*Ana….Ana…...Can you hear Me?*
I recognize the voice I'm hearing, but I can't place her voice. Why is it so familiar? I feel someone take my hand and is holding it.
*If you can hear me squeeze my hand. Squeeze once for yes and once for no. Do you understand?*
I squeeze the hand once. It's so soft.
*Do you know where you are?*
I squeeze the hand twice. I wonder why I can't open my eyes. I'm trying but they're not opening. I try to speak, but I feel like something is stuck in my throat.
"You're back in the hospital. Do you recognize my voice?"
Panic is setting in. How did I end up back here. Why am I here? Why would Christain bring me back here. Then it hits me the voice is Christian's mom Grace.
"Ana I need you to calm down and slower your heart rate. You are safe. Christian has hired security to stay outside your door and no one is allowed in but me." Grace states.
My heart rate starts to lower and she lets go of my hand. I hear her moving around. Then she speaks again "All of your x-rays have came back and your ribs still need to heal. You seem to have been punched in the nose which has swelled. It's so swollen that your eyes are shut. You have two black eyes from whatever hit you in the nose. We have inserted a breathing tube down your throat to help you breathe. When you came in two days ago you weren't getting enough oxygen and you kept passing out. We will be taking your breathing tube out tomorrow and giving you oxygen thru a tube that will be inserted into your nose. You will be able to remove it and put it on whenever you feel you need oxygen or lightheaded. For now go I would like you to get more rest and I will be in tomorrow morning to remove your breathing tube. I will be giving you some more medication now to help with the pain. You will fall asleep quickly because I'm inserting it thru your IV. I'm inserting it now and I will see you in the morning."
There is so much information going thru my head. At least for some reason for the first time in month I feel safe. Christian saved me from Jose. I have so many questions I need answered. The medication must be kicking in because I'm falling asleep.
XXXX
"Good morning Ana." Grace's voice wakes me. She startles me because for a brief moment I forgot where I was. "Ana I need to remove your breathing tube. When I tell you to I need you to cough as hard as you can. It will be painful."
Great I that's what I want to hear first thing in the morning. I'm going to be in pain. I hear Grace moving around and moving something. I was listening to machine that would beep whenever I took a breathe, but I don't hear it anymore.
"Alright. Here we go. Cough as hard as you can." Grace states.
Holy shit this hurts. I feel the tube come out and start coughing. She sticks the breathing tube she talked about in the nostrils of my nose and the coughing stops.
"Great job. Can you try and open your eyes for me?" Grace asks.
I try very hard to open my eyes, but I just can't get them open. I try to speak and Grace stops me "Don't speak right now. Let me get you some ice chips and we will try to have you speak in a few hours. Just rest right now and focus on breathing. I'm putting a button in your hand. If you need anything press the button. I will be right back with the ice chips."
I keep trying to open my eyes but nothing. Grace comes back in and gives me some ice chips on a spoon. She stays with me for about 15 minutes spoon feeding me ice chips. It feels so good going down my throat. I hadn't realized how dry my throat was. Grace excuses herself from my room and tells me I should get some rest. Sleep finds me quickly.
XXXX
"Hi Ana. It's Kate. Can you hear me?"
I'm trying so hard to open my eyes or speak but nothing. I put my arm towards where her voice is coming from and she takes my hand and puts her hand in mine.
"Oh Anna I'm so sorry this happened to you. I feel like this is my fault." Kate state's crying.
Why would she think this is her fault? She didn't do anything. As if Kate can here me thinking she continues. "If I wouldn't have left the hospital I could of told them that you weren't married to Jose and that he is bat shit crazy. I'm so sorry." Kate cries for a little bit. Then she starts talking about some guy she meet a club. His name Is Elliot. He does construction. She goes on and on about him. She stays holding my hand the entire time she here.
After some time Grace walks in "Hello Kate."
"Hello Grace." Kate states.
Do they know each other? What the heck?
"Ana would you like to try and speak?" Grace asks.
I nod my head up and down in a yes motion. "Your throat will be still be sore from the tube in your throat, so try to only whisper for now." She explains.
I try to tell Kate it's not her fault but it comes out raspy.
Grace "Try to speak again. Remember to speak as a whisper. "Kate it's not your fault." I whisper.
"Oh Ana. I'm so happy to hear your voice." Kate says a little louder than her usual tone. "Yes it is my fault Ana."
"No Kate. It's not. Jose has a lot of money and probably paid off the night shift doctor and the police officer." I whisper.
"Well that explains a lot. I will call the chief of police first thing in the morning to have this case looked into. But, for now we are keeping you hear until the swelling goes down on your nose and you're able open to your eyes." Grace states. "The swelling has gone down a lot since you first came in, so I suspect you should be able to open your eyes tomorrow."
She checks my vitals and excuses herself from my room.
"How do you know Grace?" I ask Kate.
"Oh, She is Elliot's mom." Kate says.
Elliot is Christian's brother. Grace is Christian's mother. Is there any of his family I haven't meet yet? Then it hits me where is Christian. How is he? Did Jose hurt him?
"Kate. The man who brought me here is he okay?" I ask.
"He's fine I think. I never saw him, but he's been sending you flowers, so I'm assuming he's fine." Kate states.
He's been sending me flowers. How thoughtful of him. I'm so happy he showed up at Jose's house when he did. Otherwise, I would be in a lot more pain then I am now. Jose is crazy. What am I going to do when I get out of here? How will I hide from Jose. I don't want to ever see his face again. "Kate can you help me file a restraining order against Jose?" I ask.
"Yes. I can, but you have to talk to the police and tell them what happened to you."Kate states.
I don't want to tell anyone what happened to me. I don't want to relive those memories. Plus Jose said he would kill me if I ever left him. He has at least one cop friend. How will I know the cop that comes to take my statement isn't working for Jose.
"I'm to scared to talk to anyone. How will I know if the cop they send in isn't working for Jose?" I ask.
"I won't leave you Ana. You can talk to them in front of me, so I know you won't get hurt." Kate says.
I just nod my head. Am I ever going to be safe from Jose. The thought is overwhelming me. Grace must of given more medication because I'm slowly drifting off to sleep.
XXXX
When I wake up the next day I try to open my eyes. I slowly open them and can see all of this bright light in the room. I push the nurse call button and almost immediately Grace comes in.
"Good morning Ana." She states.
Wow I wonder what time I fell asleep yesterday. I whisper to Grace "It's too bright in here."
"Let me close the blinds." She states. I hear her walking and then hear the blinds closing. "Alright the blinds are closed."
I try opening my eyes and then they open. It's still bright to me, but I blink a few times and my eyes adjust to the room.
Grace speaks "I'm going to run some test. Following my pen." I do as she instructs. "Good. Now follow this light." I follow the light. "Now look up… look down…..look left…...look right…Good. Your eyes seem to be fine. I don't see any broken blood vessels or trauma to your eyes."
I let out a breathe I didn't realize I was holding. That test made me nervous. I was worried she was going to say something was wrong with my eyesight from being punched in the nose. She checks my vitals and excuses herself from my room.
I look around and see the beautiful flowers Kate told me about from Christian. They truly are beautiful. I have three different bouquets, but they are all white roses. They have cards on them. I want to read the cards. I press the button on my bed to page Grace because I have no clue if I can get up. Grace walks in.
"Grace can I get up. I feel stiff." I say.
"Of coarse. I just need to remove your catheter." Grace says.
How embarrassing. She pulls my blanket down and has my put my legs in a butterfly position. She slowly pulls the tube out and cleans me up. "Now And, I'm going to help you get up. I'm going to have you sit on the edge of the bed for a few minutes in case you feel lightheaded. If you feel okay then I help you stand." Grace explains.
She helps me sit on the edge of the bed and I feel the need to ask her about Christian. "If you don't mind me asking how is Christian? He told me you're his mother."
"He is doing well. He wants to see you. I told him you will call him when you're ready for visitors." Grace says.
"I'm glad he is doing well. Did you call the police chief this morning?" I ask.
"Yes I did. He will want to talk to you, so when you're ready to talk let me know so I can call him down here." she states.
"Okay, but not now." I whisper.
"I understand. Ready to try and stand?" she asks.
I nod my head and up I go. It feels so good to stand up. I walk over to the flowers and take a deep breath inhaling their smell. They smell delightful. I grab the card on one and it just says Grey. I grab another one and it says Call me. Then his number. Then there's the third card that says Call me please. Awww he cares about me.
"Grace can I use the hospital phone?"
"Sure. Just press nine and then the number you want to dial." she says.
"May I have sometime alone to make a phone call please."
"Of coarse. Just push the call button if you need me." Grace exits the room and I walk over to phone next to the bed. It's a rotary phone. I've always used my cell phone to make calls, so this should be interesting talking on a phone with a cord.
I pick up the phone and dial Christian's number. My heart is pounding. I'm very nervous. He picks up after the first ring.
"Grey." He states with a harsh tone.
"Um… hello.." I whisper into the phone because Christian's voice scares me.
"Who is this?" He says with a clipped tone.
"It's Ana." I say shakily.
"Hello Ana. How are you feeling?" His tone of voice changed and he has a normal tone of voice.
"I'm doing well. How are you?" I ask.
"I'm doing well. Can I come visit you?" He asks.
"Sure." I say smiling.
"I'm in a meeting right now, but I will come by afterwards. Say three o'clock." He asks.
"Okay. I will see you later then." I say
"Yes. Bye Ana." he says.
"Bye Christian." I say smiling. I hang up the phone and I can't help the smile that is probably plastered on my face. How do I thank the man that helped saved me from Jose? Not once but twice. The first time he hit me with his car which I guess doesn't really count. The second time he brought me here to safety.
Grace brings me in food and stuff to take a shower. She shows me the nurse call button in the shower if I need help changing or anything. She helps me remove my bandages and walks me to the bathroom. She puts towels and a clean gown in the room for me. She excuses herself and I turn on the shower. It feels good to be taking a shower. The warm water feels good. I feel like I smell from laying in bed the past few days. It calms me and I spend longer than I should in here. I get out of the shower and slowly dry off. I carefully dry myself off. I see the wounds that are starting to heal on my body. I look in the mirror and I hardly recognize myself. My nose is very swollen and my eyes are swollen as well. They're bruised badly. I'm surprised my nose isn't broken. I let my arm to touch my nose, but I'm starting to have a problem breathing. I pull the call button and Grace comes into the bathroom quickly.
"Ana is everything okay?" Grace asks.
"I can't….. I can't breathe….." I say.
She pulls me over to the bed and sits me down. She puts an oxygen mask on my face and I can feel myself passing out. I try to speak, but the darkness overcomes me.
XXXX
I need to stop passing out. I open my eyes and see that gorgeous man who saved me. He is wearing a suit with the top two buttons undone on his shirt and no tie. He's on his laptop. I wonder what he's doing. I cough to get his attention, but I regret as soon as I do. I feel instant pain from my ribs. Christian moves to my bedside. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. Just my ribs." I reply. He smiles at me and moves a strand of hair from my face and takes it behind my ear. His touch sends shivers down my whole body. "Are you cold?" He asks. "Yes a little bit." I reply. I can't tell him it was from his touch. He press the call button on my bed for and in comes Grace.
"Ana how are you feeling?" she asks.
"I'm fine. What happened?" I ask.
"You went without oxygen support for too long while you were in the shower yesterday. I hooked you back up to your oxygen machine and I've been monitoring you all night." She explains.
I was out for a whole day. Who knew a lack of oxygen would make you pass out for so long. I look at Christian "How long have you been here?"
"Since yesterday around 3." Christian states.
"Oh." I reply. Why would he stay with me if I was passed out. How strange.
"Now Ana. We will be releasing you from the hospital in two days with an oxygen tank as long as you don't black out again. Is there anything you need from me?" she asks while checking my vitals.
"No. I'm fine." I reply.
She finishes checking my vitals and leaves the room. As she leaves a man enters the room. Christian looks at him and excuses himself while they both step out the room. While he's out of the room I fix my hair and try to make my gown look nice. There's something about him that is drawing me towards him. I can't put my finger on it. Just then he comes back in the room with someone dressed in a police uniform.
"Miss Steele this Chief Dominguez. He needs to ask you some questions about Jose. Kate has filed for a restraining order for you and he needs to hear from you what happened." Christian says.
"I…..can't…..I mean…." I say with a shaking voice. I'm terrified of Jose. What if he finds me and knows I told the cops. I can't say anything he will kill me. As if Christian is reading my mind he answers me "Jose in jail. When I walked outside of his house I called the police immediately. Jose and I fought a little bit before the police arrived and arrested Jose."
I sigh in relief. I can't believe he's finally in jail. "So, if I tell you what happened Jose can't come near me if for some reason he makes bail or something." I ask.
"I don't see Jose being released on bail anytime soon. Now can you tell me what happened?" Chief Dominguez asks.
"I don't really want to talk about it. He chained me up in I'm assuming his basement and whipped me a lot. I have the scars to show it. He hit me with a belt, a whip, a cane and even his own hands." I say and start to cry. My crying leads me into full blown sobbing and I have no idea if Chief Dominguez asked me anymore questions, but when I finally calm down he has left the room. Christian is sitting next to me on the bed holding my hand. I look down at our hands and he removes his hand from mine. I instantly feel sad he let go of my hand.
"I need to tell you about what was discovered at Jose's house. Do you want to hear about it?" He ask.
"Yes." I reply.
"Well after I put you in the backseat of my car I had my personal security guard Taylor rush you to the hospital…" I interrupt him "You have personal security?" I ask. "Yes I do." he says. "Why?" I ask. "That's a story for another time." he says. Well that's weird why would he need personal security. He continues his story. "I ran back inside and held Jose down, so he wouldn't move till the cops arrived. When the police arrived they were taking pictures of his house. They took photos of the entryway, kitchen, and living room. The knife you stabbed Jose with was still in his leg when the police arrived by the way." This brings a smile to my face. "They checked the house for signs of abuse and when they went down in the basement they found 5 other women chained up down there. They were badly whipped and bruised. They were also severely malnourished. I don't know who the other girls were, but because you tried to escape you may have saved those other girls life. You were so brave to fight back Ana." he says with a proud look on his face.
"I'm scared Christian. What do I do when I leave here? I'm to scared to go anywhere he knows of." I say almost crying.
"You don't have parents you can call or family?" he ask.
"I have no one. My parents died in a car accident about a year ago. I have nowhere to go." I say as tears and about to fall.
"You will stay with me." He says firmly.
"What? I don't even know you." I say.
"Well you don't have any other options and I can provide you with security. Stay with me at my apartment until your ribs are healed and the swelling in your nose goes down. Then decide what you want to do." He says.
"I can't…. I mean I don't want to be a burden on you." I say.
"It's fine Ana. I have plenty of room in my apartment. You can stay there where it will be safe." He says.
"Alright." I say.
I huge smile is on his face. When the door opens. In walks a man "Sir, we need to leave for the evening. Visiting hours are over."
Christian looks at me "I have to go now. I would come visit tomorrow, but I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Call me when you're being released and I will be here to pick you up."
I nod at him and he leans down and gives me a kiss on my cheek. It's warm and comforting. He waves bye as he exits the room and I wave back. I can't believe I'm going to be staying with the man who rescued me not once but twice. I don't know how to say thank you for everything he's done for me so far.
I grab the controller and turn on the TV and watch some TV. I'm not tired probably from sleeping so much the past week. As I'm flipping thru the channels I start watching the news. I see it's almost 11pm and it's going to be raining this week. I drift off sometime after one in the morning watching I love Lucy re runs.
XXXX
Today is the day that I will be released from the hospital. Grace came in this morning and checked my vitals and gave me fresh towels to use to take a shower. She told me to take a quick shower, so I'm not off oxygen for long. She also brought in a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and a pair of sneakers. She told me this was the best she could fine for me in the hospital. I send thank you and she left the room.
I take a shower and put on the clothes Grace gave me. It feels good to be in clean clothes I think. I'm so glad to be clothed. Spending months naked has never made me want to wear so much in my life. The clothes will hide my scarring and wounds that are still healing from the beatings.
At noon Grace comes in with a packet full of paperwork of how to change my bandages and how to use my oxygen. She tells me to return to the hospital in two weeks for a follow-up appointment. After she puts everything in a plastic bag for me she walks out of the room and I call Christian. He answers on the first ring.
"I'll be right up." Is all he says and hangs up. I look at the phone confused and within a matter of two minutes he wheels in a wheelchair and comes in my room.
"Good afternoon Ana." he says.
"Hello." I reply.
"Ready to go?" he asks.
"Yes. I just need to grab my flowers and the paperwork in that bag there." I say pointing over to the chair in the room.
"Don't worry about it. I will have everything brought to the apartment." he says.
"Let me just grab the bag. It has information in it for me to read about my injuries and how to care for them." I state.
He grabs the bag. "Alright Miss Steele. Let's go."
"Alright. Let's go." I reply. I get up and walk over to the wheelchair and let him wheel me out. When we get to the exit I see the same man from yesterday who told Christian it was time to leave. He opens the door to an all black Cadillac. I get up and climb into the back seat. Christian closes the door and walks around the car and gets in on the opposite side of the car in the backseat with me. The man gets into the driver seat and starts to drive the cadillac.
I look out the window as we drive away. I keep looking around outside and every person I see I keep thinking it's Jose. I look down at my bag and see an envelope inside. That's strange I don't remember Grace showing me an envelope when she was talking to me.
I pull out the envelope and my heart skips a beat. It states:
I will find you Bitch. Once I do it will be the last breathe you ever take.
-Your Master-