Annie's Story

Chapter Thirteen: Annie Finds Out

Chapter Thirteen: Annie Finds Out

Annie awoke the next morning with a splitting headache. She sat up, only to find the room was spinning. Her stomach flipped, and she laid back down. The bright morning sun forced her to sit up again. She crawled to the end of the bed and shut the drapes. Darkness was all she wanted. She lay down at the bottom of the bed, too afraid to move in fear of vomiting.

Moaning, she reached for her phone, hoping that Markus had sent a text. There was nothing from Markus, but Claire and Donovan had texted to check on her. She smiled, knowing her friends would always be there for her. Her head hurt too much to talk to anyone, let alone fight.

'Good morning.' She texted Markus. She waited twenty minutes for him to reply.

'Morning.' He replied. 'Great, it looks like he is still in a mood,' she thought, putting her phone on the bed beside her and rubbing her face with her hands.

'Can we talk about last night?' she asked.

'Sure.' He replied.

'What happened? I thought we were enjoying ourselves?' she said.

'You were enjoying yourself. I was merely there to support you,' He replied.

'I saw you getting into the music. What went wrong by the time the concert ended?' she asked.

'I saw how you looked at Jake while he was on stage, and when I asked if you loved him, you couldn't look at me. I knew then I was just a guy you were biding your time with until he came home,' he replied. Her heart sank. She couldn't believe he thought she was using him. Annie would never be with someone if she didn't love them.

'That is not true. I love you, Markus. I want to be with you,' she replied. Markus was stunned. She had never told him she loved him, nor had he told her. What had he done? He slept with Cari out of spite because he thought Annie wanted to be with Jake, not him. Did he love her, or did he hope this was just a tryst, so they could move past quickly when it ended?

Annie waited for a couple of minutes for a response. Markus typed, erased, typed again, and erased it again. He didn't know what to say to her. Annie could see the chat bubble pop up and then disappear multiple times.

'I love you, too. I was scared you were going to run to him. I'm sorry for the way I acted last night. Can I see you tonight?' he asked.

'Yes, I would like that,' she replied. Annie breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to see Markus and apologize for making him go with her. She would never have asked him to go if she knew he wouldn't be happy. Annie smiled, hugging her pillow as she squealed. Markus loved her, too. She went back to sleep, hoping her headache would go away.

***

Markus sat on his couch, smiling at his phone. Annie loved him. He put his phone on the coffee table and sat back. He needed to decide on what to tell Annie. He regrets sleeping with Cari and is unsure whether to confess or keep it a secret. Markus thought about what had happened the night before.

He believed he shouldn't have apologized. It was Annie's fault he felt the way he did. Had she told him she loved him before they went to the concert, he would have never felt like he did when he saw her looking at Jake. He would talk to her more about it tonight. Markus' phone buzzed.

'Hey, why did you sneak out this morning?' Cari said.

'Sorry, I didn't think it would be a good idea for me to stay until the morning,' he replied.

'Well, I was hoping to go for another round,' Cari replied.

'I'm on my way,' he replied. Markus left his apartment and headed to Cari's brownstone.

***

Jake awoke with a headache. He drank too much last night. He drank to forget what had happened after the best concert he had ever remembered performing. Then Markus was hurting Annie. He had a bad feeling about him the first day they met. It was like the guy didn't want to know Annie's friends. Markus was standoffish.

Jake told the guys while they were on tour that he wanted Annie to be happy. If this guy made her happy, he would let them be happy. What he saw last night didn't seem like they were happy. Annie claims this was the first time it happened. Jake was doubtful. He believed Markus had been manipulating Annie the entire time.

He needed to ask Claire and Donovan what they knew about Markus. If everything he read about him online was true, Annie needed to leave him. She did not deserve to be treated that way. Annie deserved better, even if it was not with him. She needed to be out of that situation. He loved her. Jake had always loved Annie. He was afraid to tell her.

Jake got dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He wore a pair of sunglasses to keep the sun from worsening his headache. He was walking past the brownstones when he saw Markus. Jake stopped to watch. He saw a woman open the door, lean out and kiss Markus, pulling him into the building. He saw a man with a camera taking pictures and runoff. Jake knew what he read was true, and Annie was about to be hurt. He went to the café.

Annie was not working, but he had to tell Claire and Donovan what he saw. Jake couldn't believe it himself. He walked in to find the place packed with customers. He waited off to the side until the line had died down.

"Good morning, Jake," Claire said, handing him a black coffee. "You look like you can use this."

"Thanks, Claire," Jake said. "You can always tell when I have had a rough night."

"Yes, sir," she said, grinning. "What's going on? You look like something is bothering you."

"I need to ask you both something," Jake said, bouncing his leg up and down nervously.

"Go for it, handsome," Donovan said, sitting across from Jake.

"How well do you two know Markus?" Jake asked, tugging at his bottom lip.

"He's been coming in here almost every day. He is nice to us," Claire said, shrugging.

"Did you know him before he started trying to date Annie?" Jake asked.

"No, he was immediately taken with Annie the first time he came in here. Then he came in every day," said Donovan. "Why do you ask?"

"Just asking," Jake said.

"Jake, what happened last night?" Claire asked, concerned, sitting next to Donovan.

"They were fighting backstage, and he grabbed her arm hard, hurting her," Jake said.

"What?" Claire said.

"What the h*ll," Donovan said, looking at Claire.

"Yeah, and then to top it off, I just saw him kissing another woman a few blocks away," Jake said.

"That f*cking a**hole," said Donovan. "Are you going to tell Annie, or do you want us to break it to her?"

"I don't think any of us should tell her," Jake said. "There was a guy taking pictures of it."

"Jake, it would be better coming from one of us," Claire said.

"I get that, but would she believe any of us? She ran after him after he hurt her," Jake said.

"She is in too deep," Donovan sighed.

"Yeah," Jake said, sipping his coffee.

"Sh*t," Claire said. Jake finished his coffee and left the café. He headed toward Annie's apartment before thinking better of it. He turned around and went back to his place.

***

Markus was poised outside of Annie's apartment, getting ready to ring the buzzer when she came to meet him. Annie had a furrowed brow and a tight jaw. Markus was taken aback, never seeing Annie angry before.

"You son of a b*tch," Annie spat through gritted teeth.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Markus said, backing up with his hands raised, afraid she might take a swing at him.

"How long have you and Cari been sleeping together?" Annie angrily asked.

"What are you talking about?" Markus feigned innocence.

"Gee, I don't know, the pictures all over the entertainment news shows and on page six of the local paper," Annie said. Markus bowed his head. 'F*ck,' he thought.

"Annie, I can explain," Markus said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"No need to explain," Annie said. "The pictures say everything I need to know. Tell me this, though, the two nights you canceled our dates, were you f*cking her, or did that only happen after I got the meet her?"

"It only happened once," Markus said, looking at the ground.

"So, after you told me you loved me this morning, you went to f*ck another woman?" Annie asked with disdain in her voice. "I don't believe a single word coming out of your mouth. Get away from me. I don't want to deal with you right now."

"Annie, please, I am sorry," Markus pleaded. "It wasn't supposed to happen. I never meant for it to happen. I never wanted to hurt you."

"You should have thought about that before you stuck your d*ick in someone else," Annie scolded, turning away from him, and walking back into her building, never looking back at him. Dumfounded, Markus stood there for a few minutes, not knowing what to do. Markus' phone buzzed in his pocket.

'So, you are sleeping with my daughter,' the text said. 'Great, now Luigi knows,' Markus thought.

'Luigi, I can explain,' Markus replied.

'No, need to explain. You are both young and having fun. I was there once. Don't think this will stop me from sending Raphael when your debt is owed. I have hurt her lovers before. You can ask her. She will tell you,' Luigi replied. Markus walked home with his hands in his pockets and head hung low. He knew he messed up.