It's All About Us

Chapter 25: "Do you think I don't care about them?"

Present Day

Brandon noticed the dimple in Anna's cheek as she smiled at Jada, who sat next to her. He had noticed it before as well, when she had smiled at Tommy, the woman at The Midnight Rumble. It was another giveaway that helped him recognize her through her disguise that night.

He couldn't recall baby Anna ever having one, or else it would have remained a constant memory for him, much like the fact that she shares the same pale blue eyes as Travis.

But again, the dimple in her smile reminded him of the fact that she was related to the Greeleys, to his Vis, and it was enough to also remind him how important it was to protect her.

That's why he had brought her here today, to the house of Charles Fletcher, his Mom's old friend, and his mentor in a way.

And also because Charles wanted to meet Lillian Miller's daughter himself, who had impressed him by the fact that she decided to tackle this whole thing by herself.

Now they were sitting around Charles' kitchen table, butter cookies already served on a plate in the center.

"So, how's school been for you, Anna?" Jada asked, grabbing two cookies off the plate and giving one to Anna. "It's still the first week, right?"

"It's going good." Anna replied, taking a small bite of her cookie. She slowly chewed on it, nodded to herself. "I was just hanging out at a new friend's house, completing my homework, before Detective B arrived and brought me here in a borrowed family car."

Brandon knew Anna was enjoying getting a reaction out of him everytime she was being sarcastic, and again he couldn't help but role his eyes at her response.

"It's because I wanted to meet Lillian Miller's renowned daughter."

This time it was Charles who responded to Anna. She kept quiet and stared at him with interest, eyeing the little numbers tattooed on his knuckles. She was curious, Brandon could tell by her continuous glances, but she didn't asked about it.

Charles too observed her, sitting besides Brandon.

"Anna, this is Charles." Brandon was the one to break the silence. "He is a friend of ours, and he knows everything as well about what's been happening."

The young girl still remained quiet, not knowing what to say. Everyone waited, the only sound coming from Jada who munched on her cookie.

"What?" Jada asked Brandon who had glared at her. "I'm very much proud for baking these."

"You should be." Anna replied, nodding after taking another bite off her own cookie. "These are really great. I always wanted to learn baking cookies, so can you teach me?"

"I'd be thrilled!" Jada replied back in excitement. She observed the looks on the faces of others. "You know what, we'll discuss that later, alright? Bran and Char are very impatient and would keep glaring if we don't start talking about why we are here. Anna, you probably have some questions, and this house is a safe place, so feel free to ask anything."

This time, Anna didn't waste time and turned to look at Charles again. "B here mentioned that you knew my Mum."

Brandon didn't appreciate the B nickname, but he also didn't wanted to change the subject now as Charles nodded in reply to Anna's statement.

"I did, when she was living here with John Greeley. We... worked together."

Anna's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "As in a company? Mum was a Graphic Designer, so were you a client or something?"

Charles sighed, shaking his head. "No, I... Let's start from the beginning, alright? It will clear things up."

Anna nodded, sitting straight in her chair. Brandon and Jada leaned forward as well, ready to provide their inputs.