AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shit, Anna, give her a minute, would ya?” Nick says, as he leisurely strolls out onto the deck behind the hurricane that is his girlfriend.
She shoots daggers at him and points to his chest. “Not another word from you. I’m still pissed that you waited until this morning to tell me.”
“Aww… come on, baby,” Nick playfully whines. “I was only trying to give her and Jaxon some time before you came barreling over here to demand what happened.”
That was most definitely not the right thing to say. Anna gets right up in Nick’s face and pokes his chest so hard it wouldn’t surprise me if he has a bruise later. I’ve never seen her this worked up before. Anna is a force to be reckoned with when riled. “Nickolas Reed, I know you did not just say that to me. Bailey is my best friend and she could have needed me. You had no right keeping that from me.”
Trying to defuse the tension that’s radiating off Anna, I grab her hand to get her attention. It was very thoughtful of Nick to give Jaxon and me time. I hate seeing Anna mad at him because of me, especially when he’s leaving tomorrow.
“Anna, sweetie, I’m fine, okay? Nick is right. I needed time to think. Please don’t be mad at him. If you’ll give me a few minutes, we’ll sit down to talk and I’ll tell you everything.”
Anna surprises me by bending down and kissing my cheek. “Okay, Bailey. It just hurts me thinking you may have needed me, and I wasn’t there.”
I pat her hand and give it a squeeze. She releases my hand, and I watch her walk over to Nick. Once there, she winds her arms around his neck to bring his head down for a kiss. I can barely hear a murmured “I’m sorry” before their lips are sealed together.
I turn my head back to Jaxon and find an affectionate expression on his face as he watches me.
“What?”
He shakes his head and smiles tenderly at me. “Thank you for reassuring her. She’s always been the mother hen of the three of us. Always feeling like she has to be there for everyone.”
“Except for Chris, I’ve never had people care about me before. It’s a strange feeling and it’ll take some getting used to. But Anna’s very special. She has such a kind and sensitive heart. I couldn’t let her think that I wasn’t okay.”
He reaches over and grabs the back of my head to pull it closer to his. He lands a soft kiss on my lips before pulling back and saying, “You do have people that care about you. Me, my family, and a lot of other people in this town. Never doubt that, angel.”
Jaxon brings his legs down from the railing and stands up. Grabbing my hand, he helps me stand as well. “I’m going to ask Nick if he’ll stay here while I take care of a few things in town. I don’t want to leave you both here by yourselves. Is there anything that you need from your apartment?”
“No, I think I have everything I need for a few days.”
“Okay.” After giving me another brief kiss, he goes over to speak to Nick. Ten minutes later, Jaxon is gone and I’m still out on the deck with Anna. Nick decided to get in a workout session on Jaxon’s equipment in the basement, to give us time to talk.
I turn to Anna and start telling her about my childhood and then about Steven. At some points Anna cries while during other times she seems extremely mad on my behalf. She interrupts me a few times to ask questions and I answer as honestly as I can. Once I’m finished rehashing everything that’s happened to me, including the phone calls and me seeing Steven in the bar last night, she leans over and gathers me in her arms.
“I’m so, so sorry, Bailey. I knew that something happened to you, but I had no idea it was that horrible. Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“I couldn’t. It was my problem, and I was trying to deal with it on my own. Well, more like run from it. I was so worried, and still am, that if Jaxon gets involved he’ll get hurt. You have no idea what Steven is capable of.”
“Oh, Bailey, you have to learn to let people in. You need to realize you don’t have to do this alone anymore.” She gazes at me with soft eyes, which causes my throat to close up with emotion.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“I don’t know yet. Jaxon’s pretty much forbidden me to leave.” I give off a slight chuckle. “He says he can help me. I don’t know how he can, but I trust him.”
“Maybe Steven will lose interest and go home?” Anna suggests hopefully.
I laugh harshly at Anna’s words. There’s no way Steven will just leave. He’s not the type to give up easily. When he wants something he feels he’s entitled to, he stops at nothing to get it. To him I’m his property.
“I can almost guarantee that won’t happen. I just don’t know what his next move will be. Jaxon wants me to stay here, and as you’ve seen with him asking Nick to stay here while he goes to town, he doesn’t want me left alone. I don’t know what to do or expect. I hate it. I hate knowing there’s a chance Jaxon, or anyone, might get hurt because of me.”
“You can’t think about it like that, Bailey. You don’t know if anyone will get hurt. You don’t know if Steven will do anything harsh. Besides, Jaxon’s plenty capable of taking care of himself. Just take it one day at a time and see what happens.”
I know she’s right. There’s nothing I can do right now. There are too many scenarios to consider. I still can’t help but feel dread deep down. I have this feeling that something awful is about to happen, I just don’t know what. Steven is unpredictable and there’s no telling what he’ll do. I just have to keep praying that everyone stays safe in the process. Even if I have to sacrifice myself to make sure of it. It’s not something I want to do, but something I’m more than willing to do. I’ll do anything to keep harm away from the people I care about.
All of a sudden, Anna squeals and grabs my arm, shaking it. “Oh my God! I almost forgot to tell you.” Her voice started out loud but then lowers. “Grams hired a new girl a couple days ago. She has waitressing experience so she should catch on pretty quickly. As you know, Nick leaves again tomorrow. In a few days, if the new girl works out and feels confident to work on her own, I’m going to take a few days off and go stay with Nick on one of his jobs.”
I reach over and give her a quick hug. When I pull back Anna has an enormous grin on her face.
“I’m so happy for you, Anna!”
