by Thomas, C. M
“I know, baby. I wish there was something I could do to help him.” I hated that I couldn’t help him through this. He was always sensitive and showed his feelings. But this had done something to him; he was now a closed book. And the only time you could tell if he was hurting was when you looked him in the eyes. They never lied.
We talked for the next hour before we had to join the others downstairs for brunch. The moment we walked into the room, my mom came over and hugged me.
“Missed you, baby boy.”
“Stop calling me that. And I missed you too, Mom.” I broke the hug and pulled Anna close to me. “Mom, I would like for you to meet Anna.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, Anna. I still can’t believe that Zane has a girlfriend.” My mom hugged Anna and grinned at me.
“Nice to meet you too. I would be so rich if I got a dollar every time someone told me that,” Anna said with a smile. It was true. People kept saying that they couldn’t believe that I had a girlfriend. But come on, at some point, I had to grow up, right? My dad came over and gave both Anna and me a hug.
“Nice to meet you, Anna. You let me know if he doesn’t treat you well. Then I will have a word or two with him,” my dad said.
“I will. But for now, he is behaving,” she said. I pulled her close to my side.
“I always behave,” I said.
“Of course you do,” my mother said. “I raised you and your brothers to be gentlemen.”
“Gentlemen? Come on, Mom. None of these three are gentlemen,” Amy said. “Hi Anna, I’m Amy. Nice to meet you.”
“He can be if he wants to,” Anna said. “Nice to meet you too, Amy.”
“Can we get some food now?” Caleb asked from the other side of the room. He was talking to Kylie and Marco.
“Sure, let’s get some food. You boys need some strength for tonight,” my mom said. We all walked over to the table, but I saw someone was missing. Liam. I walked over to Amy.
“Where is Liam?”
“Still in his room. He didn’t want to come down,” she said.
“I will talk to him.” I walked back to Anna. “Will you be okay here without me? I need to get Liam.”
“Of course. Go and talk to him.” I gave her a quick kiss before I walked out of the room. I walked up to Liam’s hotel room and knocked on the door. When he didn’t answer, I knocked harder.
“Open the door, Liam. I will get in one way or the other. Don’t make me get Dax.” A moment later, he opened the door.
“I really don’t want to talk right now, Zane.” He looked beaten, and not at all like himself. He looked like he did three years ago when Amy told him Evie was gone. I knew this would tear up old feelings, but seeing him like this just hurt. He needed to move on for his sake. I just hoped that he would accept that soon.
“That’s fine, just listen.” I walked around him and sat on the couch. I waited for him to sit down before I started talking. “I know Amy told you about Evie’s parents. And that it must bring up some hard feelings. But at some point, you have to let go. You can’t keep doing this to yourself. We don’t like seeing you like this.”
“I know. But think about how you would feel if Anna just disappeared. Would you just let go? I need to know that she is safe. I know it has been over three years. But it still hurts.”
“No, I wouldn’t let it go. And I understand why you can’t. But you have to move forward at some point.”
“And I will. I just wish I knew if she was safe or not. I can’t help but wonder why she left. Was it something I did? Something her parents did? Why didn’t she just talk to Amy or me?”
“I don’t know. But something happened. And I hope for your sake, that you will get the closure you need. But I just don’t know how to get it to you. We don’t know where she is, and neither does anyone else Mom has talked to.”
“I know. I think I need this break right now. Maybe this summer will give me the closure. Now that I don’t have to see her parents around town.”
“I hope it will. You deserve more than this, okay?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Come on. Let’s go downstairs and get some food.” I stood and started walking over to the door, not sure if he would follow or not.
“Thanks for this, Zane. I needed it,” Liam said, and walked over to the door.
“Anytime.” We walked downstairs and joined the others. When we walked into the room, I saw Anna talking and laughing with my sisters. I couldn’t help but smile. Seeing her like this was the best feeling. She was shining and happy. I knew that we still had to work through all that happened with Dan. But at this moment, she was happy. And she was mine.
Epilogue:
Anna (six months later)
“Happy New Year, baby,” Zane said with a kiss on my cheek.
I looked into Zane’s beautiful eyes and went back over the year that now has gone. So many good things had happened. I met the love of my life, Zane. I got my dream job working as a PA for Deep C. I got a whole new family, the Camdens. Zane’s parents and siblings had been great, and so supportive of our relationship and everything I went through with Dan. But that was now a closed chapter of my life. I’d had a lot of talks with a therapist and worked through it all. And three days before the trial against Dan should have begun, he committed suicide. Not the ending I was hoping for, but he was gone, and he couldn’t hurt me or any other girl anymore. And for that I was grateful.
“Happy New Year. I can’t wait to see what happens next,” I said with a big smile on my face.
“Move in with me.” I looked up at him. Did he really just ask that?
“What?”
“Move in with me, baby. Your parents sold your apartment, and you have been living at home. I think it’s time.” He held me close. “I’m not letting you go. If it’s too soon, then we wait. But I miss you when you’re not with me.”
“I miss you too. And I would love to move in with you.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. “Love you, Zane. I can’t believe how I got so lucky to have found you. I’m not letting you go either.”
“I love you too. You make me so happy.”
Two days later, I looked at the moving truck full of all my things.
“We are happy for you, Anna.” My mom came and stood beside me when the moving truck drove out of their driveway.
“Thanks, Mom. And thank you for all the support. I couldn’t have moved on without your help.” They had both been so supportive of everything, helping Zane and me work through everything. Mostly me, but Zane also had to work through the fact that he couldn’t keep me safe. I told him millions of times that it wasn’t his fault. And I thought that he finally accepted that no matter what, Dan would have found me. He was so determined. I was just glad that he was out of our life.
“No need to thank us. We will always help and support you and Kylie, you know that. And know that we will be right here if you need anything.” I hugged my mom. After the tour was over three months ago, I moved home. Even though I spent most of my time with Zane in his house, just as I did on the summer break, I still moved all my things back home. I couldn’t go back to my apartment, which was why my parents sold it just before Christmas.
“By the way, the money from the sale of the apartment will be on your account tomorrow,” my mom said, like it was no big deal.
“What? No, Mom. It’s not my money; it’s yours and Dad’s,” I argued. That was a lot of money. I didn’t know exactly how much they got from the sale, but I knew it was a lot.
“Nonsense. It’s yours. Kylie also got the money from the sale of her apartment. She and Marco used it to buy their house.” My mom smiled at me. “I know you guys don’t need to buy a new house, but it’s yours. Use it for whatever you want. Just know that your father and I are so proud of you. And we know you will do great.”
“Mom.” I got tears
in my eyes. “I love you and Daddy. And thank you, I will use the money for something good, I promise.”
“I know you will. And we love you too. Your dad is sorry he can’t be here, but he has that big trial starting tomorrow in Denver, so he left this morning.”
“I know. He called when we were on our way here.” I hugged my mom again. “Will you come visit us soon?” Zane and the band were working on their new album, so we would be home for a while. And I thought that it was great, so we all had a chance to be home with our family. I knew all the guys needed it. The last week of the tour was rough. They just wanted it to be over. They loved their fans, but they also loved being home and close to their family. And I understood why. For the past two months, they had all had a break from everything and just relaxed. Not that they hadn’t played music. I didn’t think any of them could live without their music. But they could do it at home.
Over summer break they decided to build a recording studio on the ranch. That way they could work and be home at the same time. The recording studio was finished just before Christmas, so now they didn’t have any excuses. They needed to work on their new album. Their new manager, Logan, was great, and understood the value of family, not like Tristan, who really was a bastard. He helped them a lot, and for that, I thought they would always be grateful.
“You ready to get back home?” Zane came over to my mom and me.
“Yes, I’m ready.” I hugged my mom one last time. I didn’t think I’d ever hugged her so much as I had in the last six months. “Love you, Mom. Come visit soon, okay?”
“Love you too, honey. Of course. I will try and see if your dad can get a day or two off soon.”
“Okay, tell Dad I love him, and thanks for the money.”
“I will. And no need to thank me, it was yours all along,” my mom said. She hugged Zane before we walked over to his car.
“What did you mean when you thanked your mother for the money? You know you don’t have to pay anything for the house, right?” Zane said when he drove out of my parents’ driveway.
“I know. You told me that. Not that I agree, but I don’t want to argue with you. I will let you have this one.” I grinned at him. “And as for the money. My parents sold my apartment. You know that. But apparently, all the money they got for the sale is mine.”
“Wow,” was all he said.
“Yes, wow indeed. I told her that I didn’t need it. But they gave Kylie the money for her apartment too, so I guess there is no arguing with them.”
“Kylie and Marco used that money to buy their house?”
“Yes, that’s what Mom said. I understand why she needed it. But we already have a house, or you do. I don’t really need the money.”
“First of all, it’s your house too, baby. I changed the deed on the house, so it’s in both our names. Second, you will find something to use the money on.”
“Zane. That house is yours. You can’t just do that.” He took his hand in mine.
“I can, and I did. I love you, baby. And someday I want to marry you, so just know that this is just the beginning.” I looked over at him.
“I love you too. And I want all that too. Someday.”
Zane parked the car in front of his house. Wait—our house. We got out of the car and walked inside the house. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He pulled me close and kissed me.
“Welcome home, baby.”
“Thank you. This is still unreal.”
“Why?”
“Because I never thought I would find love, at least not until I was thirty or something.”
“Sorry to ruin your plans.” He picked me up and carried me to our bedroom. He walked over to the bed and put me down.
“I’m glad you did.” I pulled him close so I could kiss him.
“I did something yesterday.” He held his hand up. “It’s nothing bad, baby. Caleb and I just went to the tattoo shop and got some work done.”
“You did? But you promised I could go with you next time.” I tried to look disappointed, but really, I was not. I just wanted to see what he got.
“I know, but I wanted it to be a surprise.” He took off his shirt, and I looked at his chest. Just above his heart was a quote.
“Who wrote that?” I read the words. I really loved this man with all my heart.
“I did. I couldn’t think of anything more perfect than this to describe my love for you.” I looked at the tattoo. Under the text, there was a small heart with an A inside. I read the words out loud.
The first sight blew me away
Never thought you would stay
You and me, we live life our way
I will love you until my last day
Acknowledgements
To my beta readers: Thank you to all of you for all your input and positive comments on my book.
To my editor: Thank you for your hard work and the time you’ve used helping me.
To my cover designer: Thank you for the fantastic cover.
To my E-book formatter: Thank you for taking your time to help me put the book together.
To my friends: Thank you for supporting me in the project. Keeping this a secret from everyone but you guys and my husband has been challenging. Thank you for listening to everything and for just being there all the way.
To my family: You guys won’t even know about this until it’s published. But still I want to thank you for always supporting me, and I hope you will support this adventure too.
To my readers: Thank you for buying this book, I hope you love Anna and Zane’s story just as much as I do.
The next book will be ready in spring 2018. This time it will be Liam and Evie’s story.