Chapter Twenty-Five

 

Josh looks at her like he's not happy with her. Anna understands why he's not. If there was one thing that she knows he doesn't like, it's relying on Mitch's good will.

After all, Detective Meadows never saw his good side. The past few years, he's seemed different. Everything seemed to be about how mad he was about… everything. He's mad all the time, it seems like.

But that's how he acts. That's not who he is. That's not who he is underneath, and if Anna can just talk to him again, as a human being… if she can just reach in and get to the person who he always was.

The person who built half the furniture in that house, for Pete's sake. Who enjoyed his life. She'll be able to make him see what he's become. She doesn't need him to be with her any more. She doesn't even want him any more.

But seeing the way he's been, the past few days… it's been upsetting, to say the least. Whatever it is that's gotten to him, he's not happy. Anyone can see that.

"What's that look for?"

Josh lets out a long sigh. "Nothing. I'm just worried about you, is all."

Anna slides down into the sofa until the arm of it cradles her head. Her body is sore from all the panic. But now they're going to go talk to Mitch. They're going to talk all of this over like grown ups.

That will clear the whole thing up. No problems. They'll just be talking, and there won't be any problems. She'll get Ava back, and he'll get… whatever the hell he's looking for. Closure, or something. As long as she gets Ava back, none of it really matters.

"Well, thank you. I appreciate it. But you don't need to worry about me."

"I'm worried anyways."

Anna can't help smiling a little bit. It's nice to be worried about, sometimes, too. Even if she'd rather that he didn't worry about anything at all.

"Good. But sit down. Please? I'm nervous. You're making me nervous. So just. Can you sit down?"

"Yes, ma'am," he says. He's trying to hide his bad mood, but Anna can see it.

He's not happy about any of this, and she doesn't blame him. In a few hours, she'll head to bed. Whether he stays or goes, that's up to him. She knows what she hopes, but that doesn't mean she'll get what she wants.

Then, tomorrow, she'll get up, and they'll go to meet him at lunchtime. He'll say his piece, she'll say hers, and they'll separate on good terms. Everything on the table.

Easy. She moves to the bedroom. Josh follows. It's been a long time since she slept in a man's arms. His are strong and thick and his chest makes a good pillow. It's been a long time since she felt like this.

Luckily for her, it's not going to have to be a long time again. She's got a future. She's got a beautiful baby girl. Tomorrow, she'll have that beautiful baby girl back for good.

Josh isn't guaranteed. Nothing is, in this life. But she's got him for as long as she's got him, and she's happy with that.

 

She wakes up a little sore. Her body still hurts from all the panicking that she did the night before. The other side of the bed, on the other hand, is empty. It's almost nerve-wracking. Light spills in at the edge of the window, and the bedroom door is shut tight.

As she gets out of bed, she can hear, ever so softly, the sound of voices in the front room. She opens the door and the voices get louder.

Underneath them is a soft sizzling noise, the occasional pop of fat cooking. Josh reaches over and taps his phone. The voices stop.

"Morning," he says. He's got a smile on his face. It's not clear whether he's decided to ignore the meeting with Mitch later, or he's just putting on a happy face for her, but she appreciates it.

Anna rubs the sleep out of her eyes. Her hair must be a mess. But she plods across the room and wraps her arms around his chest anyways.

"You smell good."

"That's the bacon, babe."

"No. I mean, that smells good, too. But I'm talking about you."

He presses a kiss down onto the top of her head. "Well, thank you. But I don't know if you should be this close to me right now. I don't think we have time to calm him down before I have to pull these eggs off the skillet."

Anna smiles at him and rolls her eyes, but she lets him go. "Do you know what time it is?"

Josh looks over at the microwave clock. "Yeah. It's… eight minutes until I pull the bacon out of the oven."

Anna rolls her eyes. Today's the day that she's finally going to put all of the trouble with Ava behind her. When she finally gets to say, there's nothing else that can possibly go wrong. So she's not going to let herself get down on herself.

First, because there's nothing else to worry about. It's all been taken care of and she's completely on top of everything.

Second, and more important, because she can't afford to let her panic get on top of her right now. She needs to be completely in control of herself, regardless of whether it's easy or not.

"How did you sleep?"

Josh's voice calls over from the Kitchen area. She strips her clothes off and leans out. A soft grin spreads across his face at the sight of her without her clothes on. "Great. You?"

"I was going to say 'great,' too, but now I feel like I'm just copying you. You stole my answer." Anna hears the click of a stove top turning off. "We've got a couple hours before the meeting with your ex, so don't rush."

Plates clatter together in the other room as she pulls another shirt on. Her body's starting to almost feel normal again, and she's almost ready to start wearing her regular clothes again. Maybe, soon.

"Okay."

A minute or two later, she's pulling her hair back into a ponytail right in time to hear the timer going off. He pulls the oven open and grabs the pan out of it, the bacon grease still sizzling loudly.

"One moment, and breakfast will be served."

Anna takes a seat at the table. It's small, but for two, it's more than big enough. A few more hours. Just a couple of short hours. Then they'll be meeting Mitch, he'll call off this whole crazy thing with Child Protective Services, and it'll all be taken care of.

She can't keep the smile off her face. So easy. Nothing can go wrong.

Someone lets the front door slam. On their way out to work, no doubt. It's the first time in a long time that the noise hasn't been just a little bit scary. It's so loud that it wakes Ava, some days.

Feet outside. No, then. Someone on the night shift. By the time she hears the key entering the lock, it's too late to know how mistaken she was, and a moment later the door is opening.

No knock, no call out, and then a trio of men the size of bears pressing through the door all at once, with masks covering their faces.

Something's gone very wrong indeed.