章 10: Chapter 10
Anaya stood frozen in fear, her body paralyzed by the overwhelming terror she felt. She couldn't move a muscle, her eyes wide and staring straight ahead, her breathing shallow and rapid. She was rooted to the spot, unable to even turn to run away. Her mind was racing with thoughts of what could happen to her, and she was consumed by a sense of impending doom. She was completely powerless against the fear that had taken hold of her, and it was all because of the person that trapped her right now.
"What's wrong? You still don't want me touching you?" Her stomach twisted in disgust as she felt his breath touch her hair.
"Se-Sean, let me go." She whispered desperately.
"I miss you, Ana." Sean said. He moved closer and she shut her eyes tightly as tears slipped down from them. "How long will you keep me waiting. I want to feel what it's like to be inside you."
Anaya whimpered in helplessness. She wanted to scream, but she felt like she suddenly lost her voice. She focused on counting seconds, waiting for a miracle. She stood there for what felt like years before Sean was yanked back away from her.
"Get the fuck away from her!" George furiously roared at Sean.
Anaya couldn't move, let alone turn around. She stood facing the shelves, trying to calm her heartbeat.
"I don't see her resisting, George." Sean's poisonous voice reached Anaya's ears.
"I'm going to murder you. Walk away or I'll do it, I swear."
"I'd like to watch you try."
George held Ana's hand and she jumped at his touch. She tried collecting herself as she realized it was only him. She couldn't raise her head as they walked away from the shelves and made their way out the library. It was only when she heard Meghan's voice that she was able to look up, they were in the lawn now, back to where they had their picnic.
Meghan looked ahead from where she sat to see George's angry face and Ana's hunched figure. She walked up to them worried. "Babe, what happened?"
Ana looked up at Meghan and felt her friend's hand on her wet cheeks. 'Was she still crying?' She thought.
"We ran into him." George said and Meghan moved to hug Ana tightly. "Are you okay?"
Anaya steadied herself, taking deep breaths while she nodded at Meghan. "I want to go back up to my room. Will you stay over tonight?" She asked.
"I was going to anyway." Meghan replied.
"I'll walk you girls back and stay for a bit." George said.
The three of them walked back to the women's dormitories in a desolate silence. George and Meghan looked nervously at Ana, hoping she was okay after what she just went through.
When they reached her room, George locked the doors shut and sat on the floor by the bed. Meghan took the seat on the bed and Ana walked into her bathroom and turned on the tap.
As she splashed water on her face, flashes from the past came rushing back to her.
*****
Sixteen year old Anaya met Sean Perkins at Bellevue's annual ball. While all the boys at the party asked Anaya to dance, Sean steered clear of her, only staring at her from a distance. Anaya didn't notice him in the beginning, but as she went to bathroom to fix her hair, she overheard a group of girls gossiping to each other.
"Isn't he the most handsome!" One of them said.
"The most! And he comes from old money. His family is said to own 3 yatch's!" Another gushed in.
"And their mansion! Oh that mansion! I'd marry him today just to live there. No, I'd marry him today to live anywhere with him. Actually, I'd just live with him even if I weren't married to him."
The girls burst into laughter and Anaya couldn't help but laugh as well. As the girl's heard her soft laughter, one of them scornfully turned to look at her.
"Well tough luck Anaya. Looks like Sean Perkins won't even ask you to dance. How does rejection feel to you?"
"A good blow to her ego." Someone muttered and the girls snickered at young Anaya.
While Anaya was raised to be kind and pleasant, she wasn't one that couldn't stand up for herself.
"Rejection? Did you see him reject me Valarie?" She shot back.
"Well I don't think he's interested in you one bit." Valarie scoffed at Anaya.
"Watch me." Anaya said as she walked out of the bathroom doors. She pinched her cheeks, took a deep breath and walked over to Sean Perkins to ask him for a dance. That'll show these girls, she thought.
As she walked up to him, her heart started to beat faster and her hands turned clammy. This was the first time she was going to ask a boy to dance and if he really rejected her, Valarie and her friends would never spare her.
Sean was leaning against and pillar and pushed himself up with an amused smile as he saw Anaya approaching him. He eyes widened and his smile turned into a grin as she came to stand in front of him.
"Hi…Sean Perkins? I'm An.."
"I know who you are, Anaya Willow." Sean took her hand and kissed it, not breaking eye contact with Anaya. She found herself blushing at his actions.
"I was wondering, if you would care to dance with me?" Anaya asked him shyly.
"I couldn't muster the courage to ask. Shall we?" Sean led her to the dance floor. Anaya looked at Valarie and her friends, who's mouths hung wide open, as she danced with Sean. Their faces were painted with embarrassment and they couldn't even look her in the eye.
Anaya had a great time with Sean that night. They danced till their soles hurt and gushed about all their favorite books. Excited laughter filled their conversation, Sean's humor, his personality, everything about him was different from other stupid sixteen year old boys that Ana met.
Over the next few days, Anaya and Sean spent all their time together. Anaya fell hard for Sean and before they knew it, the young pair had become an official couple. She introduced Sean to George and Meghan, who took a liking to him immediately and Anaya became Sean Perkins' first girlfriend.
What Anaya didn't know was that Sean had developed an eerie obsession with her. Within a week of dating, he forbid her from seeing George, claiming that he was in love with her. Soon, he stopped her from meeting Meghan as well, spreading rumors that he heard Meghan had bad mouthed Anaya. Anaya was restricted to speak to anyone while she was with Sean and he made it a point for her to step out only with him.
As time passed, Anaya found herself interacting with just four people. Her parents, her sister and Sean. Unknowingly, the loneliness consumed her. Her family worried for her, but she wouldn't speak to them about what made her feel this way. Sean treated her well, she had no reason to be unhappy, she kept telling herself.
Two months later, George got sick of missing Anaya and come to her house to speak with her. He explained that he loved Anaya as a sister and that Meghan would never say anything about Anaya to hurt her. She was glad she could clear the misunderstanding and was walking George out when Sean came to pick her up for dinner.
When he saw the two friends hugging, Sean said nothing and simply smiled, walking over to greet George. "What a pleasant surprise! Will you be joining us for tea?" He said.
George looked at Sean suspiciously. He knew Sean was trouble, but he couldn't fathom what a monster Sean was. He refused politely and left the couple, claiming to go meet Meghan.
As Sean and Anaya sat in the car that day, Sean didn't utter in a single word. He was clearly enraged as he banged the door shut when he sat in the car. Anaya, young and foolish as she was, shrunk into her seat on the other side. She looked down at her knees nervously, wondering what had Sean so upset.
"Where're we going?" She asked him in a timid voice. She didn't know it herself, but Anaya started to fear Sean, while simultaneously getting attached to him as he distanced her from everyone else. She was terrified to upset him. It even came to a point where she obeyed him like a well trained dog. He was manipulating her and she couldn't even see it.
Sean turned to look at her, his eyes holding a malicious glint that scared Anaya. "We're eating by the lake today." His words didn't match the cold smile on his face.
As they reached the lake, Sean instructed for the driver to park at a distance and walked to the lake with Anaya. She looked around and saw that the place was completely empty. Winter was close and the air was chilly up North. She hugged herself and rubbed her shoulders as they stood by the lake.
"It's cold, isn't it? Anaya asked. "Is Terrance bringing the food to us?"
"How many times did you sleep with him?" Her eyes widened at the bitterness in Sean's voice.
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