AN: this is Madison's friend updating still. my dad's nose break was much more severe than we thought. But he made it through surgery just fine. He's home & sleeping in his recliner now.
It turns out I misunderstood a direction that Madison gave me. Now that I figured it out things are going much more smoothly. And I'm so excited that my dad is doing well. I decided to bless you all with another update.
Chpt. 12: Ana's POV
The next couple of days go by quickly as I am working every day at the restaurant including another double when a waitress calls out sick. Antonio informs all the wait staff that we are booked for two dinner services on Christmas eve and therefore anyone calling out sick who does not provide a doctor's note will lose their job immediately. He informs us that Christmas day we are closed as always but we will be open on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Schedules for new year's will come out in the next week or so but no further requests off will be honored. Several of the wait staff moan obviously regretting that they had not submitted their request off before today. It doesn't bother me much as with Kate in the Bahamas I don't know what I would do anyway.
Christian has called me once but texted me a several times since our date; apparently he is very busy at work with some big acquisition. He apologizes every time we talk that he couldn't talk to me earlier in the day or reply to a text message I sent sooner. It's been nice having someone else to talk to besides Kate especially since I only heard from Kate once since she left for the Bahamas.
"Hello?" I say answering my phone while on break during dinner service.
"Anastasia?" a female voice asks.
"This is she," I answer.
"This is Mrs. Connor the owner of the boarding home you rent a room in," Mrs. Connor states.
"Oh hi Mrs. Connor, how are you?" I say surprised that she has called. I haven't heard from her since I signed my lease and hadn't expected to hear from her until the next time rent is due.
"I could be better Anastasia," Mrs. Connor replies.
"Oh?" I say confused as to why she is calling me.
"Yes, I received a complaint about your behavior and unfortunately this means I will need to terminate your lease at the end of the month," Mrs. Connor says.
"What? I'm sorry, what behavior?" I say even more confused now. I haven't really spoken to any of the residents and am barely at the house so I can't imagine who is complaining about me.
"One of our longtime residents states that you came back to the house reeking of alcohol and stumbling into the walls on Wednesday night. Apparently the commotion woke several people up before you finally managed to unlock the door to your room. As you know, your lease clearly prohibits you from coming into the residence under the influence of drugs or alcohol. As your lease is a month to month lease I am notifying you today that your lease will not be renewed at the end of the month. I expect you to have your room cleaned out by 5pm on December 31st. Understood?" Mrs. Connor asks firmly.
"Yes Mrs. Connor" I state. "But I think the person is mistaken. I did not return to the house on Wednesday; I spent the night at my friend's apartment who lives close to campus. So it's not possible that the person who filed the complaint saw me."
"Ms. Steele, are you calling the other resident a liar?" She asks barely waiting for a response. "This person described you in detail including the black dress you were wearing that night. Were you wearing a black dress?"
"Yes I was but-" I answer confused.
"Then nothing, she obviously saw you and perhaps with your drinking problem you have the days confused. I will refund your security deposit per the terms of your lease within thirty days of your lease ending," Mrs. Connor states and ends the call.
I am stunned; it's obvious this person is lying since I was with Christian for dinner on Wednesday evening and then was with Kate until after dinner on Thursday. I don't understand how the person who called Mrs. Connor knows what I was wearing Wednesday; I wore different clothes back to the house on Thursday. As my shift continues that evening I continue to try to figure out what I did to have someone at the house so angry with me that they have to make up lies to tell Mrs. Connor. Making my way back to the house later that night, I begin to think about what my next steps will be. There weren't many rooms for rent when I was looking for this room last month since most of the rooms fill up quickly in the winter. At least I won't have to spend another Christmas in a homeless shelter, being in a place like that on a holiday is the worst. Everyone is depressed and the staff usually tries to lift everyone's hopes by decorating and playing holiday music. What the staff fail to realize as those things do the opposite; they are a constant remind that we have no one to spend the holidays with.
"Ana-call me tomorrow from my apartment. I tried calling your cell but it won't go through" –K
"Okay, I will stop by in the morning" –A
I finally drift off to sleep a little after two in the morning still contemplating what I'm going to do for a place to stay at the end of the month. I finally realize I have little choice but to return to a shelter if I can't find a room in the meantime.
"Bitch where are you?" I hear him yelling for me. I pull my legs up to my chest and try to hide deeper in my closet.
"Baby what is it?" I hear my mom ask him.
"My fucking rum is missing. She stole it! The fucking bitch stole my rum!" He yells storming around the living room of the small trailer we rent.
"Are you sure baby? I don't think she-" I hear my mom ask before I hear a loud slap.
"Are you questioning me?" He yells at her.
"No, of course not" mom quickly answers him.
"Bitch get out here right now!" He yells standing outside the curtain 'door' of my bedroom.
"Ana, please come out here," mom says.
Glancing around the room I realize I have no choice but to come out. The trailer only has two bedrooms so it's not like I could go far to hide. They would find me eventually.
"Where is my fucking rum you bitch?" He screams at me as soon as I come into the living room.
"I don't know," I say quietly. "You probably drank it."
"What did you say?" He yells at me as I regret that I said the last part aloud.
"I said you probably drank it. I didn't drink it! I don't touch that shit," I answer.
He grabs my throat and lifts me off the ground while pinning me against the wall. I can barely breath and feel that the room starting to spin. I look at my mother who is behind him doing nothing to stop him and not saying anything. She refuses to make eye contact me as he brings his fist to my rib cage forcefully. I cringe as I hear the crack as his fist makes contact but can't scream because he continues hold my throat closed.
"Sweetie, let's go buy another bottle. It will be my treat," I hear my mom say but I can't see her as the room is almost completely black now. I feel myself close to passing out just as he let's go and I fall into a pile on the floor struggling to catch my breath.
"I'll be back for you bitch!" He says as he kicks my ribs again before storming out.
They come back several hours later drunk and he finds me just as he promised he would. This time he comes in with a new belt that he says he bought just for me. He beats me hard until I pass out on the floor from the pain of the belt and from my ribs as I try to breathe through the beating. I scream for my mother several times but he tells me to keep screaming because she can't hear me which means obviously she is passed out yet again. As I look in the mirror the next morning I can clearly see the belt buckle imprint he left in my skin which is covered in dry blood from where the metal pierced my skin.
End Flashback
I once again wake covered in sweat and my heart racing from the nightmare. Looking at the clock I see I slept for just over three hours. Taking a few deep breaths I decide to head over the Kate's apartment. After that nightmare all I really want to do is take a long hot shower which is not possible here. I feel like I can still smell the alcohol on his breath and the stale cigarette smoke smell that followed him wherever he went. I shiver, I can still feel his hands on my back as he would hold me down to beat me.
I take the bus to Kate's apartment and immediately go into the bathroom. I turn the shower on has hot as it will go and stand under the water for what feels like hours. I scrub my entire body until my skin is bright red and I begin to feel clean. Only then do I begin to relax, I sit down and let the water cascade over my entire body. I relish in the peacefulness of Kate's apartment and the simple fact that I can take a long hot shower without someone barging at the door or having to scrub the shower clean before getting in. I begin to sob as I think about how something as simple as a hot shower can be taken for granted. Can't one thing go right? Just as things begin to go well with Christian I lose the room I am renting. Can't I catch a break?
I hear my cell phone alerting me to a text message which essentially puts an end to my pity party. I quickly wash my hair and get out of the shower. Glancing at my phone I see Kate has texted me asking when she can call the apartment. I texted her to give me 5 minutes and to call the apartment. I quickly thrown on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before running to the kitchen to answer her phone.
"Ana! How are you?" Kate exclaims as I answer her phone.
"I'm good, Kate how are you? How are the Bahamas? I ask.
"Beautiful and warm," Kate answers. "What's wrong, you don't sound right?"
"Rough night at the apartment building last night," I lie. "I didn't sleep much at all last night; I might crash in your spare room for a couple of hours if you don't mind."
"Seriously, Ana you should just move in. Give your landlord notice and move into my spare room. You are the only one who uses it anyway! Besides, I could get used to your wonderful cooking!" Kate says.
"I'll talk with my landlord and see if I can get out of my lease," I answer not wanting to tell Kate that I'm being kicked out at the end of the month.
"Great! If you can get out of the lease before I get back, go ahead and move in. No point in you staying in a place that you can't get a decent night's sleep in because the neighbors are too loud! You have a key and you know Murray would love the company!" she says excitedly.
"You're right, he is sitting on my lap now," I respond laughing.
We chat for a while before ending the call so Kate can go sit by the pool. I begin to give her offer some serious thought. With the money I received from the scholarship plus the extra money from my Christmas bonus I could afford to give Kate a good amount towards rent each month. If she refuses to accept rent payment which I think she will since her parent's pays her rent every month then I decide I will pay for food and cook real meals for us most nights. I sit down and go over my budget to make sure it's financially possible before I commit to something. I don't want to mooch off of Kate therefore it's very important to me that I can afford to pay something every month. Being closer to campus would significantly reduce the amount I spend on bus passes every month. Kate's apartment is within walking distance to campus and to work so I would hardly need a bus pass at all.
I work a double tonight at the restaurant and learn that I am working on Christmas Eve but surprisingly I am off on New Year's Eve and scheduled to work the dinner shift on New Year's Day. Christian stops by for lunch which is the highlight of my day especially after the miserable night I had. I don't have time to talk with him as the restaurant is very busy today for some reason, but I still enjoy the couple minutes we have to chat. Christian asks me to call him tonight after my shift is over but I warn him it will be very late and instead ask if I can call him in the morning. He reluctantly agrees but tells me if I want I can still call him tonight because he will likely still be awake.
After dinner I take the bus back to the boarding house and collapse in my bed trying to warm up. The winter is definitely setting in for Seattle and the wait at the bus stop seems to have given me a permanent chill. On top of everything else, it seems in the house is barely working. Some of the common areas seem barely tolerable but my room is freezing. I asked around and it seems like all the rooms are this way and several residents reported it's like this all winter long. A couple have purchased space heaters but the advised me to hide it on the days that Mrs. Connor comes by as we are not permitted to have them per our lease. Everyone says she keeps the temperature set very low so she doesn't have to pay much for heat all winter.
"Ana?" Christian asks as he answers the phone.
"Did I wake you?" I ask.
"No, of course not," he answers, but I think he is lying because he sounds groggy.
"Sorry it's so late, I just got home," I say.
"No problem. How was the rest of your shift?" he asks.
"Busy," I say laughing. "I don't know if it was everyone shopping or what, but we were slammed all day today!"
"Well I bet that's good for you though," He says.
"It is and my lunch customer who previously gave me an obscene tip learned his lesson and tipped much more appropriately today," I state laughing.
"How dare he try to tip too much," He says giggling. "What are you doing for Christmas Eve?"
"Working," I answer. "We have two dinner times scheduled that day and we are booked solid."
"Oh," Christian says sadly. "What about Christmas day?"
"The restaurant is closed on Christmas thankfully," I answer.
"Would you like to have dinner with me on Christmas?" Christian asks.
"I'd love to," I answer glad to have someone to spend the day with.
"Great! I will pick you around three if that's okay?" he asks.
"Sure, that's fine," I answer.
"You will have to text me your address so I know where to meet you," he says.
"Oh yeah," I pause. "You can pick me up at Kate's, I am moving in with her."
"Really?" Christian says surprised.
"Yeah, I talked to her about it today when she called and decided a few minutes ago to give my landlord notice that I am leaving at the end of the month. I will probably end up moving out earlier though," I answered.
"What sparked this? Is everything okay where you are now?" he asks worried.
"Yes….no" I answer.
"What do you mean? Is everything okay? Do you need me to come pick you up?" Christian asks clearly concerned.
"No, I'm fine Christian. It's nothing like that," I answer quickly. "Remember our date the other night?"
"Of course, how I could forget?" Christian responds.
"A couple days later my landlord calls me and says that someone reported I came home the night of our date drunk and stumbling all over the place. She says it was reported that I woke up several other people in the building because I was so drunk," I explain.
"But you weren't drunk!" Christian exclaims.
"I know," I say sighing. "I also never went home that night; I spent the night at Kate's and didn't come home until after dinner the next day."
"Then the person who complained was obviously mistaken," Christian says. "They must have the wrong person."
"That's what I said too," I respond. "But then she described the dress I wore on our date perfectly. I didn't wear the dress on Thursday when I went back to the building so I can't explain how someone is saying they saw me in the dress and that I was drunk. I only bought the dress Wednesday afternoon with Kate and I dressed at her apartment."
"That doesn't make sense," Christian says angrily.
"I know," I respond. "But my landlord decided to end my lease at the end of the money anyway as it's a violation of my lease to cause a disruption to the other residents like that. Then I came home tonight from working to find the heat is set very low and everyone says it's like this all winter. That was the last straw and I decided to move in with Kate."
"Will you be okay there tonight? Maybe I should come and get you? I don't like the idea of you sleeping in the cold," Christian says.
"I will be fine, Christian. It's late and in the morning I'm going to pack up some things and take them to Kate's apartment," I said.
"I will come over in the morning to help you," Christian says.
"No!" I respond quickly. "I only have a few things Christian that won't be necessary."
"At least promise you will call me if you need help? Maybe I can bring dinner over to Kate's tomorrow night?" Christian asks.
"That would be nice," I say yawning.
"Go to sleep Ana, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow," Christian says.
"Good night," I say.
"Dream of me," he says hanging up.
Christian's POV:
I end the call with Ana frustrated and angry. How could someone insist that she was drunk Wednesday night? She was with me for dinner and barely finished her second glass of wine; there was no way she was drunk. I dropped her off at Kate's apartment after dinner and watched her walk into the building before Taylor drove away. Taylor had arranged for someone to follow Ana and they were able to start Wednesday night, we met Sawyer that evening a block from Kate's apartment. Sawyer sent a report to Taylor the next morning confirming that Ana did not leave Kate's apartment all night and later confirmed that she returned to the boarding home after dinner on Thursday. There was no way she was stumbling around the boarding home drunk on Wednesday night. But the person described her black dress perfectly.
Elena.
She is the only person who could be behind this. She saw Ana with me Wednesday night at the Harbor View Inn and is the only person who saw Ana's dress besides Kate and Taylor. She was pissed that I dismissed her earlier in the day and then again at the restaurant. There is no one else that would want to hurt Ana. I see red as my anger begins to boil. I fire off an email to Roz telling her to immediately consolidate our shares in Esclava Salon. As a payback to Elena for loaning me money when I dropped out of Harvard, I had provided her with the funds to open several successful salons that I remain a silent partner in. I tell Roz to liquidate my shares and then I send legal an email telling them to gift the salons to Elena.
To: Elena
From: Christian
Subject: Esclava Salon, Inc.
Elena,
As of 12/31 we will no longer be business partners as I am liquidating my shares of Esclava Salon. My legal team is drafting the necessary paperwork to gift you these shares.
If you need to discuss this issue further please contact Andrea at my office and we will schedule a time to speak with my legal department.
Christian Grey
CEO, Grey Enterprises
I barely sleep as I am still furious over Elena and I dread the thought of Ana spending the night in a cold room by herself. I worry that she doesn't have enough blankets to keep her warm and barely stop myself from going to her in the middle of the night and holding her so she stays warm. When I wake only a couple of hours later I fire an email to the city commissioner who is a friend of my parents and sits on several charity boards with my mother. I ask him to look into the heating situation in the boarding home that Ana resides in and I alert him that it is reported that the landlord keeps the thermostat at a very low temperature to save money. I request that the licensing board pay a surprise visit on an evening where the weather is predicted to be cold.
"Taylor!" I call as I see him exit the staff quarters.
"Yes sir," Taylor answers.
"Ms. Steele has decided to move out of the boarding home today, I want to go provide assistance to her," I say.
"Of course sir. We can take the SUV or do you think she will need a small truck?" Taylor asks surprised.
"I think the SUV will be fine," I answer.
"Mr. Grey sir if I may interrupt," Gail says walking into the kitchen. "I could pack some breakfast to bring along to Ms. Steele if you would like. Maybe some coffee and fresh cinnamon rolls?"
"Wonderful idea Gail! She doesn't like coffee though, so if you could provide hot tea in a thermos that would be perfect. And a few water bottles as well" I say. "I'm going to shower, Taylor let's leave in thirty minutes."
"Yes sir," Taylor responds heading to the security office.
Taylor and I head to the house where Ana rents a room in silence. I don't know what she is going to think about me showing up but there is no way I could allow her to move by herself. I know she will be ashamed and maybe embarrassed about me seeing her living situation but I don't care. Her safety and comfort is all that matters to me. It becomes clear to me when we are approaching the area near her residence as the scenery takes on a different look. There are more boarding up homes and business fronts most of which are spray painted, garbage is laying everywhere and there are broken beer bottles all over the road.
"Taylor?" I ask.
"A couple more blocks sir," he answers.
"Taylor?" I ask again. "Welsh said this was a slightly better area than the last place she rented?"
"Yes sir," Taylor answers.
A few minutes later, Taylor parks the car and opens my door. We are about a few houses away but this was the closest parking spot. We meet up with Sawyer who states that Ana has not yet left the building but that several unknown residents have come and gone throughout the night from the building. We stand in front of the three story brick building that has bars on the windows of the ground floor. I am somewhat relieved when Sawyer tells us that Ana's room is on the second floor. I nervously take out my blackberry and call Ana; I have no idea how she is going to react.
"Good morning Christian," Ana answers the phone happily.
"Good morning beautiful," I say. "Can you come outside for a minute?"
"Huh? What do you mean come outside?" Ana asks.
"Please come outside and you will see."