FRACTURES (The Lake House #3) *REUPLOADED*

Chapter Three

Justin

I heard Ana open the door to her bedroom a little past four in morning. I hadn't even slept yet, switching between pretending to watch TV and pacing across the bedroom floor. I felt like I barely slept these days. There was always something to do,  always something to think about.

I followed the footsteps downstairs and into the freezer-lit kitchen. Ana was leaned over, digging through frozen boxes to find something. Probably the carton of fudge ice cream I had already dug into earlier. I could lie and say I wasn't eyeing up her long tan legs leading up to tight fitting sleep shorts-but I won't.

She was mumbling to herself, sighing triumphantly when she got her hands around the ice cream. When she turned around, she jumped. "What the hell?" She swiped at her eyes drearily.

"Can't sleep?"

Ana scrunched her nose. Goddamn it. "What's it to you?"

I snorted, "I really don't give a shit."

"Then why'd you ask?"

I didn't answer her. She was facing me, but now I didn't even bother hiding my roaming eyes. She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. I took a step closer as she took one back, trapping her between me and the counters. She would have had to brush against me to make a break for it. I watched her shoulders rise and fall which each breath. We made eye contact and a smirk built on my face.

Ana's eyes zeroed in on the scrape above my eye. "You've really changed haven't you?"

I laughed. "Don't act like you know me. I'm not a kid anymore, babe. Neither are you." I raised a hand to run down her side.

And she grabbed my wrist before I could make it. "Oh, but I do know you. I know you think with your dick rather than your head. So if you value those balls of yours," She leaned forward so that we were face-to-face, breaths mingling. "Don't ever put your hands on me."

Shoving me away and grabbing her snack, Ana was up the stairs in a flash. I rubbed at my wrist, letting out a chuckle.

--

The restaurant we ate at the next night was more casual, which meant I didn't have to go through the torture of wearing a suit and tie. Everyone was in good spirits between Gavin and Gianna's families. Everything was going as planned for the couple and I couldn't be happier for my friends-the only family I actually had in the world.

I couldn't even explain why I was so aware of everything Ana was doing. She was running back and forth trying to do everything to keep Gianna happy. I could recognize the fake smile plastered on her face from a mile away, along with the misery in her eyes.

I sat forward in my chair when I saw a guy around our age reach out to her with a grin. Her smile matched his and she jumped up to hug him.

"That's Jace, Gi's cousin." Gavin came up next to me, handing me a glass.

I took a sip, wrinkling my nose at the taste. "Ugh, this isn't alcohol."

"Yeah, I think you've had enough of that in the past 48 hours." Gavin replied. "Him and Ana dated for a little bit a few years ago." He nodded his head in the direction that my stare was trained on.

"That explains why they're so comfortable with each other." I said, watching as Ana laughed at something Jace said with a hand on his arm.

"I know how you are, Justin. You're good with females. You say and do what you have to in order to get them into bed and then run. There are girls like Serena who like that shit. But Ana doesn't deserve it, not at all." I recognized the seriousness in Gavin's tone. He was my best friend but I also knew his protectiveness over Ana, I counted on it when I left. She was nothing less than his sister. "You left and guess who had to put the pieces back together? It wasn't fun for any of us. Don't rehash that."