Finding Anna

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

When Anna got upstairs to her room, she was relieved and relaxed after she did a check of the room. Walk in. Lights on. Close door. Look around, checking any extra rooms, wardrobes, under beds and in all draws. Check the windows, and the locks.

Anna dropped her bag down and pulled her phone and charger out. After making sure everything was dry, she put the battery in, and plugged the phone into the wall point to charge.

Ten minutes had passed with her leaving the device to charge for a few minutes, then trying it, then doing it all over again before Anna finally gave up.

After deciding to leave the phone plugged in for more than ten minutes before trying it again, she changed her clothes, put a clean pair of socks on, and slipped back into her old jacket and boots.

Admiring herself in the long mirror behind the wardrobe door, Anna thought about the last time she wore the khaki jacket and calf-high, black boots. It was a year before she and he started dating, such a heavy coat wasn't needed in LA during winter, but Anna and a few friends she went to school with her road tripping to Boulder in Colorado State to spend a few weeks in Cassie's parents' lake house. The place looked different in winter; it almost didn't look like the same place at all. The lake was frozen over solid, snow covered the ground the trees, the smell of burning wood from the inside fires hit you the moment you walked inside, and it was peaceful. The Breen's house was one of eight around the large lake, but no one ever went up there in the summer, so the place was quiet and peaceful.

Anna smiled, that winter was also when she and her boyfriend at the time did it for the first time. It wasn't Brett's first time, he was two years older and had a little experience. Anna was happy with this. She was happy with him, and the way he made her feel more special and loved and cared for than she'd ever felt before. They probably would have still been dating if Brett didn't get accepted into an Archaeologist program over in Norway. The goodbye was sad with both of them agreeing never to lose contact. The promise held until Anna and he started dating. And then it was Anna who stopped replying to Brett's emails. She was happy with her new boyfriend, for a while, then everything turned upside down.

The jacket and boots were a gift from Brett. The memory was old, and happy. It was also one she wanted to forget because it made her miss the things she wanted most right now. Friends. I loved you as my boyfriend, Brett. But I loved more like my friend. She loved all the people who used to be her friends, but Anna hasn’t spoken to any of them since she first decided to leave him.

Snatching up her bag from the floor, Anna quickly pulled out her wallet and reached into the secret part where she hid her cash. Pulling out the yellow envelope, she looked inside already knowing exactly how much was there without needing to count; $1385.

In her wallet, after giving Xander $20 was $3.05. And in the easy access pocket was $23 after paying for the room. Anna shoved her wallet between the two mattresses that made up her bed, only keeping $500, her ID, and the small notebook that had names, addresses, phone numbers, and other personal details written down that she needed to keep close to her, and the room key. She slipped the items into the pocket on the inside of the jacket and zipped it up before zipping the jacket up.

Anna changed her mind about going to the reception desk to ask if there was a place to buy an umbrella. The thought of seeing Phoebe again sounded about as delightful as nails scraping down a chalkboard. Uh, no thank you. It had stopped raining, for now, so Anna decided to put her legs to good use and walk there as fast as possible. If it rained and there was nowhere to buy an umbrella, the coat hood would do. She took the stairs two at a time, and pulled her hair up into a messy high bun before moving her legs as fast as possible to get to the mechanics.

… …

‘Harry’s House Repairs!’ A complete cliché! Anna thought as she looked at the sign above the mechanic's shop.

Ding!

Anna jumped at the loud bell above the door. Horrible thing it was, but she realized the mechanics would need it to be so loud otherwise they wouldn't hear when customers arrived. The reception area was small and very basic with a black couch, white walls covered in posters and car photos, like a teenager’s bedroom. The high bench for the main counter was clean and clear aside from a laptop, printer and cordless phone that had so much oil and grease it would likely never be white again after cleaning. If it was even white to begin with. And the floors were a dull light gray carpet. It was neither comfortable or uncomfortable, but it was definitely a place Anna didn't want to spend any more time in than she had too.

"Morning!" A cheerful man with bright red hair under a cap and a beard came in. "How can I help you?"

"Hi." Anna cleared her throat. "My car broke down outside of town this morning. I don't know what's wrong with it or anything like that. But it's about 20 minutes away and I would like to get it towed and find out about repairs?"

Anna spoke so fast that she wasn’t sure if the man caught any of it because he just stared at her for a long minute before finally nodding. “Alright, darlin’, that’s no trouble. I can get the car towed in.”

"Thank you," Anna smiled, unsure of what to say next.

The man nodded and walked around to the other side of the counter and clicked around on the laptop for a minute before he stood, smiled at her, and said, with a wink, he'd be back in a jiffy.

She waited patiently until the guy came back with a huge grin on his face. “Hey, you said your cars almost half hour out, how did you get into town? The weather’s pretty crappy and the roads around here can be pretty dead before nine.”

“Oh, well a nice man pulled up in his truck and gave me a lift. He did offer to organize a tow, but he asked for my keys as well and I wasn’t sure.” She stopped rambling and shook her head. “And I am not sure why I am telling you all this now.”

He smirked though. “Any chance you know the fellers name that gave you a lift?”

The man’s smirk turned cheeky and Anna wasn’t sure whether she should reply to the question. Why is he asking this anyway? Anna nodded anyway. “His name was Xander, I don’t know anything else though.”

“I thought so,” he replied with a light chuckle.

She looked down at her feet, suddenly feeling embarrassed and nervous. Why is he asking this? I haven’t done anything wrong. “I…” she stuttered, “I just want to get my car towed and fixed. Please. I can pay cash.”

“Haynes! Car out of town needs a tow in.”

“Thank you,” Anna mumbled. She was already worn out and tired, and it was still early. The sooner this day would end the happier she’d be. Her eyes widened when Haynes walked out, “You!”

“Me?” Xander, or Haynes, whoever he was, replied with a shrug.

“You said your name was Xander?” Anna asked.

“It is, darlin’.”

She looked at the ginger man. "But you just said, Haynes?"

“Last name, Anna.” Xander gave her a friendly smile.

“I’ll leave you to organize this, I have to get that old beetle out of here this morning.” The ginger man turned to Anna then with a hand extended, “Harry, nice to meet you, darlin’.”

“Anna,” she shook his hand, “nice to meet you too, and that you for your services.”

After he left it was just Anna and Xander standing in the reception area, she looked at him curiously, gazing up and down his body. “You look different now. You know, with your jumpsuit.”

He scoffed, “Coveralls. They’re called coveralls.”

“Oh, sorry,” Anna giggled.

Xander really did look very different in comparison to how he looked this morning. Jeans, chunky boots, flannel shirt and a heavy coat. And now, he wore the most hideous, bright blue coveralls she'd ever seen, and his messy hair was pulled back under a cap. Though, she did get a much better look at the tattoo on his right ear now. It was a few letters and numbers, ‘AJH 100806'. Anna thought maybe it was someone's initials and a date of some kind.

Xander was handsome though; his dark hair and bright blue eyes were in perfect contrast with each other, and the shyness he seemed to possess made him interesting. Why a guy as handsome and rugged as Xander would be shy, she couldn’t figure out. And given that they have known each other for no longer than an hour, it would be rude to ask.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a mechanic?”

Xander shrugged, shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled his boots awkwardly for a moment before finally replying. "You seemed nervous, and I get why. You don't know me. When you grabbed your keys back, I thought it would be best to point you in the direction of the shop."

“Thank you, and I’m sorry if I did muck you around this morning. I’ve probably thrown your whole day out now by not giving you my keys earlier.”

“It’s all good, if you can give them to me now though, that would be good.”

“Sure.” After handing the keys over Anna didn’t know what to do next, she was scared to ask, but knew she would likely have to do it anyway. “Is there any paperwork to fill out?”

Filling out paperwork of any kind meant that she’d have to give some personal details out. And anything she gave out, or told anyone about, ran the risk of getting caught. Getting caught wasn’t an option, not anymore, not after what happened the last time.

“Nah, we’re pretty relaxed around here. You’ll need to fill out a few things when you pay for the car, but that’s. About it.” Xander said as he pulled a set of keys off the desk. “I’ll go out and get the car now, did you have a number I can call you on after I look it over and see what’s wrong with it?”

"I did," Anna groaned, "I dropped my phone in a puddle this morning - don't look at me like that, I'm serious. And well, it's charging at the motel, but I'm not sure if it's going to work anymore."

“Fair enough. You’re having a great day.”

Usually, Anna would have laughed at the sarcastic reply, but he didn't know the half of it. "Yeah, bay day. Try a bad year."

Xander seemed a little taken back by the sharp reply, and guilt racked her mind then. “I’m sorry, just tired is all,” she shrugged. Lousy excuse, but it was all she had.

“Yeah, the dark marks under your eye is something.”

“Yeah."

Did he know that was a bruise? My eyes were dark, but it was noticeably worse on one side. He doesn’t care anyway, so it matters none if he noticed anything.

Anna looked back at Xander and saw him looking at the side of her face. My ear! She quickly pulled her hood back over her head. “Is there anything else?”

“Nah,” Xander shook his head, “I’ll let you know how the car goes.”

“Thank you.”

She left quickly without looking back, fearful of what she might see on his face. If anyone asked I would tell them my earring got torn out while playing basketball. It would be another lie, but there was no other choice not to lie. At the rate, Anna knew if she didn’t write down every lie she was telling, she would forget where she was up too. It was too risky and too dangerous to forget.

... ...

“Annabelle?”

"Hi, Mom," Anna said through the motel phone.

“How are you? Are you safe? Do you need any money?”

The questions rambled from her mother's mouth faster than Anna could keep up with answering them. "Yes, Mom, I'm okay. I'm stopping in a town for a few days before I move out again."

“Just come home, Annabelle, please. We will get a lawyer and go to the police.”

"I cannot do that, okay? You know this! He has friends everywhere; cops, lawyers, gangs, and God knows what else. It's too dangerous."

“Honey, you need to come home, please?”

“No, Mom, I can’t. I’m not going to put you and dad in trouble because of this. And please don’t tell the others.”

“Your brothers and sisters don’t know anything at all. And no one has asked about you yet, not even Ma-”

“Don’t say his name,” I interrupted quickly, “please.”

The phone line was quiet for a moment, and then Anna could hear sniffling on the other end. Her mother was crying, and it broke her heart hearing it, knowing that this was all her fault. “Please don’t cry, Mom. I’m sorry, but I can’t come home, he will find me and I don’t know what will happen this time. And if he finds out that you and dad, or anyone else knows anything, he will be so pissed off.”

"I just feel so horrible. All this time and I didn't know!" Her mother screamed. "He was hurting you, and I didn't know? I am your mother, and this is my fault, Annabelle."

“It’s not your fault. I never told you or anyone else-”

“Because he threatened you, and threatened the ones you care about to keep you quiet. You’re a baby Annabelle-”

“I am twenty-four, Mom. I’m not a baby.” Anna sighed.

“You are my baby, and you will always be my baby.”

The conversation was draining for Anna. She promised to check in with her mom every few days to let her know she was alright. But it felt more like a chore than anything else because they have the same argument every single phone call.

“Hey, Mom, I’m going to go now, it’s getting late and I need to eat before the food place closes.”

“Alright, I love you so much. Please call me soon.”

“I love you too, Mom, bye.”

Anna hung the phone up straight away and dropped back onto her bed. It wasn’t late, and the diner wasn’t closing soon, but she needed to end the call before she too started crying. At least this time she didn’t ask where I was. Every time Anna called and talked to her mom, she would always get asked where she was, what she was doing, who she was with, has she met anyone, and more! It was frustrating and stressful. Anna hasn’t told her anything, and nor will she. That was the most stupid and dangerous thing she could do.

Everything was a mess. A huge, tangled and confusing mess. When will it be over? When will it end?