Page 170 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Suddenly, the girls grew quiet and turned to look at the door. Several of the company dancers had arrived, including Aaron and Travis.

Aaron spotted Anna as soon as he walked inside. She looked away and he pressed his lips together. He wasn’t going to let her ignore him just because they couldn’t date. Jenna had told him that they’d spent several hours together, and that Anna had been okay when Jenna had left her.

But Anna was not okay this morning.

He walked determinedly to the table where she sat with the younger girls. Giggles and whispers reached his ears as he approached. He’d called Alex to find out where she’d gone to lunch and Alex had happily obliged, after eliciting the promise that Aaron would call and let him know how she was.

“Anna...” Aaron hesitated at the giggles and looks he got as he stood there. He didn’t want to cause undue attention or questions for Anna, but he had to know that she was okay.

Anna stared at her food and didn’t answer.

He kneeled next to her, glad she was sitting at the end of the table. “Anna,” he repeated. “I need to talk to you.” She looked at him with tired and hurt eyes. Yeah, she looked like he felt. He’d hardly slept the previous night, and it looked like she’d suffered the same. He took her hand. “Please.” He stood and pulled her to her feet.

She didn’t resist, and for once he was thankful for her docile nature. The whispers from her table grew louder as he led her away to a table in the corner. Fortunately, they were there before the lunch rush. He pulled out a chair for her and she sat, albeit reluctantly.

“Aaron, we shouldn’t be together,” she said softly.

“Isaak said we couldn’t date. He didn’t say we couldn’t be friends.”

“Friends?” Anna’s head snapped up, her beautiful eyes wide with... surprise? Hope? Obviously she hadn’t considered the possibility of remaining friends. But why would she? She’d been taught that the only thing she had to offer a man was sex, and if there was no sex, why would they bother with her?

“Yes. Friends.” He looked her directly in the eye, wanting her to know he meant it. He still loved her. God, how he loved her! And she’d be in the company soon. Then they could pick up where they left off.

She studied his face for a long moment, then gave him a tentative smile, her eyes watering. “I’d like that,” she whispered.

He leaned back in his chair, relieved to see a sparkle of hope in her eyes. “Anna, did you think I’d abandon you just because we can’t date?”

She looked down at her hands clasped in her lap and nodded. She looked up a moment later. “I missed you last night. I felt... so alone.”

His heart ached at her words. “I missed you too.” He gave her a wry smile. “I could hardly sleep.”

She grimaced and started to push her sweater sleeve up, but bit her lip and pulled it back down, looking away.

He frowned. “Why don’t you take your sweater off? It’s warm in here.”

She shook her head and gave him a nervous smile. “No, I-I’m okay. Little chilly, actually.” She rubbed her upper arms, as if to emphasize her words, and winced.

Aaron leaned over and grabbed her wrist, shoving her sleeve up her arm. He hissed when he saw the finger sized bruises up and down her arms. She yanked her hand away and pulled the sleeve back into place.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

He put his index finger under her chin to make her look at him. “Did someone come over last night?”

She blinked several times, then nodded. “Someone I met at the banquet.”

Aaron leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. “Did he hurt you? Other than the bruises?” The bruises were enough, but he had a feeling there was more.

She shrugged. “A little, but I’m okay.”

“What did he do?”

She shrugged again. “He likes it when I struggle... when I fight him.”

He stared at her, disbelieving how she could shrug off someone attacking her. How fucked up was her life that she didn’t think anything of being hurt? “Why didn’t you call me?” he asked softly, though he knew the answer already.

“We weren’t supposed to see each other,” she whispered, blinking back tears. She looked up at him. “I never felt as hopeless as I did last night. Being happy with you and... then—‍” She swallowed hard. “... going back to my old life. It’s so much worse than before we were together.”

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