Masked Feelings

Chapter 78: Annie

"Athena!" I heard Thomas shout from his room. I was still standing by the stairs. He most probably heard my voice. A smile stretched on my face. Damian and I smiled at his parent before walking up the stairs. I quickly ran to my brother's room. I smiled when I saw him trying to put his sandals on. When he saw me, he let go of his sandals and ran to me. I chuckled and took him in a hug.

"How are you little guy?" I asked as I let him sit on the bed. I helped him with his sandals, then stood up when he did.

"I'm fine! I was going to play with Annie" he exclaimed. He then turned to look at Damian and waved at him.

"Who's Annie?" I asked, curious about that new person.

"She's a girl" Thomas said with a small smile. He seemed to like that girl very much.

"And?" I prompted.

"Her mother works here" he said.

"Can I meet Annie?" I asked and he shyly nodded. He took my hand in his, then we walked down the stairs together. Damian was walking behind me. He seemed to be watching each of my steps. When he noticed that I was looking at him, he glared.

"Watch where you're walking" he scolded. I was not even three weeks pregnant and he was already protective. I rolled my eyes but still smiled when I was facing the front. Soon, we were down by the stairs where I found a little blond girl smiling.

"Annie!" Thomas shouted as he let go of my hand and ran to the little girl. I smiled when I saw him wrapping his arms around her petite self. Annie smiled then hugged him back before letting go of him. She turned to look at Damian and I.

"Hello" she greeted as she waved. I smiled then got on my knees so that I was at the same height as her.

"Hello " I greeted back. She seemed to be mesmerized by my eyes. Annie lightly tilted her head as she studied me.

" You're so beautiful" she whispered and gave me a toothy smile. I could see Damian nodding in the corner of my eyes. I smiled back, then took a strand of her blond hair in my hand.

"You're really beautiful too. What's your age, honey?" I asked. I watched as I saw her cheeks reddened. She had her face shyly by looking at the floor. Her hair fell all over her face.

"I'm six" she said.

"You should never hide such a beautiful face" I told her as I placed my hand under her chin and gently lifted her face up.

"That's what I told her " I heard my little brother say from next to me. I chuckled when I saw Annie blushing even more from Thomas's comment. "Can we go play now?" he asked as he pulled on the little girl's hand. I nodded then stood up. Damian was simply watching us with a smile. When the kids were gone, Damian took my hand in his and we walked to the living room where we found his parents sitting on the couch. They were both watching a movie. Jeff quickly put it on pause, then his eyes drifted to our interlinked hands.

"I knew that it was going to happen sooner or later" Celina suddenly gushed while staring at us too. "The way you look at each other" she said to her husband. "Didn't I tell you?" she asked him happily. I didn't know that Celina would be so happy to know that Damian and I were dating.

"Yeah, she did" Jeff said, wearing a huge grip on his face. I turned dry head slightly to look at a smirking Damian. He shook his head gently.

"Athena and I are inviting you home for a dinner" Damian told his parents.

"That's nice" Celina said as she motioned us to sit down. Before I could say something, Damian declined the offer.

"We need to go right now" he told them.

"We need to?" I asked, not knowing what he was actually planning.

"Yeah" he said. Celina and Jeff walked to us, then took me in a hug.

"We'll see you later" Jeff said as we made our way to the door. I nodded then waved at Annie and Thomas who were playing in the play yard.

"Where are you going?" I asked when we were by the car.

"We're going to pick Rose up" he said.

"What about Isaac?" I asked. I thought he was coming to.

"He'll be there too" he mumbled, making me chuckle. We both got in the car and I quickly put on the radio. When the music blasted in the car, I smiled then started dancing in my seat. Damian moved his head to look at me. I gave him a bright smile then shrugged. He simply shook his head and put the music louder.

I was happy. Damian was my boyfriend. He wasn't running away from his responsibilities. I knew that there were other things to worry about but right now, I needed to be happy with whatever I was being granted. Life was not all about sadness and deception. Life could be good too. I needed to be happy with whatever I was being given to me. I was lucky to have awesome friends and family. I was lucky to have a caring boyfriend. The butterflied started flying in my stomach when I realized that he was my boyfriend.

"What are you thinking about?" Damian asked.

"How do you know that I'm thinking about something?" I questioned as I lowered the volume of the music to be able to listen to him.

"You have a smile and a distant look on your face" Damian noted. "And you stopped dancing" he added. I rolled my eyes but still maintain the smile.

"I was thinking about how lucky I was to have you guys in my life" I told him sincerely.