Justin

I paced the tiles of my kitchen, fingers clawed into the hair on the back of my head. My phone sat on the counter in front of me and I was just waiting for it to ring any second.

It was after dark when I pulled into my driveway, worn out and exhausted. Ella flung herself at Gianna when Henry walked us up Dimitri's front steps. Both were crying when I slipped back into my truck and made my way home.

I had no idea how Dimitri was going to sweep this under the rug and I really didn't want to know. The less information I had, the better off Ana and I both were.

My phone blared twenty minutes later, Gavin's name across the screen. "Hey man," I said, holding my breath.

"They found her, Justin." I let out a sigh. "They found her in that bastard Nate's house. She's at the hospital. I'm on my way there now."

I moved around, grabbing my keys. "Yeah, I'm right behind you. Hey, did they...did they arrest him?"

There was a pause. "He's dead, Justin." Gavin coughed after an uncomfortable beat. "I'll see you in a little bit okay?"

I nodded although he couldn't see me. "Yeah, see you."

--

Gavin was sitting in a waiting room chair when I made my way to Ana's floor. He was sitting with his hands dangling between his knees, feet tapping against the bright floor. He looked up when I approached, eyes filled with anxiety.

"She's only allowed a few visitors at a time. Her family's in there right now. I've never seen Paul that angry in my life."

I nodded, "How's she doing?"

"She was on a lot of drugs when they found her. The son of a bitch shot himself in the living room and one of the housekeepers called it in. Fuck," Gavin rubbed his temples. "I told her not to get involved with that piece of shit."

I raised an eyebrow. "Involved?"

Gavin scoffed. "Now is not the time for your macho jealous, alright? I don't even know why I called you, I should have just let you find out whenever."

"Listen Gavin-"

"Did you know anything about this, Justin?" He asked. "Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't know."

I kept steady eye contact with Gavin. "I thought it had something to do with Dimitri, but I was wrong." I lied smoothly. "I never would have guessed this."

Gavin nodded. "Alright, well take a seat. I'm not sure how long we'll be waiting here."

--

I looked up from my phone when I heard footsteps tap again the linoleum. Gianna was coming closer, wrapped up in a big sweatshirt, sweats and converse. It was the most casual I'd ever seen her. Her swollen eyes met mine and she quickly walked over.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I couldn't stop thinking about Ana. I needed to see her, apologize. Make sure she's okay."

I nodded, "Her family's in there now. We're not sure when we're going to get to see her."

Gavin awoke with an unattractive snort, eyes shooting open. His glance slid over me and then widened when they landed on Giana. "Um...hey there." He leaned forward. I rolled my eyes.

"Gavin, this is Gianna. Gianna, this is Ana's best friend Gavin." They shook hands.

"So, uh, not to be rude or anything but... who exactly are you?" Gavin asked Gianna.

She glanced over at me, trying to come up with something. I just shook my head-no more lies. "Um, Nate was...he was my stepbrother." Gianna said quietly, looking down at her feet.

Gavin's face fell. "Well did you know your stepbrother was a fucking psycho?"

She flinched, not looking up. "I-I'm sorry. Really sorry. None of this should have happened." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I am truly sorry." She said again, stepping back to leave.

I kicked Gavin before he sighed. "No, it's not your fault. Did you come all this way to see Ana?"

Gianna nodded. "I'd like to apologize to her as well."

Gavin nodded, "Take a seat then." He gestured to the empty seat across from him. She sat down and the three of us resumed the previous silence.

--

Ana's family came out an hour later. Her parents looked absolutely exhausted as they walked over to us.

"The bastard's lucky he offed himself," I caught the end of Paul's words. "Otherwise I would've murdered him myself." Gianna tensed, sitting up with a frown.

"Paul..." Lisa sighed. She gave us a tired smile. "I can't believe you guys waited all this time." She placed a hand on Gavin's shoulder. "Oh hello, are you a friend of Ana's?"

"Gianna," She smiled, placing her hand in Lisa's.

"Well, Ana will be glad to see you all." Paul nodded in my direction.

"You coming?" Gavin asked me, standing up.

I shook my head. "You guys go. Give me a few minutes."

Gavin nodded, stepping back to allow Gianna to go ahead of him. I watched them disappear down the hall.

"We're going to go back home to check on Oliver and grab some of Ana's things. Grams'll be around later also." Paul nudged me. "You okay?"

I nodded, "How about you sir?"

He gave me a bland smile, "I don't think you wanna hear the answer to that question."

--

I sat staring at the ceiling for God knows how long. I had dozed off until I heard Gavin yell, "Dude!" And stomp over to me. "She's been waiting for you for hours. What the hell are you doing?"

"I-I was just..." I stammered.

"Stop being an asshole, alright? She won't stop asking for you."

I nodded, getting up. I walked down the hall, slowly approaching her door. I took a deep breath before entering. Gianna was sitting in the chair next to Ana's bed, both girls laughing quietly. Ana looked up when the door opened, eyes lighting up when she saw me.

Gianna grinned. "I'll leave you two alone for a little." She patted Ana's arm before standing up and brushing past me.

I slowly approached Ana's bed, looking over all of the wires hooked up to her. This was all wrong.

"The tables have turned haven't they?" Ana said with a weak laugh that didn't meet her eyes. She let the laugh trail off when she saw my cold face. "Justin?"

"This is all wrong," I whispered out loud. I shook my head. "How could I let this happen?"

"It wasn't your fault, Justin. He was just a sick person. You can't blame yourself for that."

"Do you even remember anything?"

She shook her head, "I wish I did. I'm no help to the police. I can't even remember if he...if he did anything to me." Anger rushed through me. "But I had a dream. I had a dream that you saved me. It felt...so real. It felt like I was actually talking to you and touching you. That got me through it. That gave me faith that I was going to make it out." Ana smiled up at me and it broke my heart. "Will you please sit down?"

"I'm leaving." I blurted out. "I'm going away."

Ana's lips parted. "Where are you going?" I shrugged.

"I'm not sure yet."

"When will you be back?"

I shook my head, biting my lip. "I'm not, Ana. I'm not coming back."

She squeezed her eyes shut, covering them with her gauze-wrapped palms. "This is just another dream. I'm still in the garage. This isn't real."

I closed my own eyes, "This is real. I'm leaving Ana. I hurt everything I touch. I was raised that way. I can't be anything else."

"No, you can. You're just too much of a coward to try." She looked back up at me, tears streaming down her face. "Will you answer a question?" I nodded. "Why am I always the one sitting here waiting? You wanna make things work, I'm here. You wanna leave and I'm still here. You begged for me back and now you're just leaving again?"

"I have to go." I whispered. There was nothing else left for me to say.

"Then go." She sobbed. When I didn't move, she pointed at the door. "Go!" She said again.

I bit my lip again, turning for the door. My hands were shaking as I reached for the handle. "Justin," Ana said through tears. I turned to look at her. "If you ever decide you love me again, don't call me. I'm not waiting for you, not again."

I nodded in understanding. "I do love you. That'll never stop." I turned for door, not expecting the response I didn't even get.

There were tears on my face now as I made my way back to the waiting room. This was too much. I needed to leave. Gavin stood when he saw me, eyebrows raised. "What's wrong?"

I brushed past him without making eye contact. "I have to leave." I pulled my arm from his grasp, jogging over to the elevator. I leaned back against the elevator wall, pressing my hands to my eyes as the doors shut.

--

One chapter left :(

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