Chapter 26: No Promises

Author's note!

Didn't check this one through, so please pardon any mistakes. Just a heads up, my exams are coming up and them teachers be crazy. Anyone studying Mansfield Park, Othello, Streetcar Named Desire, Duchess Of Malfi or Woman Warrior? My lit is sinking faster than the Titanic. Enjoy this one (:

Please leave a review, thank you. If not I'd be lost.

The sweat trickled down my forehead as I pounded it in, my wrapped fist making contact with the material over and over. It was beginning to ache and I was starting to get tired. Dropping my right hand, I kept my steady stance and lifted my left hand to get at it.

"Come on, Ana." He crossed his muscular arms, watching me with a very unsatisfied glare. "You're not even trying."

But I was! Leaning back deeper into my squat, I slammed my fist into the fabric and took it up a notch once more. The sweat was starting to get in my eyes and I just wanted to quit. Standing up, I turned to face Claude. The man's biceps were rolling as fast as his eyes, his abs on display as he waited for an excuse he knew I would give. "I'm trying!"

"This is your tenth training, Ana. I'm not seeing any progression." Claude took great pride in training his students, a record which I must have dampened if he was taking this so personally. "Why can't you give me a good punch?!" With that, he brought his fist to the punching bag and we both watched as it flew quite a distance before swinging back.

Working out always made me feel slightly woozy. "I'm trying."

"You know what, I think you lack motivation." Claude straightened up and strode over to his humongous gym bag. You could find close to everything in there. "Now, are you sure Christian won't be home?"

I sighed. As if I needed to be reminded. "He's off for a week in Japan."

A sneaky smile spread across Claude's face the same size Gollem's was when he found the ring. "Brilliant." He whipped out a piece of paper and some tape. "This might just work." He mumbled to himself as he flipped over the paper to reveal a close-up of Christian's serious face.

"What's that?" I was curious, stumbling over to watch him fasten his face to the punching bag.

Claude took a step back and grinned at me. "Motivation." He explained. "I know he gets on your nerves, so why not rage at him?"

I was not too sure this was a good idea. "Is that even right?"

Claude nodded at me. "It's all in the mind. Now," he positioned the bag. "Get. Angry!"

Dropping down into my core-clenching position, I clenched my fists against my chest. Thoughts of Christian ran through my mind. The asshole had constantly neglected me for his business, had acted so violently possessive and jealous all the time, had distracted me with extravagant gifts, had left me once more to handle work! My blood boiled instantly and I felt my cheeks heat along with it.

"PUNCH HIM!" Claude shouted.

The bag was suddenly Christian and I hated the look on his face. "AHHHHH!" I shouted loudly and lashed out at the bag, throwing my clenched fists, alternating between left and right.

"HARDER ANA! THINK OF ALL THE SHIT HE'S DONE."

Slept with Leila. Slept with Leila. Slept with Leila. Mustering all the strength I had, I drew the energy from within my abs and delivered a hard one to the bag. Claude and I both watched in awe as the bag swung up into the air. "GOOD J-" Claude was beginning to cheer when suddenly, Christian took revenge on me. The huge boxing bag dropped, whacking me face first onto the floor.

The pain stung my face and my butt was traumatized at what had just happened, my abdominal area singing with the workout I had just underwent. Claude fell to his knees beside me, "Oh f***!"

"What is it?" I probed, the numbness spreading to my nose.

Claude's eyes grew wide as his fingers hovered over my face. "I'm fu**ed." His head whipped back to search the room. "LUKE! GET IN HERE!"

Immediately, Luke entered the gym. "Need me to throw you around again, Claude?" Came his arrogant banter. But once his eyes locked onto my face he pointed at Claude. "You're f***ed."

"What is going on?!" I demanded, folding my arms.

Claude lifted me to my feet and walked me over to Luke. "I know," he said worriedly. "Can we just get her nose checked first?"

Luke pursed his lips and took custody of me. "But this is your fault, understand?" He narrowed his eyes at Claude, who was beginning to pack his stuff.

"Of course it is!" Claude was exasperated. "I'll make the call to Christian myself. Just get her out of here!"

"What's happened, Luke?" I whimpered. "I can't feel my face."

Luke had an arm wrapped around my waist in support as he led me out of the room and into the kitchen. Gail was busy cooking lunch, "Hello A-" She halted mid-greeting as she saw me. "Who did that?!"

"Claude." Luke shook his head, helping me up onto the stool.

"I'll call the doctor." Gail told Luke and scurried off.

It was only then that the warm liquid met my lips and the metallic taste of my blood became apparent. "Ana, you might have broken your nose."

"BROKEN MY NOSE?!" I shouted, my hands flying up to check but yet I could not feel anything. Luke caught my hands and pinned them to my sides.

"Keep still, would you?" He opened the fridge and hunted for a while before pulling up a handful of ice. Wrapping it in a kitchen towel, he handed it to me. "Against your nose."

Taking the chilly cloth from him, I did as I was told and winced as feeling returned to me. The pain was beginning to be nauseating. I groaned.

"Now now, sweetie. Doctor's ten minutes away." Gail soothed as she continued fixing up my lunch. "Let's get some food into your system first."

"I'M SORRY, MR GREY." Claude was losing it as he clambered noisily out into the living room. "IT WAS BAD JUDGMENT ON MY PART." He had pulled on a grey tank top to cover his beautifully sculpted abs. "It was an accident!"

It was rather ironic that the one person who had trained Christian to become so fit and strong was now frightened by him. Thankfully, the rage Claude had helped me stir up was still fresh in my veins. Leaping off the stool and out of a worried Luke's clasp, I went on my tiptoes to grab the phone out of Claude's hand.

Christian was in the middle of scolding Claude and telling him that getting me injured was widely unprofessional. Well. "F*** YOU CHRISTIAN GREY." I blared into the receiver. Everyone in the room froze, including the man on the line. "SINCE WHEN DID YOU GIVE A F*** ABOUT ME YOU BUSY BASTARD. I'LL TAKE CARE OF MYSELF. AGAIN. HAVE A NICE DAY."

With that, I ended the call and handed it back to Claude, who was gaping at me. "Thank you." I said sweetly, walking back to Luke for him to tend to my nose.

"Feisty one, ain't she?" Luke raised an eyebrow at Claude, lifting me onto the chair again so he could dab at the blood.

"If only she could bring that to the gym all the time." Claude shot back. "Ana, do you want me to stay with you?"

I was beginning to feel the exhaustion creep into my system. Getting angry was the remedy I had needed to soothe the frustration within me. "It's okay, Claude. Thank you."

"No, Ana." Claude smiled. "Thank you."

Gail graciously showed him out of the apartment and on the way back in, brought a young-looking blonde lady to us. "Ms Steele, I presume." She said brightly, reaching out to clasp my free hand with hers.

How did she? "The broken nose." She explained. "I'm Dr Wesley, just sit back and let me give it a check."

Unwillingly, Luke made way for the lady doctor. She planted a white box on the top of the counter beside my food and opened it to reveal layers of medications and equipment.

"Ana," Luke drew my attention to him, he was holding up his phone in his right hand. Of course, the iPhone was flashing with Christian's face. "I'll have to pick this up. "

I rolled my eyes at the thought. "Go ahead." I knew I was going to have to deal with my little crazy moment eventually.

Luke nodded at me and sucked in a deep breath to steady himself, then pressed the machine to his ear. "Sir." He paused to listen then scanned me quickly."Her phone's not on her."

Christian must have called Luke as a last resort having been unable to reach me. I had left my blackberry by my bed side, I was late for my session with Claude and had to rush. "Where's she?" Luke said it aloud for my benefit, as if asking me to come up with an appropriate response.

"I died and went to heaven." I said with the straightest face I could.

Without thinking it through, Luke repeated my words before stopping abruptly."She died and-"

I giggled at his folly and winced at the agony beginning from my nose. Dr Wesley gave me a stern look before proceeding with dabbling cool alcohol all over the area. "No sir, she's very alive. She's having lunch."

That was not what I had asked him to say. I pursed my lips at him which Luke shook his head at. "Of course." He offered the phone to me and I waved it away. "No, she refuses to speak to you." He flinched at the shouting Christian had begun to do.

"I'll try again, but the chances are slim." Luke knew me better than to try again, instead, for Christian's benefit, he remained silent for a brief moment before continuing. "I told you, sir."

"Tell him I say he's an asshole." I piped up from around the good doctor as she began putting in place a brace.

"No, I'll not." Luke was addressing me without realizing that Christian was on the phone again. Clearly, Christian was not one to be patient. He sighed. "Sir, Ms Steele just wanted you to know that you're an asshole." I beamed at him.

"Ms Steele, your nose is not broken, the mid portion is just bruised and a little shaky. I've put in place a brace to support it, please avoid strenuous activity." The doctor pulled out a bag of medicine and lay them on the table, beginning to clear up all the bloody wads of gauze and tissue. "Ms Steele, this is the pain killers. Thrice a day or when necessary, I'll arrange our next date."

"Thank you for coming." I tell her the same time Gail does. She had came so promptly to attend to me, unlike a certain someone else.

"My pleasure, Ms Steele." The attractive blonde flashed her white teeth at me.

"I'll see you out." Gail put her hand out and guided the kind lady towards the door.

Luke grunted. "It's not a broke nose, sir. Just a little bruising." His eyes crossed my posture quickly, leaning against the marble table top. "She's still in initial shock, so the full pain won't kick in until much later."

That was news to me. As if the torment I was currently experiencing was not bad enough, the numbness my body had developed to protect me was going to slip away and leave me to God knows how much pain.

"Christian says he loves you." Luke conveyed the message.

"Ana says he has to prove it with quality time." I howled loud enough for Christian to catch it on his own.

Luke smiled at me, indicating that he did get the message. "Yes sir, I'll see you then." Keeping his phone, I was curious.

"When did he say he was coming back?"

Luke beamed at me, a full-blown one. "Tonight, Anastasia."

My heart pumped at the thought. He had been gone for three days already and it was enough to make me angry and craving his love. If he really had gone through with the week he had planned, I doubt I could stand living in this quiet apartment alone.

"You're a naughty one, throwing a tantrum to lure him home." Luke shook his finger at me with a teasing look on his face.

I shrugged and gave him the most angelic look I could offer. "A girlfriend can only hope she would never resort to such low measures."

Luke folded his arms and laughed, "You're going to have to deal with his anger though. Because he did sound angry."

I lost my smile at the thought of it. Coming home tonight would mean doom for me. Christian Grey was an in-the-moment kind of a guy. "How angry?"

"Fu-ri-ous." Luke was enjoying himself.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'll tell Christian you've been sharing my bed."

His mouth dropped and he narrowed his eyes. "That's not true."

"But the green-eyed monster in Christian won't rationalize it like that." I said with a smirk, knowing that I had won this battle.

"Your loneliness is getting the better of you, Ana. Go out and do something with your life. Anything." Luke poked me in the arm.

"I have work." I pointed out.

"Yes, but the rest of the time you just sulk around waiting for your prince to come home." Luke rolled his eyes at me and I was once again reminded why this thoroughly annoyed Christian.

But then again, there was some truth in Luke's words. Maybe if I spent more time doing more things, I would barely notice when Christian was busy. Alright. That was the plan. However, there would no longer be strenuous activities for about a week until my follow-up, so that drew Claude out of the picture.

"Ana," A familiar voice echoed through the apartment and I raised my head to find Elliott sauntering in with a huge beam smacked across his face. "How are you."

"Elliott?" Was I even expecting him?

As he drew closer he pursed his lips. "Yikes. You don't look too good."

I rolled my eyes. "No shit, Sherlock."

He threw both his hands up in the air in mock surrender. "We've got a bad ass here!" Then he laughed, hi-fiving Luke. "Why the bad mood, sugar?"

Resting my head against my palm, I sighed loudly for dramatic effect. "What are you doing here, Elliott?"

"As if you don't already know." He narrowed his eyes at me, as if waiting for me to get it.

"Christian sent you." I should have known earlier.

"Of course he did." Elliott chuckled, stealing a fry from my untouched plate of food. "When you get punched in the nose, refuse to pick up his calls and pretty much tell him to f*** off, I'd say it's Christian-like to send forth his most trusted partner." Elliott gestured to himself and then sneaked a few more fries. "After all, Ana. You're his most valuable asset."

That seemed to arouse the anger within me once more. "IM NOT HIS FU**ING ASSET." I hollered through gritted teeth, close to howling like a wolf to prove my point. I was driven crazy with all this talk about mergers and acquisitions, stocks and assets, inflation and general price levels. I just wanted Christian back.

"Woh-woh." Elliott chanted, as if trying to calm a crazed horse down. He turned to Luke, "It's about his business isn't it." Luke did not even have to answer.

Spinning to me once more, Elliott placed a palm against my right arm. "There, there, sweetheart." It seemed to soothe me a little, anything would with Christian gone so long. "I'll tell him he needs to spend more time with you."

I nodded my head at him sadly. "Please do." I mumbled. "It's like he's put me on display," I raised my engagement ring, "He won't use me for the rest of his life."

Elliott wrapped his palm around my raised hand and brought it back down to my thighs. "Cheer up, Ana. Christian will be home soon." The thought of it did indeed cheer me up. "How about you, Kate and I go out for some shopping?"

My head snapped up at the word. That sounded time-consuming with Kate's name thrown into it. Elliott knew he was halfway in. Squeezing my hand he hitched his voice a little higher to mimicking a girl's, "Lets go... Shopping!" And as if he had not made my day already, he went on to say, "My treat, beautiful."

By the time I was on the way up to Escala, it was closing in on midnight. With no doubt, Christian would have been trying to reach me already. However, I had accidentally left my phone back in my room and he did not try Elliott or Kate anyway. My heart pounded in anticipation of being with Christian once more, to feel him against me. I knew that I would have to answer for my outburst, but after that, it would all be worth while.

Elliott and Kate had honestly helped time to pass quickly, with Elliott picking out every sexy outfit he could lay eyes on for me and Kate shoving me into changing rooms to try them on. Once they proved to fit, by the time I had finished changing back, they would already have been bought by Elliott and in Luke's strong arms.

The elevator 'pinged' as it came to a halt at the penthouse. I took in a deep breath as the doors rolled open, expecting to see Taylor step out into the foyer. But he did not. Alone, I climbed out of the elevator and into the empty foyer.

Alone.

Even Gail had gone to sleep. "I'm sorry, Ana." Luke said, dropping my hauls on the floor as he came towards me.

"Where is he?" I whispered, lost in more ways than one.

Apologetic, Luke's voice was guarded. "I got the call on the way up, I think you should listen to your voice mail." He reached for it, it had been sitting on the coffee table. "Christian got Gail to put it here for you."

As if that was going to sweeten me up after my fall. I gave him a sour look and snatched the phone. Dialing my voice mail, I pressed play for the waiting message.

"Anastasia, I know things aren't going great between us now. I'm sorry, baby. I honestly tried to leave tonight to return to you, but things turned critical. I would be there if I had a choice, Ana. But I don't. I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry I let you down. Please, trust me. We'll make it out of it. Out of this. I love you, Ana. Never forget it."

The beep sounded and I slowly put the phone down. "Ana..." Luke reached for me, his arms coming around me in comfort.

"NO!" I yelled at him, violently shoving his arms away from me. He jumped in shock and I ran. I ran towards the kitchen, where I knew Christian kept all his best hard liquor.

Luke sprinted after me, worried that I would kill myself. "Ana?"

This upset me so much because Christian had filled me with the hope of his return only to snatch it away. He was filthy rich already, so why couldn't he let this one go? I was in pain, under strong meds and highly insecure at the moment. I needed him. I needed him. But he was not here. I felt the tears brim over my lids and roll down my cheeks as I grabbed the darkest liquor I could find.

"I don't think you should do that." Luke advised, trying to take the bottle from me.

I turned my back against him and popped the top, chugging it down. The alcohol taste was pungent, but this was the fastest way to drown our sorrows known to mankind. It tasted foul, but it was going to do the trick.

"That's enough!" Luke shouted, his hands strangling mine around the bottle.

Yet, the liquid kept pouring down my throat and I lifted it further, forcing it down at an increased rate. It burned my throat as it did and I could feel it slosh in my empty stomach. "ANASTASIA." Luke jerked the bottle from my hands so quickly that it slipped, crashing to the flour and exploding into a million pieces with what was left of it.

Through my tears and my now foggy thought process, I knew I had just drunk more than seventy five percent of the liquor. "I want to leave him, Luke." I cried, rushing to his side and wrapping my arms around him.

Luke's hand pressed against the back of my head as he soothed me. "No you don't, Ana."

I shook my head into his side," I don't." And knew it was the truth. I just wanted him here, I wanted him to be by my side and not attached to his work all the time. "But he doesn't love me."

Luke laughed. "We've been here before, he loves you, sweetheart."

I clutched onto Luke a little tighter and heaved. "What's happening?" Gail appeared in her silk nightgown, having been awoken by the entire racket. "Oh dear, what's wrong with Ana?"

Luke shook his head at her, drawing me closer into his side. "She's taking the boys' absence a little harder than you are."

"I'll clean this up, poor dear." Gail pulled up her sleeves and got to it.

"I'm sorry, Gail." I whispered and wiped my tears against his shirt.

Luke patted my back, "Thanks Gail, I'll put her to bed." He began to lead me to my bedroom when Gail shrieked.

"No no! There's broken glass everywhere." Gail barricaded us from the scene. "Mr Grey has to come home to her nose in this state already!"

Without any warning, I felt Luke's arm slip down lower as he lifted me wedding-style. "I've gotcha." He reassured me as I squealed in surprise, barely enough energy to make more than a peep.

"Watch it, Luke." Gail warned, brushing the broken pieces to make a path for him to take.

"Night Gail." We both said in unplanned unison.

Luke turned me just in time to catch her sweet smile as she waved at me, "Have a good rest, Ana."

Gingerly, Luke carried me to the bedroom that I shared with Christian. Regardless, my head was spinning and I felt like throwing up. Maybe I could have downed a couple of beers instead. The hard liquor seemed to jump about in my stomach, sending uncomfortable shivers up my spine. Gently, he placed me upon my bed sheet and helped me to let go of him.

"Ana, will you be throwing up tonight?" He questioned softly against my ear, aware of my heightened senses that could tip me over the edge at any moment. I gave him a curt nod. "Alright, I'll set up a pail on your side."

As my eyes began to close, I felt him lift the comforter from below me and placed it over me. It was warm and soft, soothing in more ways than one. But before I could give myself away to utter exhaustion, I had one more thing to do. Forcing my eyes open, I found Luke by the bed, watching me. "Thank you, Luke."

His smile was still visible in the dim light as he tucked me in further. "Good night, Ana." As his hands began to fall, I instinctively reached for a hand and clasped onto it for security. The warmth in his palm radiated to mine, a feeling I missed. "What is it, sweetheart?"

Drifting off once more, I managed the last few words. "Don't leave me."

As I sank into the darkness, I was confronted with the fact that I was very alone. Everywhere I turned, everywhere I looked, I was alone. There was nobody here and it was very cold. The darkness echoed through my dreams and rebounded into my heart. My world then began to quake and my body shifted, I knew this was the end.

Suddenly, arms came around my waist and I was shaken from my sleep. Groggily, I forced my eyes open to the mild early morning light. "Luke?" Holding my hand through the night must have became tiring and he eventually brought himself onto the comfort of the mattress.

The home around me made me stiffen. "You have no idea how that makes me feel."

My sense became alarmed and I jumped, turning around. "Christian?"

There he was, lying on his side with his head propped up by his palm. Even in the darkness, I could make out his eye bags. He was dressed in a wrinkled office shirt with the collar undone and his boxers. The movement made my head whirl a little. "What time is it?"

I was probably still dreaming.

Christian yawned. "Six forty five in the morning." Observing my distant response, he sighed and began to sit up. He looked crinkled in every aspect, lacking sleep entirely. "Look, Ana, I'm sorry."

But none of it mattered to me. Not now. All I wanted was for him to return to me and he did. So I was satisfied for now. Not giving him a chance to elaborate or further apologize, I pounced on him and we both fell back on the bed together.

He was shocked but I held my ground, slinging my arms around him tightly. "Hold me."

And thankfully, for now, I was sufficient for him as well. Christian embraced me, clasping me tighter to his chest so that the only thing separating us was the fabric of our clothes. Gently, his hand cradled the back of my head as he tucked me into the nape of his neck and we both drifted off to sleep.

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No Promises ; Shayne Ward

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