Mr Scott hesitated when the young lady broke down before him. The room was enveloped in an uncomfortable silent, the only sound coming from Ana as she continue her act, sobbing loudly. She convinced herself it was the best thing to do at the moment. Sh couldnt think of any other way to get him off her back for sometime. Before he could say another word, she continued.
I didnt expect such good news to come," sniff, sniff, If you had come bearing this news sooner when my mother was alive, she would have been elated. But alas, my mother is no more."
She sobbed loudly, and her shoulders shook mostly from rage than anything. She hoped the man had enough shame to take a hint and go away, otherwise her excessive acting would be in vain and would have to switch to another plan. She didnt want to be forced to spelling it out for him.
Ms Green," said Mr Scott squirming in his seat. He is used to tears, but perhaps the guilt of her mothers death was finally hitting him. Good. He carried on, I am sorry. Perhaps I have been hasty and imposed too much on a young lady who has lost her mother so very recently. Please forgive my rudeness."
You… You mustnt apologize," she blubbered, tears streaming down her face. It is just hard for me. Im coping with the loss right now."
Yes, Ms Green," said the loan shark as he stood walking over to the side of the table where she was seated, he patted her shoulders. Its alright. Take your time." The hand on her shoulder slid down her waist and just over her backside. Anas skin prickled in an unpleasant way as she shivered in disgust. She cursed him to the pits of hell, which is sadly the only thing she can do about the situation. She needed to convince him to buy some time to figure out a way to pay the debt.
Ms Green, you are just so young, beautiful and the perfect daughter in law that I couldnt help but offer," he said, You understand how I feel, dont you?"
Of course," she said, blowing her nose in the handkerchief. You slimy arsehole, she cursed inwardly. Her face was distorted, more in anger than the crying. If he looked at her, he would know how she felt about him exactly. But he was busy touching her inappropriately to take any notice.
It will look bad if you get married so soon after your mothers death," he said, How about we wait for two weeks then I will offer again?"
Damn you! Two weeks is not enough.
Really?" Ana barely stopped herself from snorting, teary-eyed.
Of course," he said, rubbing her back. I shall be back here after two weeks. In the meantime, focus on getting yourself together, okay?"
I will do so," said Siana, Thank you, Mr Scott."
I will be looking forward to our next meeting."
And I would be not!
"And Ill bring along Michael." he added before leaving the shop with his crones.
In your dreams!
Ana heaved, resting her her head on her palms against the table. When she feel she could pick herself up, she locked the door and went up to her room after switching off the lights.
She could still feel the place where his dirty hands had touched. She couldnt shake off the feeling of his hands on her. She felt dirty and infuriated. Sick dirty bastard." she cussed angrily stomping into her room. She made mental note to pray for forgiveness later, right now she needed to vent.
Even in his old age, he was still a pervert. She can only wondered what life he had live when he was younger.
Anastasia could bare it no more. She stripped out of her clothes mindlessly and stepped under the scalding shower. She scrubbed herself raw until her skin ached and the imprint pf his hand was lost along the throb. She drew a bath after that to sooth her aching body.
The warmth sipped through her bones helped her relax, the soothing lavender scent added a calming effect. But that wasnt enough to take her mind off the event that just unfold.
So far, this is worst September ever, it had done quite the damage she wouldnt be able to recover anytime soon.
When the dreadful month approached, she braced herself for the bad omens to roll. Usually it came in the form of losing items to small accidents. The biggest was when she almost set their school ablaze in a chemistry practical. That was when she was 14. The year before that she was forced on a bike and ended up with a broken rib.
She expected something along the lines. But Ana never thought shed lose her mother as soon as the month began. As if that wasnt enough, a long forgotten, decades old debt had to make its debut when her life is at its worse.
Seriously this is the worse thing that could happen after her moms death. Funny how she thought life couldnt get worse.
Heavens, what am I to do? She sank further into the bubbles.
Anyone but Michael. She had to find a way to pay off the debt. She had used her grievance as an excuse this time, but she might not be so lucky the next time. She needed to figure out a way pay the debt at all course.
Even though in a town as rotten as this, the chances were slim, anything is better than her marriage to the scumbag.
She hated this, wished there is someone she should could blame for her misfortune, but there was none. Her mother had truly forgotten, she wouldnt put her through this. Ms Green had done everything in her power to keep her safe, this was just a mistake.
Perhaps, she thought, if she had taken Ellies advice and dated one of her colleagues, she might have found the right one and safely married, she would have never fallen into this situation.
Thinking about Michael made her even more miserable. She wished she could go back in time and shake the young Anastasia by the shoulders and warn her about this limp-d*ck, walking STDs she would most probably end up with.
How is it that the world doesnt even have a single decent man willing to date her? She isnt that bad. Ana recalled the many men she was set up with. No one had accepted her, using one excuse or the other. Nobody actually wanted her because they loved her, they were set up by their parents. There was one who had caught her eye at the time though.
One of her childhood friends.
Thinking about it, she easily made friends with the opposite gender when she was younger. Wonder what went wrong as she grew? But Ana didnt dwell on that.
It had been so long since she had seen him. That was on their graduation day. They had drifted apart since they started high school. He was the son of the only detective in town. He was kind and sweet with soft features just the way she liked. The young Anastasia had taken a liken to him at first sight. He reminded her too much of fluffy puppy. She had thought he was a dog shifter.
Her mother had read her too much werewolf stories.
He had gotten admission at one of the college several towns over and moved the next day after the grad. She havent heard from him since then.
Maybe, Ana thought. Maybe if he was still around, they might have had something. She remembered the times they spend together before Enz appeared and ruin everything. And he had always managed to appeared somehow. Like an unwanted ghost. He would always find her no matter where she hide.
The memories of the bully ruined her little solace and was brought back to present. Grabbing her pink towel, she got out of the water, splashing all over and covered her body and beelined straight to a black cabinet in the corner of the room. Her stomach protested loudly now that she felt better but that can wait.
Ana sat cross legged in front of the opened cabinet and lit up three dried stalks of some weird grass. Inside the cabinet sat a large murky green crystal orb the size of a medium ball on a luch pillow surrounded by the burning sticks.
As usual, Ana begin her routine whenever something bad happened or is about to happen or when she needed luck.
"Aummmmmmm....." Ana hummed deep holding her breath as long as her lungs allowed her, only releasing when she cant hold it anymore and started to cough.
She had once read about it in her childhood stories of a bullied witch. Ana was bullied as a child and thus could relate. She took up the practice ever since then.
She repeated again and again as smoke slowly permeated the air.
She replayed all the event that happened during the day and finished by a firm faith that everything was just a test to her strength.
"Aaa.. cough cough.. aameeen... Cough." Ana concluded between coughs and put out the burning sticks. She rushed to the the only window yanking it open as fast as she can and took fat mouthfuls of fresh air.
One might think she was a serious weed addict or something with the amount of smoke in the room. As shady as it may look, it did helped her calm down and think clearly.
She decided to get a good rest and think up a reasonable solution tomorrow.
Her stomach rumbled as she stepped towards her bed.
"Starting with a warm, healthy meal." She retraced her stepped back to the kitchen.