Secrets of the Great Oak

Chapter 38

Jake waited in Anna's living room as she and Stella packed clothes for the week.

Luckily, it looked like Anna's parents were out for the evening and he wouldn't have another awkward run-in with her dad. He hoped everything would get back to normal soon.

Noah decided to stay in the car while the girls packed, but Jake could never let them walk to the door by themselves. What would his mother say if she ever found out?

What would his mother say if he found out that he lied to Anna and broke her heart? He couldn't face that. Not with the way her eyes lit up when he told her about him and Anna finally being together. No, he would fix this first.

He wanted to be able to give her space, but at the same time, he was almost relieved to have her by his side for a whole week. These last two days without her had been torture. He wanted to wake up with her every day and was ecstatic to have the chance to do just that. Even if Stella would be there.

Stella and he had never been close. Not like he and Tam were. And Stella was obviously angry with him, understandably so. He'd broken her best friend's heart. This week would be interesting with her hanging around. But, if it made Anna feel more comfortable he would do it. Stella was just trying to protect her friend. He could understand that and would take that into consideration if she rode his nerves this week.

The girls' hushed voices made their way down the stairwell, but Jake couldn't pick up what they were saying. Probably talking about him, no doubt, and the situation. He didn't try to listen in. Whatever it was, he didn't need to know. Anna would tell him if she wanted him to know. She would tell him when he earned her trust back.

Footsteps sounded on the hardwood of the stairs behind him. Jake stood just as Anna and Stella cleared the corner of the stairwell landing.

"Ready to go?" He asked and then mentally kicked himself for his unusually chipper voice and smile.

Anna simply nodded and walked past him to the door. Stella stayed behind and grabbed Jake's arm.

"We'll meet you at the car in a second, Anna." She called before turning back to Jake. Anna kept walking and shut the door behind her. "We need to sort some things out before we all have our big sleepover."

"Okay, shoot."

"First of all, I'm not buying your little 'anchoring' story. Saleh is into you and the position that we found you in screamed of sexual tension." Jake opened his mouth to speak, but she kept on going, "And, I can't understand why you would lie to Anna about all of this. I get that it would be weird to talk about and hard to believe, but if you had just brought her to Traverra and explained it to her, we wouldn't be in this mess right now. You hurt my best friend and I'm not going to let it happen again."

"I messed up, Stella. I am fully aware of that. Sorry doesn't even begin to cover what I owe to Anna." Jake rubbed the back of his neck. "But, I'm telling the truth about Saleh. Nothing happened and nothing will happen. Fae can't lie. So, when I was in my fae form earlier I told Anna that and she believes me. It's more than I deserve, but she does.

"Look, I love her. I love her more than anything and it was never my intention to hurt her. She's giving me a shot at earning her trust back and I intend to try. I get where your anger is coming from. I really do. Watching her heart break before my eyes was the most painful thing I've ever endured.

"Telling her the truth would've been the right choice. And I royally screwed up. I know that. She's the greatest thing that ever happened to me and I threw it away in a moment of selfishness. I want to marry her and love her for the rest of my life. Please know that my goal is to be good for her, not to hurt her or mess around with her heart. Anna is the love of my life."