Author's note:
Hello all,
I'm glad everyone's still enjoying the story but I saw we were having some concerns about Ana being mute. She is a mute, she can't talk but she can mouth her responses. Any time you see what she is saying is Italicized, she's mouthing it. I know lip reading is very hard to learn, but in this story, apparently people just can XD. We will learn very soon why Ana is mute and how she came to be mute.
Peace, love, and hugs,
MaidSlave
CPOV
As I begin to teach her all that I've learned, I feel that magnetic pull again and scoot a little closer to her. By the end of the hour she can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from memory. Easy I know but I'm pretty proud I could teach her something. She's a very fast learner so I bet if she would take college classes, she would breeze right through them.
"So how well do you play," she soundlessly asks. I'm so glad I'm a good lip reader or we would have some trouble.
"I can play very well. Shall I play for you?" She blushes and she looks as lovely as ever.
"Yes please." I scoot closer to her and begin to play Clair de Lune. I glance out of the corner of my eye and see she has closed her eyes and is lost in the music. As my hands go on playing, my mind wonders where her parents could be, or if she was a child of the foster care system. Can she be cured of her muteness? I wonder if her voice sounds as soft as I imagine it. As the song ends I feel myself wanting to kiss her. I want to hold her lovely face in my hands and pepper it with kisses everywhere. But I know I can't, she would never want a relationship with me. I just need to focus on making her life wonderful and provide every need she has. When she opens her eyes, they bore into mine while she forms another beautiful blush.
"What's your favorite color," she asks after some moments of silence.
"Blue, what's yours?"
"Blue also. What's your favorite season?"
"Summer. It's nice to be out of the office and to be out in the fresh air. And it's a great time to take out my boat."
"You have a boat?" Her eyebrows are almost raised to her hairline and I chuckle at her surprise.
"I do named The Grace after my mom. I'll take you out on it sometime when it's definitely warmer."
"Okay!" Her grin meets her eyes this time and I see tiny dimples that make her oh so adorable.
"Is Jane Eyre your favorite novel," I ask glancing at the book on top of the piano.
"It is I love it so much."
"Then keep the novel."
"Oh no Christian I couldn't."
"Yes you can. If I want another, I'll just get myself another copy." She looks into my eyes, like she's looking into my very soul.
"Thank you."
While Gail is getting supper divided up, I wonder how tomorrow will play out.
"Are you excited about going shopping tomorrow," I ask.
"Yes and no," she states before she looks down at her hands. I give her a confused look hoping she'll give an explanation. "I don't want you to feel like you're my ATM card. I feel bad about you spending money on me."
"Ana I don't feel like your ATM card. I know you would never use me for my money and I am happy to provide this for you, on one condition." She quirks her eyebrow at me and I chuckle at her expression. "You have to model your outfits the girls will wrangle you into." She silently giggles before she looks at her hands again.
"Okay."
"Do you want to get anything in particular?"
"A charm bracelet with a bell charm on it." That's an odd request, I think to myself.
"Why?"
"I keep scaring Gail since I don't make any noise and I want her to hear me coming so I don't end up giving her a heart attack." I laugh at her concern for Gail's heath.
"You won't feel, shackled in a sense, will you?"
"No," she grins.
"Okay we'll make sure to stop at the jeweler." She grins and gives me a side hug before she flushes once again and pulls away as Jason and Gail come sit at the table. After a good meal full of delicious food and Jason telling Ana hilarious stories of his, I bid her good night and venture into my room.
I sit straight up in bed and feel the beads of sweat on my brow and all over my body. God I hate my nightmares. Talking to Flynn was helping so much, but my memories had to come back to haunt me. I wipe off my face with my hands and hear a small knock.
"Come in," I say although I have a feeling I know whom it is. Out from the dark hallway, Ana creaks open my door and stands in the doorway. "Come in Ana, it's okay." She shuts the door behind her and walks over to the side of my bed. I reach over and turn on the bedside table lamp as she sits near my feet. "Sorry I woke you. I should have warned you that I have night terrors sometimes. I talk my psychiatrist about it but sometimes, it doesn't help." I look up at her and see she's staring at my whip and cigarette scarred chest. "Sorry, I'll put a shirt on." I start to rise out of bed but she grabs my hand and shakes her head no. I sit back down and she moves closer to me, still holding my hand. We sit in silence for a few moments while my eyes bore into hers, clearly full of confusion and sorrow. I'm startled when she stands and comes directly in front of me. She leans down and wraps her arms around my center and nuzzles her face into the side of my neck. I instantly pull her closer and lie back on the bed on my side with her still wrapped around me. I shouldn't do this, I shouldn't touch her like this, but I've missed the touch of a woman for so long. And to have this woman so full of innocence, concern, and kindness reach out and touch my disgusting body. I work out and am in shape but I know my scars would appall anyone. She pulls back a little and looks once again into my eyes with her sapphire orbs. "My parents adopted all of us. First Elliot, then me, and then Mia. I was adopted at age 5. Before that, I lived with my biological mother and a girl by the name Natasha who was 12 in Detroit. She wasn't my biological sister, but I love her like one. My mother was a crack addict and was a prostitute. Unfortunately she also prostituted out Natasha. She also had a pimp who was suppose to give us apartment rent, but he would end up getting high with my mother and raping Natasha while she just watched. He would burn his cigarettes out on me and would whip me if I did something wrong. One night he came over and was angry beyond belief. He ended up making my mom overdose and strangling Natasha to death. I tried to stop him, I really did, but he punched me so hard, he knocked me out for two days. When I came to, I was in the hospital being looked after by Grace. I knew I was alone then but thankfully, Grace and Carrick saved me by adopting me that night. When I first arrived home, I wouldn't speak and Elliot and Carrick scared me. I didn't come out of my room all day for days on end." I stop while she wipes away my tears with her warm hands. "We then moved here to Seattle. I eventually began to trust them but didn't start talking until they adopted Mia. I don't know why she was my key, but she helped me open up. I began to see therapists to try to help with my night terrors but it didn't really help. I was a rebellious teenager and full of rage. That was until I met John Flynn, my psychiatrist now. He helped me understand that the rage I was feeling was towards the pimp and my confusion at why he would abuse us. He also says my need to help the unfortunate, including rescuing the woman from the sex slave industry, has been a way of trying to make up for not rescuing my mother and Natasha. I felt truly powerless then seeing them getting treated that way, but when I found my purpose in helping others becoming stable in so many ways, I felt like I was doing right by them." I see her tears falling down her cheeks and brush them away with my thumbs. "I'm going to seem like I'm babying you, and my neediness to protect you might drive you up the wall. But please know this; my need to protect you and making sure you're safe is the only way I feel like my life is worthwhile." She leans up and nuzzles back into my neck and I inhale the wonderful scent of her hair. I feel her tears on my bare skin, so I rub her back to try to comfort her. I feel significantly better telling her this. I've never told my other guests my past, only Flynn. After a few minutes and she has calmed down, I feel she has fallen asleep beside me. I smile as I pick her up and carry her back into her room. I tuck her into bed and kiss her forehead and revel in the feel of her soft skin. I turn and feel her hand tug on mine. She raises my hand to her lips and kisses it. "Sleep well, wonderful Ana," I whisper before stroking her lovely cheek and leaving her room. As I lay back in my bed, I smell her scent on one of my pillows and clutch it close to my body as I fall back into a nightmare free sleep.