Faye
My shoulders slump as I leave the office and make my way downstairs to sit on the couch and love on Max. Being surrounded with old photos of myself kind of weirds me out. I’m also having a hard time processing what I just learned. How did I fail to pick up on the fact that my friend, Ana is the wife of a mob boss?
Especially one whose family I have been hiding from for years without knowing it.
What are the chances of that? Really?
Having to turn an unknown woman over to a husband she ran away from was hard enough to consider. That woman being Ana makes it that much harder. Ana has never said much to me about why she is hiding from her husband, but knowing she is on the run from the mafia…it makes so much more sense now.
I want to help her hide, NOT hand her over. I have to talk to her. If sending her back to him will put her in danger I won’t do it. I won’t let Travis do it either.
I will take my chances with the Cerelli family. Travis will just have to accept that and keep me safe. If he won’t do that, then I will have to leave, and take Ana with me if necessary. I’ve made it on my own this long, I know I can continue to do so if I have to.
I hope Travis understands.
I need to talk to Ana, but first I have to talk to Travis and figure this mess out. Let him know what I’m thinking. Unfurling myself from my spot on the couch with Max, I go back upstairs and peek in the open door at Travis.
“Hey you,” I say, giving him a silly finger wave as he looks up at me. A huge smile brightens his face, showing his dimples. Butterflies explode in my stomach.
Geez! He really is crazy hot.
I’m not sure I could actually leave again, now that he has found me.
“Hey Faye.” He motions for me to come in and I do, perching on the edge of his big desk, glancing around the room, looking for anything I can focus on.
“So… I have a couple things…” I hesitate and he looks at me. “The pictures of me have to go.” The words stumble out in a rush. “At least into an album. I’m happy you have them, but they sort of weird me out.” I gesture at the walls and he chuckles, nodding his agreement. I guess that means he knows it’s a little weird.
“That’s fine, Pea. Maybe we can make a scrapbook or something,” he deadpans, and I roll my eyes and giggle, thinking about a big sexy marine scrapbooking at the dining room table with me.
“That’s the easy one, Trav,” I tell him, my voice serious again.
“I figured.” He’s still smiling, so I take that as encouragement and continue.
“We have to talk to Ana before you tell her husband you’ve found her. I have to know why she left him. If he abused her, I refuse to force her go back to that, no matter what the risk to me is.”
His face is somber as he meets my eyes. “I kinda figured you were gonna tell me something like that. I don’t like it, but I do understand. Blake and I are already figuring out the logistics of an alternate plan. Just don’t run again, okay?” Relieved, I nod my head and reach for his hand, hoping to soothe the worry I can see in his eyes. He squeezes my hand tightly. “Is Ana supposed to work today?”
I think about it for a second before nodding. “She usually works the same shifts I do, and I should have been there today. If we want to catch her, we should go now. She won’t stick around after her shift, and I don’t know where she lives.”
His voice is confused when he asks, “I thought you were friends?”
“We are... sort of. I guess neither of our lives has been very conducive to being the kind of friends who hang out outside of work. I didn’t even have friends like that in high school.”
I see his emotions float across his face. I slide my feet to the floor and head toward the hall. The last thing I ever wanted to see in his eyes was pity, but it was there, plain as day and it makes my heart hurt.
“I’m gonna change so we can go to the diner,” I throw back over my shoulder, striving to keep my voice normal.
Travis
She breaks my heart. When she said, so matter-of-factly, that she didn’t even have friends in school, I couldn’t stop my feelings from showing. I tried, but her words opened up a sadness in me that I can’t bear.
She pulled back instantly. She is proud and tough and she doesn't want me to feel sorry for her.
I don’t blame her. I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for the things I have gone through.
Living with the dysfunction of Brad and Claire didn’t make friendships easy for her. Hell, I was only there for a year, and it was nearly impossible for me.
It had to have been unbearable for her as a girl. There was always the risk of embarrassment from Claire’s drinking, and the potential for Brad to lose his temper and hit her.