Wear me like a locket around your neck

You're looking like a stranger

"Shannon," Analyne says over the phone, "could you please pick me up at LAX in about 2 hours?
"Sure Princess!" smile is audible in Shannon's voice "Does-"
"No," she cuts him short "Jared doesn't know. Please do not tell him."
"Well okay, he is not even in the house anyway, but why won't you tell him?"
"I'll explain later. The plane is about to take off, Meet me in the third terminal" she hangs up.
Shannon is more than happy to have his best friend and soon to be sister-in-law at home for Christmas. He puts his phone on the kitchen counter next to Constance's and slices the endives while she peels apples.
"We're gonna have a guest tonight mom"
"Oh Great! who is it?"
"Ana."
"But I thought she was spending the festive season with her family."
"That's what I thought too, but she just asked me to pick her up at the airport in about an hour and a half now."
"That is great news; Jared has been grumpy ever since she left."
She chops the apple "You should get going Shan, there is much traffic today, it took me close to an hour to come here."
The drummer washes his hands, slides his phone into his sweatpants pocket and goes to his car.
Indeed Constance was right; it took Shannon almost forty minutes to get to the airport.
In the hallway, the drummer witnesses many family reunions, lovebirds hugging each other tight and carts full of Christmas presents.
Finally his eyes meet hers and she strides towards him.
"Shannon!"
He takes her into one of his famous bear hugs, "How are you Ana?"
"Glad to be back home," she smiles.
"Let me carry your luggage," he offers and takes her Samsonite. They walk arm in arm towards his Rover.
"So," he says as he starts the engine "shouldn't you spend Christmas and New Year with your family back in France?"
"That was the original plan."
"What made you change your mind?"
"Some sort of a surprise I have for your brother."
"What is it?"
"Uh-uh" she shakes her head "I'm not telling you anything. Where is he by the way? You said he was not at home when I phoned you."
The drummer shrugs "don't know, he wasn't here when I woke up this morning. Must be business meetings."
The blonde turns up the radio "Do you feel cold and lost, come on Shan sing with me, in desperation" she yells out of tune rather than sings but it has always been their thing, every time one would hear a song they loved they would yell it out like mad men. It was their madness. Neither of them was ashamed of being crazy when they were together. And that made their friendship even stronger.
The drummer shakes his head and smiles "Alright."
"YOU BUILD UP HOPE BUT FAILURE'S ALL YOU'VE KNOWN" they sing in unison.
"Let it go." Analyne whispers as she turns back down the music.
"That's a rather sad song for Christmas Ana!"
"Not when we sing together Shan, we're so bad at singing we could wake up the dead!" she jokes.
That's what the Leto brothers love in the young inspector, her joie de vivre and her joviality. Neither of them has ever seen her cry, she's a happy person, always smiling. As she likes to say: there is a bright side to every situation.
Shannon turns off his car in the driveway and opens the trunk so that Ana can take her suitcase out.
She notices that her sparkling Porsche is in its usual spot, "I've missed you honey," she whispers caressing the black hood.
"You will never change, will you?"
She turns back towards the musician with a questioning look.
"Your car" he goes on "You cannot leave it alone. You are hopeless Ana, it's like you love cars more than guys do."
"So what?"
She turns the doorknob and enters the house. Her house. Well, for the moment she still hasn't sold her apartment in the city but here lives her boyfriend - soon to be husband - and she has moved in last year, she considers it home.
"Constance!"
"Oh Ana!" Constance gives her a hug "How are you sweetheart? I am so glad you're back in the US, Jared has been so irritable and grumpy for the past two weeks."
Analyne shyly smiles. "I am fine, my parents and brother are landing at 5 pm, I am so impatient that you meet them. You're my family here in the US and you've always been incredibly nice to me so it is important."
Shannon comes back down from Ana and Jared's room where he carried her suitcase.
"But we won't bother you tonight; I know how important it is that the three of you are together for Christmas so I got Cassidy to prepare everything at my apartment for my family. We will be celebrating Christmas there" the blonde explains to Constance.
"No way!" interrupts Shannon "Jared won't let you spend Christmas at your place when we could be here all together."
"We'll see how it goes. Coffee Shan?"
Ana is pouring black coffee into Shannon's favorite mug when the front door bursts open and a panting red-haired is pinned against it. Her lips against his. His hands on her small back, hers exploring his body.
Time stops. Analyne screams and lets go of Shan's mug, it hits the tiled floor and breaks so violently that coffee is spilled to every corner of the kitchen. Her eyes instantly filled with tears. She hurriedly takes her car keys from the bowl on the bar counter and runs out of the house.
Jared lifts his eyes towards his brother, silently pleading 'tell me it wasn't her' but it was her. She was here, only seconds before and now she's gone. He throws the red-haired out of his house.
"Shannon," is all he manages to say.
"What did you just do?"
Shannon wants to scream, yell at his little brother but he knows this is no use Jared's eyes are swollen and red trying to hold back his tears. He knows he has just lost her.
"Come here." The drummer lays his brother's head on his own shoulder. He is furious against Jared but he can't blame him more than the singer already blames himself.
"What did I do?" Jared keeps repeating with tremor in his voice.
"Calm down honey" Constance sits on the other side of her younger son and brushes his hair out of his face "Call her now, before it's too late."
Jared dials Ana's number and waits. Three dial tones and the answering machine. Jared doesn't speak he only lowers his head and a tear runs down his left cheek.
Analyne is at her apartment, curled up into a ball hugging her pillow. She is crying her eyes out. Two years they've been together. He had restored her faith in men, they were about to be married.
She looks at the diamond on her left ring finger and slides it off violently. She cannot see anything behind her curtain of tears. The ring hits the wall and ends up on the parqueted floor. The diamond dislodged from it. There, was all that remained from their love. A broken ring on the floor.

---
Half an hour later and with the help of a large amount of make-up, Analyne is waiting for her family at LAX.
She manages to smile when she catches a glimpse of her brother "How was the flight?"
"We were so impatient to see you again," begins her brother
"Time went by so fast" her father hugs her lovingly "I've missed you honey".

---
Explosions of laughter can be heard in the stairwell and he immediately recognizes hers. He is crouching down beside her front door. His head is hanging low between his arms.
She freezes and almost falls off the stairs when she sees his silhouette.
"What is it?" inquires her father.
"Oh, Jared!" exclaims her brother striding towards his ex-future-brother-in-law.
The musician lifts his head and they all clearly see his red swollen eyes. Her mother and father turn towards her. They are wondering why she doesn't move, why does she not go and see what is wrong with her fiancé.
Finally life is breathed back inside of her lungs. She gives the keys to her mother "make yourself at home, I'm gonna deal with him" she whispers to them.
Once her family has disappeared, she asks full of anger "What are you doing here?"
He stands up, his blue diamonds injected with blood try to read her emotions but it is pointless. All he sees is rage and sorrow. And he knows too well it is because of him.
"I'm sorry," he stammers.
"Great! and what do you expect of me?" she retorts.
"I - I don't expect you to forgive me"
"Fine, because I won't."
"I didn't - I did not want to... hurt you,"
"Well, you did, Jared."
He realizes how cold and distant she is. He has never seen her this mean. A tear runs down his cheek, he does not manage to hold it.
Ana is surprised never in her life did she witness even a slight loss of control from Jared. What does that mean? Does he actually care about her? Does he regret anything he did? Thousands and thousands of questions rumble inside her head.
"I don't get you, Jared."
"I regret what I did. I am sorry Ana."
"Don't call me that. I am not yours anymore, Jared. My name is Analyne."
It breaks his heart to hear that even though he knows he has lost her. But now, it hits him like a slap. It is real, she said it. She pronounced the words "I. am. not. yours. anymore." It echoes incessantly in his mind.
"She didn't matter. I swear to God. It was... you weren't there and I - "
"Don't serve me that 'I've got needs' bullshit. You disrespected me and overall you disrespected the little one stirring inside of me."
He did not get that at first.
Analyne flies inside her apartment and comes back with the broken ring in her hand.
"Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jared," she violently shoves the ring against his chest and disappears behind the door.