Rescued: A Festive Novella (2 page)

Squinting one eye tightly, she hit send, watching intently as the text message disappeared into the phone's 'sent' folder:

J
ack, if you still want it, this is my number. Anya

It'd taken almost an hour to type those measly 11 words; she'd retyped the text message deleting and changing it over and over, before finally summoning the courage to hit send.

She'd thought of nothing else but Jack all afternoon, replaying his kiss, the light stubble on his face having scratched across her cheek, his lips delicately touching her yet searing her with their presence. She’d felt more in the short time they’d spoken than she had in years. There was something soothing and stable about him that gave great comfort, but more than that, he was interested in her despite knowing that she was a complete and utter bore.

Talking to Sophie during the walk home turned out to be a waste of time. She was sulking about something, and spoke only briefly about Jack's attention muttering something about her never being able to find a guy like that. Anya had been tempted to mention that if she'd ever keep her clothes on long enough that maybe she would, but Sophie was already sliding into one of her moods, so the less said the better. Anya knew better than to push Sophie and in all honesty she didn’t understand what was going on in Sophie’s head. A quickie in the water with a stranger then finding it within herself to sulk about it afterwards… it was another low in a series of poor choices a la Sophie style.

They'd been friends since Sophie's family first moved to North Grove when she was seven years old, Sophie's arrival marking life quite simply for Anya as the pre-Sophie and Sophie years, her influence had been that great. They'd spent every possible waking moment together—school holidays, sleepovers, double dates as they got older and had only spent long periods of time apart when Sophie's parents took her with them on their travels. The time apart had always been excruciating for them both and when they finished school and both started working they promised each other that they'd stick together, spending lunch breaks, evenings and weekends together before finally deciding it'd be easier to just live together. The following week they had a flat and life together was on track.

Knocking gently, Anya called to her, "Soph? You ok in there?"

"Yep, fine. I'll be out in a minute" came Sophie's muffled reply. She was upset and by the sounds of her voice had been crying.

"Soph, open the door—talk to me" she offered to no reply. Just as she was about to give up, the door opened and Soph fell through it and into her arms.

"I keep doing the same thing Anya. I did a stupid thing this afternoon, don't get me wrong—it was fun, but the whole time I knew I was just falling into the same trap and yet I still didn't stop myself. I want something more Anya—I want something more permanent, more real” Sophie confessed.

"Sophie? Sophie Anders, are you in there?" Anya replied, playfully outstretching her arms to make eye contact with her friend. "Are you saying that
you
, the consummate bachelorette, want to settle down?!"

"Very funny, Anya—you're not the only one who doesn't want to be alone and you're definitely not the only one who wants someone to love them" she snapped back harshly before registering the instant hurt in her friend's eyes.

"I didn't know you felt that way, Soph" Anya bit back, willing herself not to cry.

"I'm sorry Anya that came out wrong…" Sophie attempted.

"Maybe if you want someone to settle down with you, you'll need to settle down and start acting your age first?" Anya managed, before pushing past her and into the safety of the bathroom.

As she slammed the door behind her and heard Sophie pleading with her to open the door, Anya dug into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone just as the screen lit up with a message:

Anya, of course I want your number! I was starting to think you’d forgotten abou
t me. Jack

Seriously, Anya
she thought to herself,
here’s a perfectly kind man, a gorgeous lifesaver no less, wanting my attention and yet here I am hiding away from someone who is meant to be my friend in a house where I have no space of my own other the bathroom! What the hell am I doing?!

Anya’s attention fell back briefly to the coldness of the conversation she’d just had with Sophie subconsciously comparing it to the warmth and kindness Jack had offered her earlier at the beach.
It’s time, time to start living again
she decided resolutely, grabbing her phone and texting back,

How could I forget you? You have my number now, the next move is yours
, quickly hitting send before she chickened out of her reply.

Giddy with delight at her unusually flirtatious reply and nervous at how Jack would reply, Anya stripped off and stepped into a steaming hot shower. Here was an opportunity to start living again and nothing was going to stop her from grabbing it with both hands.

Lathering the soap between her hands, Anya slid her hands slowly across her stomach, imagining how amazing Jack’s hands would feel on her skin. How his body would feel against hers. How it would feel to wake beside him in the mornings and to fall asleep in his arms at night.

It’d been years since she’d thought of letting anyone close—she’d kept herself and her feelings so heavily guarded, the thought of them being trampled far too much of a risk to consider. But, Jack—Jack was different. Everything about him felt genuine.

Hands gliding across her stomach, her body gradually coming to life, her thoughts turned to Jack and how amazing his hands would feel tracing her skin. Fingers moving to her core, she rubbed her clit gently imagining Jack’s strong and capable hands offering her relief, her speed and pressure intensifying until she felt herself on the brink of orgasm. It’d been so long since she’d touched herself, since she wished for a man to touch her—Jack would be the perfect man to bring her back to life she realized as she stroked herself steadily, reaching her peak quickly and leaning against the shower wall for support as her legs buckled from the intensity of her orgasm.

Next move is mine, huh? Then, I choose a moonlight walk on the beach. Pick you up in 20mins. Text me your addr
ess

A walk would be great
she text back, adding her address to the text before frantically throwing on clean underwear and running to hers and Sophie’s shared wardrobe and pulling out her favourite denim skirt and a white cap-sleeve shirt which she teamed with a pair of sandals and a tidy ponytail. Just as Sophie walked out to assess all the commotion, the doorbell rang.

“Anya?” Sophie questioned staring between her friend and the door. “Pizza again?”

“Yes, Sophie, because the only person who could possibly be here for me is a pizza delivery guy. Seriously, get over yourself” she snarled back.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Anya. What’s the matter with you?!” she replied defensively. “Look I’m sorry about before, I said the wrong thing as always. I just want to be happy, like you”

“Right, because I’m just so fucking happy. My entire family is dead, I’ve got no friends and the only person I have in my entire life decides to be a bitch because she can’t deal with her own bad decisions. Yes, Sophie, I can see exactly how you’d want to be like me” Anya bit back as the doorbell rang again.

They walked in silence for the first ten minutes; the look on Jack’s face as she’d opened the door gave away the fact that he’d unintentionally overheard hers and Sophie’s argument. As much as Anya wanted to shake it all off and enjoy the night with him, she was still seething from the second argument with Sophie in the space of a couple of hours.

The squelching of the sand beneath their feet and the waves crashing filled their silence, the calm and stable rhythm of the ocean slowly soothing Anya and steadying her mood.

Taking a deep breath, Anya stopped still in the sand and to her surprise found that Jack had instinctively stopped beside her, “I’m sorry” she finally offered.

“No, I am Anya. I overheard you talking and I should’ve given you space, but I didn’t. I haven’t quite known what to say Anya, but, I’m sorry. I’m sorry things have been so hard for you”.

She looked up and found him staring intently at her, kindness and compassion in his eyes rather than the pity that she’d become so used to seeing in people once they found out about her situation. Desperate to escape the intensity of his gaze, Anya dropped her eyes to the sand and began walking again.

“Hey, Anya—wait!” Jack called, catching up to her and sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her into his firm body. “Just wait…” he whispered, as his other hand worked its way to her shoulders, sliding gently up to the base of her neck before pulling her in close to rest against his chest.

Her breath caught and for a split second, she forgot everything except for the way it felt to be held tight and secure. Two years of facing everything alone, of not being a part of a family, of having nobody to hold her during the good and bad times. Now to feel Jack’s comfort, his concern, it was overwhelming.

“It was my fault” she finally managed.

“What was?” he replied, holding her at arms length as though assessing the validity of her comment.

“Their accident; it was my fault. They’d still be here if I’d done things differently”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he probed gently, sitting down and pulling her to rest between his legs, his arms encircling her and sheltering her from the world.

“My dad, he always drank—usually just enough to take the edge off and he was fine—relaxed, funny even. But other times… well, he had trouble stopping himself and once he got into a mood, he was awful to be around, never violent, it wasn’t that…he just hated the world, his responsibilities, himself… I got sick of it and decided that once I finished school, I’d get out of there, which I did. I felt awful leaving mum and my two sisters, but I had to get out” she recounted, her heart sinking and the tears she so desperately had hung onto for years threatening to expose her. “I know I should’ve stayed and tried to help—if I had…” she trailed, unable to finish.

“Sounds like you did what you needed to do, to protect yourself from the situation Anya” he offered, his fingertips grazing lightly across her shoulders, a silent support and encouragement.

“Yeah, I did and that’s the problem I guess. Mum had pleaded with me to spend Christmas with the family that year, she’d been asking for weeks beforehand and I knew something was going on, I just couldn’t… didn’t want to be a part of whatever it was. Turns out dad’s drinking had become out-of-control and… when mum finally told him that I wasn’t going to Christmas dinner, he put everyone in the car to come and confront me. Mum had begged him not too, he’d been drinking most of the day by that point, but he ignored her. She phoned me, left a couple of voice messages, and her last message…” she explained, before the tears overtook her will to keep calm, “her last message was after the accident… she begged me to pick up, to phone her back—“

“Just breathe, Anya, you’re safe here. I’ll keep you safe” he soothed, pulling her in tighter and holder her close.

“She…she was devastated. She was hurt…” Anya whispered. “They’d hit a telephone pole, Dad and Eloise, my sister, had already died and Mum was pinned under the crumpled dashboard. My sister Lucy, she was still alive at that stage, I could hear her screaming and crying. Mum knew she wasn’t going to make it, she told me she… she loved me, that she was proud of me… then the phone message just ended…”

“God, Anya—I’m sorry you had to go through that”

“I didn’t know any of it had happened because I was busy having my own fun, not wanting to know about any of the dramas that were unfolding at home. It was only when the police showed up at mine & Sophie’s apartment that I found out what had happened. By then, all four had already… were already gone” she managed, before the wracking sobs took over her body.

“Hey, come here” he offered, pulling her into his lap and tucking her head beneath his chin. “Have you thought about talking to someone, a professional, because Anya, that’s a major thing to live with”

“I’ve never told anyone, Soph knows but only because she was there. I’ve never actually said any of that out loud before” she whispered.

“Well, I’m honoured that you trust me to share that with me Anya. Truly, I am” he said, tipping her chin up to meet his eye contact. “You’re an amazing woman, Anya, to go through all of that and still be positive and open to life”.

“Hmmm… I think you give me too much credit” she sniffled, smiling at him. “I have chronic insomnia, I haven’t had a night free of nightmares for years, and most days I barely get through without feeling enormous bouts of guilt and stress. I’m hardly the catch you might think I am!”

“You’re the catch I’d like though and that all that matters to me” he replied, before brushing his lips across hers and catching her mouth in his.

The thick, intoxicating saltiness of the Bondi summer breeze mixed with the intense passion of his kiss and the emotional release of finally sharing the pain of her loss was a heady combination, and Anya fell deep into his embracing kiss. His tongue tracing her lips and his fingers probing deeper into her hair, holding her firmly in his embrace.

It was her hand, placed firmly into his chest that drew them both out of their passion. It was too many emotions, too many sensations after being shut down for so long, “I need to be alone” she whispered, “I have so much to figure out, I need to get my life on track—I was harsh on Sophie for not facing her problems and looking for a man, or in her case men, to fix everything when really maybe that’s what I’m doing with you too.”

“I think you’re talking about two very different people and situations, Anya. Yes, Sophie deserves better, but so do you. You deserve someone in your life who will care for you and protect you. I can do that, I want to do that for you Anya, can’t you see that?”

“My problems are just that—mine. You don’t need this Jack, truly you don’t. I have to go” she said, rising unsteadily to her feet and away from the first person who’d made her feel anything other than sorrow and hurt in two years.

Instinctively she knew she was making the wrong move, but trusting the remaining shards of her heart to anyone was a risk too big to take.