Page 197 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Anna collapsed on the floor and sobbed.

Later that night, Anna lay in her bed in the dark room, staring out the window. Her jaw clenched and her body trembled with anger and sorrow. Why did so many people have to die because of her?

She sat up, unable to lie still anymore. She was half-tempted to call Hugo and ask him to come back, but she didn’t think that would be appropriate. Instead, she got out of bed and crept into Aaron’s room. The lights were out. It was after midnight. But his head turned when she walked in.

She walked across the room and lay down next to him. He turned onto his side and held her tightly against his chest.

He sighed. “I can’t believe she’s gone.”

“I can’t believe it either.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I called Justin. We’re going to fly out tomorrow for the funeral.”

“I can’t go, can I?”

“No.”

Anna sucked in a shaky breath. She hoped Devin had killed Jenna quickly, like he had with Ben, but she was afraid to ask for details. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Chapter 106

Hugo hurried to Anna as she walked into the studio the following morning. Despite the pain in her heart, she stayed calm, mostly by avoiding delving too deeply into her thoughts. The morning in the apartment had been subdued. Aaron had stayed home to pack, and she’d grappled with her grief at not being able to go with him to her best friend’s funeral.

“Is everything okay?” Hugo asked as she dropped her bag on the floor.

Anna shook her head, not looking up at him. “I just found out my best friend back in California was k—um, died.”

“Oh my God, Katrina. I’m so sorry.” He paused. “Why are you here? You should go home and... I don’t know... pack to go back to the funeral?”

Anna shook her head, still looking at the floor. “I can’t go.”

She felt Hugo staring at her and he slowly exhaled. “Does it have something to do with that relationship you don’t want to talk about?”

Anna nodded. She squeezed her eyes shut and grasped the barre tightly, trying to not lose control. Her mind was a mess of anger and deep sorrow, and she didn’t know if she wanted to scream or fall to the floor and sob. She stared at the wooden planks that made up the dance floor, not knowing whether or not she should stay. But dancing had soothed her grief before. It would likely do it again.

“C’mon.” Hugo put his arm around her and led her out of the studio, pausing to let Vincent know what had happened before leading Anna into his office. He sat her down on a brown leather couch along the side wall and put his arms around her.

She leaned her head against his chest, trying to contain her tears as he stroked her arm. “You could have called me last night,” he said softly, leaning his cheek against her head. “I would have come back over.”

It took a moment for her to be able to speak, and when she did, her voice cracked. “I didn’t want to bother you. You looked upset when Aaron said he needed to talk to me.”

“He had interrupted a really nice kiss. I was a little irritated.”

Anna choked out a soft laugh. “It was a nice kiss.”

“I feel bad now, though. Did he know her?”

Anna nodded. “She was like a sister to him.” She stared at her hands as the tears slipped down her cheeks. “Have you ever lost anyone?”

“My father died when I was fifteen. That’s when my mother and I moved here.”

“How did you . . . get over it?”

He chuckled. “I don’t know if I ever ‘got over it.’ I still miss him. I loved my father dearly. He was a good man.”

“How did he die?”

“Cancer. Mercifully, he went quickly, but it still was very hard, watching him suffer.”

---