(…and she has played her part in the causes of every war and disharmony and feuds between family and friends.)
.
Anna stared at the woman parallel to her, their bodies a mirror image. One leg crossed over another, both hands on the arm rests, eyes level.
Grey jeans versus black suit trousers. A black t-shirt versus a navy blazer. Long messy hair versus beautifully styled blonde curls elegantly draped on angular shoulders.
The therapist tapped her fingers, her expression as smooth as stone. Her eyes showed the patience her body didn't exhibit. Her right foot moved in a circle, a pair of red high heels shining the colour of blood when a ray of light shone upon them.
"Have you been taking your medication?"
Silence.
She smiled at the young girl in front of her and sighed. "I suppose we are back to square one. We have spent 47 minutes in silence this morning. Do you truly have nothing you wish to talk to me about?"
Anna sighed, crossing her arms, the balance between the two women broken. She took in a deep breath, surveying the tall bookshelves around her.
The therapist frowned. "I can only assume your silence suggests that no obstacles have been thrown in the way of your recovery. But to me you seem troubled. And although I would prefer a stable state of mind in place of a deteriorating one, it will be hard to move forward without adequate effort supplied. The only way to do so is by talking to me."
The student met her eyes and spoke for the first time since entering the room. "I have gotten the highest marks for the last topic of this term."
The blonde smiled. "Congratulations."
Anna looked to the side, her eyes lingering on a Victorian mirror. Her reflection stared back at her from a sepia-tone world. "It's the first word people say."
The elder woman scanned the girl. "You do not like it."
Anna rolled her eyes before closing them and relaxing, her back sinking into the armchair. "They're pointing out the obvious, Dr. Foveaux. It was flattering at first but recently it's become simply annoying and nothing more than an irrelevant flock of opinions."
"You're my patient," said Ellen Foveaux. "You don't have to hide your thoughts from me; in fact I advise against it."
Anna breathed heavily, opening her eyes but her gaze was unfocused, hazy. She looked at the ceiling without seeing it, staring through it as if she could see the sky.
The therapist reached over to the coffee table between them and picked up a notepad, twirling a pen in her hands before touching the tip on the paper. The distance between them hindered Anna from seeing what she was noting down but she had already voiced that she didn't mind Dr. Foveaux taking notes during their sessions. "Let's revisit the topic of relationships, then. Is there anyone new in your life?"
Ryuzaki.
Anna shook her head, her eyes focused above her. "No."
Foveaux nodded, noting that down. Her wise eyes looked back up at the girl, realising that while she appeared to be relaxed, her jaw was tense and her hands gripped her forearms so tightly, the knuckles were turning white.
"And the thoughts we talked about, do they still bother you?"
The student blinked and her voice wavered. "No."
Liar.
The therapist cocked her head to the side but bit her words, choosing to write down her thoughts instead of voicing them.
One of the lights above them flickered.
A dozen minutes later Anna was walking through Dr. Foveaux's front door, crossing her arms when the cold wind hit her skin. She walked down the front porch steps, looking up at the multiplying clouds in the sky.
It was an unusually cold day in July. A ridiculously windy and chilly day for California.
Anna yawned and rubbed her eyes, deciding to walk straight to the Coffee Shop where she worked part time. It would take an hour and she would still have plenty of time to spend down-town before she had to clock in and Anna sighed, feeling truly relaxed for the first time after the last few days.
Only one question stayed in her mind.
Where was Ryuzaki?
When she woke that morning he was nowhere to be seen. The spot where he had fallen asleep on the floor the night before was cleared away and there was no presence of strawberry jam in the fridge or even any empty jars in the trash. Anna looked for him in every corner, called his name a dozen times but there was no answer.
Both of her keys were on the desk. No items of her clothing missing.
The only remains of his presence were a pair of black leather gloves under Anna's pillow and her credit card missing, although her wallet was on the kitchen table and contained thirty dollars and was currently inside the front pocket of her jeans.
She shivered and took in a deep breath, letting the cool air clear her head.
.
.
"Tell. Me. Everything."
Anna stared at Kate, her hand on the Coffee Shop's door handle. She closed it, rolling her eyes at the blonde wearing a pink dress, seemingly unaffected by the cold weather. "Dammit, Kate, I barely walked through the door!"
Kate shrugged, holding a blueberry muffin and skipped back to behind the line of customers at the counter. "I'm just so curious!"
The brunette rolled her eyes and followed her friend, picking up a clipboard with a list of employees' names. She noted her name down, as well as the time she came in, and grabbing a rubber band from her wrist she put her hair up in a messy bun. She pointed at the muffin in Kate's hand, the latter taking a huge bite out of it. "Those are supposed to be for the customers."
The blonde stuck out her tongue.
Anna joined Kate and smiled at a teenager next in line. "What is it that you'd like?"
Kate pouted. "Yes, throw yourself into the work to avoid answering the question."
The bright eyed boy grinned and gave the blackboard behind Anna a glance. "Two large hot chocolates, please!"
Anna smiled, pressing a button on the hot chocolate machine and grabbing a paper cup from under the counter. "That will be four dollars."
The teenager placed a five dollar bill on the counter and when Anna gave him his change he placed it in the tip jar, earning a dazzling smile from Kate. The kid blushed and looked down, turning to look behind him where through a window a pretty redhead waved enthusiastically.
Anna liked her part time job. When she first started seven months ago she assumed it wouldn't last long due to the demand of social interaction. But she soon learned the work was almost robotic. She hardly had to think, even if Kate was chatting to her during the entire shift.
And they could have all the coffee they wanted without it being taken out of their wages.
Kate bumped her shoulder. "We should go out drinking!" Anna gave her a sideways glance, scooping two large tablespoons of ice-cream into a blender.
"I don't think it's a good idea," she said, pulsing the mixture and then pouring it into a plastic cup, reaching for a chocolate sprinkler and creating a smiley face for a child's order. "We're underage."
The blonde scoffed, handing an overweight woman a caramel latte. "Oh don't be so childish!" Anna flinched at the overbearing feeling of déjà vu the words brought. "So what? Casey promised to bring her older sister, technically we will be under supervision and nobody asks for I.D.s in LA."
Anna handed a little girl her milkshake and she grinned, her mother already leading her away. She sighed motioning for the next customer. "Are we the only two working tonight?"
Kate grinned. "Yeah, but it's a Monday. It's only so busy at the moment because it's peak hour and all the kids and students have just left school. Monday's are slow, you know that." She frowned at her friend. "And I'll take your lack of response to my offer as a sign that you'll think about it."
Anna opened her mouth to protest but Kate spun around her, handling three orders at once. She sighed, scratching her head. She only managed to catch up to her friend when the Coffee Shop was empty apart from a teenage couple giggling on a bench in the corner.
Kate rounded on the brunette, her hands on the girl's shoulder. "So… how long have you been keeping Tom a secret from me?"
Anna dropped her head, sulking. "He is not my boyfriend, he's just…" She tried to choose her words carefully. "He's an old friend; we haven't been in touch for a while but he just came over to LA and he needed a place to stay."
The blonde nodded, resting her arms on the counter. "That explains why he was so freakishly pale. Who the hell is pale in LA?" She turned to Anna, wiggling her eyebrows with a suggestive smirk. "You looked pretty cute together with his arm around you." Anna choked on empty air.
She could have laughed.
Her and a killer? Ha.
Kate burst out laughing at the expression on her friend's face, not stopping until she was gasping for air, holding her stomach in pain. "You are so cute when you're embarrassed. Ah, I do love you, Anna."
Anna glared, pouting. The moment a customer walked through the door she jumped to take their order. Her co-worker patted her head like a mother would a child. "Oh cheer up; you know I am just teasing you. You always get so worked up."
"Ha, ha, ha." Anna retorted. "That was sarcastic, by the way."
The blonde rolled her eyes and skipped to the store room. When she came back, she held a small bag of coffee beans which she proceeded to empty into the Espresso machine. "Seriously though, tell me about him."
Anna raked her brain grabbing a wet rag and cleaning down the counter before any other customers could arrive and notice the small coffee spillages on the surface. "There's not much to tell. He's a little odd, I suppose. He's hard to describe." She paused in her thoughts, biting her thumb but once she realised it was Ryuzaki's trait she quickly dropped it, wiping it on the rag. "Honestly I haven't been in touch with him for a while, he kind of dropped from the sky and asked for my help. He was desperate, so I took him in."
Kate beamed at her. "Well you've a very good friend to do so!"
.
.
"Ryuzaki?"
No response.
Anna sighed, placing her keys on top of a bookshelf.
A faint sound of guitar drifted from Jesse's apartment. Anna checked every single room just to find them all empty.
She dropped herself onto her bed, resting her hands on her knees and her head in her palms. "He really left."
A weight dropped from her chest. Tears brimmed at the corner of her eyes and she squeezed them shut. She only had a few moments of peace before her calm breaths deepened and she gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
Relief washed over her.
She was free.
She was free.
She stumbled to her feet, choking on her tears, wiping at her face with the bottom of her shirt. Her lips moved around words, not releasing any sound. She shuffled towards the kitchen, her vision blurred.
A lump formed in her throat and she frowned, her hip painfully hitting the kitchen counter. She winced, doubling over and moving to rest her head against the counter but she hit her forehead on the wall instead.
That time she cried out.
Her vision swam and she bit her lip.
She didn't understand the feeling of dread in her stomach. The feeling of having lost a part of her.
She couldn't comprehend why she felt so alone.
Anna recovered her breath, gritting her teeth as she pushed herself to stand up straight. Her legs failed her and she fell backwards, painfully hitting the ground. She managed to turn around, falling on her knees. She reached for something, anything to hold onto and her right hand found the door of the fridge.
Grunting, she managed to find her footing again, leaning onto the refrigerator. She took in deep breaths, biting down on the burning sensation at the back of her throat and blinked harshly before throwing open the door.
She screamed, stumbling backwards and fell on her backside, her face white with horror.
A drop of blood splashed onto the kitchen floor.
On the top shelf, a severed human head stared down at her with bulging eyes.