Chapter six

Ana POV

The next morning

Ana opened her eyes, letting out a sigh. She couldn't believe her luck. Praise the Lord! She was free, free at last.

A glance at the alarm clock by her nightstand told her it was after 9 a.m.

Her room was decorated in a minimalist style; it was gorgeous and pristine, like out of a magazine. She was almost afraid to touch anything.

Eventually, she got out of bed, tiptoeing around the corner and into the huge walk-in closet. Somehow, it looked larger than last night. Her eyes took in the long row of designer shoes in every color and for every occasion. Her fingers felt the fabric of the tops, dresses, and pants, and her heart nearly stopped when she examined the tags.

She shook her head; this had to be a big mistake. She felt so undeserving of this extravagance. All her life she'd made do with secondhand clothing.

Gail, the housekeeper, knocked softly on her door. "Miss, it's time for your medications. Mr. Grey is waiting for you in the breakfast room.

"Yes, I will be right there."

Ana hopped out of bed after stretching in the satiny sheets.

Standing in the middle of the walk-in closet, she turned in every direction, overwhelmed by the choices. After much deliberation, she chose a simple top and a classic pair of jeans.

…

LATER

After leaving her room, Ana tiptoed around the apartment. Even though she'd gotten a tour of the place the night before, she felt like an intruder.

"This way, Ms. Steele," Gail said kindly. She was gone before Ana had a chance to thank her.

Christian, clad in suit and tie was seated at the end of an impossibly long dining table, the window behind him showcasing a spectacular view of the city.

Facing the overcast sky, Ana's pupils instantaneously relaxed, enjoying the view.

"Good morning," he said, "you look well-rested this morning." The observation had an I-told-you-so quality to it.

Ana liked that kind of confidence in a man. It was a sharp contrast to Jose, who used to start every sentence with I think or I believe."

He motioned for her to take a seat. Her designated spot had a bowl of oatmeal, water, and crackers waiting for her. Ana counted sixteen seats between him and her place at the far end of the table.

"I see you were not joking about keeping your distance."

Christian's brow rose questioningly as he watched her slide across her seat.

"You know, me being a vampire and all," she quipped, leaning in with one hand under her cheek and the other toying with her spoon.

"Hmm," he hummed in the back of his throat, his eyes shining with a hint of amusement. His close-lipped grin lasted only a second, making Ana think that perhaps she had imagined it.

"You need to take your meds with something in your stomach," he commanded in a business-like tone, dropping a capsule onto a small plate. "Breakfast

will be served once Mia is up and about." He then gathered his briefcase and phone. "I gotta go. Will be back in the evening. I hope you and Mia have a good day."

Ana nodded, washing down her medication. She interpreted his sudden departure as proof that she'd hit the nail on the head; her playfulness made Christian Grey uncomfortable.

….

Breakfast time

Mia and Ana sat at the table across from one another.

Ana pushed her food around on her plate. After that bowl of oatmeal, it seemed too soon to be eating again. Her brows furrowed at the turn in the conversation.

"But why? Why would your own family turn on you like that as though you're their enemy?"

Ana shrugged. That was not a question with a simple answer.

"You don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to. I just don't understand."

"Okay, good. Cos' I'd rather talk about something else."

Right then, Mia's cell phone rang; she answered on the second ring.

They talked for a few minutes. Their tone was light and affectionate; it sounded so foreign to Ana.

After breakfast, Ana told Mia she planned on going with Taylor to pick up her things at her parents' house.

"You should let Taylor handle it."

"No," Ana replied resolutely. "Taylor won't be able to tell if anything is missing. I know I said I didn't want to see them again, but unfortunately, there's no way around it. Last night, I lay awake for a couple of hours thinking. I need to get my laptop back. I would HATE to lose my work...I've been working on a novel."

"Oh, I didn't know you were back to writing.

"Well, yes."

"Anyway, I was really hoping you'd get some sleep..."

"I did sleep much better than at the hospital."

"When did your insomnia start?"

"At least six months; the scary thing is that as time goes on, the worse it gets..." Ana trailed off, searching for the right words to express the toll lack of sleep had taken on her mind and body. "It's been torture."

"I believe you. Lack of sleep could literally drive a person insane," Mia chuckled. Her smile turned into a grimace when she realized her faux pas. "My bad, I'm sure you're sick of hearing words like crazy or insane..."

"Oh, c'mon, Mia, you don't have to tiptoe around me. I am stronger than people give me credit for."

...

Later that morning

Raymond Steele cautiously opened the door to let Ana and Taylor in. Then he stepped aside and kept his distance.

"Your stuff is over there," Ray said, pointing to the corner of the living room. There were several boxes and suitcases and other miscellaneous things.

Taking a quick survey of the area, Ana breathed a sigh of relief. Thank heavens Carla hadn't thrown anything of value away.

"Ana," Her mother called sweetly, walking

into the room. Carla's 'innocent' demeanor reminded her of that awful day when Ana came home from school to find her favorite pet missing.

Back then, the realization that Mother Dearest had followed through on her threats to punish her for both real and imagined transgressions had shaken her to the very core.

"Ana, we are family. And family forgives, always. It's Your father's birthday, and your dad and I want you to join us for dinner."

"That's in two weeks," Ana said, her gaze shifting to Raymond who stood immovable and speechless as a statue. In vain, she waited for him to say something, finding his standoffishness and his dammed refusal to make eye contact unnerving. It made her feel like a non-person.

"Maybe," Ana said, surprising herself, a last-ditch effort to gain approval from Daddy. "Maybe, the two of you only, though. Not Junior."

Carla raised her hand to her chest as though guarding her heart. "WHAT? How can you say THAT?" She yelled. "How can you exclude your brother after ALL he's done for you?"

After all he's done for you?

Her mother's words made her feel like the greatest fool in the world. unwittingly, she had turned the other cheek only to get slapped again with much greater force.

"Your poor brother," Carla wailed, "all he's ever done is try to help you."

Ana held her head, feeling the inklings of a migraine. She looked over at Taylor who was busy gathering her suitcases, wondering how much he'd heard. But then, she suddenly decided she didn't care. She was done trying to hide the sun with her finger.

"How can you say that after what he did-"

"Don't say it!" Ray suddenly spoke. The sharpness of his tone was more cruel than facing the blade of an executioner.

"Dad, I was there when he hit that girl and drove off...when will you ever pretend it never happened?

Carla let out a loud, outraged gasp. "Liar!" Then her face turned into a deep scowl, pointing an accusing finger at Ana. "You're crazy! Your brother never hurt anyone!"

"You always take the easy way out, don't you, Mom? It's a hell of a lot easier to call me crazy rather than admit your precious son is a goddamn monster."

Carla shook her head, visibly flinching at the word monster. "Don't you ever say that again," she gave her daughter a look designed to make her feel one inch tall. Then, she immediately turned to address Taylor with faux apologetic eyes. "She's been jealous of her brother all her life, ever since she was a little girl."

Ana was used to this. How typical of Carla to sweep everything she didn't like under the rug and chalk it all up to good old-fashioned sibling rivalry.

With an exasperated huff, she started gathering her things. It was no use; arguing with her mother was like teaching a mule how to sing. Sooner or later, you gotta admit it doesn't work, and it was horribly frustrating for the poor mule.

"Is that everything, Ms. Steele?" Taylor asked.

Ana thought about it for a minute. She had her books, her laptop, purse, and wallet with her picture ID and most of her clothes. So yes.

She was halfway out the door when Carla's contemptuous words hit her like a ton of bricks.

"It looks like the hospital made a regrettable mistake when they released you."

….

"Are you okay, Ms. Steele?"

Inside the car, Ana let her tears flow unashamedly. This was the last time she'd let her family treat her like the gum on their shoes.

"Yes, sometimes all we need is a good cry."

"For sure," Taylor said kindly.

"I'm sorry...I want to apologize for my mother's behavior."

"I'm not here to judge. My job is to make things easier for you."

Ana couldn't help but worry about what Taylor must be thinking. She knew he must have caught bits and pieces of the argument while carrying her belongings out of the house.

"I still like to know what you heard...so I can clarify a few things."

"That's not necessary, Miss."

"Did you hear me say my brother is a killer...I mean, monster?

Taylor made eye contact with Ana through the rear-view mirror.

"Did you mean that literally or figuratively?'

How kind, Ana thought. He's still giving me a way out.

Still, she didn't his offer. Before she knew it, she was spilling her guts out to Christian Grey's bodyguard/personal assistant.

"When I was fourteen and a half, my brother committed a crime... a hit-and-run. He's just gotten his license and had too much to drink. I was sitting in the passenger seat when it happened. We were driving home from a high school dance when a jogger, a girl, popped out of nowhere. My brother swerved and hit her. There were no witnesses, and he drove off and never looked back."

There. She'd said it.

She'd revealed the secret to someone outside the family. Over the years, the secret had stolen her joy.

"My parents learned about it that night. The three of them decided to keep the hit-and-run a secret," Ana mumbled barely above a whisper.

Even now, retelling the story seemed like a betrayal of sorts. At first, Junior had seemed genuinely remorseful. His behavior, however, got worse over the years. Sometimes, he fabricated elaborate lies to cover up the incident. At other times, he blatantly denied the incident ever happened.

At one point, her brother hired a girl to pose as the victim to convince Ana that she had survived the accident with few injuries. It probably would have worked, except Ana befriended the imposter and got a full confession out of her.

Obviously, Junior thought his little sister was stupid enough to believe the girl he'd run over had chosen to forgive him for leaving her half-dead on the side of the road and then, in one sweeping Hollywood gesture, had fallen head over heels in love with him.

Barf!

"What happened to the victim, if you don't mind me asking?" Taylor wondered. "Miss, Steele, whatever you decide to tell me, your secret will be forever safe with me."

Talking to Taylor was cathartic, much like confessing your sins to a priest.

"Honestly, I don't know. She could be dead or alive."

All I know was when we got home that night I was sure she was dead. I was hysterical when I got home. And my mother gave me Valium; it was the only way I could sleep that night."

"Her name wasn't in the papers?"

"No, there was nothing in the news about the incident. The authorities never found a body. And as far as I know, there were no reports of a missing or injured person. It's like the incident never happened...but I know that it did. I was there when it happened."

And that's the reason my family tried so hard to convince me I was crazy.

Through the rear-view mirror, Ana saw Taylor's eyes widen the size of saucers.

Wow. Just WOW.

"I have my theories about what happened," Ana said carefully, "I can't prove anything, of course. My biggest regret was not having the courage to go to the police."

"You were a kid, only fourteen."

"I thought about it for always told myself I would, but I never did."

"You have no proof... you don't even know if the girl is dead or alive. Do you remember anything about what she looked like?"

"She was young, I believe she was a high schooler too. She had dark hair, I think. It all happened so fast."

Ana's eyes fixated on the grey clouds as she gazed out the car window. She was glad that today was less sunny than yesterday. This was giving her a chance for her eyes to slowly start adjusting to the outdoors.

I won't think about that right now, she decided.

Ruminating on negative thoughts was one of the reasons she had trouble sleeping, so she was trying her best to nurture uplifting thoughts.

"Taylor..." she said after a short while. "You won't repeat anything I said to anyone...will you?"

"I won't repeat the details of what I heard tonight," Taylor said. "However, as of today, your family is on our blacklist. That is, they're not allowed to set foot in Escala.

Ana blinked in mild disbelief, wondering how she was supposed to feel.

After parking the car, Taylor turned off the engine and made eye contact with her through the rearview mirror.

"Ms. Steele..."

"I would feel more comfortable if you called me Ana."

"How about Ms. Ana?"

Ana smiled. Yes?

"May I make a suggestion?"

"As Mr. Grey's head of security, my job is to protect him, his family, and anyone he'd in regular contact with...and that includes you."

"I understand..." Ana held his gaze, prompting him to continue.

"I think you need your own personal bodyguard."

"Wh-what?" Ana chuckled. Me? I'm a nobody.

Was Taylor suggesting what she thought he was suggesting?

Was she...in danger?

The thought was absurd!

"Taylor...I really don't think..."

"I'm bringing up the matter with Mr. Grey," Taylor said matter-of-factly. He usually takes my suggestions very seriously.

For the rest of the ride, Ana was lost in thought, staring out the window. Perhaps she shouldn't have said the things she said about Junior. Sure, her brother was capable of atrocious things, but still...

Suddenly, Taylor swerved to avoid a cat. Watching it cross safely to the other side of the road, Ana breathed a sigh of relief.

The cat instantly reminded her of Penny. When they were kids Junior used to taunt her by pulling her tail until she hissed at him furiously. And once, he'd even set her whiskers on fire.

Oh, God, poor penny. She had survived the terrifying experience, although her whiskers never looked quite the same.

….

Upon her return, Mrs. Jones greeted Ana with a smile. While Taylor took her luggage to her room, Mrs Taylor ushered Ana to the formal dining room where Mia was already waiting.

"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting," Ana said.

"You took awfully long," Mia sighed, gesturing to a seat across from her. "I hope you're as starving as I am."

As if on cue, Mrs. Jones promptly brought club sandwiches to their table, a giant fruit bowl, and individual salads.

Surely, this was more like a dinner than a lunch.

Hating the idea of anything going to waste, Ana tried eating as much as her stomach could handle. Ever since she came down with COVID-19 a few months ago, her taste buds never returned to normal.

"So, how did it go with your folks?"

"It went okay. I got my stuff back," Ana smiled. She looked around her, appreciating every detail of her luxurious surroundings. "This place is beautiful. It feels so peaceful here."

"It's Gail and her obsession with scented oils," Mia chuckled. "I swear, there's an air diffuser everywhere in the house."

Ana's gaze settled on a waterfall diffuser decorating a corner shelf to one side of the room. It was mesmerizing to watch.

"Speaking of Mrs. Jones, when is she coming back? She's not sitting with us?"

Mia gave her a quizzical look.

"You also said she was part of the family."

"You got me on that one," Mia chuckled, "Gail has been instrumental in my recovery. She has read every book out there about healing and the power of the mind. She believes in raising the energy in the environment with uplifting music and essential oils, among other things."

Ana's eyes brightened at the mention of books. She would certainly love checking out Gail's book collection.

"Even though Gail is like a second mother to me, she's happier playing the role of housekeeper."

A/N: There you go, folks. Ana is a witness to a crime, a hit-and-run. What do you guys think?