Kate"
"Hi, did I wake you?" she asks sounding overly excited.
"No, it's 9 o'clock in New York, but why are you already up?"
"Because Elliot and I need to tell you something, wait I am putting you on speaker." she says and a second later I hear Elliot.
"Hey Ana banana, everything going well in New York?"
"Sure, so what is going on?" I ask and they both answer at the same time.
"We are pregnant!"
"What?! Oh my god, that's wonderful, congratulations!"
"Thank you, oh we are so excited, today I am officially in my second trimester so we want to tell everyone and we thought since you are going to be the godmother of our little one you are going to be the first to know"
"Really, wow I... I have no idea what to say, but of course I would love to be the godmother of your child." Who would have thought ... I had no idea Kate was even trying to get pregnant.
"Perfect, so I can expect you to show up for the baby shower and the christening?"
"Of course, no way I am going to miss any of it and if you need anything you can call me and I will be in Seattle within a couple of hours."
"I know" she says and I hear her sigh.
"Everything alright, Kate?"
"Yes, it's just Elliot went downstairs, he still has a hard time dealing with the fact that his brother is an egoistic piece of shit."
"I know, how are Mia and Grace dealing with it?"
"Well, we don't mention him who shall not be named in the presence of Mia, it sets her off every time and his parents. Well, Carrick still believes that eventually he will come around, but Grace she still calls him only for him to send her calls to voice mail and never return them. Every time I think about what he is putting his family through I want to show up at Grey House and smack the shit out of him, but I can't it would only make things worse."
"Probably" I mutter and Kate sighs again.
"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you, we can Skype tonight, I have to go and check on my hubby now. See ya."
"Bye Kate."
I hang up and sigh. Christian... what can I say. I still think about him, though it doesn't hurt like it used to. I guess I will never be able to forget him, he was the first man I fell in love with, the first man I had sex with...
I remember how nervous I was even weeks before Kate's wedding knowing that I would have to see him, only to find out that he wasn't coming. I was shocked to say at least. I mean he just told Elliot he wouldn't attend his wedding. And from that point on he never talked to any member of his family again. Kate told me he wouldn't take their calls, had blocked their emails and took them off the list of allowed visitors both at Escala and Grey House.
No one really knows why he did that, there wasn't a big fall out or anything, it's like one day he just decided that he didn't need a family and cut all ties. His so-called relationship with Michelle must have been an act, because I saw her on a television show about a year ago and she was credited as Nina Evans. I googled her and it turned out that she is an actress from Seattle who recently moved to Los Angeles. At that point I knew he had hired her just to hurt me and stopped to care. If he thinks he doesn't need a family so be it... though secretly I wonder what happened to make him neglect his family the way he does...
Talking to Kate also reminded me that I need to call Grace. After finding out that she has her own charity called Coping Together I became a benefactor of her charity and she wants me to give a speech at the Coping Together Gala that will take place at her place in four weeks. I already agreed, but I wasn't sure if I would come alone or with Gideon and Ireland. Ireland can't make it because she is studying for her exams, but Gideon is going to accompany, so I need to let Grace know.
Besides Gideon, Ireland and my Mom the only people who know that Gideon is my brother are Kate, Elliot, Carrick, Grace, Mia, Arnaldo, my friend Melody and some other close friends as well as Gideon's security. We discussed to release a statement, but there are several reasons why we decided against it. One would be the public humiliation of mother when the media would discover that I am the result of an affair she had with her sister's husband. And of course the whole security dilemma. Since Gideon is a very rich man there are always sick people who think the can get a piece of the cake by threatening his family. So, for the world I am just a family friend.
Sure from time to time there are article saying that Gideon and I are dating, but we just laugh about it. Honestly, it just goes to show that the media is not very clever, because Gideon, Ireland and I all have the same eyes and especially Ireland and I look almost like twins, so if they were clever they could figure it out, but then again, billionaire's secret girlfriend sounds better than billionaire's secret sister.
"We are here, Miss Steele." Carlos announces when he parks the car on the school parking lot and I nod and take a last sip of my coffee.
I meet my team outside the school and together we go into the school were we talk to the children and many parents who have come to see us. Sadly, this day turned out to be one of those days where four kids came up to me while I was about to leave the building to tell me their stories. To this day it always shocks me to hear what young children already had to go through in their lives or are still going through.
Since there are two young girls who have never confided in anyone I spent the rest of the day talking to them and making calls to arrange help for them. So, I am rather exhausted when Carlos pulls up at the building I live in late in the afternoon, but nothing could have prepared me for the scene playing out in front of me when I am about to get out of the car...
Yes, I love cliffhangers ;-) And just to tease all of you a little bit more; guess who the person was Ana bumped into when she left her apartment in the morning ;-)
