Chapter 38

"So you mean to tell me she came over here and threatened you?" Landon asked and Ana nodded sullenly. She was in a dark mood. She had wanted this day to be a good one, just her and her best friend. But it looked like something always got in the way of the time they were supposed to spend together.

"I- she had those pictures Landon. The ones Farouk had taken before." Ana sniffled. She had tried so hard to forget that moment of her life. And Dorothy bringing it up was taking her back to a dark and dreary place.

Landon frowned and took Ana into his arms. He stroked her hair and frowned down at her. He knew that Jack man was trouble. Landon knew he hadn't hurt Ana. But his attraction to Ana had hurt her.

Landon had seen Ana in that dark period of her life. It was not a pretty period. She had lost control of herself. She had become a shell.

Farouk had been a guy in one of their classes. Landon didn't trust him as far as he could throw him but Ana had fallen for his lies and sweet tongue. It had hurt to see Ana in love with another. Just as it hurt now. But Landon wanted her happy. And Farouk made her happy. Or so she thought.

He had tried to warn her though. Urging her to take things slow. But Ana was too far gone to listen to any one. Not even Veronica, her mother.

Farouk managed to convince her to play stripper for him and took pictures of the "steamy" night. Turns out his affection had been a lie. Farouk was part of a fraternity and his brothers had dared him to make the "nerdy, stuck up girl" to fall in love with him. And those pictures were proof.

Landon had managed to destroy any trace of them. Or so he thought. Till now. He sighed and hugged Ana even closer to his body. He couldn't help but love her. He knew it wasn't her fault she didn't love him. But dammit it hurt that she would never consider him anything more than her best friend or a brother.

"I'm so sorry Landon. I keep ruining the time we are supposed to spend together," Ana apologetically, looking up at Landon with those warm brown eyes. The eyes that could make him do anything for her.

"It's not your fault. Don't worry. I'm going to resolve this," Landon promised. But Ana shook her head.

"No Landon. I don't want you getting into trouble. She already threatened Veronica I don't want you getting on her radar too," Ana said urgently, holding Landon's tee-shirt.

"Ana, don't worry about me. For now. Just lay here, okay?" Landon said. Ana looked at him hesitantly, but the stress from Dorothy Knight's visit weighed down on her all of a sudden. She sniffed and burrowed her chin into Landon's chest.

After a while, Landon asked, "Are you going to tell Jack?"

"I don't know," Ana responded, after a few seconds. She was at a loss of what to do. She and Jack had just recently been able to fix their issues and now this. Why was life so fucking hard.

"I mean, we just got back together. This is another blow I really don't think we'll be able to get past that easily, you get me?" Ana asked, searching Landon's eyes, willing him to understand.

Unfortunately, Landon did understand. Far more than she could imagine. He didn't say anything, just held her. She didn't need him making this about himself right now.

"I think you should tell him," he said after a short while of silence. "If his mother could come and threaten you, I don't want to imagine what she would tell her son just to get rid of you." It pained Landon to say all these words. But it pained him more to see Ana hurt and it was only for the sake of her happiness that he was doing this.

"You think?" Ana asked hesitantly.

"Yes. Tell him. It will be better. And if he doesn't believe you, then he's dumber than I thought," Landon said, then placed a kiss on Ana's head instinctively.

Ana sounded doubtful but she said, "I will try. Thank you Landon," then added in a bid to kill the heavy mood, "You hungry?"

"If you're asking if I want to die by your hand, then the answer is yes," Landon teased and Ana frowned playfully.

"Hey! My cooking is not that bad!"

"Emphasis on that," Landon joked lightly and narrowly escaped a smack from Ana. He preferred this Ana. The carefree and laughing one. Not the sad an melancholic one. And that's why like the fool he was, he would do anything to see her happy.

***

Ana was walking around the room. She was pacing nervously. She had called Jack over and luckily enough, he was not busy. So he could come.

She was confused. Did she tell Jack? Or just invent a believable excuse as to why she called him over? She was at a loss.

She sat down and tried not to hyperventilate. She knew Jack trusted her. But did he trust her over his mother? She was not certain.

Their relationship was still a new one. And they had gone through a lot just in the cusp of their relationship. And Ana didn't know if Jack was even going to listen to her.

She heard a knock on the door and took in a deep breath before opening it. Jack was standing there, looking handsome as ever, with a small pink teddy bear in his hand.

She smiled and him and ushered him in. He walked in and all of a sudden, turned to her. He shot the teddy bear on the couch and held her face in his hands.

They looked at each other for a while then then Jack placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Ana stood on her tippy toes and tried to take control of the kiss.

Jack let out a chuckle then placed his hand on her waist and pulled her closer. Ana moaned into the kiss and placed a hand on Jack's chest.

They finally free apart to catch their breath and Ana looked at Jack with a shy smile and a blush on her face then rested her face on his chest.

"Missed me?" Jack asked in that deep voice of his.

Ana lifted her head with a coy smile. "What if I didn't?" she asked.

"Well from the way you responded to me, I'd say you missed me," he concluded with a smile on his face.

All of a sudden, he placed a gentle hand on her tummy. Ana gasped when he lifted her top and his hand rested on her bare tummy. She looked up at him then back down at his hand.

"Can I? Can I talk to him?" Jack asked, almost shyly.

Ana nodded with a smile and all of sudden he knelt in front of her.

"Hey baby. It's your daddy," he said almost reverently then placed a soft kiss on her tummy.

Then he stood up and kissed Ana on her forehead. "Thank you for the gift," he said softly. Ana closed her eyes and placed a small kiss on his palm.

"I- Jack I don't want to waste any more time. I have to tell you something," Ana started. She hated to spoil the mood but if she didn't speak, she was probably going to explode.

"Is something wrong with the baby?" Jack asked, frowning.

"No. He's fine. Uhm, yesterday, your-"

As Ana was about to talk, there was a knock on the door, interrupting her speech. She frowned. She hoped it was not her mother again.

"I'll be right back," she said and walked to the door. She opened it to see Landon standing there with two boxes of pizza in his hand.

"Hey babe. I brought pizza. Thought we could have a day to ourselves," he said, strolling in without a care. Then all of a sudden he stopped.

Ana walked in and she frowned at both men looking at each other. The tension in the room was palpable.

"Uhm, Landon this is Jack. Uhm, Jack this is Landon, my best friend," she said, trying to salvage the mood.

"No need to introduce us, sugar," Jack said without even looking at her. "Good to see you again, Geralds."