A.N. Wow! I didn't know anyone was actually reading this. Hehe. No promises on the next chapter though.

Enjoy!

Chapter 8

Disastrous Happenings

Roger made a hasty excuse and left the house almost the moment they stepped back inside. He didn't even pause to say goodbye before he was out the door again and speeding down the drive. Anita fought off her tears, but she couldn't muster the energy to tear her eyes away from the front windows.

"Come on, missy," Gretchen called for her. "Plenty more work to do."

Anita shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay," she answered quietly and made her way to the stairs to collect her supplies.

"You alright there, girlie? You're as pale as a ghost."

"Oh, um, yes. I'm fine, thanks."

Gretchen squinted at her for a long moment, but eventually she seemed satisfied. "Finish up upstairs, but after that I'm sendin' you home."

"Yes, ma'am." She didn't even think to argue. Going home sounded so much better.

o.O.o

Anita pulled the vacuum behind her, hands wrapped in the long heavy cord as she made her way to Joseph's room. She knocked; just to make sure he wasn't about, but the door was open wide enough for her to tell it was empty.

Joseph was a bit tidier than Roger; his room was almost too clean, really. She'd never seen so much as a misplaced sock in his room, but he left the vacuuming and dusting for them to do. Anita moved swiftly to dust the shelves, eager to get done so she could flee to the comfort of her own bed. She was in such a hurry that she accidently knocked one of his polo trophies to the floor. Who had ever heard of anyone playing polo around here anyways?

The trophy landed with a muffled thud on the soft carpet, and she let out a huffed curse as she bent to retrieve it. "Well, well. Maybe you aren't so stuffy after all. I was beginning to think I was the one from the streets."

Anita straightened up an instant later, clutching the heavy thing in one hand. "Not funny, Joseph. I'm about done, then you can have your room back."

"No need to leave," he said with a smirk, leaning against the door frame. His eyes danced with humor. It was amazing how he and Roger could look so similar and be so very different. "What has my loathsome brother done to you? Are you fighting?" he asked then, still a little too up beat for her taste. "I was wondering when the honeymoon was going to end."

She growled under her breath, but did her best to bite her tongue. Yelling at him wasn't going to make her feel any better. "I just feel a bit queasy. Nothing's wrong with us." At least she hoped so. They just needed a little space.

"That's a shame. I'm still betting on a big break up though. Especially when he leaves next week."

A lump formed in her throat and all her little fears that she worked so hard to stomp out began whispering in the back of her mind. "He's only going to see about some work. And then he'll be at school."

Joseph snickered at her, finally moving from the door way, only to step up closer to her. "So many temptations when you're far away though. Honestly, you should be begging him to stay. Or asking to come with him. Aren't you worried? Some smart, pretty girl with an eye for science could come along…"

She was worried that something like that might come up, but she wasn't about to let him know it. "Roger isn't like that, Joseph. You and I both know that. Besides, he'll be back in November."

"Yes, yes he will. But three months is a long time. Especially for guys."

She blushed scarlet. "Fine, I'm done here. Goodbye, Joseph."

"See ya," he said back. She could feel his eyes on her until she disappeared around the far corner.

o.O.o

Gretchen had called for the mysterious driver to take her home. She'd never met him, and she'd only once caught a glimpse of the sleek limousine he drove for the Darling family. The balding man nodded at her and placed his cap on his head before popping open the rear door for her.

Anita climbed inside, taking in the rich leather interior. "Where to, miss?" he asked the moment he too had climbed inside. She couldn't see him through the thick, black glass that separated them, and assumed that his voice was coming from the speaker above the seats.

She paused. Anita desperately wanted away from here. Before she could be embarrassed, she rattled off her address and was thankful that she couldn't see the man's face.

He didn't say another word, just started the engine and left her to her own thoughts. It wasn't long before the tears over whelmed her.

In truth she hadn't put much thought into this part of her relationship, not really. All the big things had taken over. Love, marriage, family, all of that had seemed more important than that, but now that the time had passed, she desperately wished she had put a little more effort in.

Surely it wasn't supposed to go that way, but she wasn't really sure either. It wasn't a subject that could ever be brought up in her family. Her father might have a heart attack, and her mother was likely to have skinned her alive.

She was inexperienced, true, but she hadn't been expecting the pain. It still kind of hurt, actually, even to just sit where she was. Anita didn't think he had torn anything though, but she hadn't really checked either. Maybe she was just faulty.

Roger hadn't given the action another thought however, until somewhere about the middle. And at first it had felt so good… She hadn't wanted to tell him to stop while it felt like she might explode at any moment. But once he had stopped to think, well, it turned sour. He had stepped away from her almost instantly after he had finished, looking so ashamed of himself.

When he disappear a few minutes later she had been lost, what had happened that had caused such a chasm to open between them.

Perhaps, if she had thought about it earlier, she might have consider the fact that Roger, who had had an eternity of free time, money, and plenty of good looks and charm, perhaps he wasn't quiet as inexperienced as she was. Another thing he had up against her.

She must have looked a mess by the time the car slowed down and her old blue gray house came into view. Anita muttered her thanks as she slipped, unaided, out and shut the door quietly behind her. She wiped her eyes and trotted across the street, pausing only when she saw the shiny black exterior of Roger's car.

Both ends of the street were empty, just the rusty husks of some of the neighbors cars parked against the curb and the shiny monster that seemed to be watching her. She checked behind her one last time as she approached the door, but still there was nothing. Maybe it was her imagination. Or a mirage. Surely he wouldn't have just left the car parked there.

The front door was locked and she had to fish in her pockets for the key, all the while keeping her ears at the ready. The dog's booming bark from their slip of a back yard made her nearly jump out of her skin.

"Bandit!" she called. "Hush now!" It didn't help, the dog was still barking away. Anita gave up looking for her key then, she had already checked all four of her pockets twice, and still had come up empty handed. She sighed, her day was just going so great, and slumped to the stairs.

She paid no attention when the back gate rattled a few minutes later, thinking the dog must have been pushing against it. In fact she didn't look up until she could hear the achingly slow footsteps on the side walk.

He caught her eye, the way he always had, but there was no smile on his face, and the light behind his chocolate eyes seemed to have died out. He looked grief stricken. Her heart ached, and she knew that this was how she must look, except that her eyes were red rimmed and blood shot.

"Roger," she breathed, just as he called her name.

Anita stood, ever so carefully, and took a step closer to him. Roger cast his eyes to the ground, as if he could not bear to look at her for one more second. "Anita, I – I just wanted to apologize. I had no idea… It shouldn't have gone like that. I'm sorry."

She sniffled. "It's not your fault, really. It's mine."

He looked at her then, puzzled. "How could it have possibly been your fault? You were frightened, I'm sure. You even tried to stop me, but I didn't realize, not 'til it was much too late."

"But I'm… I'm broken," she guessed that was the right way to say it.

He laughed at her, but not with his overwhelmingly happy laugh. No, this was more of a nervous chatter. "Broken? You are the most stunning creature I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. How could you possibly be broken?"

She blushed; too busy being embarrassed to take the compliment. "I – It… It kind of…" she lowered her voice until it was so quiet he could barely hear her, "…hurt."

Instantly Roger tensed up, retreating back to his stony, broken expression. "Oh god," he whispered to himself. Both of his hands twitched, as if he was warring with himself over whether to hold her or to stay away. At last the former seemed to win and he pulled her against him softly.

It wasn't enough, and soon she had her face buried into his chest, and the tears returned with vengeance. "What's w-wrong with m-me?" she managed between sobs.

"Nothing, nothing," he chanted to her. She could feel his chin move against the top of her head as he spoke. It still didn't feel that way.

o.O.o

Hours later Anita woke to the sound of voices downstairs. She blinked, trying to piece together what was going on. Roger had eventually carried her up here and tucked her in her own bed, but only after he found her missing key lying off the side of the stoop where it had fallen in her hasty search for it. The light streaming in from her bedroom window was orange tinted, so it must have been sunset.

Stephanie poked her head through the door a few moments later, looking surprised to find her. "You okay?" she asked before bouncing onto her own mattress. "You don't look good at all."

"Thanks, Steph," Anita croaked as she pulled herself up. Her throat and eyes felt very dry.

"You'll never believe what happened to me today," she started in, as if she hadn't heard her speak at all.
"Danielle totally stole some of those little lip gloss tubes they sell at Wal-Mart, you know? But when the guy came up to ask what we were doing she shoved them in my bag. Why would I steal purple lip gloss? Like that would go with my complexion at all."

Anita sighed; she couldn't even muster up enough energy to tell her sister off. "Steph, really. I don't feel good. Can we talk later?"

Stephanie blinked at her, but nodded. "Sure thing. Hope you feel better!" she said before bouncing back out the way she'd come.

When had her perfect life gotten so messed up? With a groan, Anita pulled her blanket back up over her head and tugged her pillow closer. So many things were wrong, and she couldn't help but think that it was only going to get worse.