Chapter Two

As You Like It

She was walking down the street, an innocent enough street. People pushing past her in every direction. It was your typical downtown busy sidewalk. So why was she so nervous? It was like she knew something bad was about to happen. Any second now something awful would befall someone and she was helpless to stop it. It wasn't a feeling Anastasia particularly enjoyed. A dark, foreboding feeling, leaving her out of breath, her lungs constricting, every muscle in her body screaming.

She woke up shaking.

Every dream went this way. The location always the same, always the same sidewalk with the same stores running along it. To be fair, it could have been any sidewalk. The world was filled with so many cities. So many busy streets with people walking down them. But, this street had seemed so familiar. Almost like she'd been there before, but not quite. Her breathing slowly returning to normal Anastasia set off through the small apartment in search of something cold to eat. Someone small would be preferable. She always found that cold things helped quell the nightmares, pushing them into the back of her mind were frankly she didn't exactly care about them anymore. Every night was the same. She'd fall asleep, lights turned on and then wake up drenched in sweat sometimes screaming over a street were nothing happened. It was infuriating. Whatever was happening in her head, Anastasia wasn't thrilled by it.

In fact. This entire day had been less then thrilling. It had been a complete and utter catastrophe. From stupid mental hospitals and job interviews in their cold white washed walls to childish nightmares over a feeling. The nerve. Maybe Kate was right? Maybe she was crazy. Maybe she did just need an escape? Something to sedate her anxiety. A change of scenery if you will.

Maybe she should get a new job.

Dr, Flynn had seemed so excited to meet her. And the pay was supposed to be good. Receptionist work really couldn't be that hard, right?

No.

Anastasia Steele was not about to bend over backward for Katherine Kavanagh, best friends they may be, but she was still an adult and it was high time she acted like one. And that meant making adult decisions. Decisions for herself. Not her friend.

But you know, Kate might be right on this one. As much as she hated to admit it, she really did need a better job. Her student loans were still piled high, and frankly she wasn't making enough to pay them off successfully. Still though. She would be damned if she got a job entirely because of her friend. She wasn't that immature, was she?

Where was Kate anyways? She should have been up by now, bustling about the kitchen attempting to cook some sort of concoction before finally yelling for Anastasia to step in and do it for her. Kate liked to think she could cook, when in reality, she was lucky if she could get ice to freeze properly. She left the kitchen, wandering into the small living room the two had set up. It was quaint, a sort of country meets modern charm, definitely Kate's style. The women had spent more then her fair share redecorating their humble abode and it definitely showed. Were the apartment was lavishly decorated, Anastasia's room was fairly plain in comparison.

She shuffled across the floor, glancing in a few rooms on her way past. Perhaps Kate was out? A quick glance at the clock informed her the work day was starting soon. So perhaps that was where Kate was? Work seemed like a plausible excuse. Besides, she didn't have long to dwell on it. Her roommate was perfectly capable of looking after herself and Anastasia had to get herself to work and fast.

This whole new job thing, she would look into it. Maybe Kate was onto something? She'd drop off more resumes during lunch. Yes. Maybe even after work for awhile as well.

She'd been so busy getting ready, hurrying around the apartment at a breakneck pace, showering, changing and brushing her hair in record time, that she missed the note ominously sitting on her dresser. In fact, it wasn't until she was just about the run out the door that she realized it was there. A small hurriedly written note, the handwriting smudged in places, the paper crinkling slightly.

Ana,

Got called into work early. Didn't want to wake you. Remember girls night tonight!

-Kate

That explained it then. One mystery solved. But girls night? Anastasia furled her brow in concentration, she was certain Kate hadn't mentioned any sort of girls nights any time in the last few days. It was normally only on weekends they got to spend any sort of time together. Wednesday certainly wasn't a weekend. Kate must just be mistaken then, never the less, she was conveniently free tonight, and a girls night in sounded like a fantastic idea. A home spa day maybe? That would be enough to relax her after whatever cruel and unusual punishment annoying customers invented when they didn't have their way.

Work wasn't to far away from the apartment, two blocks down the road and just around the corner. A five minute walk at most. She wouldn't need her car today. The old thing was almost a death trap, at any moment ready to break down. It terrified Anastasia, but frankly new cars was another one on the list of unaffordable luxuries.

This was the worst part. The perilous walk from her apartment to the garage and again out to the store. Anything could happen. Just last week, a girl from the other side of town had been assaulted on her way to meet up with friends. They still hadn't caught the perpetrator. Anastasia had this habit, she followed news stories almost religiously. They were her source of comfort, for every criminal off the streets that was one less notch in her worries. Just the sheer thought of something happening to her used to have been enough to keep her hidden away in her room for months at a time, only emerging for food and other such necessities. But now? A good therapist and a heavy dose of anxiety medication every other week was enough to keep her relatively normal. She could function like a human being and in the end that was all that mattered right?

As always the walk to her workplace was rather uneventful, the same people, working the same stores. Everything was routine, calm, quiet, normal. In fact, work passed much the same way. The regulars coming in for their usual merchandise, and a few new faces, a few complaints and one cranky old lady who seemed to think she knew everything. All harmless.

Could she do a new job? It might pay more, but how much would she be spending on medication to cope with the new environment? Just the though of working somewhere else was enough to set Anastasia's anxiety aflame. Would it be worse if she actually got the new job?

Oh who the hell was she kidding. Of course it would be worse. But did it really matter? She needed the money. She desperately needed the money.

Really.

She could be so immature sometimes. No wonder her therapist refused to see her now. He must think her some helpless little girl incapable of doing anything for herself. Well. Anastasia would prove them wrong. She would prove to them all she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

Her first order of business? A job.

As if it was privy to her thoughts, Anastasia's cell phone began to ring. She'd left it in the kitchen when she got home from work, and it took a fair amount of energy to dash from her bed and down the hall all the way hoping it wouldn't stop.

"Hello!"

God she was out of shape. A run like that shouldn't leave her out of breath. But indeed it did, she was clutching a chair like her life depended on it.

"Anastasia? Good, I'm glad you picked up. It's Dr. Flynn calling."

Oh? What was he doing calling her? She would have thought running out on an interview enough to say she either wasn't interested or wasn't capable of handling the workload.

"Hello Dr. Flynn. How may I help you?"

She was curious, but even to herself her voice sounded a tad hollow. A fraction to high pitched. Anastasia wasn't used to these sorts of pleasantries. Who was she kidding. She could never have been a receptionist.

"I was hoping you might still be interested in a job. I think you'd be a delightful addition to our facilities."

Was it really this easy? Did jobs actually fall into your lap just like that? No. There had to be a catch. But Dr. Flynn was a kind enough man, every fiber of her being told her to trust him. He wouldn't lie to her. Would he?

"I'm not so sure if I would be a fit."

Voice your uncertainty. There we go. That was normal right?

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure. You made quite the impact on one of my patients and you hardly met him. So. Would you like the job?"

Impact? What was he talking about? That boy with the grey eyes? Christian or whatever his name was? She hadn't even talked to him. Unless you count hissing as a human interaction. It certainly wasn't a very polite one.

Well.

Could she do this?

Anastasia breathed in deeply. Her decision already made.

"I can start tomorrow morning."

The hospital was big enough she should in theory be able to hide from his prying eyes right? Eyes that felt like they poured into your soul and knew all your deepest secrets.

"I look forward to seeing you. Good night Anastasia."

With that the good doctor hung up. In a dazed shock she set her phone on the counter. She would need sleep. And she should call the hardware store, let them know she was leaving.

Anastasia would give this new job a try. If only for a little while. Like test driving a car.

If it went wrong she could always quit.

She fell asleep early that night, entirely forgetting about Kate's mysterious girls night.