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***TWO CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN UPLOADED TODAY! PLEASE READ CHAPTER 18 BEFORE CHAPTER 19!***
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ANA
Once Christian had fallen asleep, she managed to slip out from underneath his heavy arm and from his bed. Quickly she pulled her dress down over her head, grabbing her shoes and underwear. Her intention was to make a quick getaway, but she happened to catch sight of him from the corner of her eye as she fluffed her dress back down over her legs after pulling her underwear into place. His face was illuminated in the moonlight, his features softened so much he, for the first time, really looked his age to her. She was so used to seeing his face etched with deep emotions, whether they be anger, sadness, or concern. But as he slept in his bed, he looked so serene. It made her heart hammer against her chest, but also drive home the conclusion she'd already made this evening- he deserved better than anything she would ever be able to offer him. He deserved so much better than her.
She couldn't help but trail her fingers through his soft hair one last time, placing a final kiss to his slightly stubbled cheek. "Goodbye, Christian," she whispered so quietly she barely heard the words. And true to the nature of things, his face scrunched, turning that peace into the look of the troubled man he was when she was concerned. She froze, fearing him waking, but she just reached around blindly, securing the pillow she'd been using in his firm grip before pulling it to him and settling back down into a deeper sleep. She made a silent escape from his bedroom before she could risk waking him again.
She rushed down the hallway, back the way he'd led her earlier, back through the vast, dark great room, making her way around furniture only by the lights of Seattle shining in through the floor to ceiling windows.
She pressed the down key for the elevator, slipping back on her shoes as she waited for the door to open, begging the elevator to not make too much noise and wake Christian. When it finally slid open, accompanied only by a soft, low tone, she stepped quietly into the waiting car, pressing the 'door close' button as soon as she was fully inside.
As the doors slid closed, she let out a shaky breath, leaning back against the wall, her body trembling, mostly from adrenaline, but also from her tortured emotions. She felt disgusted. She felt humiliated. She felt degraded. And she felt like a fool.
Tears prickled in her eyes as the weight of what had happened came crashing down on her. A strangled sob escaped from the back of her throat, and she felt like she was moments away from a total breakdown when the elevator slowly stopped and the doors began to part.
She dashed at her tears and looked up, finding two people looking at her.
She immediately plastered on a fake smile as she made eye contact with the woman. It must have been obvious she was crying since the woman's eyes softened and a small sympathetic smile appeared on her face.
Ana couldn't look at her, couldn't handle the sympathy, so her eyes darted to the man, and her own fake smile wiped away as recognized him.
Christian's bodyguard. Taylor.
It wasn't late, barely past nine, and it was obvious he and this woman had been out on a date as they stood across from her, all dressed up, her hands wrapped around his left bicep as she leaned into his side.
Ana and he locked eyes and she saw his immediate recognition turn questioning as he probably tried to figure out what she was doing crying in the elevator.
She saw his mouth open, but talking to him was the last thing in the world she wanted to do right now. Frantically, she shook her head back and forth, and she watched his look turn to concern. But she just couldn't face him, or any of this, really. So she darted for the gap between the woman and the door, slipping past her and heading for her car without looking back.
She half expected to feel his hand grab onto her, stopping her, or at least hear him call her name, but thankfully neither happened. Once she was in her car, she wasted no time starting it up and getting the hell out of there. The last thing she needed was to give Taylor a chance to tell Christian she was gone and have him be able to catch up with her because she was too stupid to leave the parking garage right away.
So many emotions were coursing through her right now she felt like she could scream. She felt sick to her stomach over what had happened, over the fact that she'd had to make this choice, and over what choice she had actually made. She felt sick for leading Christian on. He was a good man. He didn't deserve that, when all he'd ever tried to do was help her.
But she wasn't his to save. Her problems were too deep for him to change. He was a smart, handsome, kind man and he deserved better than someone as fucked up as she was. He was better off without her. She couldn't, in good conscience, allow him to fuck up his life trying to help her. So when Scott presented her with his plan, as much as she immediately hated it, eventually she realized it was the only option she could take to help herself. School was her only chance to move on with her life. Christian offered her help over and over, but how long would he truly be willing to support her? How long until the novelty of her wore off? And then were would she be? In exactly the same predicament as she was now. The only thing that would ever save her was herself. And to do that, she needed an education so she could support herself in a career independent of Scott. This was her one shot to achieve that. She had to take it. There wasn't another option for her, not if she ever wanted to be free of this life.
But Scott had been wrong about Christian. He'd anticipated one of two things from Christian: him either using her regardless of the situation in order to finally satisfying his sexual attraction to her, or him turning her away for being a unexpectedly disappointing lay. But the reality was, Scott didn't know Christian Grey at all, and he underestimated the goodness of Christian's heart. He hadn't turned her away, or fucked her regardless of her interest level. He'd sensed her discomfort, stopped, and held her while she cried. He'd been sweet and kind. Just like he'd always been.
He cared about her. Christian Grey actually, legitimately cared about her. It was clear as day now that he wanted to be around her, to sleep with her, because he cared about her.
And her? she'd been willing to let him fuck her so she could go to school. And then left him after agreeing to stay.
She would never, never be good enough for a man like Christian Grey. He didn't deserve all the emotional trouble she brought to his doorstep. He was way better off without her in his life.
She'd never felt so worthless as she did the moment she looked down and saw his embarrassed face looking back up at her. Christian Grey, this handsome, brilliant, generous man wanted her- and she could never be deserving his affections. He needed to find someone worthy of his attention. That was why she made the decision to leave. She'd spent so much time turning her back on his outstretched hand. If there was ever going to be a final nail in the coffin of the possible future for them, her leaving after thoroughly embarrassing him in bed surely had to be it.
But, now, Christian could move on. And she would go back to being Scott's submissive, at least for the next four years while she was in school. Maybe once she graduated and could get a job of her own, she could attempt to find an identity all her own. Until then, it was best to maintain the status quo and be diligent to Scott's needs.
She had been told to call Scott as soon as she left Christian's to inform him of what had happened, but she knew if she called him this early, he would be suspicious of how she could have possibly completed the plan in so little time. Scott expected this relationship to be dissolved based off either her novelty wearing off, or Christian being disappointed in sex with her. Neither of those things were the case, but she didn't think it mattered much as long as things were over. And they were over. So she figured she could get away with lying to him about what had happened, and let him think his plan had gone off without a hitch. So she'd tell him that Christian had fucked her until he'd gotten his fill, and then asked her to leave. She'd tell Scott that he was right, that Christian had realized that she was a novelty, and once he'd finally had her, the spell had been broken and he had no use for her anymore.
In order to pull that off, she had to pretend like she'd spent more time at Christian's place than she did. So she figured she would call Scott in the middle of the night and tell him Christian had kicked her out after fucking her every way imaginable. She would tell him that Christian had told her not to ever contact him again, to only address him professionally at GEH if absolutely necessary, and to please request Scott exempt her from any and all meetings in the future. She would let Scott believe that everything had played out exactly as he'd imagined, and he would comply with Christian's 'wishes' to keep her away from him, which would in turn keep her from ever having to see him face to face and risk blowing this whole thing back open again in the future.
She hoped now that the ties were severed between her and Christian, that Scott would be pleased and give her a break. After last night's punishing overuse of her vagina, she was extremely exhausted and beyond sore. Every part of her body ached from all the strain her muscles had gone through due to all of the orgasm denials, as well as having been secured to one spot on the bed for such a long time. She hoped that since she'd taken her punishment without complaint, as well as ended things with Christian, that Scott would be amicable from here on out. Hopefully she'd done enough to make amends for her transgressions. And now all she wanted to do was take some pain relievers and get some sleep. She still had most of her prescription left from when she'd dislocated her shoulder. She'd stuck to mostly Advil at the time because she hated taking prescription narcotics, but she was in such desperate need to relief right now, she was considering taking the strong stuff instead.
She was pretty much on autopilot as she drove home, only really coming back to herself and her surroundings as she pulled into her parking lot. She glanced to the area Scott always parked, making certain his car wasn't there. He really never stayed at her place when she wasn't there, but he had still been there when she left earlier to go to Escala, so she thought it best to check just to make sure he was gone.
With a heavy, desolate, chest rattling sigh, she trudged to her apartment door, barely making it inside the door before more tears started to well in her eyes. She leaned back against her door, blinking up at the ceiling to clear the tears. With another deep breath she pushed off the door, flicking on the lightswitch, turning to secure the bolt lock when something caught her eye.
The tears returned as she slowly made her way to the center of the room. She sunk to her knees, shakily reaching for the torn piece of paper lying conspicuously on the center of her coffee table.
The realization was like a knife through her already battered heart, her already tortured soul.
Scott was never going to let her go.
Christian
Christian stared unseeing at his computer, knowing he needed to work but also knowing he was getting no work done. He'd replayed last night over and over in his head.
He could still hear the subsiding sobs echoing in his bedroom, her head gently rocking against his chest as she nodded in agreement to his request to stay until the morning just before he'd fallen asleep..
The next thing he knew he was being jolted awake by a knock on his bedroom door. He'd sat up disoriented, feeling like it was deep into the middle of the night. But a glance at the clock let him know it was only 9:20. He'd looked down and saw the bed empty next to him and felt his stomach plummet. Then he heard the knock again, followed by Taylor's head popping inside of the cracked open door.
"Sir?' he'd whispered harshly into the dark room, and Christian cleared his throat, trying to relieve the ache of the lump there, before answering.
"What, Taylor?"
"I…" he hesitated. "I wanted to let you know Gail and I just crossed paths with Miss Steele in the elevator, sir. We were coming back up to grab a sweater for Gail before heading off to a movie, and she was exiting the elevator as we were waiting to get on. She was upset- crying. I thought you might like to be made aware. Sir."
"Thank you, Taylor." Christian said, lying back on the bed as his CPO closed the door. He stared up at the ceiling, feeling completely crushed.
Where had he gone wrong? What else was he supposed to do? If this wasn't a sign that he should give up on Ana, then what was?
He stayed up all night long, the question replaying in his head ad nauseum: Should I give up?
He'd tried everything and had been crushed by her again and again. If she wanted his help, wanted him at all, she would have accepted it, or him, already, right?
There was really only one option left.
He had to let her go.
He'd come into GEH this morning unhappy with, but more and more certain of, his decision. He'd tried his best, but maybe she was just beyond saving. Or maybe he didn't have what it took to save her. Maybe she wasn't meant to be his to save. Maybe he wasn't enough of a reason for her to want to leave what she'd always known. Hopefully, someday, a man she deemed worth it would come along and change her mind.
He cringed, then sighed for the millionth time.
God, he was miserable.
He picked up his Mont Blanc and began to absently trace the paper where he'd written her name about an hour ago. Slowly he glided the pen over the neat cursive. Ana
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear his office door open and only noticed that someone was now in the room with him when he caught movement out of his peripherals.
Christian looked up to see Scott Kennedy in his doorway. He couldn't help the instinctive flick of his eyes behind him, checking to see if Ana was there too. He felt the nervousness roil through his gut at the prospect, but it was squashed as soon as Kennedy opened his mouth.
"She's not here, Mr. Grey," Scott said knowingly. It irked Christian that he had been so obvious, but that was quickly erased by a fission of panic at the implication that he'd been obvious to Kennedy. His interest in Ana had gotten her in trouble before. He didn't want to incite any more 'punishments' for her.
"Is there something I can do for you?" Christian asked him dryly.
"No, your assistant is already getting me a coffee," he responded with a smirk. Fucking smart ass. What had him so cocky all of a sudden? Strolling into the CEO's office unannounced, smirking at the boss. No one smirked at Christian Grey. They pandered to him.
"Did we have a meeting today, Kennedy?" Christian asked, looking away, acting completely disinterested as he pretended to go back to work. He was not in the mood to see anyone, let alone the fucker that was ultimately responsible for every fucked up feeling he'd had lately.
"No, Mr. Grey," he said, deftly unbuttoning his suit jacket as he folded himself into the chair directly in front of Christian's desk.
Just then Andrea knocked on the door, walking in with a steaming hot cup of coffee, carefully handing it off. "Can I get you anything else Mr. Kennedy?" he asked, her tone not quite it's normal professional lilt. It was almost flirty. Christian scrutinized his PA and noticed her body language also seemed to suggest that she was attracted to Kennedy. He watched in disgust as she delayed leaving, smiling down at the man she was standing just a tad too close to. He felt his hackles rise at the mere idea of Andrea actually being legitimately interested in Kennedy. Sure, he was an attractive man, but if only she knew how horribly ugly he was inside.
"That will be all Andrea," Christian interjected, startling her out of what seemed to be a little daze. She blushed, nodding quickly before turning on heel and practically scurrying from the room.
Christian watched Kennedy follow her path back to the door, turning to look him in the eye only once she was gone. He knew he was caught checking her out, but he just winked with a grin before taking a tentative sip of his coffee. He nodded his approval of the coffee, raising it up in Christian direction with an impressed nod, before setting it down on the table next to him. Christian watched him adjust his position, crossing one leg over the other, adjusting his suit jacket- all things Christian knew he was doing to try and assert his dominance between the two of them. He was making Christian wait, displaying his confidence, setting the pace, wasting Christian's time, all while sitting in his office uninvited. Christian wasn't oblivious to any of this, but the one thing he wasn't sure of, was why the fuck he was actually here doing it. Finally Kennedy spoke again.
"She's a pretty little thing. A little rigid. I bet she really lets loose once she get out of these doors..." he trailed off, earning him a death glare from Christian. Was he fucking serious?
"Did you come here for something work related, or to try and instigate a sexual harassment lawsuit?" Christian spat.
Kennedy sighed, holding up his hands. "I was just making chit-chat."
Chit-chat. Christian was about to kick him out when he spoke again.
"I wanted to broach the topic of creating a new position within GHI."
"And what position would that be?" Christian asked. And why are you coming to my office without an appointment to discuss it?
"I would like to hire an executive assistant."
"You already have a personal assistant," Christian said, trying to quell the obvious peak in interest. Ana was his assistant. So what was this about?
"My current assistant, Anastasia- you remember her, correct?" Kennedy asked, looking Christian dead in the eye.
"Yes. She presented those reports to me recently," he said simply. There was something here, some hidden power play occurring between them. Christian wasn't exactly sure what it was, but he knew better than to show Kennedy any kind of reaction, since that was obviously what he was looking for. Kennedy knew that Christian knew exactly who Ana was. But as far as Christian was aware, Kennedy didn't know that Christian knew all the sordid details of her life. But somehow he got the feeling he knew of more than Christian realized, and that tipped the scales in Kennedy's favor. He had to be careful.
"Right. Well, she's just not handling the increase in volume of work very well. This move to GEH has done amazing things for GHI. But Ana is struggling with the work load."
"Are you planning to relieve her of her position, since she's not handling it properly?" Christian asked. If Kennedy was willing to let Ana out from under his thumb, this could be a huge step in her gaining some independence.
"No. I feel there is more than enough work to justify two positions. Ana often has to stay behind to handle things here while I'm traveling. And since our client base outside of the Pacific Northwest has increased tenfold, I am traveling often. I, and as a result, GHI and by extension GEH, would greatly benefit from having an additional body. I could leave the executive assistance here to run things that are in the wider scope of what Ana handles now, and that will free her up to perform the job she is meant to do- personally assist me."
"Well, executive assistant is a higher title than personal assistant. It comes with higher pay. Your current PA would most likely want to be given that job, and you can in turn higher someone to replace her as your PA."
"Ana will take the job I tell her to take," Kennedy said dismissively.
"If we create the position, it will be available in house first. Anyone would be able to apply for it, including her. And HR will hire who they deem most fit for the position available. I remember the report she put together. It was very thorough and well presented. And with her experience and knowledge of the company, she's likely to be best suited for that position."
He saw Kennedy's jaw tick. "Well, regardless, Mr. Grey. Ana will likely turn down an offer from HR to remain at the position she occupies now. She knows her place. And that is with me."
Christian felt the veiled hostility behind Scott's words. For whatever reason, he felt the urge to probe him rather than divert attention from the topic that was obviously antagonizing him. He wanted him riled, wanted to piss him off. A million emotions had raged in Christian in the last two days, and he was having a hard time holding back the urge for a big cathartic release of them all.
"And where is Miss Steele? It think would be pertinent to hear her opinion on this directly."
"Miss Steele is not at GEH this morning." Kennedy replied, saying her name with venom.
Christian couldn't fully hide the fact that this piece of information grabbed his attention. He knew he'd visibly tensed for a moment. Why wasn't she at work? He tried to cover it by looking away in disinterest and speaking monotonously.
"Is she ill, or is she just working off site? I'd be willing to carve out some time later to speak with you both." Scott shot him a confused look, cocking his head in interest.
"She took a personal day, Mr. Grey. Why are you so defensive of her? And so seemingly eager to see her?" Because she left me last night. Because she agreed to stay but she left and even though I know I should walk away from her, I can't, and I need to know she's okay…
Lost in thoughts of her, compounded by misery, Christian missed the way Kennedy's demeanor changed slightly, the way he regarded Christian a little differently all of a sudden. What he couldn't miss was the sudden movement as Scott stood quickly from his chair and pointed an accusatory finger at Christian's face.
"You're in love with her."
Shit.
He watched a sneer form on Kennedy's face.
"She told me you told her to leave! She told me you kicked her out, that you used her and were done with her! That you told her not to approach you at work, not to come to meetings, not to ever speak to you again unless she absolutely had to! But you're fucking in love with her! Which means that little bitch lied to me! Again! When I get my hands on her-"
It broke him.
So much had happened. So many pent-up emotions had been and were churning through him and he just snapped. With a grunt, he threw himself from his office chair and around his desk. The first satisfying crack of his fist against Kennedy's face was like a weight lifted off his chest. God he wanted to do that for so long. It had taken Kennedy a moment to react at all, he'd been so completely blindsided by the attack since he'd busy ranting to himself about Ana. But once his brain caught up with his surroundings, he managed to throw a punch of his own, landing it right on Christian's jaw, while he roared, "What the fuck, Grey?!"
"How dare you just waltz into my office, spewing all of your bullshit before calling Ana a bitch! How dare you sit there and openly threaten to harm her you sick fuck!"
"Ana is mine! I can say what I want about her because she belongs to me!"
"She doesn't belong to anyone. She's a person! She's not your property!" Christian shouted before taking a punch to his ribs that knocked the breath from his lungs.
"The fuck she isn't! I've owned her for years. Every single fucking part of her. She's an adult. If she wanted to walk away, she could. But she doesn't. Because she has always been completely happy with our arrangement, never even second guessed it until you came along and tried to take her from me!"
"You don't know what you're talking about," Christian spat. Ana was not happy. She was brainwashed.
"Of course I do! I know everything about you two-" he growled as they both scuffled, trying to gain the upperhand.
"I don't give a shit what you think you know."
"I know that she fucked you last night because I told her to fuck you," he said with a smug fucking smirk. "I bet you give a shit about that, huh? That she came to your place last night to fuck you because I told her to and she always does whatever her master tells her to do." he boomed, catching Christian off guard with a punch to his kidney. "I can threaten to punish her because she is mine to punish as I see fit!"
"You're the one who deserves to be punished. I would happily pay for the privilege to kill you with my own two hands! You deserve to rot for what you did to her as a child, for what you've continued to do to her all of these years! She's smart and beautiful and brave and you kept her from realizing her true potential. You stole her innocence and you stole her chance at life. But I can give it back to her! I can give her everything she deserves, including genuine love."
"You're pathetic. Love. Ana doesn't want love. Do you know all it took for me to get her to agree to fuck you? School. She agreed to fuck you in exchange for a college education," He chuckled darkly. "Not that I'm going to let her go. She damn sure doesn't deserve it after the way she's acted, sneaking around behind my back with you. Do you know what she came home to night, after fucking you like she was told? I tore her college application in half and left it for her to find. That's what I can do to her. That is the power I wield. And it's only just the beginning for her."
Christian released a primal scream from deep within his chest as he reared back and charge, spearing Kennedy and slamming him down onto the floor. He climbed on top of him, pinned him down, and wrapped his hands securely around Kennedy's throat. "You think you're a big man taking advantage of a lonely teenager? Huh? Abusing a woman? Psychologically? Physically? Well, let's see how you like being on the other side. Let's see how you like being choked to unconsciousness!" He screamed, securing his large hands tightly around Kennedy's throat and squeezing without mercy. He watched the older man's green eyes bug out as he clawed at Christian's hands. All of his senses focused singularly on Kennedy and his reaction- his face slowly turning darker and darker red, his eyes bugging out, the struggling gurgles escaping his slacked jaw.
"Christian!"
His intense focus was broken when he heard a booming voice yell behind him. His hands eased back a little, allowing just enough room for Kennedy to suck in a breath. "You have to stop. You can't do this, Mr. Grey. You can't kill him. Especially not here in your office."
Christian looked up and saw Taylor looking cautiously down on him, like he was a wild animal.
"He deserves it," Christian gritted out, his grip tightening again.
"Yes," Taylor agreed. "But you'll be arrested."
"My dad is the best criminal lawyer in Washington."
"Even so, you'll spend time in jail."
"So. what," he said through heavy breaths.
"So, Ana needs you." Christian's gaze shot back up to Taylor. "She needs you."
Ana.
Christian's arms went slack as he sat back on his haunches, watching Kennedy twist halfway onto his side as he pulled in deep, painful, gasping breaths that devolved into a fit of coughs.
He stood up and wordlessly started walking toward his office door, but halted and turned heel, striding back over to where Kennedy still laid prostrate on the floor gasping. He yanked him up, slamming his back into the closest wall, pinning him to it with his forearms across Kennedy's chest. "This is your first and last warning. Stay away from Ana," he gritted out before cocking his arm back and landing one final blow to the side of Kennedy's face, watching his body slump to the floor in an awkward heap.
"Take care of that. I'm going to see Ana," he said to Taylor, who shot him a nod and a 'Yes, sir' before going to tend to Kennedy.
The drive to her apartment was a blur of cars and lights and buildings. He debated scenario after scenario in his head of what could happen when he showed up at her place. Best case scenario was that she let him in willingly, right away. Because if she tried to turn him away, he didn't know how he'd get her out of her apartment, and there was no way he could leave her in there. After everything that had happened, after every hate-filled and threatening invective Kennedy had spewed, Christian knew Ana wasn't safe. She could never be left alone with Kennedy again. That chances of his anger causing him to go overboard were too great. He'd choked her to unconsciousness already. Next time, he could kill her.
As Christian made his way to her door, he decided to try calling her phone first, but there was no answer. It just went straight to voicemail. He'd seen her car outside, so he knew she was home. He tried her phone once more as he continued toward her door, and once again it went to voicemail.
He hung up as he reached her apartment, knocking rapidly on the door as soon as he was within reach. He waited, albeit no more than five seconds, before knocking again, more urgently, this time calling for her through the door.
"Ana? Ana! Open the door, please!"
He knocked again, called again, waited, but she didn't come to the door. He felt a wave of panic rush through him. What if Kennedy had been lying? What if he'd already hurt her? The thought made him feel sick, the bile rising in his throat, his anxiety skyrocketing.
He reached for the door knob, expecting to find it locked, but instead, it turned with no resistance. His heart jumped to his throat as he pushed the door open, calling for her again.
"Ana? It's Christian. Your door was unlocked. Are you okay?"
He listened, but heard nothing. His eyes sought out the paper Kennedy had mentioned, the college application torn in two and left for her to see in the middle of the coffee table, but there was nothing there.
"Ana?" he called out again, his concern intensifying as he noted the document was missing. Maybe, hopefully, Kennedy had been lying about his newest way of devastate her life. Maybe he'd just made that up to get a rise out of Christian. But something in him knew that he hadn't lied, and that meant Ana had already discovered the cruel act.
His body sudden snapped into overdrive, and he catapulted himself down the hallway to her bedroom, hoping to find her well. He rushed through her bedroom door, only to find it empty. Her bathroom door was closed, but it looked like a light was coming from underneath the door. He held his breath listening for any sign of movement from the other side, but heard nothing.
He slowly moved further into the room, his voice lacking any strength when he called out to her. "Ana? Are you in there?"
He waited with bated breath, but nothing.
He reached a hesitant hand to the doorknob, twisting and pushing it open.
All of the breath left his body and he slammed down hard, his knees hitting the tile floor with a painful thud.
Lying half on her side next to the tub was Ana. Lying near her were the torn remnants of the neatly filled in University of Washington application. And lying near that was an orangish-brown plastic pill container. Christian took in Ana's appearance- pale and motionless on the floor. He reached for her with trembling hands, finding her skin cold.
"Jesus Christ," he cried out, his voice cracking. "Jesus Christ, Ana. What did you do? Baby what did you do?"
He wrapped his hands around her limp body, pulling her up against his chest as he cradled her carefully.
"Sir, what happened here?" an urgent voice spoke behind him. He looked up in a daze, recognizing the man looming over him. Luke Sawyer. "Sir, what happened?" he asked more urgently, taking in the scene, and making a move for the empty pill bottle lying on the light blue bathroom rug. "Shit!" He spat, whipping around and reaching for Ana. "Have you checked for a pulse?"
Christian squeezed her tighter to him, a strangled sob escaping his throat as he shook his head no.
"Sir let me check her. You need to call an ambulance while I check her, sir." But when Christian made no move to allow Sawyer access, he snapped.
"Mr. Grey! Christian! I need to check her pulse. You need to call 911. Now! Every second matters. Do it! Now!"
Christian nodded, releasing his grip and helping Sawyer to lay her gently on the floor. While he did whatever he was doing, Christian took out his phone and dialed 911."
"911, what's your emergency?"
"I need an ambulance, please," he practically whimpered. "My- friend. I think she swallowed a bunch of pills and... overdosed," he managed to choke out.
"Have you checked for a pulse, sir?"
He lowered the phone from his mouth a little, swallowed back the thick lump in the back of his throat, and asked, "Does she have a pulse?"
He noted the look of concentration on Luke's face as he pressed his large index and middle finger to Ana's pale neck. Luke's eyes rose to meet his, dark brown to terrified gray.
"Yes."