We Need To Talk

Anna tossed and turned all night long, in and out of reality and nightmare, trying to decipher which was which and what it all meant. Chris was fast asleep, and Anna wished she could be the same, but taking breaks from her ever-running mind wasn't really her style.

"What the hell was she thinking?" Anna whispered to herself, trying to make sense of yesterday. After the morning had taken such an unexpected turn, Anna had to call Jeremy and lie to his face. She'd made promises she knew she couldn't keep— given hope she knew she shouldn't give — and at the end of the call she'd felt horrible.

Nothing about the last few days made any sense at all. One moment she was finally on her journey — what she believed to be her only shot at normalcy — and the next moment she was face-to-face with the girl that had disappeared from her life seven years ago. Her interview with one of the most famous supermodels of their generation was Wednesday, and she couldn't care less. Does any of it even matter anymore? she thought to herself. These had been her dreams as an empty ghost of a person after her best friend was presumed dead, and now she hardly knew what she wanted. One thing she did know is that whatever decision she made would ultimately end in her losing someone she loved. How was she meant to decide? Hurt Max? Hurt Mr. Redding? She certainly could never look Jeremy in the eye if she had this secret inside her. Max suggested doing nothing, as if that were an option. Anna felt the tears coming because for the first time she honestly didn't know what to do or say.

"Anna?"

She jumped a bit, startled by Chris's voice. "Are you up?" Chris asked.

She turned over on the futon to face Chris. "Unfortunately, yes," she smiled lightly. "But why are you? You're cute when you snore."

"What?!"

Anna snickered, "I'm kidding!"

He smiled, staring into her eyes.

"My goodness, Anna. Even at a moment like this, you find your way into a smile."

He shook his head with a grin before his face turned serious. "I know you feel lost, Anna. But I ALSO know that you know what you want to do."

She slowly looked down, feeling an intense pain in her head.

"You can only do what you think is right. There will be consequences either way, but you need to do what will let you sleep at night. So you don't have to hear me snore."

She chuckled and let a few tears drop to the floor.

"You're right, and I do know what the right move is. I think you do as well."

The smile fell from his face as he shook his head in agreement. "We will get through this. Together."

They nodded at each other, but as soon as their eyes met they fell into a gaze that seemed to last forever.

"Chris—"

"Anna . . ."

They chuckled together anxiously.

"Sorry," Anna whispered shyly. "You first!"

He looked terrified, but he blurted out anyway, "Look, the moment I saw you, something happened. I don't know what's going on inside my head, but I do know that when I look at you I feel every bit of pain wash away."

"Chris—"

"I see you and I feel lifted, like my body doesn't even belong to me anymore . . ."

"Well, Chris—"

"Your eyes are everything, I see the man I wish I could be, I . . . I see . . ."

"CHRIS!"

He stopped mid-monologue and made an awkward, humiliated face.

"Shit, Anna, I'm so sorry." He took a deep breath before speaking again. "I just think that I would like to take you out on a date."

She smiled slowly, her eyes shining. "I think that I would really like that." Anna hopped excitedly over and sat next to him as she squeaked, "I know I would really like that!"

Chris laughed and his smile was bigger than she had seen it since they met. Chris placed his right hand on her cheek; it felt warm and soft, just as she thought it would. As he was about to romantically move in for their first kiss, Anna couldn't wait any longer — she threw her arms around him, knocking him back into his pillows, and kissed him fiercely like she had wanted to the day they met.

It lasted for a few seconds that felt much too short, and as she pulled her head back, she smiled and said, "I'm so glad you went first."

Chris laughed and reached back to place his hand on her cheek. "I'm glad you were stubborn, and crazy enough to follow her home."

She jumped right back to kissing him as if she had been waiting her entire life for this moment and he kissed her back passionately.

Anna and Chris were interrupted by the smack of the front door. They exchanged glances and simultaneously jumped out of bed and into the living room where they found a quiet home. Max's door had a note on it, and they tripped over each other to read it.

Scared to death that Max had taken off, Anna was relieved to find she just needed some time alone.

"Going to Subway to sing.

Need some air will be

back later."

Signed with a heart. Anna let out a sigh of relief, happy that her day didn't have to start with sprinting across the city to find Max.

Just as Anna was about to turn around and hug Chris, her phone went off in the other room. She was heartbroken looking toward Chris's room.

"It's him, Chris. I know it's him."

He looked at her with so much empathy in his face that she just wanted to hold him and cry, knowing he was the only one that could make her feel better.

"Answer it, hun. You know what to do." He grabbed her hands and steadied her shaking body. "I am here. We will all be okay. I promise."

He kissed her forehead and that gave her enough courage to walk to her phone and answer the call she'd been dreading.

"Hey Mr. R.," she stuttered. "We . . . we really need to talk."