4 - From the old to the new.
He awoke the next morning hearing birds chirping and the sun shining through the window. Ana was nowhere to be seen but as he looked down, he noticed a pillow and a blanket on the floor. Had she slept there all night?
"Good morning," Ana breezed through the room, "how did you sleep?" she came towards him and brushed her hand over his forehead to feel his skin. He was a little clammy but nowhere near as pale as he had been before. The food and the sleep probably put a little colour back into him and he seemed a little brighter this morning.
"A little better," his voice was husky and it sent a shiver down her spine. She remembered how much she loved his morning voice and how long it had been since she'd heard the sound. Back when they were together and after a night of making love, she'd wake up to soft kisses and caresses from his skilled fingers. His voice, deep and dark, whispering everything he wanted to do to her before prying her legs open and pushing his thick cock inside her, making her forget everything but him. "Good morning sweetheart," he'd whisper in that voice. It was deep and croaky and it almost always led to them falling back into each others arms and loving each other, wrapped in blankets and limbs instead of getting up and dressed for the day...
"Ana?" he asked bringing her back into the room.
"Yes?" she smiled at him.
"Did you... I mean.. you didn't sleep on the floor last night did you?" he asked. She blushed and looked at him sheepishly. She had been caught.
"I just didn't want anything to happen to you in the night, I've done it the past few nights, I didn't want you to wake up in a strange place or hurt yourself," she said softly, clearly embarrassed.
"That's very sweet of you," he smiled, "but I don't want you to get a sore back,"
"I'm fine don't worry," she said, her cheeks still rosy red. "Anyway, I want to hear about why you were washed up on the shore and what's been happening over the last five years since I saw you," she smiled, changing the subject. She noticed his eyes darken for a moment before coming out of a dark mist which had covered his mind for a moment. 5 year ago she left me. She instantly regretted making reference to 'the last time she'd seen him' seeing his face fall, but he quickly regained his thoughts.
"Yes, I'd love to know how you ended up here... and where here is as well,"
"Well that's settled then," she stood up and he admired her figure in yet another beautiful summer dress, "I'll make us some breakfast and we can have a catch up," Christian nodded, but she could see his face was scrunched up in pain, "I'll get you come more painkillers too whilst we're at it,"
"Please," Christian nodded. Ana made a mental note to change his bandages again later and maybe give him a sponge bath if he'd let her. She knew that he didn't like to be touched but she hoped that he wouldn't mind if it was through a sponge. But first, she wanted to get to know him a little better, what he'd been doing over the last 5 years and although she would never ask him, she wanted to know if he had moved on. Her heart ached at the thought of him having a wife or girlfriend back in America. She doubted that he'd have remarried considering what happened between them but maybe he had a long term girlfriend or even a child. She couldn't expect him to remain celebrate, and he was gorgeous. He probably had a stunning girlfriend who loved him and wanted him to come back home. She hoped not. That would break her heart. She wanted him to be happy, but the thought of him happy with someone else made her heart ache.
She made him scrambled eggs again and he wolfed them down like a starving man. She ate hers too, eating as much as she could before scraping her leftovers onto his plate. She liked to see him eat, it was usually the other way around due to Christian's childhood, but he was far too thin for her liking and he needed a little more meat on his bones.
"I don't even know where to start," Christian said once he'd eaten, she'd bandaged up his hurt arm into a sling last night even though she was sure it wasn't broken, so he only had one arm to drink his milk with and he sipped at the glass it gingerly, the taste of his medicine still potent. She wrapped his arm up very well considering she wasn't a certified nurse. His mother must have allowed her to do a lot of practice on patients when they were younger. Ana had always been fascinated by his mother's job and had asked one summer when they were teenagers if she could help. Grace Grey came home full of praise at Ana's abilities saying she was a natural and Ana worked there every holiday for a few days a week from then on.
Ana had also told him that she'd be giving him as much milk as possible to make him big and strong again and he wasn't going to deny her that wish. He could feel himself wasting away so needed to regain his strength so that he could stand or even walk - when his leg was better- for a step or two without almost collapsing from exhaustion.
"After...," Christian stopped at looked at her. He didn't want to bring it up but it was also a huge part of their past. She knew what he was about to say and looked at him with a sad smile on her face. A smile of regret and remorse. "After the wedding," he started, wincing when the force of the word sprouted from his lips, " I decided to join the army. I was depressed and quite hard to be around. I didn't cope with it well at all." Christian admitted. She felt tears flood her eyes and he stopped to look at her. She nodded her head for him to continue. As hard as it was to hear, she knew how much he had loved her and she knew how badly she broke his heart that day.
"Anyway," Christian said, clearing his throat," I did my training and my dad knew a few of the high up officers, Elliot started it with me too for a while and he liked it at first but couldn't cope with the early starts," Christian laughed, immediately regretting it when he started to couch. Ana brought him some water and he sipped it slowly, the refreshing liquid soothing his throat and shaky lungs. "After that, we were based aboard. I was trained in America but from then on we went wherever we were needed and then, America declared war on Iraq and we all headed there to fight. I made a good friend, Jason Taylor. He was with me the day I was captured. I suppose he was killed by the blast but I don't know what happened to him but he was a good man. The building was bombed, everything went up in smoke and then I was grabbed and beaten by 2 or 3 enemy soldiers. I was dragged to a car and then we went to a boat. We sailed for 3 days and I was starved and beaten some more. On the third day, I knew I needed to do something so I threw myself over board. That's when they shot at me and the rest is history." He smiled at her and she smiled back at him. "Your turn." He prompted, preparing to listen intently.
"The last 5 years for me haven't been very exciting. After the ..." she gulped, "Wedding, I tried to stay in America but ... I missed you terribly. I was depressed and a wreck without you." She admitted. He smiled at her, encouraging her to continue.
"I decided that I needed to get away so I packed my bags and only told Kate and my Dad that I was going. I did try to call you, just to let you know where I was going in case you ever wondered where I'd gone, but I know you changed your number long ago after I harrassed you with calls." She laughed humourlessly and his expression was guarded.
"I got here and set up a life for myself, I co own a farm and go to the market down the road to make money to survive. I live a simple life. That's all there really is to it. I guess I felt like I needed a change; a completely new start." She said softly.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"South Goa." He nodded. He was about to speak when someone opened the front door. His eyes widened, thinking that it was someone out to take him once more and kill him but Ana rested a hand on his arm. He looked at her sceptically, wondering who it could be, but his feelings of intrigue quickly became angry and very jealous when he saw a smiling man come through the door. Why didn't he knock? was this Ana's... boyfriend? he felt sick at the thought of another man touching Ana the way he used to. They may not still be together but the thought of her having a boyfriend made Christian want to scream at the top of his lungs 'she's mine'. But that was the problem, they weren't together and she wasn't his. Ana had been alone for 5 years without him, she's beautiful, she was bound to find someone else. He wondered if she loved him? he wondered if she screamed his name in bed the way she used to scream his. She wondered if he was the happily ever after that she hadn't found with him. He felt sick to his stomach at the thought of her with this man. He wondered if she'd given her heart to him like she had so long ago to Christian.
"Hi Jose," Ana smiled. The man came into the room and looked at Christian on the couch, Ana's hand holding his. His face looked angry for a moment but then he converted it into a bright smile that didn't quite meet his eyes.
"Hi Ana, how are you today?" he leant down and kissed her cheek and Christian felt like someone was standing on his painful chest as he watched them. Ana hadn't moved her hand from his yet. That was the only thing stopping him from grabbing this 'Jose' by his neck, injuries or no injuries. He had no right of course. Ana wasn't his by any stretch of the imagination and he should have let her go by now. 5 years was a long time and she'd clearly moved on and for a while he thought he had too. But alas, deep down, he knew he'd always love her; she still owned his broken heart as much as he didn't want to admit it.
"I'm great thank you, this is Christian," Jose looked at Christian for a moment and then leaned over to shake his hand. Christian tried not to smirk; one hand was being held by Ana and the other was in a sling. Jose saw this and his eyes squared slightly but instead he just nodded.
"You look pretty banged up there," he said. Christian couldn't place his accent. He sounded America mixed with something else but he didn't know what.
"He was washed up on the shore and barely breathing when I found him, he was kidnapped fighting in war, shot and beaten and I've been looking after him," Ana said. Her hand moved from Christian's much to his displeasure and Jose's glee and she stood up. She smiled at Christian. It was a smile that said 'we'll continue this later' and Christian nodded subtly. He no longer wanted to talk about their pasts. He wanted to talk about her present and who this man was. To Christian's utter content, Jose was only about 2 inches taller than Ana, who was only about 5'5. He smiled slightly at the thought knowing that Ana always liked how tall he was but Jose was too busy drooling over Ana to notice.
"So what's up Jose? everything ok?" she asked politely. She smiled softly and he smiled back.
"I mainly came to check up on you but I also have some exciting news, I've sewn all of the seeds in the farm land and now we just have to wait for them to grow and we can sell them. You want to come and take a look?" Jose asked, giving Ana his arm to take and taking a quick look at Christian. Christian's mind was going a thousand miles an hour. It had been 5 years; 5 long and lonely years since they were together. They both lead completely different lives now. So why did it hurt so much that she could be with another man? why did it shatter him to think that she loved another and had given herself to someone when before it had only ever been him?
"Sure I will. Christian, I won't be long," Christian nodded at her but she could see he wasn't happy. She considered telling Jose that she'd go and see it another time but she'd already said yes now. With a final glance at Christian, she took Jose's arm and walked out of the room with him, laughing as he said something and leaning in close as he whispered something to her. Christian sighed in defeat. Looks like she has found someone else to love.