A Double Bluff- Chapter 2
Right, well this was unexpected. The story is definitely writing itself. I'm merely a translator! I think I'll rate this M for slightly Mature content.
Chapter 2
It had been painful to leave- more so than Anna had expected. Late at night, when everyone but the two sisters was asleep, Anna had picked up the duffel bag she had so carefully packed and hugged Ellie for a long, long time. The younger girl had not cried this time and that had made it worse, somehow. All she’d done was let Anna hold her for as long as she liked, then pulled back, her face an unreadable mask. When Anna told her that she wouldn’t be back for quite a while, not until she had decided what to do with her life, Ellie’s whole demeanour had changed. Anna knew what she was doing- distancing herself in order not to betray any emotion- but was unable to stop her. She had no right to.
‘She’ll never trust me again,’ Anna had thought as she left the large white mansion which never failed to remind her of a Parliament building- dirty politics and everything.
Now, sitting on a dingy motel bed two cities away where nobody knew her face, at six in the morning, Anna couldn’t help but wonder if she’d made the biggest mistake of her life. It had been only five and a half hours and already she was panicking about the wide, currently empty expanse of her future that begged to be filled with plans. The strange thing was that, no matter how hard she tried, Anna could not conceive of any possible prospect. Maybe she was too tired. Having paid the receptionist enough money to rent her this room for nearly a month- a marginally safe haven, bleary and disgusting though it might be- she laid back and let her thoughts drift, vague visions of blonde hair and blue, teary eyes filling her mind till she was dead to the world.
Late afternoon brought a sudden urge to make an inventory of all that she’d taken (stolen) from the house. Anna expected a barrage of news stories about a missing heiress to the Moore estate, but there was none. Presumably Ellie had spun a story about her having left to stay with a friend, which would give her a while to get as far away from home as possible before her parents realised that something was very certainly wrong.
Anna emptied the rucksack onto the depressing, fawn coloured motel duvet. There was enough cash left to last her two weeks, probably longer if she didn’t drink, some jewellery which could be sold off for more money, but nothing that would last her more than a month. She supposed she could use the cards, but those would surely be tracked. She took all the plastic rectangles, stashing them at the bottom of the bag. She couldn’t get rid of them yet. Someone would find the pieces and would track her; she’d just have to hold on to them for now.
“Get a job.” Michael’s voice cut through her thoughts, startling her slightly.
“Where have you been?” she demanded.
“Right here,” he replied.
“Why didn’t you say anything all night?”
“Didn’t want to bother you,” he said, his tone oddly soothing.
“I have no skills,” Anna reminded him.
“Well, we’ll just have to find out.”
Anna ignored him, repacking the bag and putting it back under the squeaky bedframe. She had half a mind to call Ellie from a public phone and tell her…what would she tell her? That she was fine? That she hoped Ellie was fine? That she missed her already? No. It would only make it harder, and she was nowhere near ready to go back home. Not after what her father did…
She pushed that train of thought to the back of her mind with no plan to ever analyse it. Sighing, she got up, putting her sneakers on and trudged towards the door. She could really go for a cup of coffee right now.
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Hours turned to days, and days into weeks, and Anna still didn’t have a plan. She should get a job, really, but nothing appealed to her. Michael had admonished her, told her beggars couldn’t be choosers, but really, waiting tables and doing someone else’s dishes was definitely not her area. She spent her days going through the papers, waiting for when a news story would appear and force her to leave this town. It never did. Somehow, she couldn’t shake off the strange feeling that something huge was coming her way.
Soon, however, the money began to run low. No matter how hard she tried to save, living like a hermit even, it was almost all gone. Right. Time to get very rich, very fast.
She’d seen these things on movies- some of them rather explicit- and she knew well how to go about it; it was a simple matter of picking the right person and the right moment.
Anna knew how unusual she looked. She knew how attractive men (and even women, at times) found the combination of jet black hair, tanned skin and light blue, almost grey, eyes. She knew exactly how much to swing her hips while she walked so as to draw focus to her narrow waist and lower- being one of the most popular girls at school had taught her that much. She put on the only pair of high heels she’d taken with her, some lipstick and a tight dress with a low cut neckline, and let her curls fall down to just below her shoulders. That should do the trick.
She walked into the nearby pub she’d been visiting almost daily and took a seat at the bar, ordering strong rum and soda. She wasn’t one for fruity cocktails. The first glass went down fairly quickly, and she began to feel a tingling warmth spreading down her chest as she began looking around for a suitable target.
“What are you playing at?” Michael asked, startling her again.
“Would you please stop doing that?” she hissed. “One of these days, I’m going to end up giving you a nice left hook.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.”
Anna turned her attention back to the bar, but before she could order another drink, an unfamiliar figure sidled up and took the seat next to her.
“Hello,” he drawled, and Anna turned to face him. Gruff voice, slightly flushed skin. He’s half drunk. Perfect. “Haven’t seen you around,” he said, grinning at her suggestively.
“I’m new here,” she replied, shifting her hips on the bar stool so that she was now completely facing him.
His gaze- blue irises, pupils slightly dilated- left her eyes and went south to her sternum. She didn’t even have to try.
“Anna,” Michael growled.
“How much?” the man asked, unabashed. Clearly he’d done this before.
“Three hundred,” she stated, “And two rounds of drinks, if you don’t mind.”
He didn’t. Before too long, Anna was beginning to feel her head swim as the world began to tilt slightly to the right. She grabbed the stranger’s large hand- maybe she should ask his name- and hopped off the stool, knowing exactly how it would impact him. The short walk to the motel passed unnoticed, and the man was getting grabby, touching her all over. Her skin was on fire. He kept whispering all sorts of filthy things in her ears, telling her all the things he was going to do to her, as she turned the key and opened the door. Before he could grab at her again, she put one hand on his large chest, pushing him away.
“The money,” she demanded.
Grumbling slightly, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet, pushing the currency into her considerably smaller hand.
“Anna don’t do this,” Michael pleaded.
She put the money away into her own bag, finally letting him have at her. It was all kinds of messy. His tongue was insistent against her tonsils, sweaty palms roaming all over her back, unzipping the dress clumsily. She had to push him away again before he could rip it right off her. The bed frame creaked as they toppled on to the uncomfortable mattress. Try as she might, she couldn’t get herself excited about it. He wasn’t ugly, not nearly. A little old, but rather fit. He kissed her skin sloppily, touching her everywhere. She faked moans when she felt him begin to suspect her lack of enthusiasm. She could hear Michael growling in the back of her head, could feel his disapproval in every vein of her body. She could almost picture his eyes- light brown, the colour of liquid honey- and the glint of anger they’d hold. She could almost imagine how he’d rip this beast of a man off her and snap his neck.
Anna wasn’t nearly prepared when said beast of a man entered her, groaning loudly into the skin between her shoulder-blades. The burn in her muscles was nothing compared to the complete intrusion. A foreign body inside her own. It was unnerving and she felt the very beginnings of a panic attack, but then he started moving and the pain sparked more intensely, setting her nerves ablaze. She knew she’d be sore the next day, and the day after. Was it worth the money? Maybe she should’ve asked for more.
He rutted hard into her, biting at her neck and shoulders, while she held onto the bedframes for dear life. If it was her first time, she said nothing.
Read the Preface and Chapter 1 on my new writing blog!
Do feel free to drop in critiques or ideas! Also, should I mark these as nsfw? :-S
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-S.