Chapter 3 Smoke and Mirrors

Anna caught bits and pieces through her stressed state. Images and sounds faded in and out with no real relevance. When Anna woke up it was a few hours later. She was in the hospital, and she knew it wothout opening her eyes. The scent. The beeping of the monitor. It was increasing as she roused. Suddenly her ears started working more properly and it was loud. Even behind her eyelids she knew it was bright. With little clue to what happened, Anna snapped her eyes open. As she adjusted she noticed her mother and sister there, as well as Dylan, one of Jaxon's best friends.

Annabelle tried to sit up but her body refused to respond. She looked to her mother and sister.

Immediately her attention diverted to the TV. She watched, mortified, as images flashed on the screen. Her mother, Judy, desperately tried to turn it off. Genevieve moved to stop her mother, "No you can't protect her from this mom."

Genny was always a bit rough around the edges, but she was smart. Wickedly smart. Instead Genny threw the remote and turned to Anna despite their mother's protests. Genny grabbed Anna's hands and blurted,

"Anna, you threw up on your fiance in front of the entire Internet. I know that's rough to hear but we are here okay?" Genny snapped a bit louder, directed toward Judy and Dylan, "And pretending that it didn't happen won't change it. She needed to know so we can help her."

There was silence. Anna couldn't deny what was on the screen in front of her. She closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again and began sobbing. Clutching to her sister, Anna shook with sobs. Genny was right. Even if this upset Anna now, she knew her sister well. Anna only could nod in thanks as she wept. Genny and soon Judy surrounded Anna with embraces. Soothing clucking sounds from Judy only occasionally interrupted the heart-rending sounds from Anna.

It wasn't long before the sounds alerted the staff who asked Anna if she wanted something for her nerves. Anna eagerly agreed. She stared at the screen over, frozen on the image of herself at the worst possible moment. Repulsed Anna turned away humiliated. The urge for hysterics had passed. Anna wanted to be numb. The nurses gave her the medication, and as she settled Anna could not look away.

Finally Dylan interjected,, "Mother Mary of Jesus." He spat the words out like a slur but still crossed his chest after saying it and marched to get the remote and shove back in the batteries, "Bad enough it happened now you got her just staring at it like she should be sorry... "

The nurses left Anna stable while Dylan fiddled with the remote. Dylan felt a bit bad for Anna, considering. They never really got along well. Anna was soft, far too soft for the churn Dylan knew the world had in store. After wrangling the batteries in he pushed back his blonde hair. He aimed the remote at the TV as it if personally offended him and slammed his thumbs on the buttons. Anna kept her gaze locked on the screen, gripping her sheet. The image resumed with the host narrating what occurred. The camera whirled again through the crowd. Anna saw Maddie and Honor and choked out, "Dylan, wait!".

Dylan, still grappling with the remote sneered, "No. You don't need to see this shit, Anna." But Anna flailed her hands, tears still pouring down her cheeks against her will. She saw something. No, twice. She crawled over herself to grab the remote and Genny plucked it and tossed it to her.

Anna scooted as far as she could on her bed and settled on her knees. She peered at the screen. Glancing at the remote she rewound to what she saw. There. The image paused. It showed Honor walking away from Maddie who looked devastated. Marissa and Erica were seen rushing toward Anna and Maddie. Anna was already on the floor with Jaxon kneeling still poised as liquid dripped off of him. Dylan and Cesar were moving from their chairs. Brent and Sofia looked flabbergasted. Anna even noticed her own mother and Genny were there in the crowd. They knew, they all knew. But all of these details didn't stand put as much as the one Anna locked in on.

Faith Rabiu casually observing her brother's back. Her cellphone in her hand resting against her lips, screen bright and illuminated. Those same lips were curved in a subtle, yet unmistakable smile. Chaos erupted like a halo around her while she sat poised in repose. Anna sniffed, her tears still falling. She knew Faith did something that made Honor walk away from Maddie.

Anna gazed at Maddie and managed to ask the room, "Is she okay?"

Dylan stared at Anna in disbelief, "You're asking if SHE is okay? Yeah. At least her fiance didn't reject her by throwing up on her!"

Dylan scoffed, he never really liked Anna. He tolerated her because for some reason Maddie adopted Anna. The Baileys even managed to swindle Jaxon into proposing to the woman. Jaxon was fated to marry a weak, poor, plain, plump woman. Dylan knew Jaxon was dating down, and no amount of "being a nice person" from Anna was going to change that. Now it seemed Anna didn't even try. Jaxon wasn't just out of Anna's league, they weren't even playing the same game. And of course all Dylan knew was that Anna cared for Maddie. Apparently more than she cared for Dylan's best friend. Jaxon had planned to give up on everything to settle for a low-class woman who obviously didn't give a damn about him. Dylan glared at Anna.

Anna hesitated. She asked, "I..is Jack okay?".

Dylan turned and grabbed his suit jacket off the chair. Anna noticed for the first time he was still dressed for the event. In fact all of them were.

Dylan asked, "When have you ever really cared about Jaxon, hm? You're too busy kissing his sister's ass."

Anna felt sickened again thinking of everything. She thought of Jaxon, their first date. He took her to Applebee's. It wasn't fancy. In fact he drove one of his father's company loaner vehicles. It was still nicer than what Anna drove. Anna didn't expect Jaxon to take her to Paris or Tokyo as he did his other girlfriends.

What Anna felt that they shared was different. And that made it real. Jaxon didn't have to pretend to have swagger. He didn't have to be anything or anyone but himself with her. She encouraged him, she supported him. She cooked for him, cared for him. Anna was smart, not nearly as smart as Genny, but she did graduate and did get her degrees from an Ivy League. They had just graduated this year... all of them. Jaxon celebrated by bringing over take-out while Maddie celebrated by throwing herself a lavish party.

Jaxon had told Anna what he loved about her, LOVED about her was that she knew who he really was. Jaxon didnt have to be anyone else. Playful, goofy, ordinary, even lazy. That he could pop by at 2 am and watch a movie and forget the world. If they had ever been intimate Anna would have thought there was an ulterior motive. But no, Jaxon said he wasn't going to until he convinced her to marry him. Anna thought it a joke, or perhaps she was unattractive. Everything with Jaxon was uncertainty

She leaned back in the hospital bed and shook her head. She inhaled, shaken still. She drew in her breath and spit out, "Dylan. He's seeing other women."

Dylan froze. Jaxon was a playboy. He had lines of other women before Anna, but to Dylan's knowledge, and he knew a lot about Jaxon, not since. Jaxon never explained and it infuriated Dylan. Dylan was confident Jaxon hadn't cheated on Anna one moment, but was not too sure the next. Dylan frowned, he doubled down on his first instinct, "No. You're lying."

Anna insisted, "No I'm not. He's seeing other women. "

Dylan shook his head, defending Jaxon, "No, Anna. For once he actually isn't. So if you're telling the truth then someone is lying to you."

Judy, who had just about enough asserted herself, "Stop." She turned to her daughter with concern, "Anna, why do you think Jaxon is seeing other women?"

Anna faltered then explained everything she saw. She explained she saw clear as day that Jaxon was matching with other women online. She explained how he hid it. How he had been acting distant in the last few weeks. How he was always on his phone, or not answering calls. Dylan still ran defense. Of course Jaxon was busy, he was planning this whole fiasco Anna ruined. Anna insisted again, explaining clearly what she saw.

Dylan was afraid at this point. He knew that was very much like something Jaxon would do. Especially if he faced a life married to Anna. Dylan also knew, it wasn't Jaxon's idea to propose, but Brent had been strongly pressuring Jaxon. That they got into a huge fight about it, but whatever Brent had said to Jaxon convinced him to propose. Dylan knew this was important to the Baileys - and naturally reasoned Jaxon went and somehow messed it up.

As Anna finished her retelling Dylan lifted and kissed his fist. He knew he had to lie, "You see, Anna. You're wrong."

Anna shook her head. She looked dreadful. Her face was puffier than usual and her eyes were red. She looked pale, sickly, and weak, "No. I saw it, Dylan."

Dylan tried again, "I know what you think you saw. "

This just enraged Genny, "Are you really going to try to convince my sister that she didn't see what she saw? What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"RELAX! Listen. No, okay you saw it, but okay. Listen. Have you ever seen him with another woman?"

"You have got to be kidding me. Does she have to walk in on him balls deep to -" Genny barked.

"Enough! Both of you. Out of Anna's room this instant." Judy demanded.

Dylan threw up his hands in surrender but persisted as he backed toward the door, "I'm many things but ask Anna if she's ever known me to make shit up." He glanced to Anna, "I'm not a liar.", he lied.

Anna shook her head and glanced toward Dylan, "He's right. I've never known him to lie, but listen. Dylan I saw it."

Dylan shrugged, mind working fast, "Yeah, but you listen. It's not like that okay? I had Jaxon help me out okay? Look I didn't even get a date for my best friend's engagement right? I asked him to help me. I never can keep them, and he has you. I asked him to scout some girls for me okay?" Dylan struggled, "He was gonna propose Anna. I won't have anyone while he's off playing husband. Hand to heart swear."

"He's lying." Genny retorted instantly.

"What? No. Listen.."

Genny interjected with malice, "Anna, that's his best friend. Dylan would fight a bear for Jaxon."

Genny wasn't wrong, even Dylan had to admit this, "True, but. I asked him to help me. Like that movie with the white haired guy with the nose. Roxanne."

Anna stared, dumbfounded at the foolishness spouting from this man's mouth. It was obvious Genny felt the same but had the presence of mind to ask, "You mean Steve Martin?"

Dylan brightened, "Yeah that one where he has all the words and the other guy is all like, I wanna get with her so give me the words."

"Cyrano de Bergerac. You're going with the Cyrano de Bergerac defense?" Genny couldn't have asked more skeptically.

"No clue what you just said but ask him. Tell him to show you his phone the second he gets back. I won't even text him until then."

Anna paled, "He's coming back?" Now she just wanted to fade into nothing. Part of her wanted to believe Dylan. Part of her wanted this to be true. She wanted to think that it was a misunderstanding. Anna thought about this, what if it was? If it was a misunderstanding what happened at the event was even worse, she couldn't face him. If Dylan was lying then she still didn't want to see Jaxon.

Dylan hovered awkwardly at this and offered, "Well, yeah. He was sitting here for awhile until we kinda forced Cesar to take him home to ... uh... shower and change."

Anna stared at Dylan in disbelief but asserted, "I can't see him."

Genny instantly supported that choice and again Dylan tried to interject when Judy ushered both of them into the hall. Anna returned her sore eyes to the screen where Faith's smile was all she could focus on. Judy walked over and turned off the TV. After sitting beside her daughter Judy pulled her into a mother's embrace.

Tears came as she held onto her mother. Anna cried until she was all cried out and just shook lightly with tremors of anguish. Judy rubbed her back until a knock came from the door. It was Marissa and Mr. Mishra.

Anna sat up to receive her guests but it was obvious what she had went through. Marissa and Mr. Mishra were greeted by Judy, "Marissa, Krish, please come in. Annabelle could use some good company."

Marissa was already at Anna's side wrapping her friend in a warm embrace. It was obvious the pair had gone home to change. Marissa was now in a less formal sari with a few dozen less gold bangles and necklaces on. The young women embraced and Marissa smiled at Anna's eyes, "I have brought my friend a gift."