Page 37 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

“If he can stand you, I’ll have you move in with him sooner rather than later.”

Chapter 20

Anna dragged herself out of bed an hour before morning class. She had slept fitfully for only an hour because the injection hadn’t worn off yet. The slightest motion sent a jolt of agony through her body, making even the simplest tasks unbearable.

She dressed for class and even her soft warm-up clothes dragged like razors against her skin. She glanced back at her bed, longing to crawl back under the covers and black out for a few more hours, but she had to go. It was a performance day. And she had to apologize to Peter for being apathetic about the apartment.

The walk to the theater felt like a million miles and she limped the entire way. She made her way through the backstage maze to the stage without seeing anyone.

Peter leaned on one of the portable barres used for performance day on-stage classes, smiling sensually at the female dancers that surrounded him.

She slumped to the floor near the back and pulled her pointe shoes out of her bag. Tears filled her eyes as she stared down at the worn pair she wore for classes, knowing she needed to tie the ribbons tightly around her ankles. If she did, the scream trapped in her throat would surely be unleashed. She’d never danced with the injection flowing through her body before and for the first time, she was dreading class. She wanted to find a dark corner and hide until her body went back to normal. But if she didn’t go to class, Isaak would call Devin and he would do it all over again.

“He lost interest in you already?” Brooke, a corps dancer, asked with a sneer on her face.

Anna shrugged and winced. She was hurting too much to care about what Peter was doing.

“Anna, what happened to you?” Isaak squatted down next to her and lifted her chin. “You have a bruise on your cheek and you look like you haven’t slept.”

“I do?”

He nodded. “Did Peter?—‍”

She shook her head. “No. Just Devin.”

Isaak frowned. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

Anna shook her head again.

“Go to Aaron’s dressing room and sleep. I’ll tell him what you’re doing.”

“But Isaak, I can dance?—‍”

Isaak shook his head. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself. Go sleep. Just get a good warm-up this afternoon, okay?”

Anna nodded and stumbled her way to Aaron’s dressing room. The moment her head hit the couch, she was sound asleep.

Something brushed Anna’s cheek and she jumped and opened her eyes. “Aaron!” She looked around, confused. “Where am I?”

“My dressing room. Isaak sent you in here to sleep, remember?”

Anna blinked several times as she got oriented. “Oh, yeah.” She held her breath and then let out a sigh of relief. The injection had worn off. She wasn’t fully healed, but she was feeling mostly better. Her ribs still ached where Devin had kicked her.

Aaron reached up to stroke her cheek and she winced. “Devin hit you?”

“I misbehaved.”

He grimaced. “I can’t imagine you did anything that deserved his abuse.”

“Does it really matter whether he has a good reason or not? He’s my Master. He can do what he wants.”

“No, it doesn’t matter because he shouldn’t hit you regardless.” Aaron pressed his lips together. “What did he say you did wrong?”

“I upset Peter.” Anna twisted her fingers together.

“You upset Peter? What happened?”

Anna sighed. “I told him I didn’t care what apartment he picked out.”

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