Anxious Jeopardies

Chapter Three

A tired looking teenage boy quickly answered the door. He had messy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was incredibly handsome, possibly more so than Derek. She hadn't been expecting that, although she wasn't completely sure what she had been expecting.

"Who're you?" Ana couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't used to dealing with people her own age, and he seemed so... Awkward. He was obviously surprised that an unknown beautiful girl was standing on his porch. He looked at her like she was crazy, and she could understand why.

She was a mess. Her hair was messed up and her face was bruised and bloody. In fact, most of her body was covered in the red stuff. She'd hoped he wouldn't notice. Of course he noticed. Evidently, he wasn't as stupid as she'd hoped. She was overthinking this. Calm down. "I'm Ana. You must be Jake."

Yes, great. Tell him your first name. Not why you're here or anything. And don't forget to completely leave out the part about why you know who he is! Jesus, you're more tired than I thought.

He nodded. "What do you want? We don't have any money." Was that the first thing he thought of? That she was going to rob him? Or arrest him for tax fraud?

"I actually came to give you something." It was dark, so she assumed he couldn't see her well enough to be able to tell that she was holding something. "Can I, uh, come in?"

He looked at her for a second then said, "Sure, why not? I invite random girls to my house all the time." She laughed quietly and he smiled. He had a terrific smile. She slowly and carefully walked into a small house. Everywhere hurt. There were empty bottles lying around. Broken glass scattered the floor and cigarette butts were littered everywhere else. As soon as she was in full view, Jake let out a solid cry.

"Oh my God, you found Sophie." The relief was clear both in his voice and on his face. He took the small girl from her arms and held her to his chest, mumbling things into her hair. "Thank you so much. I was so worried... I can't thank you enough. Is she okay? Are you okay? I should have done it myself... I'm sorry. Thank you."

"No, it's okay. You shouldn't have done it. I do it for a living."

"Are you all right? Do you need anything?" He set the small girl on the couch and covered her with a blanket before coming back and gently and awkwardly leading the redhead into the kitchen.

"No. I really need to leave." She stopped in the doorway, and he poured himself some coffee. "I'll have to deal with a lot of grief tomorrow," she muttered to herself, feeling a headache come on. She basically pushed herself away from the wall and into one of the chairs, letting the wood support her.

"What do you mean?"

Ana glanced up. He wasn't supposed to hear that. "It's nothing." Shoot. How was she supposed to explain this? He didn't need a life story. "Where I work, there are some guys who are a little over-protective of me. I guess they think a woman shouldn't be working out in the field. But here I am!" She grinned ironically.

"Ah." He let a small smile grace his lips before staring at his mug. "Do you want some?" He asked suddenly after a moment, realizing it was rude not to offer.

"No, thanks. I'm okay. I really have to go." She stood up but he unconsciously grabbed her arm. She winced but hid it almost immediately. He noticed, though, and let go.

"Do you want to stay? You look really tired. At least let me drive you." She narrowed her eyes at him. Why was he being so nice? No one was ever that nice without an alternative motive.

"Look, Jake, I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but I just saved your kid sister from assassins, so if you don't mind, I think I can walk myself home," Ana snarled. She didn't mean to be snarky, but she wanted to leave. She wanted to sleep and she wanted to forget about everything. He was stressing her out.