Ana

I sat in the middle of Justin's bed, waiting for him to come back upstairs. The conversation we were about to have would decide if I was staying here tonight. Coming downstairs to find my boss on the front steps and his sister in my boyfriend's arms wasn't exactly comfortable to me.

Justin came in through the open door, leaning against the frame as we stared at each other wordlessly. I crossed my arms over my chest, having no plans on saying the first word.

"That was awkward."

I scoffed. "No shit," Wrapping my arms around my knees, I leaned forward. "So my boss is the son of a mob boss. A mob boss that seems to know you pretty well."

"Yeah,"

"Yeah? That's it? You aren't doing business with him are you? Justin, you know how dangerous that is."

"I'm not, Ana. He's just been coming around since Richard died. Making sure I'm getting on okay."

"And he's not pressuring you into anything?"

"He's not, I promise."

I frowned. "That doesn't explain Gianna feeling too comfortable with running in here and jumping straight into your arms."

A light grin spread across Justin's face as he made his way to kneel at the edge of the bed. I lowered my legs so they were on either side of him and he pulled me closer to him.

"Jealous?"

"You would be too." I reminded him.

"Ana," He let out a small chuckle. "Gianna's sweet. But when I tell you there's no one else for me, I mean it. I don't want anyone else but you."

Heat rushed to my face. The sincerity in Justin's eyes seemed to be there when he talked to me now and it was overwhelming. But I could only imagine the hearts in my eyes whenever I even glanced at him.

"Can you do me a favor?" I nodded. "Put some distance between you and Nate."

"Jealous?" I mocked.

Justin shook his head, "There's a screw loose with him. Dimitri shoves him off to the side and I know that pisses him off. He doesn't like me and I don't trust him. He may try something with you to get back at me."

I nodded, neglecting to tell him anything about my past date with Nate. It wasn't that big of a deal since I never really liked him that much to begin with but I didn't want to upset Justin. So I kept it to myself, laying back on the bed and allowing Justin to rise and sprawl himself on top of me.

--

I clocked out of work, calling goodbye to my coworkers as I made my way out into the parking lot. When I'd gotten to the store earlier, there were no spots in the lot so I had to park behind the building.

Nate was leaning against my passenger door when I approached. "Ana," He nodded.

"Nate," I replied, stopping a few feet away. "I thought you weren't working tonight."

"I'm not."

"So then why are you here? Leaning against my car." Nate didn't answer, and didn't move either. "Alright then." I walked around him to get to my door, but he stepped in front of me to block my way.

"He's not who you think he is, Ana. You can do so much better than an immature child, trust me. I can give you so much better."

I sighed, taking a step back so that we weren't so close. "And what's that Nate? You can provide me with everything you get from your father's business."

"And what do you think Justin's doing?" He snapped. "You put your boyfriend on a pedestal but he's just as lifeless as I am."

I shook my head. "He promised me..." I said weakly.

Nate laughed, "Then you're a dense and stupid girl." He reached into his pocket and thrust his phone at me. The screen was open to a text from a number that had no name assigned to it. But I knew the number well.

Just got to the warehouse. Tell your father I'll come see him tonight.

"A man bought a whole arsenal of guns from Dad a few months ago. Justin's been helping in hunting him down to get the money. If he doesn't have it tonight, then Justin was ordered to beat him to nothing. Then my father's men with take care of the rest. And Justin knows better than to refuse an order from Dimitri Angelis."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if there was even anything to be said. I was stupid, so fucking stupid. Nate just chuckled, "Have a good night Ana." He pocketed his phone once again, walking off with his head held high and then I was alone.

--

Justin

I leaned my head against the seat of my car, trying to think of anything other than this disastrous night as I waited for Henry to finish up. My torn knuckles lay against the steering wheel, dried blood irritating the skin around the cuts.

My ringtone pulled me out of my trance. I took a deep breath when I saw Ana's name on the screen, trying to get myself together before hitting answer. She'd know something was wrong the second she heard my voice.

"Hey babe," I made sure she could hear a smile in my voice.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was monotonous and I tensed. But I thought quick, leaving no time for hesitation.

"Just leaving church. It's been a while and I thought I'd hit a late mass tonight."

Ana's laugh was dry and bitter. "Incredible, Justin, really fucking incredible."

That was when the panic set in. "What's wrong? Do you want me to come over later on tonight?"

"Before or after you go to see Dimitri?

Game over.

"Ana, listen to me...please-"

"Is this why you told me to stay away from Nate? So he wouldn't reveal all your secrets to me? You promised me!"

I needed to watch my words carefully. The less she knew and the less I said, the better she'd end up. "I have no choice, Ana."

"That's always your excuse, Justin, but the truth is you do have a choice. You're eighteen years old. You're just too much of a pussy to stand up and take control of yourself."

That stung. I couldn't help myself from snapping, "Fuck you, Ana! You don't know shit, okay? Fine I lied to you but if was for your own good. Because that's all I ever do anymore, worry about you!" There was silence on the other line as I got ahold of myself. "Look, I'll come over tonight and we'll-"

"Don't you dare come to the apartment, Justin."

"Listen to me-"

"No, listen to me. I don't want to see you tonight and if you come, I'll never want to see you again. I swear to God, Justin."

I covered my eyes with my free hand. "How can I fix this? Tell me how I can make this better."

There was a long pause, "You can't." And a click.

--

I listened to Ana and gave her the night. But as soon as the morning came, I hopped into the truck and drove to her apartment complex. I didn't give a shit when I approached the door and started banging like no tomorrow.

"Ana," I yelled in between thumps. "Open the goddamn door!"

The door swung open and Gavin stood there with a scowl. "Dude, what the hell? It's not even ten yet."

I ignored him, shoving my way into the living room. "I need to talk to Ana."

"She's not here, man. She didn't even come home last night."

"Where the hell is she?"

Gavin shrugged, "Probably her parents' place. What happened?"

I shoved myself onto the couch. "I fucked up."

"Well she worships the ground you walk on so I doubt it'll take much for her to forgive you. She'll probably be home soon so you can hang around. But I'm going back to bed."

He was wrong. All the fights before this had been little things. But I was stuck on a ride that wasn't going to stop. If I didn't listen to Dimitri, I not only put my relationship in danger, but also Ana's whole life. Her family, Gavin, everything. There was never going to be a happy ending.

I ended up falling asleep and when I woke up, Gavin was leaning over me with his phone between his ear and shoulder. He was also shaking slightly when he stood back up.

"Yeah, he's with me now. We'll be there soon."

I rubbed my eyes. "What's going on?" I asked groggily.

Gavin hung up, rubbing the back of his head. "You need to stay calm Justin-"

"Stay calm? For what?"

Gavin shook his head. "That was Lisa on the phone-"

"What's wrong? What happened to Ana?"

"Justin-"

"What the fuck happened, Gavin? I won't ask again."

Gavin shrunk back, taking a deep breath. "Her car's been in the parking lot of her job since last night and her phone was smashed on the ground under it. No one knows where she is."

--

Where is Ana?

Hope you guys are having a great holiday and liked this chapter!

twitter: @bugattibiebxr

ig: @supersabrinaa