Chapter 62

Alan
"We are very excited for you to start with us Mr. King. The previous fifth grade teacher, Mr. Wormon, has decided last minute that he no longer wanted to teach, so circumstances have you starting sooner rather than later." Mr. Moley the school principal tells me.
It's Sunday morning and I was asked to come down this morning to start my paperwork and get them everything they would need for me to start by tomorrow. It's not normally how it's done but I know they are shorthanded at the moment. Plus, to be honest, I don't mind one bit. I'm eager to get started and to meet my new students.
I've been here for two days now and although the first night was of me getting settled in and resting. I thought the next day would bring me a surprise I've been waiting on. Laynie and Jared came over to bring me dinner but when I asked Laynie about Anna, she just lowered her head and shook it.
The girl has been avoiding me like the plague since I moved out here but when I told Laynie that, she shrugged and told me I wasn't the only one. Looks like I need to pay my blonde-haired beauty a visit.
"Everything looks great, we just need a few more signatures and a certain conversation." Mr. Moley says.
I sign away everything put in front of me and once we go over my pay and health care, I cross my legs and await what I assume is the talk about my family and more importantly, my father.
"Mr. King. We are so excited you chose us to show your skills at. New Mount Elementary could use a man with your expertise. Your previous principal had lots of great things to say about you. The only concern I have, is that of your father. I don't mean any disrespect, but I don't want my school to be seen as the school Alan King teaches at. These students need a role model, someone that will care for them. I don't want you using us a leverage."
I nearly fall out of my chair, I'm so shocked. Since dad announced his candidacy people have been begging me to join their school staff and I'm not the only ones. Amelia told me she was offered tons of jobs at architectural firms.
I assumed when he started speaking of my father that he would want photo ops and maybe a donation or two throughout the year. I can't express how grateful I am that I chose a school where the principal wants nothing to do with that. He cares for his students. It's admirable.
"Mr. Moley. I have no intensions of having this school go under scrutinizing reporters just because I'm here. I won't lie to you, the closer we get to voting, the more they will be watching me like hawks, but I will set my guard with anyone wanting to come into this school for any other reasons than the ones you mentioned. I plan on being a role model for those kids."
After a few tense silent moments, Mr. Moley smiles and extends his hand over to me. I return the gesture and we have a gentleman's handshake. I leave the school about thirty minutes later. Mr. Moley wanted to show me around and show me where my classroom would be. Since I start tomorrow I know I need to get home and go over everything for the next day. I originally wasn't supposed to start until next week, but I'm actually glad I am.
I pull up to my apartment and see Jared and Laynie's SUV in the carport next to mine. A small smile tugs at my lips when I think of my friends no doubt ransacking the fuck out my apartment right now.
I reach my third-floor apartment, pulling my briefcase with me filled with files and notes on the class and where the previous teacher left off, and pull out the keys to my unit. Before I can put the keys in the knob the door across the hall flies open an I nearly get trampled as the girl slams into the back of me.
"Oh my god, fuck that hurts. So sorry, wasn't paying attention to where I was looking." The voice says from behind me. I try to help her up, but she merely slaps my hands away.
Her bundle of dark and wavy hair curls around her face so I can barely make her features out.
"Hey it's no problem. You didn't hurt me but are you sure you're alright?" I ask as she curses at her high heels.
"Honest to fuck, why do I wear these things. I mean, seriously, I feel like I should hoof it to work in sneakers then put on my heels right before I walk in the doors."
I chuckle at her attitude and foul mouth. She is reminding me of Anna. She finally steadies herself enough to get up and when she does, she does a double take of me. I know I'm not bad on the eyes, but I don't think I've ever had a woman check me out so boldly.
"You sure you're okay…. uh…."
"Delilah, friends call me Lilah. You're fucking tall dude. You must be like six four at least." She says while still moving her eyes up and down my body."
"Um, yeah I'm six five actually. It's nice meeting you Delilah, I'm Alan. Guess I'm your new neighbor."
"Yeah, see that. Well guess if I need a lightbulb changed or to get a bat off the ceiling of the Eiffel tower I can just call on you right?" She asks with a smirk.
Delila's voice is raspy. She has an extremely sexy voice and looking right at her, she is absolutely stunning, but unfortunately, that does nothing for me anymore. Both my mind and body only want a certain blonde bombshell that talks shit to everyone she meets.
"Right. Good meeting you." I say and wave to her when she moves off to the stairs.
I put the key in the knob once more and when I turn it, I hear hushed tones and the cutest giggles I've grown to love. I already know what awaits me on the other side and the fact that she is here, in my home, no doubt destroying any food Laynie may have been trying to make, has me wanting to break down the door just to get to her.
With a large smile on my face I open the door all the way and get hit with the aroma of something along the lines of onions and vinegar. Yeah, Anna is defiantly here.
"Welcome home shit stain. Bout' time you got here. We already went through your shit, cut holes in your socks and duck taped your underwear to the walls." Jared says while holding a beer in his hand and watching tv. I laugh but stop when I see a pair of my underwear right above his head.
"What the fuck you guys." I say laughing my ass off.
The girls come out of the kitchen, a glass of wine in their hands, laughing their asses off. Laynie engulfs me with a hug first but my eyes are on Anna. They are always on Anna.
"Don't worry Alan. Anna only did it with the one pair. Your socks are safe." Laynie says while walking over to Jared and sitting on his lap.
"For now. I'm cooking lunch and if you say one negative thing about my food, I can't guarantee that your socks will make it through the night." Anna says while smiling. Fuck she is beautiful.
Just meeting Anna Delula will have you tripping over yourself. Blonde hair down to her ass, curves to die for, and the mouth that would make the devil himself run away. Anna was made for me in every single way. I just need time to show her that.
"Wouldn't dream of it doll. Can I get a hug though? I just got home from a terrible day at work. Those kids were chomping at my boots and everything."
Anna cracks up at my lame joke, knowing damn well it's Sunday and school isn't even in session today, but does as I ask and hugs me. Her perfume, the one I've always loved on her, overwhelms my senses and overpowers my mind. Visions of her hair sprawled on my pillow in the mornings or her warm smile waking me up with soft light kisses to my chest nearly undo me.
"Have no idea how the hell you became a teacher. Those poor kids." Anna says then looks down suddenly. I take her face in my hands and bring her gaze to mine.
I don't know what made Anna shut down just now, but after all these years of friendship, I've learned to recognize when she does it. Anna had a rough childhood, I don't know much about her parents but what she expressed that night to me, and I for one, am glad she no longer has anything to do with them.
"So how did it go Alan? Was it everything you've been wanting?" Laynie asks from the couch. Her gaze is glued on the basketball game Jared had left on, but Jared's gaze is narrowed on me and Anna and I'm assuming, judging by the downward shift of his eyebrows, is because of the close proximity between Anna's face and mine.
"Yeah, we are all dying to here all about what your classroom looks like and what you think of New York so far." Anna says pulling herself away from me.
We spend the next four hours hanging out at my apartment. We watch the basketball game, Laynie surprises me by shouting whenever someone slam dunks it. I give Jared an eyebrow raise but he just shrugs and tells me Laynie has been wanting to get into sports with him lately.
We attempt to scarf down Anna's ravioli, yes that's what shit smell was, and after a few seconds of cringes and uncomfortable shifting, she announces we don't have to try anymore and we order some take out. It's just like old times, junk food, fun and lots of joking and laughs.
I catch myself staring at Anna too many times to count and the few times I see her watching me back, has me feeling like I'm ten feet tall. The woman just does things to me.
"Alrighty boys. We will be at the restaurant. I just got a text message that the painters were done and want me to approve. Need anything while I'm out babe?" Laynie stands and addresses the room.
I look over from my spot on the couch and notice Anna gathering her purse and heading for the door. I stand and run over to her before she heads out unannounced.
"Hey, could we talk for a minute." I whisper in her ear.
Anna nods shyly in the direction of the door. She hasn't met my eyes in the last hour or so and I for one, want to know what's going on in that pretty little head of hers.
"You doing okay Anna?" I ask when we get outside my apartment door. Anna leans against the wall looking down at her shoes. I'm just about to ask again, when she finally speaks up.
"Do you remember that night Alan? Do you remember it vividly? Do you remember the pain you were in when you found out the truth about who I really was? Who were you really dating?" She says, her head still hanging below her shoulders. Her long blonde hair falls like a curtain over her face. If I didn't know Anna well, I would say she was crying right now.
"Anna, what's going on? Has something happened?" I ask her and reach my hand out to her shoulder. I don't understand what must have happened between a couple hours ago when she was laughing with the three of us, to now.
"No. Nothing I'm fine. Just a little tired. I've had an exhausting last few days and after Laynie is done needing me, I'm going to sleep for three days straight." She says with a fake laugh. I see the walls are in place and don't plan on going anywhere, so I leave it, for now.
"Okay, but you would tell me if something were bothering you right? We're friends Anna. Always have been. Always will be."
Before she can say anymore. Laynie sticks her head out and asks if Anna is ready. Anna nods her head at her best friend and the two of them take off. I walk back inside to see Jared clearing the table and go to join him.
"Mind if I stay here till they get back? We drove Anna here, so we only took one car altogether and …." Jared stops when he sees my mind is clearly not on whether or not he can stay in my house after over twenty years of friendship.
"Something's different about her isn't it?" I ask him when he hands me some dishes to wash.
"Yeah I think so. Laynie told me she's been worried about her. Says she hasn't been answering her calls and she's doing that thing when she thinks we all buy her little excuses and lies again." Jared says with an attitude I haven't see from him in a while.
"You think something's going on with a guy or something?" I ask hoping the answer is a hell no.
"Don't know. Laynie mentioned a guy she was all hung up on, but I can't see Anna falling for a guy and not saying shit to anyone. Laynie said she had to practically pull it out of her."
My blood boils with the information Jared just shared with me. If she does have a man, then why is she so damn sad? Why doesn't she talk about him? What if he treats her badly? The image in my mind of her being with someone that would destroy her in such a way as what I saw today is making me want to punch something.
"Like I said man, I don't believe it. Anna isn't stupid, she wouldn't let someone hurt her, unless he or she, had the power to do so. She doesn't give in that easily. But there is something bothering her."
I nod my head in his direction as he clears the coffee table of his beer bottles. I can't even comprehend a sentence right now. Every fiber in my being wants to run down to Maggie's, grab Anna by her thick hair and drag her caveman style back to my apartment to demand she tell me what's going on. But the Anna I know, the one I'm crazy for, would just kick me in the balls and drag me by my collar to an alleyway to kill me for even attempting such an act.
I look over to Jared to try and steer the conversation over to him and Laynie. I know if I continue to obsess over whether or not Anna might have a boyfriend, I will leave this apartment and do stupid things.
"So how is the investigation going?" I feel like I crossed a line when asking him that because he stares over at the wall with his eyes closed. I take a step in his direction and see his shoulders tense. This can't be good.
Two years ago, Jared's father brought Jared out here to New York under false pretenses. I don't know the entire story, but it turns out Jared was practically running a company for his father Nicholas, that was used simply as a money launderer. His father was a drug kingpin and needed someone else under the radar of the FBI. Once Jared caught on, he and his half-sister Candice, whom I've never met, worked with the FBI, and together, they were all able to lock him up. According to Jared, because of some technicality, Nicholas was released from prison but remained under radar from the FBI and they would gather as much info as possible to make a retrial.
"They lost him Alan. They lost their trail on my dad. They have no idea where the hell he is right now. Detective Stephanson got a hold of me a few weeks ago and let me know. I don't know how to tell Laynie. I don't want to worry her, but I promised her on our wedding day last year, that I wouldn't keep things from her. It's just, well, you see how happy and free she is. If she finds out dad is out there, no doubt plotting and scheming, she won't feel safe."
Shock must be written all over my face because Jared looks over to me and laughs a little. I didn't know he was carrying around so much guilt and concern. He's right about Laynie being the happiest I've ever seen her, but Jared needs to know that has nothing to do with them being safe.
"Jared." I say as I walk over to him. "Laynie isn't the happiest she's been in a while because she's safe. The girl can read you like a book. I'm sure she already senses something is up that you're not sharing with her. You have to remember man, Laynie is the happiest right now because she's finally found her voice again, and has finally become who she wants to be. A strong woman."
Jared nods his head, but I can tell it's still worrying him. I indicate for us to sit on the couch and a few seconds later he joins me. Jared puts his head in his hands and brings them down to his knees. I feel the stress all around him. Seems we are all keeping some secrets from each other.
"Have you told your sister?" I ask and see Jared tense up even more.
Jared found out last year that he had a sister. She is his half-sister because his father cheated on his mother years ago. When he found out who she was, and that he had already met her, he tracked her down and told her everything. Only thing was, she had already known. That prick Nicholas threatened to do damage to her work and her mother if she told Jared who she was to him. Candice was the one that helped Jared put Nicholas away and if he hasn't told her that they lost their trail on him, that can't be good.
"No. Candice is like Laynie man. She finally found happiness in Austin. I don't want to make her feel like she has to go into hiding with her mother again."
"Are you fucking serious right now? Dude, doesn't she have like an entire motorcycle club behind her? They would protect her and her family."
"Doesn't matter. I know Austin would protect her, hell they would probably solve the problem for us all and just kill the fucker, but I can't draw other people into my shit. I can't make Nicholas everyone else's problem again. Besides, he's missing, he may not necessarily be plotting my death, right?" Jared says with a sad smirk. I know this is not only killing him but destroying any hope he had at a normal life with Laynie.
I nod my head in his direction and we both bask in the small silence. I know he is worried about Nicholas and I'll help him and Laynie however I can.
Jared and I spend the next couple hours talking shit and watching the rest of the game. I excuse myself and walk into the bedroom I deemed an office so that I can look through some of the criteria of the school and where the previous teacher left off. After an hour of nearly locking myself out of reality, I reemerge back out to the living room to see that Anna and Laynie are back.
"Hey, how did it go?" I ask looking over to gauge Anna's face, only she doesn't answer, Laynie does.
"Went great, painters did a great job, and Anna even helped me out with a few other things. For once, I feel caught up." Laynie says.
"That's good babe. You take any pictures?" Jared asks.
Laynie and Jared take a seat on the couch and scroll through her phone while she points and tells him about how she 'laid down the law' when the painters began painting the wrong color on an accent wall. Jared laughs at her when she shows her small little arm muscle and pretends to punch the sky.
I look over at Anna and she is starring at her best friend but with dead eyes. I know something is going on with her and it's taking everything not to grab her, take her to my room, and demand she tell me what's wrong. She was fine when we were all hanging out earlier, it wasn't until she got a few text messages on her phone did her attitude change. She said it was work, but I'm thinking it may have been her new guy friend.
Anna catches me looking at her and heads to the kitchen but I'm right behind her.
"Hey, you sure you're okay Banana" I say using the nickname I know she hates.
When Jared and I met Anna and Laynie in high school, I thought for sure that Anna would be a stuck-up princess. I felt like I had seen her type before. Long blonde hair, cheerleader, wore makeup at a young age, but when she opened her mouth, she showed such charisma, such bravery, like she was fighting the world and easily winning. I wanted to know her better, I wanted to show her that someone saw her for who she really was, and liked what they saw.
There is no cringe, there is no flinch, it's like she didn't even hear me. She grabs a bottled water and walks over to the living room with Jared and Laynie. I try and reach for her, but she dodges my attempt and continues into the room.
"Jared, what's going on?" Laynie asks him after I walk in after Anna.
"Nothing. I'm fine babe. Just a little tired." Laynie looks like she is going to pop a blood vessel in her eye and stands quickly.
"You always fucking do this Jared Cole. I can't stand when you think you have to shield me from the world. Why can't you just trust me? You think I don't notice when your hiding something? When you're all hiding something?" Laynie yells as she turns to Anna and me.
"Laynie, listen, I'm just trying to protect you. I don't want you to worry about anything." Jared tries to console her, but she just crosses her arms and averts her attention to the ceiling.
"Jared, I know about Nicholas. Stephanson called and told me a few days ago. Told me you already knew. I have been waiting a while for you to tell me but when you didn't, I figure you were doing your whole 'what's best for Laynie bullshit."
Jared looks down, genuinely ashamed and mumbles a few words I can't hear. Laynie blinks away some tears and walks over to him. I see Anna closing her eyes and stands up. I walk with her to my bedroom to give the happy couple a few minutes alone.
"Anna, I don't know what's going on with you lately. It seems like your depressed or something, but I know you better than you think. Your keeping something from us because you think you're protecting us but how can you protect us when you won't let us in?"
"You don't understand Alan. You could never understand. I can't let you in. I can't tell you guys what happens behind closed doors." Anna says tearing up. I have only ever seen her cry once before in all the years I've known her and that was the awful night I learned the world was much darker than I thought.
"Anna, please talk to me." I say as I walk over to console her, Then Anna does something I didn't know she had it in her. Something I always hoped she wouldn't do to me, but knew she had the power.
"I can't tell you Alan. We wouldn't want another Edith walking around." With that Anna leaves the bedroom, my apartment and takes my heart with her.