Chapter 3
An entire year had passed since that night.
Nine months earlier they moved to a cottage in a small town in England. The relocation program might have overdone it, sending them across the Atlantic to a whole other continent. But by happenstance- they had a distant relative there.
More or less, they were actually content with this. Moving to England was more refreshing than they had expected it to be. The town was small and charming- buildings of stone bricks, cobblestone roads and small farms. Their 'distant relative', was a middle aged man with graying brown hair by the name of Edgar Banks. Together with his wife Mary- a charming lady, with a sunny disposition that matched her golden hair- they owned a small retail store in town. Anna immediately accepted the job of cashier there.
The Banks had a twenty-two year old daughter. Margot, was a petite young brunette woman with green doe eyes, who had inherited her parents' pleasant bearings. She had just come home from college, spending the summer in town. She and Anna got along well, and the one way she did it, was by taking her distant cousin out for a night in the town, getting her acquainted with some close friends.
To think, they disappeared off the face of America, hiding away in this little dot on a map. For a second, she had almost felt gratitude to the military. But she doubted she could ever forgive them. They still had occasional calls from Halway. In time, Anna and Luke had begun to look to her like an older sister.
The pain had ebbed away over the months. She was more sullen these days. Her brother was the same as he was before, but with obvious reasons.
Anna's primary focus was to go to college. Luke had continued his education in a local high school. Life went on.
She was going to start University in a few months. Anna felt a warm sensation at the thought. She realized that it was the feeling of hope. She often thought about the events that led up to each day she was living, and hid away in the bedroom for most of the time- making mix CDs that she would listen to. She removed the songs that reminded her of him. Anna couldn't stand the thought of him.
The mornings were cold, the days a little warmer, but the nights were the coldest. Figures. She was in England. Her curly hair had lost its volume. It could be the weather or maybe she just stopped maintaining it. Anna decided to perm it. It was still blond but wavy.
She liked staying at home, but when she wasn't, she'd be in the store or with Margot. Luke liked to wander off in his spare time. He met a friend that he often brought home. Anna was glad that he finally met someone that resonated with him.
Mary and Margot also liked teaching her how to cook. This was one of her favorite past times, second to creating music.
Life was coming together and Anna felt more at home than she ever was since Afghanistan took their brother away.
But the feeling of anxiety often wormed its way back. Whenever it did, Anna would drown herself in music and she would lose herself in it.
…
It was late in the afternoon when their doorbell rang. Anna hadn't been paying much attention, more invested in the new mix she had just made. She was the only one at home.
The doorbell rang again, thrice. This time she noticed. She stopped playing the music and removed her head phones. The silence was not quite welcoming.
Suddenly, she felt a sense of trepidation. It was just her and the knocks on the door.
She walked to the foyer, slowly moving to the door to place her palm on it. Hesitantly, she looked through the peephole. With a sigh of relief, she opened it.
"I thought you had your keys."
"Forgot them." Luke said as he stepped in, followed by Rob.
Luke had acquired a small accent over the months. Good. It meant he was socializing. He was also looking better; his hair was shorter, cleaner. His hoodie was down now. Anna smiled at this pleasant change, then at Luke and his friend.
She turned to lock the door. But stopped in front of it and frowned to herself... That felt odd. Suddenly, she had become very anxious and did not know why. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Anna spent a great deal pondering over it.
The next night, Margot took her out to the local pub. "Come on. I could use drink. You could too." The brunette smiled cheerfully, dragging her cousin with her.
The heavy smell of smoke and alcohol smothered them as they entered the room. The first thing she noticed were the clearly under aged customers huddling together in small groups. On the far side of the pub was a small circle of Margot's friends, calling them over to their table.
"Margot! Anna!"
"Hey guys!" There was such a stark difference between their demeanors that Margot looked to like she was glowing.
"What's the matter, Anna?" One girl, Jenna, asked. Anna turned to her, eyes brows raised in question.
"Yeah. You look kind of down." John added.
The woman shook her head, smiling apologetically. "I'm... sorry. I just..."
"Don't pressure her, guys." Margot chided. They sat down with the group. For an hour, they were laughing and drinking beers. Anna had about three bottles. Her tolerance was relatively good. She wasn't inebriated yet. But she did feel the buzz.
"Let's get out of here. I wanna dance." Katelyn pointed to the door. They left the pub and went straight to a night club.
Music boomed into their eardrums.
John had suggested they drink shots. Anna wasn't so keen on it but they pressured her anyway. With a nonchalant smile, she gave in. Five shots of Tequila, she was done for.
They took to the dance floor. The girls had made John promise earlier to keep an eye on whoever got wasted. Margot pulled Anna into the crowd. She felt like sloppy mush, and imagined that she was slithering into the tight spaces between bodies.
"How are you doing?!" Margot yelled through the rave music.
"Fine!" Anna yelled back. The two laughed.
Now she was inebriated. She decided her mind was still sober enough to form coherent speech. But her body language spoke otherwise. She and Margot lost it in the crowd. Their friends stayed together in a small circle. But sooner, each of them began dancing with a partner.
A pair of strong arms turned her attention from Margot. Her cousin merely whooped in approval. Anna was facing a handsome young man with short blonde hair and a charming smile. She found herself giggling at the earlier gesture. She didn't know him, but he was cute. It wasn't a good reason but she didn't think of it. The dance started out as playful then escalated quickly. The man pulled her closer and began to grind. Her current state didn't feel violated and she went with it, grinding back.
Suddenly, her dance partner dipped down and kiss her open mouth. She tasted alcohol but reciprocated. Their raunchy dance lasted a couple more minutes before the man pulled her away. Anna allowed herself to be guided out of the crowd.
"Where's Anna?!" Margot yelled. Her question was drowned out by the club.
Anna realized that he had pulled her into a lonely corner. Before she could ask, he started groping her. His tongue invaded her mouth. Initially, she was stunned- before she joined in. But she soon realized that the man was interested in something far more than erotic touches and hard kisses.
"Nn..No." She managed to say, pushing the guy's face away. She didn't want go too far tonight. He simply ignored this and slid his hands up her thighs, pushing her skirt up. No.
"No! Stop!" She yelled. The club was still louder and the man, much stronger.
"What the fuck?! I said stop!" Anna shoved him away. In his drunken state, the man staggered a few inches backwards.
"Just relax, will you?" Anna evaded his attempt to corner her again but the man quickly grabbed her hand. Anna turned to glare at the man as she tried to shake him off.
"Look, I'm sorry." The man said. But he was clearly not apologizing. He yanked her back into his arms. Anna struggled to get away. She was about to protest once more-
"Excuse me, but is this guy bothering you?" A smug voiced called out from behind. Of course he was.
"Fuck off!" The man yelled.
Anna looked up at the stranger. She could not make out the features of his face. In her near-hazy vision, she only saw a darkened figure, standing against harsh flashes of colors- calm and collected, in a background of outdated electronic music.
The drunk had released her shoulders but still held on to her arm. His attention was now drawn to her apparent savior, jabbing his finger at the man. He yelled once more.
"It's none of your business! So fuck-!" Before he could finish swearing, the stranger grabbed his arm, effortlessly bending it to the point of almost snapping. The drunken man whined in pain, and released Anna's arm. Anna merely stood and watched as this tall dark stranger, knocked the other man down with a sharp blow to the face.
She was at awe. She had only realized it was all over when this familiar stranger was now standing in front of her. She looked up at his face, and it suddenly became clear- as clear as a weird dream could ever be.
"Hello Anna."
OMG. I hope that wasn't too lame. More to come. To be quite honest, there will be little of a 'complicated high-speed chase kind of plot' going on here. Who could it be? :v *shot