Chapter 56

Andy's POV

I ran out of my room, my heart beating loudly against my chest as I held my phone tightly in my hand, the picture still in my head. I looked for Jason and finally found him on the balcony.

He was leaning against the railing and just staring at the sky, but he wasn't doing any work. I walked closer to him.

“Jason,” I called him and as soon as he turned to me, I held my phone to his face.
“I told you someone was definitely going to see us.” I said.

He looked at the picture as he took the phone from my hand. I saw how his eyes darkened when he realized what it was. Someone must have been intentionally following us for them to have taken the picture and sent it to me. It made me feel sick.

Jason exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair, clearly agitated.

“Nobody was meant to see us, that’s why I took us far away from here.” he said, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Well, someone did!” I snapped at him, my voice was louder than I had expected. I could feel myself panicking and I could hear my pounding heart in my ears.

“You told me nobody we knew would be there and that no one would recognize us. So why- why did someone take this? What if they send it to Bree? Or worse? What are we going to do if somehow this picture makes it out into the public, Jason?” I asked. I was panicking.

My mind was swirling with different thoughts and I knew I was losing it. I was angry at myself for making such a huge mistake and not being more careful but I was also terrified and my body was shaking where I stood.

What if it was sent to Bree? What if she found out? What was going to happen? What if this picture circulated? What if someone else saw us? What would people say? What would they think?

Jason walked closer to me and tried to hold me but I moved away from him as I started pacing and panicking.

“Andrea, calm down please,” he said, trying to calm me down with his gentle voice.

“No one aside us and whoever sent this to you will see it. We’ll figure this out.” he said, trying to calm me.

“I don’t care!” I shouted, my voice cracking. “What if they post it online? What if Bree finds out? I can’t- I can’t deal with that right now. I can’t.” I said.
Especially not with the whole Marissa thing still going on.

We kept arguing and going back and forth as we tried to find a solution to the situation. Jason was trying to calm me down but I was not having it, how was I supposed to remain calm when something like this was at hand?

My mind was swirling with different thoughts and possibilities and the disasters that could follow if that picture got out to the public. I didn’t even know how to breathe properly anymore.

“Andrea,” Jason called my name in a soft voice. I thought he was trying to get me to calm down again so I didn’t listen to him and I shook my head.

Suddenly, I saw his face turn into a serious expression as his eyes became sharp and his body alert. He looked at me with serious eyes as if to shut me up.

“Shh,” he whispered quietly. “Listen.”

I stopped pacing and stared at him in confusion. “What? Why?”

He didn’t answer but instead he raised a finger and pressed it to his lips, his eyes darting to the house so I kept shut and listened and that’s when I heard it. Someone was approaching us, their footsteps loud enough for me- us to hear and my heart fell into my stomach.

What the fuck? I thought to myself as I started panicking immediately. I glanced around, my body tense. Who was it? Did they hear us? Was it Bree? Oh God, what if it was Bree?

Before I could think of why to do or say when the person got here, the door opened.
Bree.

Her face was filled with unspoken questions. My heart fell further into my stomach and I thought she had heard us and figured out what was happening. For a moment, I was sure that that was the end.

“What are you both talking about?” Bree asked, looking between us.

I was shaken, frozen and also pale, but Jason cleared his throat and stepped forward towards Bree. “I was just filling Andy in on the private investigator I hired to watch Marissa. We’ve been keeping tabs on her movements.”

Quick thinking. I silently thanked my stars.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Okay… but why does Andy look so freaked out?”

I blinked, snapping out of my daze. “It’s just very frightening,” I let out in a shaky voice, my mind still racing as I thought of the picture on my phone.
“Thinking about what Marissa might be planning. I’m just a little on edge.” I said.

Bree let out a small sigh as she nodded in understanding. “Marissa is crazy, but you should calm down, Andy. Dad's got it under control. Right?“ she said as she turned to my Jason.

“Yes that’s true,” he affirmed, as her gave me a small smile.

We fell into an uncomfortable silence and Bree looked like she was trying to believe what we had said. She didn’t look very convinced but as she was about to say something, Jason finally spoke up.

“If you both would excuse me,” he said as he briefly checked his watch.
“I should get going. I have important things to take care of.” he said.
“Once he was gone, she turned to me with a questioning look.

“You sure you're okay?” she asked, worry evident in her voice.

I nodded quickly, offering her a small smile. “Yeah, I'm fine.“

She still had this skeptical look on her face but she gave me a small nod. I felt like I couldn’t breathe until she finally spoke again.

“So, guess what?” she said, her tone shifting to something lighter, more excited. “Dominic and I finally kissed!”

Her words were enough to bring me out of my thoughts as I tried my best to pay attention to what she was saying. I plastered a smile on my face and squealed with her.

“Finally!” I said, doing my best to sound genuinely happy, even though my mind was still elsewhere.
“Tell me everything! How was it?” she asked.

Bree launched into the details of the kiss, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she described the moment in Dominic’s kitchen, how perfect it was, how she was surprised by how much she liked it. She kept talking, and I kept nodding, asking the right questions, giving her the reactions she expected.

I was genuinely happy but the whole time, my thoughts were on that photo. Who had taken it? What were they planning to do with it? How could I fix this?
I could not help but worry about my situation. If Bree ever found out about that photo… about us…

After a few minutes, Bree grabbed my hand as she started walking back into the house.

“Come,” she said to me with a smile on her face. “Let’s get comfortable. I have more to tell you!”

I followed her, still smiling, but the second I lay down on the bed, my mind went into overdrive again. Bree was still talking but I was not listening to her. I had to find out who took out the picture. And I had to figure it out before everything came crashing down.