Finding Anna

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

She picked up her feet to get to the truck just as the rain started bucketing down again. The door flung open for her just before she reached it and she jumped it, tossing her bag onto the seat next to her and slammed the door shut. Letting out a heavy sigh, Anna dried the water that clung to her face and the ends of her dark locks that weren’t covered by her hood.

"Thank you for this. I don't know your name, but I am really hoping you aren't going to kill me," she laughed nervously for a second before going silent.

He looked at her like she just announced she was in love with him. A red blush started making its way onto his cheeks and she ducked her face to hide her smile. He was seemingly embarrassed by what she just said, and Anna thought it was cute. Then her eyes widened, or maybe I just caught onto his grand plan of murdering me!

“What’s that look for?” he asked.

"You're… uhh… you're not going to murder me, are you? Please say no," she stammered out.

He shook his head. "No, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to drop you at a motel in town, get to work and get a tow truck to pick your car up. I'll bring it to the motel and you can decide what to do with it from there." His answer was very blunt and direct.

Anna nodded, "Okay, thanks again. Sorry. I just don't take rides from people I don't know… like ever." Anna cleared her throat. "And yeah, I know that probably makes me sound super childish, but I'm not even old yet. I have a life to live." Her heart sank after saying that last part. She was twenty-four, and did have a life to live; a very long life, she hoped. But only if he didn't find her.

“Xander,” he said as he started driving.

"Huh?" Anna was confused.

"My name is Xander. I work in Bellwood, and everyone around here knows me. Small place, was born and raised in the area, everyone knows everyone."

Anna nodded, "Nice to know, thanks." She gave him a small smile, "I'm Anna, by the way."

“Anna,” he mused with a nod. “That’s a nice name,” he whispered.

Anna thought the statement was strange, but when Xander said it, he seemed genuine. She smiled, "No one has said I have a nice name since I was at school." She mused before whispering, "thank you."

Anna saw him out the corner of her eye looking at her for a moment. She wondered what he was looking at, but he turned away, cleared his throat and concentrated on the road again. The drive was quiet for a few minutes, the rain coming down heavy made it hard to see out the windows, but Anna could still make out the tree line. The heavily wooded area was dense and thick, the perfect place for hiding. This was her first time in a rural area, she had always lived in urban city areas, so this was different. Excitingly different, she thought.

He wouldn’t find me here, she told herself, he knows how much I hate the countryside. I could hide here for a while before making my next move.

"What is Bellwood like?" Anna was curious; she didn't know any of the towns around this area.

“What?”

Anna cleared her throat. “Sorry, I asked what Bellwood was like, you said you worked there?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, it’s not too bad. Small town, around ten thousand living there and in the surrounds. It's the kinda place where everyone knows everyone, you know?"

Anna shook her head, “I’ve always lived in cities, never been in a place smaller than fifty thousand.”

Xander whistled, “Wow, well Bell is sure to shock you then.”

“You live outside of town?” Anna asked.

He looked at her with creased brows, “Yeah, but how did you know that?”

“Oh, well I just assumed since you said you were driving to work in Bellwood and that people also live in areas surrounding the town,” she shook her head, “I’m sorry, just a silly observational question. You don’t have to answer.”

The truck was quiet for a moment, and Anna felt herself starting to fidget from the awkward tension. Xander didn’t seem to realize though as he thrummed on the steering wheel to the sound of some rock song. Maybe it was just her that felt awkward.

When the song ended, Xander looked at her and gave her a lopsided grin, "Love that song. And yeah, I live about ten minutes from where I picked you up." She nodded. "You're lucky. I was running late when I found you and this road is pretty quiet in the morning."

Anna felt more than grateful after hearing that because she didn’t realize just how long she could have been sitting out there for waiting for someone to pull over and help. But she also felt bad because if he was late, then stopping to her would have made him very late.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized.

Xander looked at her confused. “What for?”

“I have just made you really late for work,” she bit her bottom lip, “please tell your boss it’s my fault.”

Xander gave off a short laugh, “It’s fine, I’m always early anyway, being late for one day won’t matter.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. But please apologize to your boss for me anyway.”

Xander gave her a half smile, "I will don't worry."

The truck was quiet again just as they passed the welcome sign to Bellwood. Anna looked around at the tiny town. It was cute, like something you might see in a movie. The streets were still tranquil, having only passed one car in the past few minutes. It was very different in comparison to the city lifestyle she was used too.

“It’d be darn nice if the rain would go away.”

Anna looked around, wondering if it had been raining all night, or if this shower was unexpected. “Has it been raining long?”

Xander looked at her, “Where you from?”

The question caught her off guard for a moment and she almost told him the truth, but decided against it, thinking a lie would be better. "Vegas," she replied. The plates on the car were Nevada ones, so the story was half plausible. But if anyone looked at her driving license they would ask questions.

"Different," he mused, "well it's pretty wet around here all year round. There are probably one or two nice days a week in the colder months, and maybe four, five if we're lucky, in the warmer months.”

“This is my first time in these areas,” she admitted shyly.

“How long you staying around for? Or were you heading through to somewhere else?”

"Oh… Uhh…" the question caught her off guard again. "I don't have any real travel plans. I just finished studying and now I am taking a gap year.”

“What did you study?”

Nothing, she wanted to say because it was the truth. Anna never went to college or studied. She didn't have the money too and the thought of taking out a student loan was terrifying. She had no choice but to tell another lie, what other option did she have in the situation now that she’d mentioned college.

“Literature. I like books.” She felt shy telling a stranger that because liking books wasn’t a lie. And it's one of the only things I've said to him that isn’t a lie.

“Books are good,” Xander agreed.

"You like reading?" Anna's face lit up; there weren't many people that read these days. Everyone always seemed to be too busy to pick a book up, or even finish a book they had already started.

He shook his head. "Not really. I've never been a big reader. We didn't have a lot of books or things like that in my house growing up."

Anna’s mood deflated. She couldn’t help but think there was something hidden in what he just told her. Was there a lack of money for him growing up, or were his family just not big on books? she wondered, but was too shy to ask.

“Alright, best and cheapest motel in town.”

Anna looked out the window to see ‘Bellwood Cozy Motel’ written on a sign outside. The place looked like any other motel, reception office at the front and a two-lane driveway that went into a large parking area. There were two floors of rooms and a single car spot for each room. Plain and simple were the words that came to her mind first. The word perfect was soon to follow. He wouldn't find her here; there was no way when she hid her tracks so well this time.

Anna looked back at Xander, “Thank you, I am very grateful for the help.”

He nodded, “No problem. You got your keys for me?”

Anna nodded and pulled her keys from her bag. There were only two keys on there; the key for the car, and the key to her mom’s house. She was a long way from her parent’s, but she planned on making it to them… eventually. She handed over the keys and smiled at him before a dark thought hit her mind.

“No!” She snatched the keys back and held them to her chest.

She left a note on the seat of her car saying what car picked her up, and she was handing a stranger her car keys. A stranger who could easily steal her car and come back for her later and murder her. Or just take her car and strip it for parts to sell, or whatever crazy people did.

Whatever!

Didn't matter! Either way, Anna knew she couldn't go handing over the keys to her car. That stupid heap of metal was all she had left that could get her further away from the person she was running from. She had savings, but not enough to get by if she needed to buy another car. Oh, and now I will have a repair bill to pay. She suddenly didn’t feel so deflated about the possibility of Xander stealing her car.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Uh, it’s nothing. You know I think I will just call a repair center myself and have them pick up the car.”

Anna stared at Xander for a long moment while he stared right back at her. She was confused by the look he was giving her. Is he confused, too? The truck was quiet for a moment longer, and she wondered if this was a bad idea to accept a ride from him. He was so quiet for most of the drive. He did ask questions, but they were all questions about her. He never actually told her anything about him. Unless I should have been enquiring after him?

“I’m sorry,” Anna stammered out in a quiet whisper, “I just realized that I actually don’t know anything about you, and I…” her voice trailed off, trying to find the right words to say. “I just… don’t know if I can give you my keys.”

“Alright.”

Alright? That’s it? Just alright?

"I hope you understand. My car is literally all I have. And my bag."

“That’s fine,” he replied. “I get it. You don’t know me.”

"Thank you," Anna quickly said before pulling her wallet out. "Here is a twenty for your trouble. Sorry, it's all the cash I have on me. And I really am grateful.”

She gave him a small smile and went to open the door when a hand landed on her arm. "There's only one mechanics shop in town. Reception in there will tell you the same thing. It's about a five-minute walk that way." He pointed back the way they came. "Go right just after the gas station.”

“Thanks.”

"They'll be open soon, and the shop can help with the tow and repairs."

“Thank you again, I really do appreciate everything you’ve done. And I’m really sorry if I’ve mucked you around at all.”

He shrugged it off and put the truck in gear. “Shop will be open in…” his voice trailed off as he checked his phone. “A half hour.”

“Okay.” Anna opened the door, turning back quickly before getting out she smiled. “What’s the time?”

“Just after 7:30. Still early. Diner down the street would be open now if you wanted food."

“The bright yellow one,” Anna pointed down the street.

“That’s the one.”

“Thank you again, and have a good day. Maybe I will see you around before I leave again?”

He nodded, and Anna thought he was trying to hide a smile. “Yeah, maybe. See ya later, Anna.”

“Bye, Xander.”

The second the door was closed Xander drove off. Anna stared at the black truck for a minute before a few raindrops came down on her again. "Great," she sighed and walked to the motel office.

‘Welcome, We Are Open’, the sign read.

She took a deep breath before pushing the door open. The bell rang above the door, making her jump. Memories of the first time she and he met flashed through her mind.

Anna and her best friend were having a quiet night in with a bottle of wine and several bags of chips, chocolate, and candy. Kayla kept complaining they wouldn't eat all this, but Anna was persistent. "You can never have too much chocolate, or wine." The girls turned around to see a very handsome stranger in a clean suit. He didn’t look to Kayla for more than a second, his eyes were locked to Anna’s, and that was where it all started. The dates to follow were amaz-

Anna shook her head, pushing the memory from her mind. She couldn’t think of him or Kayla. Her best friend, who she has not seen in almost a year, doesn’t know anything and it’s best she stay that way. Anna pushed everyone away from her to keep them safe. He wouldn’t think twice about hurting anyone if it meant him finding Anna. She needed to protect them.

“Hey!”

Anna jumped and looked at the woman behind the counter. She was not much older than Anna and had the darkest brown hair she has ever seen.

“Sorry,” Anna mumbled.

"Close the door; you're letting to cool air in."

Anna nodded and made sure the door closed entirely before she made her way over to the reception desk.

"Hi," the receptionist smiled, sarcastically. "Welcome to the Bellwood Cozy Motel, my name is Phoebe, how can I help you today?"

Phoebe's smile widened, but Anna could tell how fabricated it was. Anyone standing a mile away would be able to see this! She noticed a bit of food, maybe toast, stuck in one of the corners of her perfectly straight teeth. “You have something on your tooth,” Anna pointed.

Phoebe's mouth snapped shut, and she glared at Anna. "It's seven in the morn -”

“I was told it was 7:30,” Anna interrupted with wide eyes.

Phoebe's face screwed up as she looked at the clock behind Anna. "I was close, alright, no need to be smart about it. Or my teeth. I'm still eating breakfast. See?"

Phoebe held up a plate of butter coated toast on it. Would you like toast with that butter? Anna thought, but she decided not to voice this because she didn't want to annoy the woman any more than she clearly had. She wasn't trying to be smart, or rude, or anything, Anna put it down to being tired, stressed out, and really hungry. She drove all night, only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks, and hadn't eaten since lunchtime yesterday. The coffee and energy drinks were enough to keep her going, but now her body was getting ready to crash.

“I’m sorry. Can I stay here? If you have any rooms, obviously.”

"Of cause," Phoebe smiled, "how long?"

"I'm not sure. My car broke down outside of town, and will need to be fixed, but I have to organize a tow. So I suppose it could be a couple of days?"

“Why don’t you just come down each morning and extend your stay if you need too?”

“Okay,” Anna’s face lit up, “that sounds great, thank you.”

Phoebe's eyes widened in fake delight. "Wow, no need to make it sound like I just gave you a million dollars.”

She tried to keep her smile, but Anna’s face fell flat after hearing that. “Sorry, just very tired.”

“How do you want to pay?”

"Cash, please," Anna mumbled and pulled the money from her wallet, not looking up to make eye contact with Phoebe again.

"$40 for the night. When you know how long you're staying, let me know, and we could work out a cheaper rate for you." Phoebe gave ten change from the fifty Anna handed over the counter. "We usually charge $150 for five nights, and $200 for seven. But I'm sure we can do the $150 for seven, it's pretty quiet right now, and car repairs are expensive."

Anna was cautious by the sudden change in Phoebe's attitude and didn't know what to make of it. One second she was snappy and attitudinal, and now she was super helpful and friendly. "Thank you, I will keep that in mind."

“What’s your name? And upstairs or downstairs?”

Anna thought for a moment about what would be safest if anything happened, or she needed to make a fast escape. “Upstairs, please.” Anna was fast on her feet. Being upstairs would also give her a good view of everything. "Preferably one of the rooms that overlooks the main street."

"Sure thing," Phoebe nodded, "Room 23. Use those stairs, and second door to the right."

“Thank you, have a good day.”

“Name?”

“Oh right! Anna.”

"Anna, who?" Phoebe asked.

Jackson. "Anna… Jones." Lie! Please don't ask for ID. Please don't.

“Cool, thanks.”

That’s all?” Anna asked.

“I believe so. Have a good day and get some sleep, you look terrible.”

Who is this chick!

"Yeah, you too," Anna replied. “Oh, crap, I meant ‘you too’ as in have a good day and nothing else.”

Phoebe scoffed out a laugh, "Yeah, Annie. See ya!" she waved and smiled again, this one was a little more friendly though.