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24
"Long way from home."
Though she was thankful that it was John that opened the door, Ana couldn't help but feel nervous as he opened it further. There was a grin on his face that would surely merge into his signature smirk and the house looked dark behind him. So Ana remained outside, her hands clasped in front.
"I'm sure you're busy."
John shook his head. "Just got back from the factory. Never thought I'd see you out here again," he said, but then his smile dropped. "What's wrong?"
"I heard about Tommy's son. I'm sorry, I wish I could do something to help."
"Don't mention it." He dismissed the thought, not out of callousness but out of pain. He didn't like talking about the things that hurt him. Ana frowned.
"Could I ask you something?"
"Yeah, course."
"You remember the wedding night," she said, continuing as he nodded, "the man who gave you the wrong code word, do you remember his face?"
John furrowed his brows. "I don't, but if it's urgent, I could ask Arthur. He was the one that, well, you know."
Ana nodded dismissively. Arthur was the one that killed him. But she knew what John was doing. He was purposefully not saying anything so he could coax her in and keep her a little longer. Any other time, she wouldn't have minded, but there was something about being so close to his home that she didn't like.
"If it isn't any trouble," she said.
"No, in fact, he'll thank you for it. He'll be wanting to get away from Linda for a while."
"His wife?"
John nodded, his lips turning into a frown and mirroring her own expression. "Yeah, his wife," he said gruffly.
He paused a moment, before opening the door wider. "Come in, until he's here."
Ana stepped in. The house didn't brighten as she stepped into the shadows, the heel of her shoes strangling then slightly, edging the light back to its place. She wouldn't be afraid. Not when John has given her little reason to be.
"Is anyone else here?"
"Just Finn, but he's upstairs."
But it wasn't John that she was afraid of. Stepping into his hole, though perhaps not the one he lived in, made the fact that he was married and with a family unable to ignore. She was the other woman, her own situation so different from his own. But they were both to fault, both to blame, and yet it didn't make her feel any better about it.
