Authors Note:

So here it is, Ana's story. I kept changing the way I wrote this but I finally decided on this version and I hope I did it justice. Thank you again for reading!

Chapter Thirteen:

CPOV:

I can't believe how the last few hours have played out, looking at my watch and realising it's almost 2am I look at the most beautiful girl in the world fast asleep next to me. If I look closely I can still see the tear stains on her face, I realise now just how much she means to me and how I would willingly do anything for her. When Elena appeared unannounced and told Ana about my fucked up life, I was convinced Ana would walk out even after I asked or more like pleaded with her to stay and she did at first, she stayed and asked for an explanation from me, I was unwilling to give her one, I didn't want her to have all this shit inside of her own head but being the true Ana she is she kept on pushing and pushing me until I finally snapped. We argued, we screamed at each other, I threw things across the room! Fuck! She even slapped me across the face but I can't say I didn't deserve that, I didn't want to admit to myself the true nature of Elena's fucked up ways, I was a fully grown man, it would be weak if I admitted it especially to Ana and with that she did walk out and I did nothing to stop her. I don't how long I stood there after she walked out, Taylor soon snapped me out of it though and I realised I was crying, I don't cry, ever. I knew then I needed to go after her so that's what I did, first I tried calling her phone only to then hear it ringing, I ran out of the penthouse as fast as I could, she had no money, no phone, no jacket to keep herself warm, I couldn't even begin to think about what could happen to her. With Taylor following me, I ran out of Escala and onto the streets, I took a lucky guess in which way I went and I thank god it was the right one, I eventually find her sat in a bar, straight away I move but stop when I see someone approaching her, Taylor stands at the side of me making sure I don't do anything completely fucking stupid, this guy is only talking to her and I want to rip his throat out and beat the shit out of him. Taking a few deep breaths I walk inside, she doesn't see me, her back is to me and I call her name. As soon as I did, she immediately turned around and ran to me and I willingly tucked her into my arms. She was safe.

But looking at her now, I realise she's not safe, she's far from it, she's running, she's been running all her life, even since she ran away from home when she was thirteen. I reach out and stroke her cheek with my fingertips, a slight smile plays across her face, I lean over and kiss her on the forehead and think back to our conversation earlier.

"I promise…" I tell her and wait for her to start talking. I watch her and she takes in deep breaths before starting.

"When I was kid, I thought I had the perfect family, I had two loving parents, I was always a Daddy's girl, as a small girl he was my best friend, my hero no matter what anyone said about him. When I was five, he was murdered and left me and my Mother all alone, we didn't have much money, we got by as best we could. It wasn't long, possibly only a couple of months before we found out my Dad had another life, a life he'd kept secret from us both, I'm guessing to protect us I'm not really sure. He'd gotten in deep with some kind of gang, he'd gotten in so deep he couldn't find a way out, his way out was death but he left us behind. The gang he was involved with bought, sold traded drugs, heroin, cocaine, whatever it was they had it, they had guns too to protect themselves. I don't know how they found us, but they did, by this point my Mother had begun to hate me, I was only five and she started to blame me for everything, my Dad's death especially I couldn't really think for myself or speak up for myself at that age so I just took it. When this gang did find us, we were took hostage, I was a hostage until I was thirteen years old, apparently it was all part of us paying our debt…" she pauses for a moment and looks at me, I squeeze her hand tightly to encourage her to carry on.

"…I think the only good thing they ever let me do was go to school, but I was followed, I was followed everywhere I went just in case I tried to run away. I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone, I wasn't allowed to make any friends. That was my life, my Mother had turned against me, I was on my own at this point, from the age of five I was completely on my own. If I did something wrong, well actually even if didn't, I would be beaten, burnt, kicked in the stomach, tied up for days without any food, only the tiniest bit of water to keep my alive, I was in and out of the hospital several times. My Mother took me to the hospital, she made up all sorts of stories to the doctors about my injuries and they never questioned it because the doctors I would see were all part of the gang and money talked, it talked a lot." I pull her closer to me, I want to say so much but the look on her face tells me to keep quiet, she needs to get this all out in the open.

"…When I turned nine years old, things changed, things changed dramatically. My Mother was getting married, she was getting married to the leader of the gang, she was so hooked up on drugs, she hated her own daughter for no reason. I tried to convince her she can't marry him, but for that I would be starved for days, my own Mother would do that to me, at only nine years old I was slowly beginning to hate her. Once they got married, they both disappeared for a few weeks, I was locked in the basement of this house, no light, nothing. I wasn't allowed to go to school for those few weeks, the only time I would see anyone was when someone brought me food. When they came back, things changed again. I was allowed my own bedroom, apparently my new Step-Father wanted me closer to them so I couldn't escape. I'd gone back to school, if I failed one test or one homework I would be punished severely. One night, I was in my bedroom and my Step-Father came into my room, he'd never been near me up until that point, he told me I was to be given a job, a job that would help him out a lot and make him a lot of money, I was to be a part of his drugs trade, I was forced to help him sell drugs to people at nine years old, I wasn't playing out in the streets with my friends, no I was trapped in hell. I couldn't do it, after the stuff I'd seen, I was smart, I knew it was wrong so I refused and refused and refused…my Step-Father got angry with me so he beat me so bad I almost died whilst my own Mother watched him do it…" she starts shaking and tears start to form in her eyes, I pull her closer still, I realise that what's she's already told me is nothing in comparison to what's she about to tell me. I squeeze her tightly trying to emit some strength into her, she takes deep breaths whilst I hold her and she carries on.

"…On my tenth birthday, my Step-Father came into my bedroom and sat down next to me, I was terrified of him so I didn't look at him. At first all he did was stroke my leg or my arm, he told me it would be our little secret as I was now his special little girl. He would come into my room almost every night after that, I tried several times to get him away from me…I tried everything, I would even injure myself so I would be taken to the hospital, anything really to keep him away, it didn't work. From my tenth birthday up until I was thirteen he would come into my room and…" she stops completely, probably because she feels me physically shaking next to her, I want to kill him. I look up at her and see tears pouring down her face. I don't think I can hear anymore but I know this is not the end of this story.

"…He always made comments about the way I looked, about how I was developing as a young girl, it made me feel physically sick and on many occasions I was violently sick. He'd gotten over stroking my leg or arm, he now touched my breasts or put his hand up my thigh, unbuttoned my jeans and touched me, he never kissed me though. He told me he would stop if I started working for him but I didn't want to give up school, I loved it, I loved books, I loved reading. He told me I didn't have too, he didn't want me for what he originally wanted me for anyway, at first I didn't understand what he meant and because I was so scared I said I would, I'd do anything if it meant he would stop. He did stop for a while, but it soon became clear about what my job was, at just past eleven years old I was there to please other men, I was there for them to look at, to touch and in return I got food or water…" she's crying uncontrollably and I pull her onto my lap and let her cry and cry. I tell her to stop, she doesn't have to carry on, I couldn't stand seeing her like this. She insisted in carrying on, she wanted me know, she wanted to get it out. I keep her on my lap as she starts talking again.

"By the time I was thirteen, I'd given up, I wanted to end my life, I wanted out. I hated my Mother, I hated my Dad for leaving me, my Mother knew exactly what was going on because she sometimes watched but she was too drugged up to realise I was her own daughter. On my thirteenth birthday, I made a pact with myself, I either got out now, not caring how or end my own life, if I couldn't get out , I would not live another day, I refused. That night, my Step-Father came into my room and locked the door behind him. He actually put a pack of condoms on my bed, I knew what was about to happen, before I could do anything, he pinned me down on the bed, I was small, very thin and weak there was no way of fighting him off…he ripped off my top and unbuttoned my jeans whilst all I did was scream but nobody cared. He took off my bra and began touching me, he bit me, scratched me, the more I screamed the more he would do it. I can't really explain how I did it, but the bed side lamp was a perfect weapon, I screamed more and more to distract him, it worked and I managed to get hold of it and I hit him over the side of the head…it worked, I knew I hadn't killed him, but I had knocked him out, he fell on the floor, I knew I had minutes to make my escape, I grabbed hold of my t-shirt and a jumper and ran, I ran as fast as I could…on my way out I saw a gun, I took it, I got out, I'd escaped hell…" I notice she's not crying anymore, unlike myself, tears are pouring down my face and I can't stop them. She looks up at me and wipes them away with her hand, I don't know why but I kiss her lightly on the lips, once I've pulled away, she tucks herself under my chin, and holds onto me tightly.

"Even though I'd escaped one hell, I knew I'd be facing another, I had no money, no phone, no friends to call, all I had was a gun, I was once again completely on my own in the middle of Detroit. I walked and walked until I couldn't move anymore, I found a dark, dirty alleyway and found somewhere in the dark to sit down, I didn't even cry, I didn't do anything, I found some newspaper and whatever else I could find and made a make-shift bed, I fell asleep eventually, I woke up the next morning and realised what had happened the night before and then realised again that I was free, all I had to do was keep it that way. I think I stayed there for a couple more days before hunger got the better of me. I was never found, for three years I lived on the streets, I'd made friends whilst on the streets, they taught me how to survive, how to get money, basically how to steal from people. I was now sixteen years old, I was still pale, very thin but I'd become stronger, I was tougher, I wasn't going to let anyone take my freedom away from me. I was walking down the street one day when I spotted my Mother, she didn't see me, I only saw her for a couple of seconds before I disappeared, that was the last time I ever saw her. I realised in that moment, they all needed to be stopped, including her. I went to the police station and told them everything, absolutely everything. Because I'd been kept hostage for so long, I gave them names, addresses, everything I knew about the gang. One police man, I think his name was Ray helped me, believed me, and made sure I would never be found, he was nice. He said my best option would for me to be put into witness protection but I couldn't do it, all I asked for was advice on where to go to change my name and some money to get me out of Detroit for good, and that is how I ended up here, I still have that gun though…" I don't say anything, I don't need to either, she knows I'm here and she knows I won't go anywhere. Her breathing has changed and I know she has fallen asleep in my arms, gently I stand up with her safely in my arms, I am never letting her go. I carry her through my penthouse and into my bedroom and lie her down gently, not wanting to wake her up, she's exhausted and to be honest so am I. I lean down and kiss her before moving away, she whispers my name and the word "stay", I make a vow right there that I will never leave her side.