The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced (8 page)

“Anna, are you all right?” he asked in a
husky voice.

She nodded. “Just…hurts if you go in too
far.”

*****

Wilhelm frowned, confused. Why would it hurt
her? Alex had told him that she had enjoyed and even begged for
Alex to push in as far as he could. Something was wrong, Wilhelm
could feel it. She felt…different, but couldn’t pinpoint what it
was. Maybe it was just the stress of the last few days.

“I’m sorry, Wilhelm.”

He smiled tenderly at her and kissed her.
“Don’t apologize. Women’s bodies do strange things sometimes.” He
masked his concern and moved gently inside trying to erase the pain
he’d caused her.

She closed her eyes as the pleasure enveloped
her. He would have to be careful with her. She needed the pleasure,
not the pain.

*****

Anna sighed as Wilhelm thrust gently inside
her. She wanted more, but it hurt. She’d never hurt like this
before and it troubled her…for a minute, and then Wilhelm’s
movements made her forget.

They moved together in rhythm and soon Anna
felt her climax approaching. She wrapped her legs around Wilhelm’s
hips and tightened herself around him until her world exploded in
bright colors. She heard Wilhelm groan and stiffen as he came. He
pressed in a little too much, making her hurt, but she didn’t want
to tell him. She knew he didn’t mean to. She knew the last thing on
earth Wilhelm would want to do was hurt her.

He rolled off a moment later and held her
close. She felt safe. Cared for. Loved. She closed her eyes and let
herself relax in his care, quickly falling into pain-dulled
sleep.

Anna heard a phone ring and opened her
eyes.

“Do not worry, Anna,” Wilhelm said softly.
“It is my phone.” He got out of bed and picked up his phone out of
his pants. “
Hallo
….” He spoke in German and his face
quickly changed from confused to concerned. He sat on the bed next
to her and held her hand as he spoke.

Anna glanced at the clock. It was three in
the morning. She had fallen asleep when the sun was still in the
sky, yet she still felt sleepy. She watched Wilhelm’s face as he
continued to talk, then he ended the call and stared at the
floor.

“Gretchen is in labor,” he said. “The baby is
not due for another month.”

“Is that bad?”

Wilhelm looked at her in surprise, then with
incredible tenderness. “
Ja
. With all the complications she
has had….” He sighed. “Ilsa and Alex took her to the hospital. Kurt
needs to get home.”

“You need to go too, don’t you?” she asked in
a soft voice, trying to ignore the sudden return of pain in her
heart.

Wilhelm didn’t say anything at first. “I will
stay if you need me, Anna. I do not want to leave you alone.”

Anna pushed aside her own hurt, sat up and
caressed his cheek. “You’ve been so good to me, Wilhelm. But you
should be with your family.” Anna had come to realize how important
parents were to their children over the last few months. Ben had
been very close to his dad. Even Travis talked to his dad at least
once a week. Families needed to be together in bad times.

“Anna, you are family, too.”

She shook her head. “I’m your slave,
Wilhelm.”

He frowned. “I have never thought of you that
way, Anna,” he said in a firm voice. “None of us have.”

Anna didn’t say anything. She was pretty sure
Alex thought of her that way. She gave him a small smile. “I have
Jenna and Matt and Aaron. I’ll be okay. Kurt needs you and if you
stay here, you’re too far away if something bad happens.” She
squeezed his hand. “You need to go home.”

“Anna, I do not want you to feel that I have
abandoned you.”

She looked at him for a long moment. “You
wouldn’t abandon me, Wilhelm.”

“Then why do you think that of Alex?” he
asked softly.

She was quiet for several minutes trying to
come up with an answer. “Because he acted like he loved me.”

“He does love you, Anna. I know this to be a
fact.”

“You’re mistaken. He hardly talked to me at
all when he was in town the last time. And he supported Devin’s
decision about me not going to New York. He—”

“Anna, being in New York without Alex or
Devin would be dangerous,” Wilhelm interrupted. “Alex was
right.”

“Being here with Devin isn’t that safe
either,” she retorted.

Wilhelm sighed. “I know.”

They were quiet for a few minutes.

“You should get dressed, Wilhelm. I’m sure
Kurt wants to be going soon.”

“Anna, I will stay if you need me.”

She shook her head. “I’ll be okay.
Really.”

Wilhelm stood reluctantly and began dressing.
When he was finished, he sat back down next to Anna. “Call me.
Anytime, if you need me, all right? And I will see you in a few
weeks.”

Anna frowned. “I don't want to go to
Germany.”

“Not even to see myself and Kurt?” he smiled
at her, eyes twinkling.

“You’ll be with your wives. I like it better
when you visit me here.”

“Alex wants you to come, Anna. You need to
obey him.”

Anna narrowed her eyes at him, then realized
what he had said. She was a slave and he knew it. She felt the
chastisement and looked at her hands.

“Yes, Wilhelm.”

*****

“Anna, I didn’t mean.…” Wilhelm looked at her
changed posture and realized his mistake. He had just treated her
as a slave when he promised her he hadn’t thought of her like that.
And he didn’t think of her like that...did he? He cursed at himself
silently.

“I am sorry, Anna,” he said quietly, pulling
her into his lap. “I should not have said that.”

She sat stiffly in his arms. “It’s all right,
Wilhelm.”

Wilhelm sighed. “Anna, I-” The phone
interrupted him. He looked at his phone and saw it was Kurt.
“Hello, Kurt,” he answered in German.

“Are you here yet? I called and spoke to the
pilot. They’ll be ready by the time we get there.”

Wilhelm could hear the anxiety in son’s
voice. “I’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”

“Is Anna all right?”

“Not really.”

“Gretchen always has terrible timing.”

“She does, but you do need to be there for
her. For the sake of your son. I’ll be there soon.”

Wilhelm put his phone back in his pocket and
looked at Anna.

*****

Anna held herself still in Wilhelm’s arms,
waiting for him to hang up.

He hugged her to him after he put his phone
away. “Anna, do you want me to stay?”

She shook her head. “You should go.” He
didn’t need to stay for a slave. He needed to attend to his family.
She crawled off his lap and stood next to the bed, staring at the
floor. “I’ll be okay. Really.”

“Jenna said she would bring her things over
tomorrow. Or I suppose that is today?”

Anna glanced up and saw a small smile on his
face. She nodded.

Wilhelm stood. “Call me, Anna. Promise me you
will if you need anything.”

“I will.”

She put her robe on and walked him to the
door. He kissed her soundly, hugged her tightly, and then left. She
watched him walk down the hallway and then get into the elevator,
waving at her before he did.

Anna closed the door and went back to her
bed. She stared at the ceiling and pushed away the pain in her
heart from Wilhelm’s leaving. She tried to push away the pain of
Ben’s death, as well, but couldn’t. The pain lingered and tears
rolled silently down her cheeks.

“Oh, Ben...,” she whispered to the empty
room.

“Anna.”

Anna groaned at her interrupted sleep. She
opened her eyes to see Jenna standing over her.

“What?” she asked, irritated.

“We need to get going if you’re going to the
theater this morning.”

Anna glanced at her clock. It was
eight-thirty. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“You can stay here, Anna. Isaak will
understand if you’re not up for performing.”

“No, I’m fine,” she snapped. “Just give me a
minute.”

“Okay.” Jenna looked at her with concern in
her eyes. “I’ll wait for you out in the other room.”

Anna sighed and stood. She dressed quickly
and went out into the living room.

“Okay, let’s go,” she said, holding her keys
and dance bag. “I’ll drive.”

“Don’t you want to eat?” Jenna asked
cautiously.

“I’m not hungry.”

The two girls walked down to the garage and
got into Anna’s car. Tears started to fill her eyes.
No
,
she told herself,
I won’t cry
. She was tired of being
weak. Weakness is what got her hurt and she was tired of getting
hurt. She would be strong and not let anyone get to her. If she
didn’t care about anyone then there would be no weakness to
exploit.

“Where’s Wilhelm?” Jenna asked. “I thought he
would have stayed with you in the apartment last night.”

“He went home. Kurt’s wife went into labor
and they had to leave.”

“Oh.”

Anna drove to the theater garage and parked,
all without speaking.

“I’ll get my things this afternoon and take
them to your place, if that’s all right,” Jenna said as they walked
across the street to the theater.

Anna shrugged. “Sure.”

“Anna, if you don't want me to move in with
you, just say so.”

She shook her head. “No. Wilhelm thought it
would be a good idea. I should do as he says.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Anna didn’t respond. She walked with her jaw
clenched and her chin held high. She would not show weakness. She
would not care; about anyone or anything.

They walked onto the stage where classes were
held on performance days. Several dancers ran up to Anna, including
Travis and Aaron, to ask how she was doing. She barked that she was
fine and pushed them out of the way to get to her position at the
barre
.

*****

Aaron stared in shock after Anna snapped at
him. He’d never seen her so cold and distant. Her eyes were hard
and her jaw was clenched. He and Travis stared at each other as she
brushed past them to get to her place. They’d expected Anna to run
to them for comfort, not glare at them for showing concern.

“This isn’t good,” Travis said in a quiet
voice.

“That fucking bastard,” Aaron muttered.

“Who? Anna?” Travis asked.

Aaron shook his head. “Devin.”

Aaron had told Travis what Anna had told him.
Devin was destroying her. He hoped Alex would finish whatever he
felt he needed to soon and return. Something was seriously wrong
with Anna and only Alex would be able to fix it. Of this he was
certain.

“She wasn’t this cold yesterday when I
called. She was crying.”

Aaron heard people muttering about her
coldness and wondering why she was here instead of home
grieving.

“You guys, give her a break,” Aaron said to
the dancers around him. “This isn’t her. This is the most recent in
a series of tragedies in her life. She’s coping the only way she
knows how.”

“By being a bitch?” Lucy, his dance partner,
asked coldly.

“She’s not trying to be a bitch. It’s not
like her at all. She’s…hurting. Really bad. I mean, c’mon her
boyfriend just died. Give her a break.”

Lucy looked over at Anna, who was staring at
the ground and blinking rapidly. Her tears sparkled in the stage
lights. “She’s trying not to cry,” Lucy remarked softly.

“You have no idea the life she’s had, Lucy.
She’s only twenty. Please,” Aaron implored. “Don’t judge her. Just
be a friend. No matter how she is.”

He could see Lucy’s eyes watering in sympathy
as she nodded. “Okay.”

Lucy walked over to Anna and hugged her. Anna
reacted coldly, but Lucy squeezed her hand and spoke gently to
her

Aaron looked around for Jenna and found her
watching Anna with concern in her eyes.

He walked over. “How’s she doing?”

“She snapped at me this morning.” Jenna gave
him a wry smile. “Wilhelm asked me to move in with her and keep an
eye on her.”

“Are you gonna?”

She nodded. “Wilhelm’s right. She shouldn’t
be alone.”

“How’s Matt doing?”

“He’s…okay. Do you…Anna told him something
that was rather disturbing.”

Aaron hadn’t talked to Jenna since Sunday’s
performance except for a few texts to ask about Anna’s whereabouts.
“That Ben wasn’t killed in a car accident?”

Jenna’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”

“Anna told me when I called yesterday.”

“No wonder she’s so fucked up.”

Aaron looked across the stage to see Isaak
speaking quietly to Anna. She nodded and then burst out into tears.
Isaak hugged her to him. Her show of emotion would hopefully make
the other dancers realize she wasn’t a cold-hearted bitch. The last
thing she needed was the cold shoulder from the people she
interacted with everyday.

“She had the ring,” Jenna said quietly. “Matt
said she had it with her then gave it to him. I hope his family
lets her keep it.”

“I thought they liked her.”

“They do. A lot, from what I can tell. They
were excited that Ben was going to ask her. But she’s feeling
guilty and avoiding them.”

“It’s not her fault.”

“I know. But I’m sure Devin is quite content
to let her think it was her fault.”

“Yeah.” Aaron continued to watch Anna cry on
Isaak’s shoulder. Isaak was like a father to her. It was good. She
needed platonic men in her life.

“Do you need help getting your things to her
place?” he asked, turning back to Jenna.

She grinned. “I could certainly use a bigger
vehicle than my Miata. I hate to ask Matt. His family is supposed
to be arriving today and I don’t want to take him away from
them.”

“I’ll follow you back to your place and help
you out after rehearsal,” Aaron said with a slight shake of the
head. Her little car wouldn’t hold more than a suitcase. It was as
bad as Anna’s.
Girls and their little cars.