"They don't look at you the way they look at me!" Anne screamed. "They don't look at you like you're a piece of trash, like you're scum on the bottom of their shoe," She sobbed.
"I don't care what they think of us, Annie! Their opinions mean nothing, but you mean everything to me!" Phillip cried as he tried to pull her towards him.
"You let go. When we were watching Jenny Lind sing, you let go of my hand because people saw you holding hands with a colored girl and you were ashamed. You will always care what people think and that's okay, but I can't be with someone that is and always will be ashamed of who I am. Goodbye, Phillip." Anne walked out of the ring and tried so hard to not look back at the man she loves. "To Main Street, please." She heard him calling for her and as she boarded the carriage that was waiting at the dock, she sobbed as she heard his running after the carriage fade.
Anne was confused as she felt the carriage come to a stop a couple minutes later and looked out the window. "Why are we stopping? This isn't Main Street." She screamed as someone yanked her out of the carriage and put a cloth over her mouth. She yanked at the person's arms desperate to uncover her mouth, but it was too late. She felt the darkness creep in.
She woke up tied to a chair in a dark, rusty room. She looked around and was surrounded by boxes in what looked like a basement. "Help me! Please somebody help!" She screamed and saw a figure come out of the darkness. "Don't bother screaming. They can't hear you anyway." The figure seemed familiar to Anne, but she didn't know where from. "Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?" He laughed. "You don't remember me? After all, you are the one my son claims to love." Anne's eyes grew wide. "Mr. Carlyle? Why are you doing this to me? Please let me go!" Anne exclaimed. "Not a chance. You will not corrupt my son any longer than you have. You should be shining his shoes, not parading around on his arm. Trust me, when he's tired of being an outcast, he'll leave you anyway. I'm just making it easier on him. I have to go, but don't try to escape because you won't succeed." Mr. Carlyle said as he walked back into the dark and Anne heard a door lock and footsteps fade up the stairwell. She tried to scream again but she was too weak. She fell into a fitful, dreamless sleep.
"Anne!" Phillip screamed as he arrived at the circus tent. "Woah, woah, slow down, Phillip," Phinneas said as Phillip crashed into him. "Have you seen Anne? I really need to talk to her." Lettie stood up from below the balcony, "She was supposed to be with you." Phillip rubbed the back of his neck, "We got into a fight and she left. Your carriage was supposed to bring her here." P.T. shook his head, "My carriage? I didn't send my carriage." Phillip covered his face, "Oh God. I have to find her."
They spent hours looking all over town for her into the late hours of the night. They told Phillip that they all needed some rest so they can be at their best to keep looking for Anne.
It's been three days since Anne walked out of the ring. Three days since anybody has seen the flying girl. As Phillip was walking down Main Street, he bumped into somebody he never wanted to see again - his father. "Phillip?" Phillip straightened his tie. "I can't talk right now. Anne is missing."
"Wait, please." Phillip stopped and sighed. Mr. Carlyle smiled, "You look good, son. Did you finally leave that parade of freaks? I'll have to say, that was probably the worst mistake you have ever made. I mean, that colored girl didn't think that she was good enough for you, did she?" Mr. Carlyle cackled. Phillip growled, "Don't ever talk about Anne that way. She's a better person than you will ever be." Mr. Carlyle's face grew angry, "Before you met her, you were just like me but now they've brainwashed you." Phillip started to walk away, "I have to go. The colored girl needs me. Enjoy your life, Father."
Mr. Carlyle shouted after her, "I hope you find her. What were you guys arguing about?" Phillip stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. "How did you know about our argument?" Mr. Carlyle got nervous, "You told me that she left after your dispute." Phillip shook his head, "I didn't say anything about an argument."
Phillip ran towards his father and slammed him into the wall by his throat. "What did you do with her? Where is Anne?" Mr. Carlyle tried to pull his son's hands from his neck, "She doesn't deserve you. She's the help and you don't need that kind of reputation."
Phinneas and W.D. were walking down Main Street as they saw a large group surrounding what looked to be a fight. They walked towards the crowd when they heard Phillip's voice, "What did you do with her? Where is Anne?" They ran and tried to pull Phillip off of Mr. Carlyle, "Phillip, calm down! What is wrong?"
"He has Anne! Let me go!" Phillip screamed. P.T. grabbed Mr. Carlyle by the shirt, "Tell me where she is and we'll let you go." Mr. Carlyle cackled, "There's no point. She's probably dead anyway. Nobody can survive that long without food and water." Phillip got out of W.D.'s grip and started running towards him but was grabbed by P.T. just in time. "Calm down! We can't help Anne if you're in jail." Phillip calmed down immediately. He tried to think of where she might be and it clicked. "The basement! My father used to put me down there when I wouldn't follow his rules and would leave me without food or water. Call the police. Tell them to meet me at 1407 West Georgia Rd. He's not getting away with this."
It felt like hours before Phillip made it to his parent's house. His heart broke as his feet touched down on the bottom step of the basement and he ran over to Anne, who was limp in the chair. "Annie? Baby?" He untied her hands from the chair and lifted up her head. Her eyes and cheekbones had sunken in and her clothes were hanging off her body because of the weight she lost over those three days. He pulled her close to him and started to cry when he felt her breath on his neck. "Annie? Annie, wake up, baby." He tapped her face and continued to try and wake her up. Her eyes flickered open and she quietly whispered, "My knight in shining armor. You found me." Phillip was never one for religion, but in that moment, he thanked whatever God was up above him for keeping his love alive.
Today was the day Phillip had been looking forward to. The day he would ask the love of his life to marry him. While Anne stayed in the hospital for a week, he moved all her stuff from the room she had in the tent to an apartment he purchased for them. He wanted to give her everything she never had. After all, she deserved the world. "Can I open my eyes yet?" Anne laughed. "We're almost there. A couple more steps." Phillip positioned her in the middle of the living room of their new home. "Okay, open." Phillip smiled. Anne couldn't believe her eyes, "Who's apartment is this?" Phillip grabbed her hand. "This is my apartment." Anne lost her breath for a moment, "It's amazing. Why are you showing me, though?"
Phillip took a deep breath, "Because I want it to be yours, too. Annie, I have loved you from the moment I saw you. You mean more to me than anybody ever will and it took me almost losing you to realise that. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but if every single one had to happen to make sure I was right here, right now, then I forgive myself for all of them. I found a love in you that I no longer believed was real." He wiped the tears off Anne's face and got down on one knee with shaking hands.
"Anne Elise Wheeler, will you be my wife?" Anne could not believe the sight in front of her, the man who risked everything is down on his knee asking her to be his wife with the most beautiful diamond ring. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" He slid the ring on her finger and kissed it. "I promise I'll never let go again."
They held hands as they walked from their apartment to the tent to tell everyone the good news. They got looks from everyone around them, but Phillip kept his word. He never let go.