I awoke the next morning feeling exhausted both mentally and physically. After Christian had left I collapsed straight into bed. I was feeling drained and thought I'd be asleep in minutes but as I lay alone in bed I started to overthink everything. I kept wondering why Christian had gone through so much effort to track me down and why he was suddenly so concerned about me. After I had managed to get myself out of the situation I found myself in, I ran and part of me thought I'd seen the last of her. I'd deliberated going back to Christian and telling him everything that had happened, telling him that the note that she'd made me write, well none of it was true. But I never got to see him because one day I was served with divorce papers from a lawyer, complete with graphic pictures of my new replacement and a letter stating that any further contact should be done through his lawyers. I still have the papers, I never signed them, I don't think I ever could, not without speaking to him about them first. Eventually my brain couldn't string together a coherent thought so I started to drift off only to be awoken by a loud thud and a lot of shouting. From what I could hear, which was a lot thanks to the paper thin walls, my neighbours were having a rather loud lovers tiff. The argument went on well into the night and numerous other neighbours contributed to the noise by yelling at them to shut up or by banging on the wall. I'm assuming it eventually got violent as at one point there was an almighty bang and the wall above my head shook as though someone had been thrown against it. This was followed by a lot more banging and screaming and I was genuinely becoming concerned. I got out of bed and went to double check the locks on my door.
"I swear to god if you don't shut the fuck up I'm gunna break this fucking door down and make you." Someone shouted from in the hallway. All I could think was what nice, friendly neighbours I have. I decided to wait in out in the living room, afraid to go back into my room in case they came crashing through the wall. It was another hour or so before the police turned up and broke up the fight by dragging the man screaming and shouting out of the building. I could see him from my front room window putting up a hell of a fight as they tried to shove him into the police car. Thinking it would be safe to get back in bed and finally get some sleep I made my way back into the bedroom only to be met with the sounds of a wailing woman. I lay down and tried to drift off but every time I thought the woman had settled down she'd start crying all over again, howling louder than before. Admitting defeat I grabbed my quilt and pillow and dragged it to the living room and lay on the sofa. I was asleep within minutes but regretted it the moment I woke up with a stiff neck once again.
After returning my quilt and pillow back into the bedroom I make my way into the kitchen and switch the kettle on. I'm shocked when I glance at the clock and see it's almost noon, though it's not surprising after all the excitement last night that I would sleep in. Opening the cupboards to get my teabags out I have to look twice, my usually empty cupboards are packed full of food. There's pasta and tinned soups crammed in there as well as crackers and jars of sauces. I slam the cupboard shut silently cursing Christian and his interfering ways. I should have known he'd do something like this and although I'm grateful I just don't want him bailing me out when he feels like it. Opening the cupboard again I take out a tea bag and help myself to a couple of the breakfast bars in there. Knowing there's nothing I can do about it now seeing as he's miles away in New York I vow to pay him back every penny. After finishing my breakfast I go and change into some clothes and grab my shoes and coat. It's time that go job hunting in the city. Finding a job really isn't that hard, there are plenty of little shops and bars hiring. My problem comes when I ask to be paid cash in hand, I really don't want to create a paper trail that a certain someone can follow.
After a brief walk I find myself in a slightly busier part of the city and after a few polite refusal from various businesses I find myself walking into a bar with a sign stating they are looking for bar staff. As I walk into the bar I'm surprised by how busy it is. Almost every table is full and from the smell in the air I can only guess they serve food. I make my way towards the bar and wait for the bar tender to finish serving his customer.
"What can I get for you Miss?" The man behind the bar asks, he looks slightly older than me though I wouldn't say too much older.
"I'm here to enquire about the job advertised in your window, who would I have to speak to about that?" I ask whilst looking down the bar to see if there's anyone else working.
"Well that would be me. I'm the owner of this place, names Finn." He says with a smile as he reaches his hand out for me to shake. I'm slightly shocked by the fact that he owns the bar as I didn't think he looked that much older than myself but then I think of Christian and how he has amassed so much in such a short time and realise it's not that crazy for him to own this bar.
"I'm Ana." I say as I shake his hand.
"So do you have any previous experience working in a bar Ana?" He asks as he leans over the bar slightly, I'm guessing it's so he can hear my answers better as it is quite loud.
"No." I answer honestly "I did just finish working in a very busy coffee shop so I have some experience working within a fast paced customer environment."
"Sounds good, you will be fully trained before you start so experience isn't really that important. I'm looking for someone to cover the evening shifts and a couple of the lunchtime shifts during the week, is that okay with you?"
"Yes that would be fine, it's not a problem, I can work whenever you need me to." I say.
"The evening shift starts at seven and finishes at two in the morning sometimes three, would this be a problem?"
"No." I say whilst also shaking me head. "That's not a problem at all."
"Great." He says with a wide smile. "Can you come in Friday at 4? This will give you time to get trained up before starting at 7."
"Yea I can do that." I reply.
"Okay then, well do you have any questions for me?" He asks and I know it's time to ask if I can be paid cash in hand in order to avoid detection.
"Well actually I was wondering how you normally pay your staff, it's just I'm due to start college next September and I've applied for all theses grants and they like to know how much your earning and I'm worried if I have to declare any income I might not get the grants." I ramble out, it is a well rehearsed lie that doesn't have an ounce of truth in it.
"Come in Friday and we'll sort out all the details then. It shouldn't be a problem though." he says with a smile.
"Really?" I ask slightly shocked, I'm so used to hearing no to that question that it's thrown me a bit. He just nods and leans back. "Well I guess I'll see you Friday at 4." I say with a genuine smile on my face.
"See you Friday Ana." He says as he makes his way down the bar to serve a group of men who'd just arrived. I walk out of the doors and start to make my way home. I feel so much better now that I've found a job and will have a steady income coming in, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted of my shoulders.
I make it to the front of my apartment building within twenty minutes and I make a mental note to myself to set off half an hour before work starts so that I'll never be late. As I climb the stairs to my floor I start rummaging through my pockets for my keys, I find them just as I reach the top step and from here I can see my apartment door but somethings not right, from here it looks like it's slightly open. I walk the few steps down the hallway to my door and find it is indeed open. I could of sworn I locked it before I set of, I always lock it. I try to think back to this morning but it's impossible to remember, locking my door is just something I do without even thinking about that I can't even be sure if I did it. I lean in slightly to see if I can hear anyone inside but it sounds quiet and looking at the locks they don't appear to have been tampered with. I silently chastise myself for being so careless and make my way inside. I stop just inside the doorway with the door wide open and look around my apartment. It's a mess, it looks like a tornado made its way through my living room, by the looks of it nothing has been left untouched. Someone has definitely been in my apartment. It feels like there's bubble in my throat and I struggle to fight back tears. It's starting to constantly feel like I'm taking one step forward and two giant leaps back in life. My shoulders sag as I make my way into the living room and any euphoric feeling I felt earlier is instantly gone. There is paper all over the floor and it takes me a while to realise that whoever was in my apartment has ripped the pages out of every book I own. I glance over towards my bedroom wondering what awaits me in there. I don't own much and have nothing of value that would be worth stealing, I'm more upset about my books. I don't have a lot of money to spend on luxuries like books so I cherish each one I buy and I keep a lot of my books stored in the bedroom. I make my way over to the bedroom and push open the bedroom door. I'm about to step inside but freeze at the doorway and my heart jumps up into my throat. There is a man in my bedroom, a large man dressed in black with his hood up. He's leaning over the bed with his back to me rifling through my clothes that he's dragged out of the drawer. I slowly take a step back ready to sneak out of the apartment and run as far and as fast as my legs will carry me when the door that I had slowly pushed open makes a loud squeaking noise it normally does when it's pushed past a certain point. The mans head snaps up and he spins round to look for the source of the noise. My heart stops beating and I let out a little squeak as his eyes meet mine. My mind knows I should be running but my feet don't seem to want to cooperate. The man starts charging towards me and my feet seem to find some sense and I take a step back and start to turn towards the living room when the man collides with my side. He barrels past me and his shoulder knocks into my shoulder sending me spinning round and towards the floor. I throw my hands out to take the brunt of the fall and as they make contact with the floor pain explodes through my left shoulder and my hands give way and I collide with the the floor hard. I let out a grunt of pain as I feel like all the air has been sucked out of my lungs. I turn my head to the left and see the man half run out of my front door, relief flows through me at the thought that he has left, obviously spooked by my appearance. I find my breath again and greedily suck in a large lungful before releasing it slowly. Pain is radiating all down my left side starting at my shoulder. I know I need to get up and lock the door but as soon as I try to move any part of my body a pain that makes me feel sick to my stomach shoots down the whole left side of my body, it's a pain I've felt before and I know that the fall has dislocated my shoulder. Black spots start to swim before my eyes and I try my hardest to fight the blackness that is approaching but my body can't cope with the amount of pain it's being put through and I eventually just give up fighting and let the black spots take over my vision.
I awake to the sound of voices and I'm instantly terrified at the thought that the man who was rummaging through my apartment has come back so I lay still and keep my eyes closed as I listen to what's going on. It sounds like two men talking to one another but I can't make out what they're saying as they sound so far away. I feel very disoriented as I'm not quite sure where I am since I still haven't opened my eyes. It still feels like my cheek is pressed against my apartment floor from where I passed out but without opening my eyes I can't be sure but I don't want to let whoever is close by know that I'm awake just yet. I strain my ears trying to hear more of what the men are saying and manage to catch a bit of the conversation.
"Sir, we really shouldn't move her. We don't know what injuries she has received and moving her could do more damage than good."
"I know that, of course I know that. I just feel so helpless. This is all my fault. I should never have left her here, god what was I thinking."
"The ambulance should be here very shortly." I can hear what they're saying but my brain feels foggy and I can't quite understand what they're saying, instead I try and place the voices. I know I recognise them, the last one sounded familiar, it sounded very calm and authoritative. In fact it sounded an awful lot like Taylor, Jason Taylor. But if Taylor's here then that must mean that the other person is Christian. I let out a groan more at the situation I find myself in than at the pain that has started to radiate down my left side.
"Ana." I hear two small steps and open my eyes to see Christian kneel down beside me. I look past him to see that I am still lay on my apartment floor where I fell. My apartment door is still wide open though now it's mostly filled with the body of Jason Taylor. He looks very much on edge, his eyes are darting round the apartment, as though a threat is still in the room and about to jump out at any minute.
"Ana." At the sound of my name I move my eyes and focus on Christian. His face is etched with worry and I suddenly realise how bad this looks. My apartment has very obviously been burgled and I'm passed out on the floor of my living room with my front door wide open in a neighbourhood with a very high crime rate. I suddenly feel sorry for Christian having to walk in to that.
"Ana are you ok, can you hear me?" He asks with worry lacing every word.
"Yes. I'm ok." I mean to say it with as much strength in my voice to prove that I am okay but what comes out of my mouth is nothing more than a pathetic whisper. "I'm fine really." I say and to prove that I am I make a move and start pushing myself up with my right hand and lifting my head off the floor whilst ignoring the pain it sends down my body.
"Ana no don't get up, the paramedics are on their way, you could be seriously injured, please." I cringe at the thought of paramedics turning up for a dislocated shoulder and I'm about to tell Christian that they really won't be necessary when I see him in reach out his hand. He places it on my shoulder and pushes down what I assume is a gentle push to guide me back down to the floor but the minute his hand closes around my shoulder pain explodes from the joint. As he gently pushes down I can actually feel the bone grinding against the top of the socket and before I can stop myself I scream out in pain and collapse back to the floor, pressing my cheek hard into the floor as if that will some how help. Christian snatches his hand back so fast and I lie on the floor panting through the waves of pain currently shooting down my arm.
"Ana! What is it? What's wrong?" Christian asks in a rush and I open my eyes to see him knelt beside me cradling his hand to his chest and staring at me with so much worry on his face.
"It's… My… Shoulder." I gasp out "It's…dislocated." I say as I close my eyes and try to steady my breathing.
"I'm sorry. Ana I. I didn't. I'm sor…"
"Sir the paramedics are here." Taylor interrupts Christian's apologising and I let out a large groan.
"I don't need the paramedics Christian, it's just a dislocated shoulder." I say and it would probably sound more convincing if I weren't saying it in a pained whisper through gritted teeth.
"Don't be ridiculous Ana, you're going to the hospital." Christian says with finality in his voice. I'm about to argue more when I hear footsteps coming to a stop just outside the apartment.
"Did you call for paramedics?" I hear a female voice ask.
"Yes, she's in there. 23 year old female, was unconscious when we arrived, is now awake and talking and presenting with a possible dislocated shoulder. I haven't been able to rule out any other injuries." Taylor replies.
"Okay and what's the patients name?"
"Anastasia Grey" Christian answers for him and I resist the urge to roll my eyes under my eyelids. I open my eyes to see Christian move out of the way and the paramedic take his place.
"Hi Anastasia, my names Amy, can you tell me what happened and where it hurts?" She asks as she places her bag beside her and starts unzipping it. I look past her and see Christian standing in the doorway talking with Taylor and another paramedic, who is writing stuff down on the back of his gloved hand. "Anastasia can you hear me? Can you tell me where it hurts?" I look back at paramedic Amy and see her smiling down at me waiting for me to answer.
"Erm. My shoulder." I reply. "I think I dislocated it when I fell."
"Okay that's good. Does it hurt anywhere else?" She asks and I think about it. The only pain I can feel is radiating from my shoulder.
"No." I reply through gritted teeth as she starts gently squeezing my shoulder.
"Good, good. Now when you fell did you hit your head?" She asks and I try to think back. I didn't hit it on anything on the way down but I'm not to sure whether I hit it on the floor when my arms gave way.
"I'm not sure." I say. "I can't remember."
"That's fine, don't worry too much about it. Now your shoulder is definitely dislocated so you're gunna need to have that popped back into place at the hospital. Now because you were unconscious when you were found and you don't remember falling I'm going to recommend you get checked over by a doctor. Just to be on the safe side." She says with a smile which I return but the thought of going into hospital makes me feel sick to my stomach. Amy stands up and makes her way over to the door to speak with her colleague and I watch Christian make his way over and crouch down next to me.
"Hey, how you doing?" He asks with a sad smile. I'm not sure how to answer that, my shoulder is killing me, I feel sick and dizzy from the pain, and I am dreading going to the hospital where they'll ask questions and want details from me. In the end I don't answer and just return his sad smile instead.
"Okay Anastasia we're gunna try and secure your arm to your side before we get you on the stretcher, it'll make the journey less painful." Amy says as she comes to a stop beside me, I can see she's holding a black strap with Velcro on it. Christian takes this as his cue to leave and gets up and walks over by the door. Amy proceeds to tell me exactly how they are going to secure my arm and offers me some nitrous oxide which I politely decline, I'm already mortified by the situation I'm in, I'd rather not make a fool of myself on the laughing gas. "Right well do you have my questions about whats about to happen."
"No, no questions." I say with a small smile.
"Okay great. Now let me know when you're ready to go and we'll get started." I take a moment to take a couple of deep breaths. I know this is going to hurt, it's not the first time I've dislocated my shoulder and moving about whilst the arm is still out of the socket is one of the most painful experiences I've had. I close my eyes before letting them know I'm ready.
"Okay I'm ready." I say and grit my teeth as I wait for the pain. The guy places his hands on either side of my head, lifting it slightly so he can get his hands under my cheeks, and applies sight pressure to stop me from moving as Amy pushes me from my right side to slide the band under. As she pushes me forward my left shoulder presses into the floor causing the bone to move up slightly and pain to shoot across my chest. I let out a low groan through my gritted teeth knowing this is the easy part of what's to come. As Amy sets my right side down she doesn't give me chance to breathe let alone brace myself for what's about to come. She reaches over and clamps her hand around the top of my arm and pulls me towards her to flip me onto my back. There's very little I can do to stop the scream that erupts from my mouth. My eyes fly open as she reaches down and grabs my hand and settles across my chest and works on strapping down my arm. I stop screaming and try to suck in as much air as I can but I can't seem to get enough air into my lungs. I start to gasp and black spots start to swim before my eyes again. I don't even fight it this time, I just let the black spots take over and for the second time that day I pass out.