Page 144 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Anna didn’t notice the bruises until she got into the car. Her pussy hurt, too. She wasn’t bleeding, but the cuts Devin had given her hadn’t healed. Stupid, stupid girl! No matter her resolve, she always failed and made Devin punish her.

Anna gingerly sat down on the floor next to Travis. He immediately spotted the bruises on her arms and frowned. “What happened?”

“Devin had to punish me,” she said in a low voice.

Travis let out a low growl and muttered something about “fucking bastard.”

“I misbehaved, Travis. What else is he supposed to do?”

“You’re justifying what he does now?”

Anna shrugged. “He doesn’t usually hurt me just for the fun of it. He always has a reason.”

“Usually.” Travis snorted. “Yeah, you tell him you don’t like his shirt and he tortures you for the rest of the afternoon.”

“He’s never punished me for that.”

“Yet.”

“Again, what is he supposed to do? I misbehaved. I didn’t mean to, but I did.” She sighed. “Even Wilhelm had to punish me when I was in Russia.”

Travis’ jaw dropped open. “Wilhelm punished you?”

“Well, he called it discipline...” Anna thought back to the spanking and winced. Disappointing Wilhelm had been terrible, but he hadn’t hurt her as badly... “I guess it was different.” She shrugged. “But Devin was nice afterward this time.”

“This time...” He shook his head. “Damnit, Anna. Don’t you ever wish you could just... run away?”

Anna’s jaw dropped open and she stared at him. “Are you serious? Run away?” She laughed bitterly. “He’d find me. He always finds me.” She shuddered. “I tried... once...” She shivered, remembering the terror of Devin finding her after she’d run away at that Spring Gathering years ago. She shivered again at an even more terrifying memory. “You don’t know what he did to me when I tried to kill myself when I was younger. I can’t imagine what he would do if I tried to run away.”

Travis leaned close and lowered his voice. “What if there was a way? If you could get out of here and get somewhere safe?”

Anna shook her head sadly. “Safe doesn’t exist, Travis. He knows everything. He always knows where I am and what I’m doing. He’d know if I was at the airport or leaving the city.”

Travis glanced down at her wrists. “You don’t deserve this life.”

“Deserving of it or not, it is my life. If Alex were still alive, there might be hope. But he’s dead and has been for many years. He was the only one Devin couldn’t hurt and he’s gone. And Devin’s... more powerful. I don’t know if even Alex could get me away from him now. If he were still alive.” She shook her head and played with the ribbons of her pointe shoes. “No, Travis. I just need to concentrate on being better. Obedient. He doesn’t hurt me if I’m good.”

Something moved next to her and she looked up to see Justin standing over her with a disturbed expression on his face. “Who hurts you?”

“No one.”

Justin kneeled down and took hold of her hand. “Who did this?” he demanded.

Anna shook her head. “Don’t get involved, Justin.”

“Was it Andersen?”

Anna yanked her hand away. “Please. Stay out of it. I don’t want you to get hurt.” She turned to Travis. “Travis, tell him. Please.”

Travis frowned. “Yeah, man. You can’t do anything about it.”

Justin’s face turned red and he clenched his jaw. “I thought you were her friend.” He growled. “This doesn’t bother you?” He grabbed Anna’s arm again and held it up.

“Fuck yeah, it bothers me. I’ve been watching it for years. But you don’t understand. There’s nothing you can do and you’ll only end up hurt. Or worse.”

“I can’t fucking believe this. What kind of fucking friend are you?” Justin glared at Travis and balled his fists.

Anna jumped up and ran out of the studio. Travis’ voice filtered through the door as it was closing. “Dude, you don’t understand. It’s not like I’m just letting it happen...”

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