Fifty Shades Of Crazy

Chapter Twenty Four

Anastasia's Point Of View:

Austin walks silently behind me as we enter his house. I take a quick look around and can tell, he's had someone else decorate.

Everything is set up to make it feel like a home but, the cold air lets me know that this is no more than a place for Austin to lay his head.

Sure, there are marble floors, pricless knick knacks , butter soft leather couches and, so much more but, it still felt, empty.

"You can take the guest bedroom." I turn around to look at Austin. His head his down and his hands are stuffed in his pockets.

"It's up the stairs, first door on the right. There's an ensuite bathroom, it should be stocked with towels, soap and, shampoo or anything else you may need. The kitchen is down here, of course. Just past the stairs and, it's fully stocked too. You can have anything you like, except the Coco Puffs, those are mine." His words are rushing and when he mentions the cereal, he blushes.

I smile slightly, nod then, make my way to the stairs. I need a moment to myself.

When I enter the guest room, I take a second to appreciate the huge soft looking bed, the giant flat screen tv on the wall and, the fact that I have a balcony that over looks the massive back yard.

Christian would love this...

With just the thought of him, I feel all the emotions bubbling to the top and I let out a loud sob before falling to the floor.

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After a shower and an hour of tossing and turning, I realize I won't be getting any sleep.

I slip out my room and tip toe downstairs. I figure a late snack or warm milk might help me sleep, or some tea.

When I make it to the kitchen I pause and take in the view before me.

Austin is sitting at the breakfast bar with an elderly woman. Both, are speaking softly and eating CocoPuffs.

The woman looks up and spots me. She freezes and stares at me then, hate begins to fill her eyes and she squeezes her spoon in a death grip.

"How dare you! How dare you! You whore! How dare you show your face to me after you slept with my husband!" The older woman stands up and hurls her bowl at me.

Milk and cereal splatters all over the place, including on me.

Austin hops to his feet and wraps both arms around the woman, "Mom! Calm down, she's a friend of mines, not Dad's!"

The woman freezes and her face falls and tears fill her eyes.

"I'm....I'm sorry. I....I think I need to lie down for awhile." She pulls away and shuffles out the kitchen, leaving out another way.

Austin doesn't turn to face me, even after she's gone. I bend down and pick the pieces of the broken glass bowl and place them on the sink.

"She's in the beginning stages of Alzheimer. Sometimes, she forgets things. Like the fact that she and Dad are divorced." He gave a slight, sad chuckle before finally turning to face me.

His eyes were filled with hurt and pain.

"I'm sorry, about the cereal and about my father. I....you can't pick your family, ya know?" Another sad chuckle escaped from his lips.

"My brother or sister don't want to help me take care of her. Not that I blame them. I mean, half the time my mother was either busy arguing with my father about all the whores he brought home to sleep with. The other half of the time, she was too busy getting drunk, so you know, there was no time for us. We always got shoved off on a Nanny. Nanny, after, Nanny, after Nanny. And now, me, the youngest out of the three is not only running the family business but, taking care of our mother too. And the one time, the ONE time, I find someone who, I honestly like, my father attempts to kill her. Ha!"

Austin looks at me and covers his face out of embarrassment.

I know he's about to apologize so I step around the breakfast bar and wrap my arms around him.

His arms wrap around me and hold me tight.

"I'm sorry, Anastasia." He whispers.

"Me too." I whisper back.

But, I'm not apologizing to him, no. I'm apologizing to Christian because, I can feel myself slowly falling in love with this man.

I am falling for Austin and I just pray, that no one ends up hurt.