Author's Note: I forgot to mention this last chapter—that bit with Lucille Thompson, aka the jerk face Child Protective Services jerk, was inspired by the idea that ShinkisRule gave me.
Kendall sat down against the wall, his head hanging dejectedly between his knees. It hadn't worked. He had failed.
His plan had been simple—next time Ethan came into the room, make a run for it. Unfortunately, Ethan was faster than Kendall had expected. It also didn't help that Kendall didn't know his way around the warehouse.
So instead of waking up at home, in bed, Kendall had woken up back in his supply closet, on the floor. In pain.
It had taken forever for him just to sit up, and now he barely had the strength to stay awake.
Kendall just wanted to curl up and fall asleep, but he couldn't. He was scared to. What if Ethan came in while he was totally defenseless? What if he never woke up?
Kendall's thoughts turned to Anya. He really hoped that James, Carlos, and Logan had found her. With Ethan out there, it just wasn't safe for her to be out on the streets. Who knew what he would do to her if he caught her?
Anya had been sitting in the dark for what felt like hours. She had never been a huge fan of the dark because it always reminded her of her time spent in the closet back when she lived with Wayne. Even though back then being locked in the closet was always a welcome relief from the pain, now it was scary.
But Anya didn't mind. The knowledge that Kendall was now safe was enough for her. She could even take being here for the rest of her life as long as it meant that Kendall was free.
Suddenly, Anya was blinded by a bright light. She squinted and shielded her eyes, trying to figure out what the source of the light was.
"Ah, Stacy," Ethan said, coming into the room, "We never got a chance to catch up. Do you remember this?" Ethan held up a leather belt.
Anya's eyes widened and she began to back away, shaking her head.
Ethan laughed. "I see you do," he said, bringing it down upon her. Anya cried out and threw her arms over her face to shield herself.
Ethan continued to beat her with the belt as he spoke.
"You've grown so soft, Stacy," Ethan said mockingly, "See what living in that cushy apartment has done to you?"
Anya closed her eyes, wishing that Ethan would stop and go away. He was right; she had become soft. Back when Wayne would hit her, she hardly felt it. But now…now she felt each and every blow.
Anya opened her eyes and was surprised to find…Wayne? What was Wayne doing here? He was supposed to be in jail…wasn't he?
"You're just a worthless piece of trash," Wayne said as he hit her, "You're just…sickening. No one will ever like you. You're lucky that you even have me to take care of you."
A feeling of pure terror gripped Anya. She thought that she would never have to see him again. She thought she was safe.
Each blow brought Anya closer and closer to her old life. In the space of 10 minutes, the confidence she had gained in the past year was replaced by fear.
"Stop…" Anya whispered, closing her eyes once again.
Suddenly, everything was still. Anya was no longer being hit with the belt. Wayne's voice was gone.
Anya carefully opened her eyes open. She was alone.
Kendall couldn't stop thinking about Anya. He kept thinking about all the dates they had been on together, all the special moments they had shared, all their trips to the zoo…
They had been going to the zoo so much that Kendall had gotten a zoo membership. That was definitely something he had never thought he would do.
But it was totally worth it. Anya could spend hours at the petting zoo playing with the bunnies. In fact, she spent so much time with them that they had even come to recognize her.
A smile crept onto Kendall's face as he thought about his girlfriend. In his mind, he went back to the day he had found her.
Kendall hadn't even thought twice when he had seen her huddled in that alley. He had just brought her home. It was one of the best decisions he had ever made.
But then the accident…those three weeks that Anya had spent in a coma were the worst three weeks of Kendall's life. It didn't help matters that it was all his fault.
In fact, Kendall still felt guilty about it, even though everybody kept telling him that it was Wayne's fault. If he had just remembered to take his iPod with him in the first place…or if he had been paying more attention…
No. Kendall wasn't going to waste another hour of his life thinking about how he could have prevented it from happening. Besides, if Anya hadn't been hit by the car, who knows when she would have started to talk.
Kendall sighed. He missed his girlfriend. He would give almost anything to be able to be with her right now.
Kendall's thoughts turned to Anya's flashbacks. She had begun having flashbacks about 9 months ago at least once a week, most often at night. These flashbacks that were so intense it was like she was reliving a memory, usually one involving her stepparents. She would be convinced that Wayne or sometimes Gertrude was beating her. It sometimes took a full half-hour to snap her out of it.
Anya had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder about a month after she had begun having them.
Kendall really hoped that Anya wouldn't have to suffer a flashback without him. He was always there, ready to bring her back to reality and then hold her when the tears came. Kendall wasn't sure that she would be able to cope without him there.
It absolutely broke Kendall's heart having to see Anya in so much distress. The flashbacks were terrifying and there was little they could do to stop them.
Anya hugged her knees to her body, tears streaming down her face. It had all been a flashback. It hadn't been real. Wayne hadn't been real. It hadn't actually happened.
Anya absolutely hated her flashbacks. Kendall thought that she only had them once or twice a week, but in reality she had them almost twice as often as that. Half the time she would come to, alone, usually in the living room, and then just make her way back to bed and lay there until she fell asleep. The other half of the time she would come to in Kendall's arms.
Anya always felt so guilty when she woke him up during her flashbacks. It didn't matter that Kendall always told her that he really didn't mind. She just couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt.
Anya inspected her arms. They were now bright red, due to the belt. Even though Wayne hadn't really been there, Ethan had, and the belt had been real.
Some of the old terror began to creep upon Anya. She didn't know when Ethan would be back. He could come back through that door any minute, armed with the belt or some other weapon.
Involuntarily, Anya began to tremble. Well, at least Kendall wasn't there anymore. Anya didn't think she would be able to stand it if Kendall had to go through all of this as well.
Author's Note: Ok, so school starts for me in a little over two weeks and I have to finish my summer homework (which consists of 6 chapters of French, Lord of the Flies, and some world history junk) so I might not be able to be able to post as often until school starts. Sorry.
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