Troubled Indeed

CHAPTER EIGHT

My realization of how I've acted bothers me a lot. I notice that Anthony's Mustang is parked in front of my building, I guess he's home.

I try to wake Benji but all I get is a grunt and a sigh in response. I guess I have to take him upstairs myself.

I quietly open my apartment door and hear that the TV is on. He's definitely here. I walk past the living room and notice that Anthony is asleep on the couch. I decide to put Benji to sleep in his room and then deal with Anthony. I quietly close Benji's door and tiptoe to the living room – Anthony is awake.

He looks at me with his sleepy gaze and smiles a weak smile.

"How was your day?" he asks me.

"Eventful," is all I say in response. I sit next to him on the couch and try to understand what kind of mood he's in. Does he want to talk or is he too tired to do that?

"Did anything interesting happen?"

"Not particularly, why?" I look at him suspiciously. It's not how we usually greet each other. It's like there's an invisible wall separating us.

"Emily messaged me," is all he says.

There it is. I knew something was off.

"Why does she have your number?" I'm getting jealous again. I never expected my backstabber to be so close to me. But then again, I always knew what Emily was like, only looking out for herself.

"She doesn't. She somehow found me on Instagram," he says as if repulsed.

"What did the message say?" I know I'm walking on thin ice. If anyone loves drama, it's Emily. And Anthony probably knows everything Emily overheard at the restaurant.

"I'll show you later, first you tell me what I need to know," he says sharply. I don't like his tone, but I decide to let it go for now.

"Okay, so Emily called me after you left today. She said that there was someone at the restaurant who wanted to talk to me," I try to explain as detailed as I can, I don't want to give him a reason to storm out.

"Was it a dude?" he cuts me off.

Something is up with him. What the hell did Emily message him? And...is he jealous?

"Yes. It was a guy from my past."

"And why exactly would you want to meet some dude from the past?" his tone is getting demanding. He is jealous, I can see his muscles getting tense and it's kind of turning me on a little bit. I scooch closer to him and lift his arm around my shoulders. He looks at me, says nothing, but doesn't pull away. Good, at least he's open for discussion.

"I didn't want to go but I had to."

"What do you mean you had to?" he pulls away a little bit, but I close the gap between us again. I slip my hand under his shirt and feel his warm six-pack with my palm. I didn't even realize he was the jealous type, and now I'm seriously aroused.

"His name is Simon. He's Benji's biological father," is all I say.

Anthony's eyebrows shoot up and his eyes go wide. He straightens himself, pulls my hand away from his stomach, and turns to face me, still holding my hand.

"Why would he show up now?" he asks me after a pause.

"I have the exact same question. He told me he wanted to meet Benji. Can you believe this guy, he didn't even know if I had kept the baby and now he suddenly wants to meet him," I scoff.

"What did you say to him?"

"What do you think I said?! I told him that first hell would freeze over, and he does not have a chance of meeting my kid ever."

"Good. Although, it's bad that he knows now that you kept the baby. He might pursue meeting him after all." Anthony looks worried.

I never thought of it. He did find me and followed me around. Maybe he's already seen Benjamin? I have no idea how long Simon had followed me before finally revealing himself.

"Babe, I'll protect you. Both of you, don't worry," Anthony says in a much softer tone, I guess he picked up on my realization. He hugs me tighter to his chest and I lean in gladly. I feel a wave of fatigue coming over me.

"You know you don't have to. I'm capable of sorting my own shit out," I say as I inhale his intoxicating scent.

"I know I don't have to. I want to because I love you...and I want you and Benji to feel safe with me." He kisses me softly on my forehead and slowly but steadily makes his way to my mouth. I want him so much but I'm way too tired to start anything. I kiss him, and a soft moan escapes me.

"By the way, what's his last name?" he suddenly asks.

"To be honest, I don't know...I never asked, and I never cared about it as a teenager," I reply. "Why are you asking?"

"Um...no reason. I thought I'd run a background check on him. But I have other ways to find out about him."

Wow, that was unexpected. Is he a private detective now? It would be so much easier to talk to him about things if I knew what he was doing when he's gone.

"Here," he says as he hands me his phone.

Sure enough, there's a DM from Emily. But there aren't any words. Only a photo. A photo of me and Simon sitting by the bar, having a conversation. Only Simon's back is visible in that photo, but you can see me sitting next to him very clearly. That bitch. Why would she do that? I'm going to give her a piece of my mind when I get back to work. But for now, I'm going to enjoy the company of my most important man on this planet.

"I love you, Anthony," I say as I close my eyes and take another deep breath of his scent. As I drift off to sleep, I realize I can't live without him. I want him to protect me and Benji. I want him to hold me like that whenever I need to be held. I want him to be there in good and in bad, in sickness as in health. I do.