The Life of Anna, Part 2: Entwined (37 page)

Aaron swung back for another one, but Alex caught his hand before he made contact. Seth and Tony clambered up the stairs and stood there in shock as they watched the two men fighting.

Alex released him and Aaron took another swing. This time Alex grabbed Aaron's hands and pinned them behind Aaron's back, turning him to face away from Alex.

“What the hell is going on, Aaron?” Alex growled.

Aaron struggled against the hold, but Alex was far too strong and well trained to let him go.

“What is going on, Aaron?” Alex asked again, calmer this time. “Tell me.”

“Why the fuck did you tell me to go after her? What the hell kind of game are you playing with her? And me? I thought we were friends.”

“Aaron, I don’t know what you're talking about.” He released Aaron and pushed him away from him, but watched him carefully. “Is Anna okay?”

“Don't act like you don't know,” Aaron growled.

Alex looked helplessly at Seth and Tony, then back at Aaron, who was breathing heavily. “Is. Anna. Okay?”

“No!” he shouted. “She's not okay. Why the hell would she be okay? Isn't that what you wanted?”

Alex was alarmed. “Where is she? Seth, find her.”

Seth turned and hurried out of the room.

Alex ran his hands through his hair. “Aaron. What the fuck are you talking about? What happened?”

“You, Mr. Member of the Board,” he said sarcastically. “You made us break up. You knew about the rule and you told me to go after her. What kind of sick bastard are you?”

“Break up?” Alex looked truly bewildered. “Why would you break up with her? I thought you were in love with her.”

“I am.” Aaron groaned. “I'll deal with it, okay? But why would you do that to Anna? I thought you cared about her. Are you as sadistic as Devin? If so, let me know and I will keep my distance.”

Alex stared at him with such a confused look on his face Aaron began to wonder if he was wrong. He took a deep breath. “Did you know about the rule?”

“Rule? What rule?” Again, Alex looked confused.

“The rule about Company dancers not being allowed to date students.”

Alex's eyes widened and his face paled slightly. “That's a rule?”

Aaron realized that he’d been wrong in accusing his friend. His anger evaporated and he slumped to the floor, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. He nodded.

“Isaak called us into his office after classes and told us that we couldn't be together. Anna...didn't say much, and left.”

“She's near the studio,” Seth returned holding his phone. “In a deli down the street.”

Aaron looked at Seth surprised.

“There's a GPS chip in her bracelet,” Alex explained. When Aaron glared at him, he continued. “It's for emergencies. In case Devin takes her somewhere.”

Aaron traced the pattern on the wood floor with his finger. “So you didn't know that we'd have to break up?” Aaron asked quietly.

“
Nein
,
mein Freund
,” Alex answered in a pained voice. “I never would have done that to her. Or you.”

Aaron sighed and leaned his head back, looking up at his friend. “God, it hurts,” he said softly. “I know it was only two weeks, but I can't imagine not going home with her tonight.”

“I never would have encouraged you if I'd known, Aaron. I hope you know that.”

Aaron nodded sadly. He knew his friend better than that. He'd overreacted in his blaming Alex for the situation.

“Maybe I should call Melanie—”

“Isaak did already. He said she wouldn't change the rule. That it would create a bad precedent.”

Alex sighed and slumped in one of the chairs near the fireplace. “Should I go find her?”

“She's afraid of you, Alex,” Aaron responded in a soft voice.

Alex grimaced at the comment. “What will she do? I don't know how she'd handle such a thing.”

Aaron pulled out his phone. “I should call Jenna and let her know. If Anna hasn't already called her.” He pushed the screen a few times, then waited for Jenna to answer. The corps had classes in a different studio and so he hadn't seen her yet today. He usually saw her at lunch though.

“Hello, Aaron.” Jenna's voice was cold.

“Jenna?” His brow creased. “What's wrong?”

She was silent for a moment. “Anna didn't tell you?”

“Tell me what?” When had Anna seen Jenna? She'd been with him all weekend.

“Ask her.”

“Jenna I can't. I....” He sighed and closed his eyes. “Isaak made us break up because she's a student.”

“He did?”

Aaron would have expected her to sound sad for him and her best friend. She sounded almost...happy?

“I’m sorry, Aaron. But you're probably better off without that bitch.”

Aaron's jaw dropped and he looked up at Alex. “'I'm probably better off without that bitch?' What's going on, Jenna?”

Alex stared at Aaron and he shrugged. He never would have imagined Jenna would turn on the friend she'd been constantly worried about for years.

“She fucked my dad. In front of me. And various other places, apparently.”

“What?” he exclaimed. Why would Anna do that?

“Devin had me taken to his...whatever it's called...on Friday. He told everyone....” She stopped mid-sentence. “He told me he was punishing my dad for fucking Anna without his permission. And he had the men there rape me. And Anna watched and laughed along with them.”

Aaron stared at Alex horrified. “He took you to the Manor and had you raped?”

Alex frowned.

“Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?” How was he supposed to react to something like that? It's not like you could call the police.

“No. I can't dance this week ’cuz my ass is ripped to shreds. I had to get stitches.”

“You sound angry.”

“I am angry. The person I thought was my friend watched and laughed at me as it was happening.”

“Jenna, there must be some misunderstanding. Anna wouldn't—”

“What, and you know her so well? Right. Do you know how many guys she fucked that night?”

Aaron felt nauseous. “Jenna, I don't really want to know about what she does with Devin.”

“She's fucking with your head, Aaron. She likes her high-and-mighty position. She's some sort of fucking princess. Literally. A princess who fucks anything that has a cock. And she likes it.”

“Jenna, enough. I saw her Saturday morning. She wasn't exactly jumping around excited about what had happened.”

“I thought you said she didn't tell you anything.”

“She didn't. But she was very subdued about it.”

Jenna snorted. “Probably was tired from all those cocks.”

“Enough, Jenna. I don’t want to hear about it. Her situation is...difficult, at best.”

“Yeah, it looked really difficult Friday,” she muttered under her breath.

“I'm very sorry for what happened to you, Jenna. Is there anything I can do?”

He felt bad for his friend, but she made it difficult to feel any sympathy. What happened to her was horrific, but it wasn't Anna's fault. Devin was the cruel Master. Anna was merely his manipulated slave. Literally. He doubted Anna's reaction was as terrible as Jenna was making it out to be. And since Devin had admitted that he could make Anna do anything he wanted her to do, Aaron wondered how much of the “laughter” was truly Anna's and how much of it was Devin's influence.

“No,” Jenna grumbled, then sighed. “It wasn't really as bad as it sounds. I actually enjoyed most of what happened. I think that pissed Devin off.”

“So you weren't raped?”

“I dunno. Well, the big guy in my ass wasn't pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. But I did enjoy the first part of it.” She sighed. “All those men....”

Aaron rolled his eyes. Yeah, that sounded like Jenna. “Jenna, you do know that Anna is a slave, right? It's not like she has a lot of choices in life.”

“How can she really be a slave? I thought that sort of stuff was illegal.”

“You think Devin cares about the laws? He kidnapped you to get even with your dad.”

Jenna was quiet.

“Anna needs a friend right now, Jen.”

She sighed. “I'm angry at her.”

“I'm at Alex's place right now and the first thing I did when I saw him was punch him in the face.”

“You got a hit in on Alex?”

“I don't think he ever expected me to get that angry. But yeah. I got one.”

“Why?”

“Because I thought he was in on the whole thing of having to break up with Anna.”

“I thought you two were good together.”

Aaron sighed. “Me too. God, I love her.”

“You managed to fall in love?”

“I did. I couldn't help it.”

“Well, maybe she'll make Company soon. Then you guys can start again.”

Aaron sighed. He hadn't thought about that. “That's a real good point, Jen. It's only a few months away. I can handle that.”

*****

Alex stared at his best friend as he sat talking to Jenna. He felt terrible. Had he known, he never would have encouraged the relationship. The rule made sense, he supposed, but...fuck. Another fuck up with Anna. Couldn’t he do anything right with her? He asked himself this question a lot. And the answer was always “no.”

Anna stared at the sandwich she bought for lunch, and realized she had no appetite for it. After years of not eating on a regular basis, the idea of going back to class without eating wasn't concerning at the moment, though it might become so later.

She felt miserable. She'd briefly thought about quitting the summer intensives so she and Aaron could continue to date. It was so tempting. But she couldn't. Not after being back in the real dancing environment for the first time in years. She felt alive when she danced. She felt like herself; that part of her that Jack and Devin took away had returned.

But she missed Aaron terribly. She hated the idea of sleeping alone tonight. She would miss his peaceful presence; the safety she felt in his arms.

Maybe she should quit. Who else would accept her for who she was? Did it matter if she didn't date? Devin had wanted her to go out and experiment. She could say she had and now slip back into her small world. It would just expand a little bit to include more dancing. But no more dating. The taste had been oh-so sweet, but the sting at the end was too painful. She'd rather be whipped with Jack's bullwhip than feel the way she felt right now.

Yes. Dance, sex and Devin. That would be her life. Her safe life.

*****

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Anna lost herself in dancing. The first class after lunch was
pointe
. It turned out not to be as bad as she thought. Her skills weren't as terrible as she'd expected.

She was exhausted by the end of class, but she felt like she could do it. She could dance
en pointe
again. Even Patty had been impressed.

As she walked home later that evening, alone, she tried to think about her love of dance rather than her broken heart. It wasn't that long of a walk; only about fifteen minutes.

She walked into her apartment and felt Aaron's absence. She looked in her room and sure enough, he'd gotten his things and left.

Tears filled her eyes unexpectedly. She felt so alone. She backed against the wall and slid down until she hit the floor. She sat and sobbed. And sobbed. And sobbed.

About everything and about nothing. Aaron. Kurt. Wilhelm. Alex. Her parents. Things Devin did to her. Things that happened to Jenna. All the hurt and pain that had been bottled up for years came rushing out in the torrent of tears. She screamed. She kicked her feet. She hit the floor with balled-up fists.

Finally, she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling. The catharsis complete, she had a semblance of quiet. Not peace. Her life was not meant to be peaceful. But she felt quiet and calm. The storm had been allowed out and was done.

She got up and called Jenna. It went straight to voicemail.

“Hi Jenna,” Anna said, hoping Jenna would listen to the message. “I’m so sorry about what happened the other night. I...I have no excuse for it. Devin...does weird things to my head. Even now, thinking about what happened makes me sick. Please, Jenna. Forgive me. Please call me back.”

She put the phone on the table and stared at it, tears streaming down her face.

*****

Later, after she had eaten dinner, as Anna lay on the couch in her pajamas watching TV, she heard a knock on her door. Was it Aaron? She didn't want to face him right now. Devin? That could be okay.

She opened the door to find Zach standing there with a grin on his face. “Hello, Anna.”

She smiled at him as her heart fell into her stomach.
Not tonight
, she begged silently. She'd just gotten her emotions under control.