Page 43 of He Will Come for Me

“Anna?” I whisper, so I don’t startle her. Rex isn’t here, so he must have only stayed for a little while. She turns to me with a small smile.

“Two visits in one day.”

I return her smile and walk into the room, sitting next to her in the other chair. “There’s a library here. I can bring you some books if you’d like.” Her eyes light up and she nods. That’s how we became friends. She was popular. I wasn’t. But we bonded over reading.

“I’d love that,” she replies.

“There’s every book imaginable, but if it’s not there, I’m sure Phoenix won’t mind ordering it.” I wonder if he’ll take me to a library this weekend when we go on our date.Have I already forgiven him for the bomb he just dropped on me?“I’ll grab some I think you’ll like and when you begin feeling better, you can join me in the library to read. It’s the best room in the house.”

She nods enthusiastically and I almost don’t want to bring up what I’m about to ask her.

“I have a question, but if you don’t want to answer it or talk about it, I’ll understand.”

She tilts her head at me, her crease between her eyebrows becoming more pronounced. “What is it?”

I look outside, trying to gather my thoughts and wits about me. “When you were talking earlier about being bought at the auction…” I take a deep breath. “Did the man who bought you have to have sex with you in front of people?” I force myself to look at her. She takes in a shuddering breath and licks her lips. She doesn’t answer right away and after another few seconds of silence, I almost tell her to forget about it.

“He did,” she finally answers. “I wasn’t a virgin, so it didn’t hurt. He tried to make it good for me, but I wanted it over as quickly as possible. So, that’s what he did. He made it quick so we could get out of there.”

I lean forward and cover her hand with mine. “I’m sorry for asking and making you talk about it. I should have—”

“No, you’re my best friend. Well, you were in high school. But even after we graduated, I always thought about you. I wanted to contact you, but I wasn’t allowed. My phone and everything was taken when I started living with the Kirbys.”

My eyes widen. “The Kirbys?” She sighs and nods. “As in Vice President Joel Kirby?” She nods again.

“I think my dad sold me to him to get an in somehow. I mean, people have to vote for him, so it’s never a guarantee, but…” She shrugs. “Who knows?”

“But didn’t he have to win?” I think back to conversations Phoenix and I have had. He said he bid so much on me so the person my father had arranged to buy me didn’t win. If only Anna had had a Phoenix.

“He did win. He bought me for two million dollars. I was the highest bid of the night.” Two million. Phoenix bought me for six. He really did pay a lot if Anna’s was the highest bid at her auction.

“Why are you asking all of this?” she asks. I run my fingers through my hair and gaze out the window for a few seconds before turning back to her.

“Phoenix told me about having to have sex in front of a bunch of people. I don’t remember that. My memories from that part of the night haven’t returned.”

She grabs my hand and holds it tight. “Oh, Kenz. I’m so sorry.”

My lower lip trembles slightly. Finding out this information, having her here, I’m a little overwhelmed. “I was a virgin, Anna. I don’t even remember my first time. For all I know, my first time was thirty minutes ago.”

“What?!?” She grips my hand tighter, the palm of her hand digging into the ring Phoenix just gave back to me. She pulls her hand back and stares down at my finger. “You’re married?” I laugh and she looks at me like I’ve grown another head. But I can’t stop. The absurdity of it all is catching up with me. Shesimply stares at me while I try to get myself under control. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to stop.

“I thought he was married to you.”

She leans back in her chair as she tries to process everything. “You thought Phoenix was married to me?” I nod and lean back in my chair as well.

“I don’t remember anything, Anna. I remember my father taking me to the auction that I thought was a party. And the only reason I realized we were married was because I had a small memory where he called me Mrs. Stone. And until this past weekend, I thought the auction had happened a few months ago. I lost three years of my life.” Now I feel like I might cry. My emotions are on a rollercoaster today.

She gives me a crooked smile. “We’ll get through this. Together.” She doesn’t ask anymore questions. We simply sit and stare out the window together. This side of the house is just as beautiful as the other side. I can see the tennis court and I think there’s a gazebo beyond a beautiful flower garden.

Glancing over at Anna, I see she’s dozed off. So, I grab a blanket from the foot of the bed and place it over her. I’ll check on her later when I bring her some books. Taking a deep breath, I walk out into the kitchen. My shoulders loosen when I realize it’s empty. I just need a few minutes to myself. I’m still reeling a little from everything.

Putting the cookies in the cookie jar, I clean up quickly before going to the pantry to grab the ingredients for the apple pie I’ll be making. Closing the door, I lean against it, thinking about this crazy day.

I got my ring. Phoenix and I had sex, and it was the best sex I’ve ever had. As far as I know, it’s the only sex I’ve ever had.

I chuckle softly and think about how well Phoenix knows my body. My skin flushes as I replay the past few hours in my head. Everything is so complicated. The more I learn about him buyingme at the fucking auction, the more I want to crawl in a hole.What did he mean when he said it wasn’t bad? He saved me, but there was a price.

“I’m sorry, McKenzie,” Phoenix whispers in my ear. I try to ignore the crowd that has gathered in the room they’ve led us to. This is going to happen. The guy I’ve had a crush on since Brighton is going to have sex with me in front of all these people.

---