Crossing Boundaries
Chapter 13: Late
I awoke to silence. Gone were the depressing sounds that made up life in that miserable slum we had called home. It felt good to awake in a place that was my own. This new apartment held not the same comfort as my home in Croatia, but with time, I could see that might. I was alone this morning, for Nadya had taken the early morning shift. Ever since I had announced that I was going to be opening my own business, the hotel had lessened my shifts.
Still in my pajamas, I wander down to the dance studio. There is still quite a lot of work to be done, but the wood floor had been recently put in. It was bright and clean, begging me to take a few turns upon it. Setting my mug of tea aside, and drawing the curtains closed, I walk barefoot onto the floor. Music strikes up in my head, and I let the thrill of the dance rush through my veins like fire.
It was in these throes of absolute ecstasy that Dr. Spencer Reid found me. I was about to turn an arabesque into a pique turn when I caught sight of him in the corner of my vision.
"Spencer!" My balance is lost and quite ungracefully I tumble to the floor.
"Ani, did I scare you?" His tone was slightly standoff-ish.
"A little." I pick myself up from the floor and turn to face him. "How have you been?" I ask finally, breaking the awkward silence.
"Overwhelmed…" he sighed. "We've been working hard only to meet dead ends. But prospects look good." He glanced around, taking in the new place. "You moved."
His words are not a question. Instead, they are an actualization of the truth. On Spencer's face I see the toll that the case, my case, was taking on him. His face, normally handsome, was gaunt and thin – it spoke volumes as to how much this hurt him. I feel a pang of guilt for being so distant. But I am not ready to face my past, not yet; I still need to heal.
"Yes, we moved." I pick up my tea and drain the last cold remnants. "Neither of us could stand that slum any more. Care to come up and see the new place?"
"Can't; I've got some work to get done. I just wanted to see that you were settled." Adjusting his worn leather briefcase in his shoulder, Spencer left me standing in the middle of the dance floor.
Trying to ignore the painful meeting of the morning, I throw myself into the creation of my dance studio. I clean, organize and paint. As much as I try, I cannot ignore the hurt that I saw in Spencer's eyes. I keel on the floor in a puddle of soft blue paint and sob.
The rest of my afternoon passes in this manner. My heart aches at my folly, leaving me to sob uncontrollably as I try to paint the walls. The weight of everything that I have been through becomes nearly unbearable. I had been on such a good upswing that I believed that things were indeed getting better. Then I saw the unspoken hurt in Spencer's eyes, and that destroyed everything. I have caused my own undoing.
Suppertime has now come and gone, yet Nadya still has not returned home. I begin to worry; this is not typical behavior for her. I give a little snort; I'm starting to sound like Spencer and Gideon when they talk about their "unsubs". Annoyed, I seize the phone and dial the hotel.
"Housekeeping, this is Mrs. Fielding, how can I help you?"
"Mrs. Fielding, its Anika Paranosz. Is Nadya there?"
"I'm sorry; she left a few hours ago…"
I hang up before she can finish. Panic begins to set in. I grab my purse from the entry table and dash outside. The summer evening is humid as the day's last rays warm the pavement. I set my feet to the most obvious route Nadya could have taken on her way to work. I am nearly running down the street, sandals flapping at my heels. I check every alley that she could have possibly turned down to make her walk shorter.
I am now almost within sight of the hotel. Its grandeur towers above the surrounding buildings, reminding me of the wealth that exists in this country. So far, my labor has been for naught, and my hopes begin to diminish. There is now only one alley that separates me from the hotel. Daylight is rapidly diminishing and I have no desire to be caught alone after dark.
I begin to make my way down the alley, carefully looking out for any signs that could tell me that Nadya had been here. There is nothing. I turn around, ready to head home in defeat, when I trip. On the ground, I come face to face with a shoe. I blink rapidly, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness. Closer examination reveals that the shoe is still attacked to a person.
My heart begins to pound. The body, that of a woman, is covered in dark blood and bruises. The clothes she wore were torn so much that I could not distinguish what they had once been. I can hear my heart pounding violently in my chest. There was no sound of breathing save my own. Already I feared the worst. Nevertheless, all my fear could not protect and prepare me for what I saw next. I carefully brushed aside the blood matted hair to find a lifeless face staring back at me.
I inhale sharply, sobs already beginning to shake my slight frame. "No…" I whisper, not wanting to believe what I see.
A strangled sob escapes my lips. Tears pour hotly down my cheeks and splash onto the pavement. Overcome with emotion, I scramble to my feet and bolt from the alley. I run in the only direction that feels safe.