Broke me like your Promise

Fifteen

"Morning Nicole! How's it been today?" I bounce into work on Friday morning with an extra pep in my step. It's been a great week and I'm feeling the happiest I have been in years. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm waiting for the bubble to burst, but for now I'm taking a day at a time.

"Just the usual customers this morning," Nicole tells me. "Savannah is waiting in your office by the way. I don't think I've ever seen her in this early."

I frown, Nicole is right. Savannah is not an early bird at all. I try to quickly run over our text this week and nothing immediately springs to mind that would warrant an early morning visit. I suppose I've been a bit absent in our friendship. Jack has been monopolising all my time making up for all we've missed over the years. I also haven't really updated her with any detail. But showing up like this is a bit drastic, even for Sav.

"Thanks for the heads up," I pour myself a quick coffee and head towards my office.

Savannah is indeed waiting for me. She's in my chair, facing the door with her elbows on my desk and her chin resting in her hands. The look on her face says I'm in trouble with her.

"Good morning Sav, you're in my chair," I greet her, placing my coffee on the desk and my bag on the floor.

"Don't you good morning me! I had to get up early for this."

"Uh huh," I take a sip of my coffee, giving in and taking a seat in the other chair in the room usually reserved for guests or employees. I cross one leg over the other and lean back ready to have this chat. "And what exactly is this?"

"This is getting answers from my best friend. You missy have been MIA all week. You've barely answered my texts and phone calls and when you do it's with next to no juicy bits. The biggest thing to happen in, like, forever has happened this week and you are gatekeeping information from me!" Savannah barely breaths as she rants away dramatically. I do feel a little guilty. I know have been completely swept up in Jack.

She gives me her best puppy eyes as she pleads with me. "Please Annie, tell me everything!"

"I'm sorry," I immediately apologise because I know I've been a bad friend. "Really, I am. I've just been spending so much time with Jack this week and between him and work and looking after Gran time has gotten away."

"Do you remember when you first slept with Jack?" Sav asks and I nod. "We didn't hang out for like a whole week because you were too busy having sex at every available opportunity. Let's not have a repeat of that Annabelle."

I gulp. She makes a very good point, this is pretty much history repeating itself. Only now the sex is way better.

"You're right," I acknowledge.

I go on to tell her everything from the first dinner to the time we've spent together this week, which has been either at his place or mine. We've watched movies, I had dinner with his family and he has come over to spend time with Gran too. I skim over the dirty details, much to Sav's dismay, about the incredible sex we've had, but I do tell her about Baden's visit too.

By the time I'm done Sav looks equal parts excited and concerned.

"So what does this mean for the future? What's going to happen when he has to go back to his life in Malibu?"

My stomach twists, because it's the topic we have been avoiding all week. We've spent a lot of time catching up on the last four years, but neither of us want to discuss the future.

"We haven't talked about it yet," I admit. I hold up my hand quickly to stop her giving her from letting me finish. "Before you start, I know. I absolutely know we need to discuss it, but I've just had so much fun with him and I'm not ready for that to end. Right now we are just Annie and Jack and he isn't a Hollywood star and I'm not tied down to this town."

Sav's eyes soften. "You look so happy Annie, I don't want to take that away from you. I just don't want to have to pick up the pieces again if he hurts you."

"I know. I'll talk about it with him really soon," I tell her.

Before she can continue, we're interrupted with a desperate knock on the door, followed by it opening and Nicole popping her head in.

"Everything ok?" I ask, on high alert immediately.

"Umm, well, no. Actually it's not," she looks distressed. "We have a bit of a situation out here."

As the door opens a little further I can hear the sound of a lot of people out in the diner. Far more people than I ever usually hear. I lean over my desk to where I can see the monitor with the diner cameras. I hadn't noticed it because Sav was in my chair and you can't see the monitor from the other side.

My diner is swarming with people that look to be holding cameras. People that look a hell of a lot like media.

"They're asking for you Annie. You and Jack. I think some photos might have leaked and now they are here to see the girl who Jack Hayes went home for," Nicole explains what she knows at the same time my phone starts buzzing.

"What's the password on your computer?" Savannah asks. I round the desk, ignoring my buzzing phone. Savannah moves out of my way so I can log on and quickly pull up a web browser, typing in Jack's name.

It's right there on google. Article after article with a couple of picture of us. I know they were taken yesterday because that's what we were wearing. The photo is of us sitting on Jack's parents porch swing. There's some photos of us just cuddling and another of us kissing. I ignore the little voice that says the photos show how happy we both are with each other and instead read headline after headline.

"Is Jack cheating on Alexa with home town girl?"

"Jack runs home to high school sweetheart, is this the love story we've been waiting for?"

"Jack Hayes cheating scandal!"

"Is the engagement off?"

They just keep going with wild speculation. Jack told me he never confirmed anything with the media, and neither did Alexa so as far as they were concerned they were still together.

"Oh my gosh, what do I do?" I ask the girls in the office. My heart rate picks up as my phone starts buzzing again. This time I answer.

"Jack? How the hell did they find you?"

"I don't know Annie. Maybe someone saw me and leaked it. They can be pretty bad and really track you down if they want to. Are you ok?" Jack sounds worried. He is probably so used to all this, but for me, this is crazy.

"Yes. No. I don't know, I'm locked in my office with Sav and Nicole. They are here Jack, in the diner. I don't know how to get rid of them."

"Shit!" Jack curses loudly. "I'm so fucking sorry Annie. I knew this was a possibility, I should have been more careful. Tom is onto my publicists, we'll clear up the Alexa story, I don't want you labelled as a homewrecker. As for the grubs at the diner, call the police to have them removed."

"The police?" I squeak out, surprised that calling the authorities is my best option right now.

"Yes baby. Don't you go out there, they will swarm you. Just call the station and ask for help. I need to speak with Tom, but can I come over tonight? I'll have to sneak away somehow because they are camped out front of my parents house too and the last thing we need is them finding out where you live."

"What if they follow me home anyway? I don't want them bothering Gran," I ask, grasping the entire situation now and feeling incredibly stressed about it.

"Can you sneak out the back and have Nicole and Sav speak to the police before they realise you're gone? I think that would be best," Jack advises.

I quickly agree to a plan with the girls and hang up with Jack. As I drive home I take a few extra turns and detours to make sure no one is following me. I can't help but stress over how this is a normal part of Jack's life.

Is this something I want to deal with? This last week with him has been a dream, but this media storm, the harassment and the fake news stories, that is his reality. If we're together, it will probably be my reality too.

We need to have that conversation about what's next and I need to work out if this is something I want. We don't get to just be Jack and Annie from Rosehill. It will always be Jack Hayes, Hollywood star. Once you lose your anonymity you don't get it back.