A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"I was expecting the guy to say that he hates me and wants me to suffer, but h said the complete opposite. He idolizes me.", Christian murmurs over his coffee. He's been replaying the events from yesterday in an attempt to find out more.
"Even so, that doesn't mean he's a sweet guy. Like you said, it could make him a very dangerous man. We're pretty sure he caused the outages?"
"He didn't mention them in his message, but I'm certain he's the one behind them. They were ploys to get my attention which was successful. He's getting bolder by the minute."
"Christian, he knows our address and your phone number.", I murmur.
"If he's able to cause the outages, getting an address and phone number are simple things to him. Ana, I'm sorry for yesterday and acting as if your feelings didn't matter."
"You've apologized several times, and I've already forgiven you. This situation has emotions running high." He sets his cup down and stands, walking over to my chair and then pulling me up into his arms "We're going to get past this." We close the gap between our lips and become one until a throat clears behind us. When I turn around, I'm elated to see my dad standing with an ear splitting grin. "Dad?" Christian releases me as I rush into my dad's arms. "What are you doing here?"
"Visiting my family of course.", he shrugs. "I called Christian yesterday morning and told him that I was going to be arriving in Seattle last night." I glimpse over my dad's shoulders at Christian. "I asked him not to say anything because I wanted it to be a surprise."
"It is that. Did you stay at your place last night?" My dad has his new house, but with him only arriving last night, I'm not sure how much of the furniture he was able to get moved in.
"I slept in a sleeping bag on my living room floor since my bed hadn't been unloaded."
"Dad, you could've stayed here with us instead of sleeping on a floor."
"I wanted to stay at my house though. Besides, it wasn't so bad." He hugs me once more before turning us towards Christian. "I've been filled in on what's been going on with you all. What can I do to help?"
"Nothing. Christian has his guys working on it. What you should be doing is enjoying your home."
"I intend to do just that. I woke up early this morning and unpacked a few boxes, and I plan on spending the day getting some more things in order. Your mom has graciously volunteered to come over tonight after work to help."
"I know she's happy you're here. I can come over today and help with some of the things."
"Sweetheart, I don't want to take away your time from Oliver.", he says as Gail walks into the kitchen and waves at him. "Hi Gail."
"Hello Ray. Ana, I'll watch Oliver for you if you'd like to help your dad."
"Face it Ray, she's not going to take no for an answer.", Christian laughs. He tilts his head in my direction and flashes a small smile. "I'd go with you, but I have a meeting with Norman Monroe this morning. We've done business a few times in the past and might be teaming up for a new line of solar panels. I want you to make sure you have either Lewis or Ryan with you at all times."
"Understood.", I grin.
"I'm serious. Until we know more about Jack, we need to be on guard. I'm not saying we need to stop living our lives, but we need to be more cautious."
"You're right. How about the three of us go and see the most adorable baby boy who should be waking up soon?" My dad is out of the kitchen and on his way up the stairs before I have a chance to finish my sentence.
"This box is labeled fishing gear. Any idea where you want it?"
"You can just put it against the wall over there." My dad points to the left wall of his living room. "I'll take it to the garage in a few minutes." He and I have been unpacking for the past two hours and have made a small dent. A guy who lives across the street, Steve Robertson, came over and introduced himself. He seems like a nice guy who even offered to help my dad unload the sofa and bed. After doing so, the two talked for a while until Steve headed back home.
"I think I'm going to like living here.", my dad announces with his eyes surveying the room.
"I think you will too. You've already met one of your neighbors who seems nice. It's only a matter of time before you meet more of the neighbors."
"Steve said the entire street is full of friendly people. It's always good to get along with the people around you. It was one of the things that I enjoyed about my old place. We'd look after each others homes and help out when needed."
"The neighborhood block party that's going to be held next weekend sounds like fun and will be a good time for you to meet the others." Steve mentioned that the neighborhood has an annual block party that involves food and games.
"It does sound like it might be fun. Do you think your mom will go with me if I ask her?", he asks nervously.
"Dad, Mom will definitely go with you. There's no need to be nervous."
"I can't help it. Your mom makes me jittery but in a good way. I get knots in my stomach just thinking about her." He winces and places his hand on his stomach. "See. I've got them now."
"I happen to know that Mom also gets butterflies when thinking about you. I think it's sweet."
"With me being in the same city, it'll give us the chance to have more time together and get to know each other better. Yes we were married before, but we're still learning about who the other is now." Ryan opens the front door and steps inside the house. He came with me to my dad's while Lewis stayed at the house with Gail and Oliver. Of course the secondary security team is also in place at the house, keeping guard at the gate and around the grounds. "Is everything ok, Lewis?"
"Yes sir. A red Civic started coming down the street a few minutes ago. The sun was glaring in my eyes so I wasn't able to get a good look at the driver until the car was closer to the house." I gulp in anticipation. "It was an elderly woman who lives at the other end of the street. Mrs. McLemore is her name. She seemed like a sweet lady who asksed if I was there the new homeowner. After I explained that I wasn't and you were inside, she said to tell you that she'll be stopping by tomorrow with her a welcome to the neighborhood basket. She explained it's something she does for all of the new residents when they move on to the street."
"Well, that's a wonderful gesture.", I say.
"Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary has taken place.", Ryan replies.
"I'm going to call the house and check on Oliver, and then I'm going to call Christian." I pull my phone from my pocket and move into the kitchen which is filled with only a few small boxes. We've already got all of the dishes and utensils in their spots. Gail tells me that Oliver's just been fed and is getting ready for a nap. I send my love via her and then hang up to call Christian. When it goes past the third ring, I start wondering since it's unlike him, but he answers just before the call goes to voicemail.
"Ana, hello.", he sighs. My suspicions increase with his formal greeting.
"Uh hi. I was calling to see how your day's going, but if you're busy I can call back or talk to you when you get home." I hear him breathing, but that's all. "Are you there?"
"I'm here. I'm just...It's been a long day. My meeting with Norman Monroe went ok, but it could have gone better. I wasn't able to put all the needed concentration into it. I'll tell you more when I get home this evening. How's the unpacking going?" I get the sense he's trying to change the subject but decide not to push it.
"We've gotten a lot more, yet there's more to go. One of Dad's new neighbors came over and helped move some the sofa and bed. It already seems like a nice neighborhood for him."
"That's good news. Tell Ray I'll help with anything he needs this weekend. I've got to go."
"All right. I'll see you at home tonight. I love you."
"Love you too.", he says and hangs up.
"I'd like to know more about your day.", I tell Christian. He tenses up and looks away from me, signs that he's hiding something. "Your body language is telling me more happened than the meeting with Norman Monroe. Is it Hyde? Did you hear from him again?"
"You can say that...", Christian mumbles. He turns his body in the recliner and meets my eyes once again. "I met with him." I move my feet from the sofa where I've had them propped. "He called me this morning, and I started to let the call go to voicemail again."
"But you didn't, did you?"
"No, I didn't. I got to thinking avoiding him might make things even worse so I answered the call. He asked if I listened to his voicemail, and I told him I had and was needing answers from him. He then wanted to know if we could possibly meet face to face. I once again hesitated, but I felt like meeting with him might help prevent more trouble. We met in my office with Taylor in the room the entire time. We said hello, and I immediately asked for answers. I wanted to be the one in control of the meeting, not him. I went right out and asked if he was behind the outages, and he admitted to it. He wanted a way to get my attention. When I asked him to fill me in on his life and what led him to looking up to me, he got a little nervous. I might have been misreading him, but I felt like he was ashamed of the life he's lived. He told me how his mother had died and left him in the care of his dad who liked to take off the stress by hitting or neglecting his son. There was a day back when Jack was seven. Detroit was in the middle of a brutally cold winter, and Jack's father was in the middle of a drinking binge. He came home and started yelling at Jack for no particular reason. When Jack offered to help his dad into bed so he could sleep off the booze, his dad slapped him and ordered him to go and change into a pair of shorts and a short sleeve. Jack relented and was slapped was once again. He finally did as he was told and was shocked when his dad shoved him towards the door. His words were, "It's trash day so you should get outside with the rest of the garbage."
"Oh my goodness. That's terrible. Christian, are you sure what Jack told you was true? He could've been lying."
"Ana, the records show Jack was in foster care due to abuse. I also didn't feel like he was lying and neither did Taylor. The emotions and pain in Jack's voice while he talked were real."
"I just wanted to know. Back to that day."
"Jack spent several hours in freezing cold temps and snow with only the shorts and short sleeve shirt on. He had on a pair of shoes that were way too small and with holes on them. He found a tarp that his dad had been using to cover up an truck body. The tarp provided some shelter but not a lot. His dad finally let him inside the house. He was thankful when he was taken from his dad's care, but according to him, he wasn't the best child for foster parents. He always felt like he was going to end up disappointing them so he saved them the time and acted out."
"Did he mention the time the two of you spent together at the Colliers?", I ask.
"Jack said he could see the emptiness in my eyes when I arrived. He didn't know what I had gone through, but I was broken like him. He said he resented I was going to be adopted by a family. We were alike, yet I was going to get a chance at a better life. He felt he was too far gone with his bad attitude that no family would want him. His time in foster care came to an end when he was eighteen. He was an adult on his own his own. Thanks to a friend, he learned about computers and was able to start a small business where he helped people with computer repairs and installing software. Over the years, he wondered what had happened to me. One day, he used his computer skills to get the adoption records."
"It sounds as if Jack's almost as good with computers as your guys."
"Yes. He was surprised to learn that the kid he was looking for was none other than CEO Christian Grey. There was once again resentment, but this time there was also awe according to him. He saw what I had done, and that gave him hope that his life might be almost as good. Two years ago, he came to Seattle and almost got in touch with me but changed his mind. He said I came across as an intimidating and almost unapproachable. Over time, he started seeing photos of you and I in the press, and his feelings started going away. I looked human. The idea of drawing my attention instead of directly coming to me got into his head."
"And that led to the outages."
"I also asked him about the book. He remembers Mrs. Collier would read that book to me, but he'd also sit in the hallway and listen in. It was calming for him as well. He thought sending the book to us might help in his plan to meet me. Of course, he knew by then we were on to him, and that's the reason for the smile at the camera. It was done out of relief and pride that he, a guy who used to be nothing, was able to get the attention of Christian Grey."
"I'm not sure if I trust anything he said. The guy could be the a great liar."
"That thought hasn't escaped me, but Ana, I didn't get a menacing vibe from him. To me, Jack Hyde seems like a guy who had a tough start in life and who has doubted himself so much that he lacks confidence in himself. I'm not going to go and start inviting him over for weekly dinners, but I want to help him. I want to help show him that even though shitty things happen, there's always a chance to turn things around."
"I'm going to trust you on this."