Grounded • A Hannie Fanfic

Chapter 14

Hayden's POV:
Annie breaks down crying in my arms. I pull her over to the couch, where we lie down and I let her cry for a while.
"It's okay Annie. Let it out." I say, rubbing her back.
"It's not okay Hayden. I accused my own mother of cheating on her husband with one of her closest friends and business partners. What kind of daughter am I?" She weeps.
"This person who was blackmailing me was pretty convincing, they said they had proof. You couldn't have known." I try to reassure her.
"But I should have." She sniffs. She looks up at me, her face puffy and soaked with tears. I wipe her cheek and kiss her forehead.
"We all make mistakes. You just have to apologize. I'm sure if we explain the whole situation, she'll understand." I say. Annie's breathing slows to a normal pace and her sobs quiet down after a few silent minutes.
"Okay. I'm gonna go talk to her." She says, wiping away her smudged makeup and standing up.
"Do you want me to come with you?" I ask. She nods, and I follow her to the door and down the hallway. She takes a deep breath before she knocks softly.

Annie's POV:
She opens the door.
"Mom. I'm really sorry." I say. She still has a hurt expression on her face.
"I was scared. Hayden told me that this person, whoever they were, said they had proof. It seemed possible. I mean, your always gone on meetings, and so is he. Dad hasn't been here for a while, so I just-"
"Annie, sweetie, it's okay. I see where you're coming from. I haven't been cheating on your father with anyone. We're going to figure out who this person is that's blackmailing Hayden and get them arrested, okay?" She says, opening her arms for a hug. I squeeze her. She opens the door wide for me and Hayden to come inside.
"Now, Hayden, tell us everything." She says. Hayden takes a deep breath before he explains.
"They started texting me. At first it was just random things, like "I know your secrets" and "you should reply to me before it's too late." I just thought it was a weird fan who got my number. But then, they texted me this.
Hayden opens up the chat, revealing a picture. It's Jimmy and my mom, sitting in the car laughing.
"I remember that. We just got out of a meeting about the Rock Your Hair concert, and went for dinner together." Mom says. Hayden nods, and scrolls through the chat.
Anonymous- I know their dirty secret.
Hayden-How did you get this number?
Anonymous- there's more important things to talk about than that.
Hayden- Please leave me alone.
Anonymous- Break up with Annie.
Hayden- Uhh, no.
Anonymous- I reveal their secrets.
H- what secrets? What's going on?
A- your dad is having an affair. With Katie.
H- this is stupid. Stop texting me or I'll contact the police.
A- do that and I'll release the pictures I have.
H- what do you mean?
A- I have proof their having an affair. Do what I say, the pictures don't get released.
H- I'm not playing games.
A- Don't have to. Just break up with Annie, and she'll be fine. Her parents won't divorce, and her life will stay perfect.
H- I'm calling the police.
A- *picture*
This picture shocks me even more than the first one. It's me and Hayden this time, snuggled on the couch watching a movie. He's on his phone.
A- I'm always watching.
"I got freaked out. I couldn't sleep because of that. The next morning, I broke up with Annie and that was it." He admits, shutting off his phone.
"You broke up with her?" My mom exclaims.
"I had too. I knew if they had pictures of us already, and if you guys really were cheating, then they would have the proof. I didn't want Annie to get hurt." Hayden shakes his head.
"Okay, but you're together now?" She says in confusion.
"Last night I went over and we talked. He told me about everything this morning." I finish.
Mom sits there, her head in her hands as she thinks deeply.
"They have eyes on us." Hayden reminds us, looking around the room.
"Well. I'm not cheating, so there's nothing they can reveal. I'm calling the police right now." She says, walking into her room as she dials the number. Hayden and I sigh deeply and head to the couch. There's some random show playing, so I watch it and lie my head on his lap. I hear his phone vibrate, but think nothing of it.
"Uh... Annie." He says, looking at his phone with wide eyes.
I quickly get up and look at the screen.
A- Telling the police are we? Well, I would have to show Annie's mom all about last night.
*picture*
My face goes red as I look at the picture. It's another one of me and Hayden. But this one is from last night, with me on the countertop. Hayden and I are making out, and our bodies are a little closer than our parents would approve of.
Uh oh.