For the Love of Anna (The Town of Pearl 1)

“No, Anna, it’s not true. Don’t think that way.”

“I couldn’t even see what my own father was doing.”

Anna crossed her arms in front of her chest and rubbed her arms. She looked out across the water, and Stacy stood beside her.

“I should have demanded that he show me receipts for the shopping, for the rent, for the bills. But I was afraid. I was afraid of being alone, and I was afraid of his drunken stupor.”

“He was abusive, Anna?”

“Yes…he didn’t hit me as often as when I was a kid or when momma was dying, but he had some bad nights.”

Stacy cursed under her breath and caressed Anna’s shoulders.

“When he didn’t pay the rent after I gave him the money and the landlord threatened to evict us, I should have demanded he straighten out. I was working every day and every night, getting four hours of sleep, while he drank. I should have known something was up that night I arrived home so late and he wasn’t there.”

Anna began to shake.

* * * *

Stacy felt her own throat tighten and the tears begin to form in her eyes. She had to be strong for Anna. Anna needed to tell her what happened.

“What happened?”

“When I got home, I was thinking how crappy our apartment complex was and how there was no security and garbage everywhere. I was tired. I had been working so much to make up the money for the back rent. As soon as I saw that the door was unlocked, I should have run back downstairs.”

“Instead, I figured my dad was drunk again and forgot to lock the door. I thought for sure I would have found him on the couch, passed out or even on the bathroom floor. But as I entered and tossed my purse on the couch, there was no sign of him.”

Anna inhaled, and Stacy waited for her to continue. She felt Anna’s body tense, and then her voice began to quiver.

“I never saw them. Not until the one guy grabbed me and the other emerged from my bedroom.”

“Who were they?”

“Men my dad owed money to. They had warned him that time was up and the money was due and now they were going to send a clear message. Pay up, or your daughter gets the punishment.”

“Oh, my god, Anna, what did you do?”

“I tried to run. I tried to explain that I didn’t know where my father was, but they didn’t believe me. They touched me and threatened me.”

Anna began to cry. “He squeezed my breast so hard. I felt the bruises instantly, his breath against my neck, the smell of his cologne. I can smell it at night…when I’m sleeping,” she cried.

Stacy could no longer hide her tears as she held Anna.

“They started hitting me, demanding for me to tell my father that his time was up. I fell to the floor in the fetal position, hoping to block any further hits to my head and face. If I fell unconscious, then I was as good as dead.

“I thought they were going to kill me

. The pain was so terrible, and they wouldn’t stop kicking me and punching me. Then I heard my father’s voice.

“I was so…I was so relieved.” She sobbed as Stacy caressed her back.

“What did he do? Did he fight them? Did he have the money?”

“He owed thirty thousand. He didn’t have anything.”

“What happened?”

“He told them that he didn’t have the money and that he needed more time. They told him he was out of time and that they would take me…take me as down payment.”