Chapter 63

Anna
I wake with a jolt.
What time is it?
Father hates it when I am late.
I glance around for my clock on my small nightstand but don't see it. In fact, I can't see anything. I try to lean forward but quickly hit my head on something above me. I try and get my bearings right and realize I am in some kind of box. I feel around for something, anything to indicate what I am supposed to do, what my mission is, but get nothing.
I want to cry out for my parents, I want to shout out for my brother, but I know that will only lead to a punishment. I cannot give in.Father wants to show me something, teach me something, I just need to survive long enough to know what that is.
A rocking sound jolts me again and I realize that is what originally must have woken me up. A small light shines through the box I am trapped in and I try my best to look around. Suddenly something slams down on top of the box, startling me.
A buzzing type noise starts to rattle the box and I'm helpless as a small saw type of tool, cuts through the box. A small whole appears after a few seconds of the intense buzzing and I realize I'm not in a box. I'm in a coffin. My heart rate picks up and my panic begins to emerge. I try my best to calm myself down but the anger and betrayal squash that concept down. Jed must have told father my fear. How else could he have known.
I await my fate, all while trying to remain calm, but not only is the enclosed space frightening me, the not knowing is second to none. I hear shuffled noises and what I think are voices, but my heart is beating through my rib cage so violently it causes my mind to only focus on what I can't hear.
"Father, why are we doing this? What is her goal?" I hear Jed ask. He seems worried and in turn, that frightens the living hell out of me. Jed is never worried.
"Quiet boy. This isn't a test. It's a punishment." With fathers words my body turns into full-blown panic.
Father's punishments are never pleasant.
They are not meant to be.
The last one ended with me having a broken arm and rib, but this feels different. This is not only meant to hurt, but to condition.
I await my punishment, knowing there is no hidden compartment, or a plug hidden somewhere in here, that will help me get out of this. I'm meant to stay here and deal with whatever father deems appropriate and nothing worries me more.
I wait for what feels like hours and when I hear scratches right above me, I stare at the small circle of light that father has either blessed me with or doomed me with.
"Okay son, put them in there." I hear father address Jed, and that's when the panic I have been feeling for the past I don't know how long, comes in. Father yells that I must spend one hour in this box for my punishment and I scream when I feel tons of critters coming through the small whole.
Cockroaches, centipedes, ants, scorpions, whatever he can fit inside his small one-inch hole right above my stomach has my skin crawling.
I scream.
I scream as hard as I can. My body jolts back and forth hundreds of time as much as it can through this small cramped space. I scream until I feel the insects crawling around my mouth and then I do the only thing I can. I close my eyes and count down the hour. Crying my eyes out the entire rime.

I jolt awake, immediately jumping out of my queen-sized bed and hitting the floor. It's been years since that memory has caught up with the nightmares of my life. Right after Jed was arrested I had spoken with a therapist, Jackie, the same one I referred Laynie too last year, and she showed me a specific mantra to try to take my nightmares away. Time is my thing, always has been, so use it to my advantage.
I check the alarm clock on my nightstand.
Six twenty-two am
I walk over to my bathroom and rinse my face a few times. I knew I was going to start having bad memories again. I knew they would come back when father did, but I didn't think they would be this visual. My phone chimes from the other room and I walk slowly over to retrieve it. I see Laynie's name on the display and when I open the phone I see her usual text come through after she thinks she may have embarrassed herself.
Hey, sorry about last night. Want to get together for lunch today?
I write back that I'm down and that we can meet at my salon around twelve. I blow out a breath when she sends me one of those godforsaken winking face emoji's.
Laynie announcing last night that she knew about Nicholas missing from the FBI and that Jared had kept it from her stirred me into dark thoughts. Not only was I keeping the same secrets from her, but a whole slew of secrets from them all.
I thought I had everything figured out when we went and surprised Alan yesterday, but it turns out, I wasn't even close. Father had messaged me when I was busy having fun with my friends, having an actual life, and reminded me of my duties I was obligated to. When Laynie gave me the perfect excuse to leave Alan's prying eyes, I took it. We went to her restaurant where I was able to spare a few minutes while she ran around speaking to the painters and called my brother's prison.
Tuesday at eleven am.
That was the date and time father and I would visit Jed. So many thoughts ran through my mind when I text father the details of the visit. I never got a text back, I wasn't necessarily expecting one. I knew the unknown number messaging me was Jed. He was the only one that called me Belle. I didn't want to message the number, I didn't know who was behind the actual messages and didn't want Jed getting into any kind of trouble. Besides, it would be pointless. He's in prison. There isn't much he could do from where he was.
I get in the shower and close my eyes as the water cascades around my face. I think back on just a few weeks ago when my whole day would merely wrap around what I wanted. I also think back on the times I had made the painful mistake of taking father head on. The last time I did that was the day I wanted out of the family business. I barely made it out with my life.
I slowly get ready for work, dreading the fact that in just twenty-four short hours, I would have to face father and my brother together. What father wants with me and Jed together? I do not know, but if father knows what Jed and I have been doing behind his back, he will not be forgiving, and although I'm not worried about myself, I will do what he says to spare Alan's life.
Alan.
The very thought of him makes me want to hide under my bed and close my eyes from the monsters under there. Alan knows I'm hiding something, and although I'm certain he hasn't the slightest clue, he is still a danger to me. Alan will stop at nothing to protect me, and unfortunately with him being so close to Jared, and Stephanson still being on the move to locate Nicholas, all of our pasts just may collide, and then I will truly lose him. That's why I had to leave and catch a cab last night when he cornered me in his room, I can't let him get close.
Iarrive at work right before eight. I see Delilah standing right before the entrance and I quickly make my over to her. It's almost December and the crazy girl is standing here with a small black and white sleeveless chiffon dress and black wedges. Delilah crosses her arms and rolls her eyes at me when I reach her.
"You run like a chicken." The drag queen look alike tells me when I pull out my keys to the store.
Had I known the banshee was opening with me, I would do anything, like beat a homeless person so that I could go to jail for the day, in order to not be around her.
"And you look like you're late to meet your pimp." I remark and together we walk inside.
Creations is an elegant business. I do hair, men's and women's, nails, eyebrows and facials. With its three thousand square feet, it's almost double in size what most salons in this area are. I knew it was what I wanted due to the location and as soon as I obtained it, I changed the interior. Now it's all black and white with about ten chandeliers hanging three feet from the ceiling. There are twelve styling chairs, six pedicure/manicure stations and a large pampering room in the back for facials, eyebrow waxing and massages.
The previous owner I bought it from was getting a little older and knew she couldn't keep up with the competition. The original interior was all orange and lime green walls with extremely old equipment.
When I came in, the first thing I changed was the appointment set up. I had all online appointments systems in place and hired about ten new experienced people who fit the mold of what I wanted out of my salon. Creations is exactly where I saw my future and I couldn't be happier.
Delilah and I take turns with the opening duties and once everything is on, I tell her to take a break while I go turn everything on in my office. There are two computers in my office and as I await them both to turn on, I look over at the clock.
Seven fifty-three am.
We will be opening in seven minutes.
I start to head back to the front but stop when I hear the chime of my phone and stare at my Louie Vitan purse. I try to keep my phone on silent while at work, but since father first contacted me, I have kept the ringtone as loud as I could.Something tells me he wouldn't understand me being at work as an excuse for missing his calls.
I walk back over to the purse, reach in to grab my phone, and blow out a breath of air when I see it's Alan texting me. My heart skips a beat when I see a few texts coming in from his all at once and laugh when I notice he is taking pictures and sending them to me of his new classroom. He tells me that he needs help decorating it and needs ideas. I giggle when his next text comes in of his face frowning because he spilt his coffee trying to text and walk at the same time. Alan has never been a coordinated person. I don't know how he ever played football.
I text back saying that I would love to help him and before I can think, I send the damn message. What am I doing? This man is causing me to forget why I cannot be around him. Alan means everything to me, but I don't want to oblige to father's threat. He obviously knows when I am or not spending time with Alan, but I just can't continue to let Alan get close to me, only to destroy him later.
I walk back up front to Delilah opening the doors and am immediately put into my role as Anna Delula, hair stylist. We spend the first few hours busy as hell and it isn't until lunchtime when more of my staff comes in, do I finally take a break. Milly, the nineteen-year old I hired two weeks ago, comes to take over for me so I can run and meet Laynie for lunch.
I walk over to the nearby deli where we often meet for lunch and when I walk inside, Laynie is standing there with Luigi the manager talking. I wave and walk over to our usual table to wait for my best friend.
Another text pops up and this time it isn't from Alan, but the unknown number my brother Jed, or whoever does it for him, uses.
He's coming here, isn't he?
Shit. Does he expect me to message him back? I decided to message back when I get home, not wanting to ruin anytime with Laynie. Yesterday was not a pleasant day for her and something tells me she is going to need a shoulder to cry on.
"Hey, sorry, Luigi was running something by me and I went ahead and ordered for us. He wants to start selling his pastries in my restaurant. What do you think?" Laynie says as she sits.
"What a great idea Lane. His pastries are amazing and that way you can have some window treats."
Laynie's restaurant is extremely busy and she hasn't gotten any help yet. She told me yesterday she was thinking of asking Candice's mother, but hasn't gotten brave enough to do so. I think she is still a little weirded out by the fact that Jared has a sister after all these years. I know it was strange for me when I met her, but the girl is the sweetest thing.
"Yeah, I think so. Luigi is a lot like me, doesn't want the hassle and gimmicks of selling, he just wants to enjoy cooking." She says with a sad smile.
I stare at her in awe, the girl I met when we were only nine years old. She has changed so much since the days where her sole purpose was to make everyone else happy. She has finally learned to live for herself and let the happiness of that flow through everyone she is connected to. Laynie went through quite a self-change last year. Between her and Jared's problems, something she's never really told me about, to her opening her restaurant, she has really gone down the path of self-discovery.
"I'm proud of you Laynie. You have really made your dream come true." I say to her in awe.
"You have too Anna. We all have. Jared's construction company is growing, and Alan is finally teaching at a school that really needs leadership. We all accomplished our dreams. I just wish we weren't all keeping secrets from each other."
"Laynie…."
"No Anna, we are. We have been friends all our lives and for some reason we all thought we could fool each other so well. Jared keeping the fact that the FBI lost track of his father. I know your keeping something from us all, I just have no idea what it is, or why, and Alan may be the worse."
I lose my breath at the last statement she says. I knew Alan wasn't being one hundred percent honest with me, but I didn't realize that he had an actual secret.
"What do you think Alan is keeping from us?" I say to her and pause when our food arrives.
"I think the accident he was in two years ago really messed him up. When his father decided to run, Alan called Jared and asked him about public records. He's worried he may embarrass his father and what's worse, he feels like he can't come up and tell us anything. I know he thinks we will judge him for what happened that night."
I look down at my lap in shame. Laynie's right. Alan has a guilty conscious if he burps in pubic. His parents are the type to never let their children's mistakes cloud their judgement, but that fact won't stop Alan from worrying about people digging up his past. A big part of me takes blame from Alan's mistakes that night. Jared and Laynie have no idea that Alan and I dated back then and that I'm the reason he got into that car that night, I'm the reason he almost destroyed someone's life.
Laynie and I spend the rest of the lunch talking about her next set of interviews and I finally convince her into speaking with Candice's mother. We say goodbye and I walk back to the salon, a little happier than I was this morning.
"Oh God Anna, thank God you're here. Chip came in looking for you and I made an absolute fool out of myself. It's just, well, he's so sexy and gorgeous and I just adore his muscle art." James, one of my stylist says when I walk inside.
I hired James a few months ago. He is an exceptionally good-looking man. He has long brown hair and eyelashes to die for. He has piercings all over his body and I personally think we are busier because of him. Woman line up for the man candy that is James to do their hair.
Chip is the 'next door neighbor' to the salon. He owns a gym but I'm not stupid. He screams underground fighter ring to the fullest. James has had a crush on chip since he first started working here.
"Okay, James don't worry, I'll walk next door and speak with him." I say laughing and begin my journey next door. I can hear James holler at me to tell him he loves him and crackle when I hear Delilah tell him to get a life.
Crossroads is a huge gym. Although we don't share the same building as them, there is an alleyway that separates the two, the buildings are still close enough to walk to.
Since I bought the salon, Chip has done nothing but make a show of hitting on me. He was extremely up front about how he just wants a simple fuck, and as much as I appreciate the flattery, he is definitely too dangerous for my trying to avoid trouble.
I head to the back entrance, the one he once told me to use if I ever needed him and knock on the steel door. I may not have father's specific services at hand, but I do still have a small percentage of sources. I found out that not only does Chip deal with illegal fighting rings but a small area of drugs as well, though I suspect he tries to clear them out more than bring them in.
"Sweetness." Chip calls to me when he opens the steel door. The rickety echo as he closes it causes my body to break out in goosebumps. I hate that sound.
"You needed something Chip?" I say crossing my arms. I know with the blouse I have on; his main focus will be on my rack.
"Always need something from you babe." He says in his deep voice.
I won't lie. Chip is what one might call tall, dark and sexy. He is tall, with dark hair and gray eyes. He has a wall of muscles from no doubt working out every day of his life and tattoos all up and down them. James was not lying, many of my clients will nearly stumble upon themselves when they see him.
"What'd you need Chip?" I say rolling my eyes as he takes in my body. Years ago, I used to flaunt it for a reason, a purpose that would get me ahead of whatever I may have needed, but I stopped being the tease, the easy one someone wanted to fuck for the simple fact that they could. For the simple fact that father told me to.
"Someone watchin' you babe. Every night you been goin' home, someone has been takin' pictures of you leavin'." I stare at his deep grey eyes and narrow mine before he continues.
"Took a picture of their car before they saw me and dashed out of there. I'll get if for you." With that he leaves and comes back seconds later with a printed black and white photo.
I look down at the small image and see a man I'd recognize anywhere. If he is following me, then that could be trouble for several different reasons. Even father may not know about this, and I can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
"Thanks Chip. Mind if I keep it?" Chip nods his head and just as I'm about turn around and head back to the salon I hear him speak from behind.
"Be careful out there Anna. Somethin' weird goin on. Know you think your tough shit, but this man wasn't driving the vehicle, he was the passenger. Call out if you need me, yeah?" I nod my head at him and wave.
I make it back inside and James runs up to me looking like a lost puppy.
"Oh, my goodness, oh my goodness, what did he say? Was he like…keep that guy away from me? Or was he like…Where is that big boy?" I laugh at his attempt at making his voice as deep as chips and pat him on the back as I walk past him.
I make it to my office where I sit and evaluate the picture. Tomorrow I will meet father at the prison and together we will see my brother. Jed must know what's going on because he approved the visit. Something he has never done before.
I haven't received any text messages or phone calls from his unknown number and I checked my mail last night, nothing. Granted I still have the letter from the other day that I never read but I don't know if it will show anything new. I make a mental note to open it when I get home, just in case there was something Jed needed me to see.
I walk back out to the front of the store to address my next client and continue my day. Right before I leave for the day I receive a text message from Alan, letting me know his first day went well and that he cannot wait until I can help decorate his classroom. My lips form a sad smile at his goofiness and I find my cold heart melting a fraction. I wish, more than anything, that I could be deserving of Alan's love. I would take advantage of his warm and gentle heart for me in a heartbeat, but I know it's impossible. I'm too much of a monster.