Текст книги "Perfection Is Just An Illusion"

Автор книги: Rebecca Barber

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

Chapter 16

Anna

Anna awoke the next morning shaking. Not from the cool morning air, but from a paralysing, all consuming fear. Despite being wrapped around James like a vine, she felt more alone and more afraid than she’d ever dreamt possible. Dropping her head back against the pillow dejectedly, Anna fought desperately to regain control of her breathing. Sucking in deep breaths and counting to five before exhaling again. She glanced at the alarm beside the bed, it was still early and dawn hadn’t yet broken so she was even more determined to force herself back to sleep. But more importantly she was determined not to wake James. He didn’t need to know that every time she closed her eyes she saw Grant looming over her. Or that every time the breeze ruffled her hair she could feel his bourbon-soaked breath on her cheek. Even without him saying it, Anna knew that James already blamed himself for everything that happened; she wasn’t about to let him feel worse. Sighing, she snuggled into him closer, her head on his wide chest, and willed herself back to sleep.

***

James

It was just after nine when James struggled from bed. It was the latest he had slept for as long as he could remember. He didn’t know if it was the relief of competition being over, the jet lag, the drama from the previous day, or a combination of all of the above which had been responsible for his exhaustion, but something had knocked him out cold for hours. And when he woke he wasn’t pleased about it. Anna was still sleeping soundly and as he looked down to her precious face his anger resurfaced and he was forced to swallow it back down. If anything she looked worse than the day before. The cut on her cheek was angry and the bruising had really taken hold now.

Crawling out from under Anna more delicately than ever before James headed towards the racket downstairs. He could hear the clinking of glasses, incessant chatter, and laughing. ‘What have they got to fucking laugh about?’ James thought bitterly, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

As he made it to the kitchen he realised that everyone was there. Of course he had known from the night before, but even that seemed like more of a blur now than anything else; a nightmare that he couldn’t wake from.

“Morning, sunshine,” Renee chirped happily as he shuffled into the chaos.

James didn’t bother with a response but instead a deep growl rumbled from the back of his throat as he headed straight for the fridge.

“Someone got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Renee continued, unable to help herself.

“Renee.” Michael frowned.

Stiffly Kathryn turned to James and watched him. She watched as he pulled a glass from the cabinet and filled it with juice before gulping it down silently.

James could sense the room watching him. Everyone’s eyes stalked his every move. “She’s okay,” he offered. As his words reached everyone’s ears he watched as they visibly relaxed. Shoulders slumped. Loud signs were released.

“Thank you,” Brandon exhaled, refilling his coffee cup.

But it was as if James’s words were Anna’s undoing. Her piercing scream cut through the quiet. “I got her,” Lachlan called out as he took off racing upstairs, his feet barely touching the steps.

Michael saw the physical distress this caused his son so reached out and rested his hand on James’s should in a sign of reassurance. “It’s okay, James. Lachlan’s her brother. Let him help her,” Michael attempted to calm him.

James’s pale face failed to hide his scepticism but he remained frozen to the spot. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Anna and promise her the world. He would give her anything as long as she was okay. There was nothing he wouldn’t do. But he was immobile. Too afraid to move. And when the next bloodcurdling scream punctured the silence, his heart shattered.

“I’ll go,” Kathryn declared, pushing out of her chair and heading up the stairs.

She was barely out of the room when they heard Lachlan summoning her, “Mum! Get up here!” Kathryn’s speed increased as unease fell across the room.

James took a step towards the doorway, but Michael’s grip tightened. “Let Kathryn go,” he said, asserting his authority. Both James and Michael knew that if it came to a battle of strength, Michael didn’t stand a chance but for now James relented. Only no one knew how long it would last.

Renee stepped up beside her brother and slipped her arm around his waist. She peeped up at him as he chewed nervously on his bottom lip while he waited. James didn’t even notice she was there until she squeezed him and whispered into his ear, “She’s safe, James. No one can hurt her. Not here,” Renee swore.

And although James knew that she was right it didn’t make him feel any better. “What’s taking so long?” he demanded impatiently.

Everyone looked at each other expectantly, but they all remained silent. It was a question that had no answer. As much as they all wanted one, there was no answer. Seconds felt like hours and minutes felt like days as they waited. James found himself reaching out and taking hold of his mother’s hand, desperate for the reassurance that only a mother could give. But today, that didn’t work.

“Anna’s stronger than she knows,” Brandon declared to no one in particular. But as soon as the words passed his lips James found himself wondering if that was just Brandon reassuring himself. It didn’t matter if it was. The truth was that he was silently doing exactly the same thing.

“James!” Lachlan called as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. “You need to get up there!”

Renee and Diana couldn’t let go fast enough before James was moving. Everyone hesitated barely a moment before they attacked Lachlan with questions.

“What’s happening?” Brandon asked directly.

“Something’s wrong, Dad,” Lachlan admitted, slumping into a chair. “When I got up there she was squatting in the middle of the bed, her back pressed up against the bed head. Her eyes were everywhere. She wouldn’t even look at me. When I reached out my hand to touch her, she completely flipped out. That’s when she started screaming again.” Lachlan was completely bewildered and defeated. He had never seen anything like it. He didn’t know or understand what was going on.

“It’s okay,” Michael declared, “You did nothing wrong. Anna’s just been through a lot.”

“But she didn’t even calm down when Mum came in,” Lachlan admitted, shaking his head. “She didn’t even look like Anna.”

“You’re right,” Kathryn murmured as she re-entered the room. “She didn’t look like my little girl. She looked petrified, like she was afraid to move. I couldn’t even get near her,” Kathryn sobbed as she collapsed into Brandon’s outstretched arms.

“It’s okay. She’ll be okay,” Brandon cooed into Kathryn’s hair.

“You don’t know that,” Kathryn snapped bluntly.

“Yes, I do. I’m her father. And she doesn’t have a choice in the matter!” Kate and Kelley just exchanged worried looks.

“Is James with her?” Diana asked nervously. The truth was she was deeply worried about Anna, but she was also afraid for James.

“James walked in and just said ‘Hi’ and it was like she woke up. She just snapped out of it. She stopped screaming and babbling. Then when he reached out to touch her, she just pulled him towards her and crawled into his arms,” Kathryn admitted.

Brandon wrapped his arms around his anxious wife. “Don’t take it personally. She’s been through a lot in the past twenty-four hours. And James was the one to rescue her. Give her time to get her head sorted out and she’ll come around. She just needs time.”

Kathryn wanted to argue but didn’t see the point. There was nothing that she could do to make this better, so for now she would just step back and let James put her baby girl back together. Kathryn just hoped he was strong enough to do it.

“Who wants more coffee?” Diana said, trying to focus on something else. Anything else. Everyone standing there on their tip-toes watching an empty doorway wasn’t going to help anyone.

“Sure,” Brandon smiled, handing her his mug.

***

Upstairs James and Anna were back in their bubble. Just them. They had no idea of the drama unfolding below and the truth was right now, they didn’t care. They were barely managing to hold themselves and each other together without pretending for their families that they had their happy face on.

“You okay?” James asked as he lifted her effortlessly in his lap to a more comfortable position.

“Mmmm,” she mumbled back into his shoulder.

Kissing her hair lightly, James asked, “Wanna talk about it?” As soon as the words were out he wished he could take them back. Without realising James had touched a trigger point. And not just grazed it. He’d jumped on it repeatedly to make sure he was guaranteed a reaction. Although she was wrapped in his arms, Anna began shaking violently. Her pupils dilated and she broke out in a cold sweat.

“Hey, hey!” James cooed into her ear as he brushed hair off her damp forehead. “It’s okay. It’s just me.”

But his reassurance did nothing. Anna continued to shake as he watched her eyes glaze over. Physically she was in his arms, but mentally she was a million miles away.

“Anna! Anna! Look at me,” he tried talking to her normally but still got no reaction. “Look at me, damn it!” he snapped, harder than he had intended. James knew he had to get his emotions under control because there was no way that this could help, but right now that was like fighting a losing battle. “Anna!” he tried again.

And then she was found. Like that she came back to him and slumped in his arms. The shaking stopped as quickly as it had come and despite her clammy skin Anna felt like she was back to normal.

“Hey, Princess.”

“Hey,” she answered weakly as she looked up into his wide, relieved eyes.

Afraid to say anymore, but terrified not to, James took a gamble. “Where’d you go?”

“Huh?” Anna grumbled bewildered. She wasn’t acting much that out of the ordinary, more like she had just woken up dazed and confused.

“Anna, you know I love you, right?”

She didn’t answer but instead offered him a wide, honest, and open smile. At the sight James felt his heart do a back flip of relief.

“And y-you know I’d do anything to protect you. And you know I’d n-never let anyone hurt you, right?” he stuttered, swallowing the guilt. Despite the truth in his words James couldn’t help but feel like a failure. He failed to protect her when she needed him the most. But from that moment he promised himself he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

“Yeah, I know,” Anna sighed.

Taking a deep breath, James pushed. “Then talk to me. Please, Anna, talk to me,” he pleaded, pulling her even closer.

Anna took a few deep breaths and intertwined her fingers with his before beginning to speak. She spoke no louder than a whisper and if she hadn’t been perched in his lap, James wouldn’t have heard a word she said. “I’m okay.”

“You know it’s okay if you’re not. I mean…I’d understand,” he frowned.

“Okay fine. I’m not okay. But I will be. It’s just…hard,” she admitted sadly.

“Don’t force yourself. Take your time. No one’s going to hold it against you or judge you for it. Promise.”

“But nothing happened! You saved me. You got there before he had a chance to…” but the words caught in her throat.

“I should have got there sooner.”

“Don’t, James! You didn’t do this. I did. Grant was my past, my mistake.”

“No! Don’t you dare blame yourself for that psycho! I shouldn’t have let it get that far. I shouldn’t have let go of you,” James snorted, running a hand through his hair, trying to regain his composure. “Anna, this is my fault.”

Tears were streaming down her face, over the scratches and past the bruises, but she didn’t care. Instead she buried her face in James’s shoulder and sobbed until she had no more tears left to cry. James never once moved. Instead he just sat there holding her hand and stroking her back, letting Anna get it out. And if she needed to cry it out and soak his shirt, then that was fine. He hated seeing her broken but nothing and no one would stand in his way as he tried to put her put back together. If people thought winning a gold medal or breaking world records took dedication then they hadn’t seen anything yet. He owed the sobbing woman in his arms the world and nothing would stop him from giving it to her. Ever.

Two hours later Diana and Kathryn crept up the stairs to check on their children. The screaming had long since died off and they couldn’t hear any noise at all. Curiosity had gotten the best of them and they couldn’t wait any longer. The door was already slightly ajar and Diana knocked on it quietly before pushing it open a little wider so they could see everything was okay with their own two eyes.

Relief consumed them as they saw Anna perched in James’s lap, their hands tangled in each other, James’s head balanced precariously on top of Anna’s as they both snored softly.

Kathryn mumbled, “Thank fuck,” before she realised what she had said. She turned and looked at Diana, embarrassed as her face turned a shade of fire truck red.

Diana just smiled knowingly. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Moments later, reassured and relieved, they closed the door and headed back downstairs.

***

Anna

Once they had reported in, everyone broke off into different directions. Kate and Kelley had discovered James’s vast collection of Wii games and were battling it out in what can only be described as the most vicious game of tennis ever played. It combined violence, sledging, and an occasional volley.

Brandon and Michael retreated to the backyard and were attempting to clean the barbecue, despite the fact that it was already spotless. Adam and Lachlan vanished somewhere leaving Renee, Diana, and Kathryn sitting around the kitchen table speechless.

No one knew what to say to make this better. It didn’t matter what they did or what they said, they knew they couldn’t take the pain away, no matter how much they wanted to.

It was Renee who broke the silence. “What are we going to do about the wedding next week?”

“Next week?” Kathryn and Diana answered in unison puzzled.

“Yeah, didn’t you get your invitation? Anna planned everything while you were in the UK. Before she flew over and joined you. Everything’s arranged for next Friday,” Renee explained.

“I don’t know,” Kathryn answered, feeling off kilter. She knew that Anna had been looking forward to marrying James and making it official, but now it seemed like everything was up in the air. At this point, Kathryn wasn’t even convinced that the Anna she had always known and loved was in there.

“Do you think we should cancel?” Diana offered.

“Cancel what?” a voice whimpered from behind them, shocking them all.

Anna stood there wearing James’s clothes. They hung off her shoulders. The faded blue hoody hung almost to her knees and she didn’t have any hands. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her stomach, her hair was dishevelled, but she was standing. And she was present. And in that moment, nothing else mattered.

“Hi honey,” Kathryn almost cried.

“Hey Mum.” Anna smiled, reaching out and taking Kathryn’s hand. And that gesture alone was enough to reduce both Kathryn and Diana to a puddle of tears. “Geez!” Anna giggled, looking at Renee’s stunned expression.

Thankfully Renee was quick to pull herself together and recover from the shock. Anna, the real Anna, the Anna that she knew and loved was standing before her. Except for a few ugly bruises and scrapes there was no sign of the broken Anna that had been carried through the house only hours earlier.

“Your wedding next week. What do you want to do? Cancel or go through with it?” Renee asked matter-of-factly.

“Cancel? Why would I cancel?”

“Cancel what?” James grinned as he strode purposefully into the room and stood behind Anna, draping his long arms over her shoulders. Instinctively Anna leaned back into the warmth of his embrace.

“Our wedding,” Anna explained. “Wanna go ahead with it or cancel?”

“Your call,” he answered diplomatically, shooting his mother a knowing look.

“Let’s do it! What have we got to lose? And besides, once it’s out of the way we can get on with our happily ever after. And I’m so ready for that!” Anna squealed excitedly, causing Kate and Kelley to drop the Wii controls and race into the kitchen.

“What’s with the squealing?” Kate asked, eyeing Anna, who was beaming.

“We’re getting married next week!” Anna giggled, unable to stop herself.

Kate and Kelley looked to their mother for some kind of explanation but Kathryn had nothing. All she could offer her confused daughters was a half-hearted shrug.

“Yay!” Kelley mimicked, elbowing Kate in the side.

“Yeah! Awesome!” Kate agreed her heart not really in it. But Anna didn’t notice. She was too busy staring at James, a wide, happy smile covering her battered face. And in that moment, James knew that she had never looked more beautiful.

An hour later James managed to drag Anna away from the clutches of the other women in the house who had immersed themselves in finalising trivial wedding details.

“You hanging in there?” he asked as he led her by the hand out the back door and towards the pool.

“Yeah, it’s just weird, I guess,” Anna admitted, shrugging a reluctant shoulder. James just squeezed her hand and waited patiently for her to continue. “I mean, I love my family. And yours. But…but…”

“It’s okay, you can say anything to me, you know that.” He smiled.

“I just feel like they’re all watching me. Every time I move, their eyes seem to follow me. It’s like they are waiting for me to break down or crack up. It’s unnerving.” Anna felt guilty as soon as the words tumbled from her mouth. “And don’t try and tell me that they aren’t,” she warned.

“They’re not.”

“I can prove it,” Anna announced with certainty.

“How?” James asked as he sat down on the side of the pool and dangled his feet in the cool water before tugging Anna down beside him.

“On the count of three turn around and look at the kitchen window. I guarantee that there will be at least three sets of eyes watching our every move.”

Reluctantly James nodded his agreement. “One…two…three,” and then on queue they both turned around. James gulped loudly. Standing in the kitchen window, watching their every movement stood Brandon, Lachlan, Michael, and Diana. James shook his head with disappointment as he locked eyes with his father. There was no avoiding the truth when it was standing there, burning a hole in the back of Anna’s skull.

“Told you so,” Anna smirked, kicking up water, splattering James.

He didn’t know what to do. He had no idea how Anna would react to anything that he said in that moment. She was more delicate now than ever and James was determined to not be the one person that pushed her over the edge.

But he knew he had to say something. “We could always give them something to look at.” He winked, making Anna’s heart flutter wildly.

“Have anything specific in mind?” Anna taunted as she watched James’s face register her words.

After a long moment of silence staring at his feet through the water, James asked nervously, “Seriously though, what do you want me to do? They’re just worried about you, that’s all.”

Anna just shrugged. The truth was she understood why they were watching her. And if she was in their position she would do the exact same thing. But right now it was making things harder. She just wanted to pretend it hadn’t happened. That might not be considered the healthy option or even the right choice, but for her it was. It was all she could handle in this moment. And having her family constantly circling was definitely not helping her avoid reality.

“What if I got you out of here for a couple of days? Just you and me.”

“What about training? We can’t just leave,” Anna sighed as disappointment consumed her.

James just laughed and hugged her tight to him. “Six weeks off, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. No training or media for six weeks. Or should I call it bliss?”

***

James

It was something that James had insisted on when he had first joined the senior squad. Immediately after a major competition, no matter the result he would walk away from the pool for a couple of weeks. No media. No training. No strict diet. In his mind this was the only way he could go back. Without the break to be a normal guy, James knew he wouldn’t last long, no matter how impressive his results were.

And right now he had never been more thankful for that decision. Now he had six whole weeks out of the water. He had time he could spend with Anna. And after everything that had happened, it couldn’t have come at a better time. James needed it more than he cared to admit. He needed the time to just relax; time to just be there for Anna when she needed him. She might have been playing it tough right now, but James wasn’t about to allow the delusions to lead him to believe that she’d stay that way. He’d use the time to find them a home. Take Anna on a proper honeymoon.

“Then hell yeah! When do we leave?” Anna’s smile lit up her whole face.

Chuckling to himself, impressed with his own genius, James jumped to his feet. “Give me ten minutes to make some calls and I’ll let you know. But you know the hard part?”

“What’s that?”

“Someone has to tell the vultures.” He smiled his panty dropping smile, turning back to the kitchen and waving animatedly to their audience, sending Anna into an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

Laughing, Anna yelled, “Bags not!”

“Cheat!”

“Nah uh! Besides, I have an ouchie.” Anna grinned, pointing to the cut on her cheek.

“Fine!” James grumbled. “But that excuse has been used now. Hope it was worth it!”

“Oh, it was.” Anna smiled, melting his heart. The truth was in that moment all she had to do was ask and he would have given her anything. And James didn’t care how pathetic and pussy whipped that made him.

Walking back towards the house hand in hand, Anna felt like herself for the first time. Maybe it was because she wasn’t actually thinking. Her entire focus was on the future and the man at her side. She had neither the time nor the energy to dwell on the past.

“Oh Anna, good timing!” Renee exclaimed as Anna stepped through the door.

Without time to react or object, Renee grabbed Anna’s hand and led her back to the table where Kate and Kelley sat poised with magazines in hand. As soon as Anna’s fingers lost contract with James she felt the loss deep in the pit of her stomach and the nerves came back with abundance.

“So Anna, where are we doing the photos?” Kelley asked.

“What photos?” Anna asked, mystified.

“Your wedding photos? Where are you planning on doing them? Not some place lame, I hope,” Kate added.

“I hadn’t really thought about it. Wherever. I don’t mind,” Anna conceded.

“You’re hopeless,” Kate snapped, her snarky attitude creeping through.

“Kate!” Kathryn scolded as she joined the others at the table, a fresh cup of coffee in hand.

“And not to dampen the mood but you remember that these will also be James’s wedding photos?” Diana added.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kathryn retorted defensively.

“Nothing like that. I just mean that magazines are going to want James’s wedding photos. So there are going to be offers to sell them,” Diana explained.

Anna sighed heavily. Couldn’t she just have something normal for once? “You’re sure?” Kathryn asked, sensing her daughter’s defences go up.

“Sorry to say but, yeah. On this one I think I’m right. I mean hey, they wanted his eighteenth birthday party photos; but his wedding a week after his haul in Manchester–they’d pay the big bucks for them.”

“Do they have to sell them?”

“No, not at all. But keep in mind somehow they will get photos anyway, whether they take them and pay for them or not.”

“Anna? What do you think?” Kathryn offered, watching as she picked at her nails absentmindedly.

“I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it,” she admitted sheepishly. Gone was the girl who barely minutes ago was laughing and full of life as she played in the water with her husband and in her place was a nervous, twitchy replica. “But if they’re going to take them anyway, we might as well control what shots they get.”

“Anna!” Kathryn exclaimed. “You don’t marry someone to get your photo on the front of a magazine!”

“I don’t think Anna is—” Diana began but was cut off before she had a chance to make her point.

“Let me finish!” Anna said, raising her voice, causing everyone to look at her with their mouths gaping open in stunned silence. “They’re going to take them anyway. At least this way we can decide which bits of our—” she emphasised the word to ram home her point “—day they see and what is kept private. So we might as well take the money. But if it’s okay with James, I don’t want the money.”

“If what’s okay with James?” he asked as he sauntered back into the room, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Anna wants to sell your wedding photos,” Renee caught him up bluntly.

James shot Anna a stunned look. Of all the things that they could have been discussing this hadn’t even registered in James’s psyche. “But if they would let me finish, yes, I think we should sell our wedding photos. But I don’t want the money. If it’s okay with you I would rather donate whatever we get for them,” Anna finished.

If they weren’t all stunned into silence before they were now.

“What charity were you thinking?” James asked, stepping behind her and resting his huge hands on her shoulders supportively.

“Lifeline. But it can be anyone. I just think they need the money more than we do.”

“I’ll call Tim and get it done,” James stated, not missing a beat.

“Thank you.” She smiled up at him.

“I love you. You’re perfect, you know,” James gushed, dropping kisses on Anna’s forehead as he pulled his mobile from his pocket and began scrolling through the contacts looking for Tim’s number.

“No, James, I’m not.” Anna smiled sadly. “Perfection is just an illusion. I’m nothing special. I’m just me.”

“Well, you’re everything to me, Mrs. Thompson,” he whispered into her ear so no one else heard but wishing he could shout it from the roof tops. He didn’t want to hide their marriage anymore but another couple of days wouldn’t kill him. But they couldn’t pass fast enough either.

“I’m so proud of you two.” Brandon smiled, clapping James on the shoulder.

“Right, enough with the interrogation, the stalking, and the heavy,” Anna announced, pushing back her chair. “I’m going to the gym for a much needed work out. And,” Anna held her hand up to silence the many comments that were about to come flying in her direction. “I don’t want to hear any more about it. There is a boxercise class in half an hour and I plan to be in it!”

“Can I come?” Renee asked nervously. The truth was she loved that class and usually went but she was worried that Anna would only see it as another person trying to control her.

“Only if you agree not to hold back,” Anna conceded happily before bouncing up the stairs to get ready.

“James?” Diana questioned.

“She’s fine, Mum. She just needs to deal with this in her own way and in her own time. We just need to be there to catch her if she falls.”

Although Diana was sceptical she nodded her agreement and started gathering the dishes to clean up.

***

Anna

An hour and a half later Anna emerged from her boxercise class exhausted and sweaty but somehow energised. It was almost as if she had fought the demons out from inside of her. Instead of letting them eat away at her, she punched and kicked them straight out.

Renee and Anna stood in the hallway outside the room waiting for the line at the water station to die off so they could refill their bottles before heading home. Through the glass Anna spotted James just finishing up his own workout. Even though he was officially on holidays, he still worked out a couple of times a week. Otherwise it would just take too much hard work to get back into it. He claimed it was just easier. And really, he liked the feeling and the freedom a good work out gave him.

In front of Renee a guy in extremely short running shorts bent over and gulped down large, loud mouthfuls of water. Anna turned away, embarrassed when she realised she could see most of his straining underwear.

“There you go,” his gravelly voice echoed as he stepped to the side and gave Renee room.

A cold shiver raced through Anna’s voice. She recognised that voice but she couldn’t place it. ‘Maybe I really am going nuts,’ she laughed to herself dismissively.

“Anna?” it vibrated.

Anna’s eyes shot up and locked with his. Trent was standing before her, his hands on his hips. Anger and frustration filled his face and Anna physically recoiled.

“How? What?” he mumbled.

And that was Anna’s undoing. Without a word she slumped to the floor and started shaking mercilessly.

Trent squatted on the floor beside her. “Anna, please. I never meant for things to go that far. I never thought he would hurt you,” Trent added, pausing to really take in the sight before him. Not only was she petrified but the bruises and the cuts were blatant reminders of her ordeal. “I just wanted…I wanted you to feel what it was like to be rejected, like you dismissed me without hesitation. Just because I don’t drive a fancy car, or have money or gold medals doesn’t mean you’re better than me. But you didn’t care. You just rejected me like I was nothing. I just wanted to teach you a lesson. But Grant, he took it too far. I’m really sorry, Anna. I really—” But his pleas weren’t heard as Anna began to scream blue murder.

Trent went to reach out to her but stopped himself. As Renee turned and saw what was unfolding before her she caught James’s eye through the wall and she just nodded quickly as James sprinted to the door as quick as he could, leaping over empty equipment in his way.

Trent took a step backwards as Renee sunk to her knees beside her. “Anna…Anna, talk to me,” she begged, placing her fingers under Anna’s chin and forcing her to look her in the eye. “What is it?”

“It was him,” Anna mumbled no louder than a murmur.

“What was him?” Renee probed as she spied James enter the room.

“With Grant,” Anna whimpered, collapsing against Renee. “What?” James boomed, glaring at Trent, who was cowering in the corner.