The first time it happened she’d known to expect it. Claire had been warning her for
weeks, saying they`ll come for you next, Anna. That tall one`s got his eye on you. So
when, in the middle of the night, her door clicked open Anna was not surprised. Not
really. All she felt was a small feathering of fear in her gut, a little panicky voice in
the back of her brain, babbling irrationally… pretend you`re asleep. Pretend you`re asleep
and maybe they`ll leave you alone. Anna shut her eyes.
She heard the door shut and the two men moving across the floor. She heard their
breathing and just from that she knew it was the tall one and the one with the Tinkerbelle
tattoo on his neck. He always breathed as if he`d just climbed a set of stairs, huffy and
loud in the dark.
Anna did not move a muscle.
‘Go.’ she thought at them, ‘Go away.’
But they did not.
"Pretty, isn`t she?" said the tall one.
Fingertips brushed softly, almost tenderly against the back of her neck. Anna was aware
of someone leaning down close, of short rushed inhalations as they smelled her sleepy
body.
"She`s awake," said the tattooed one flatly.
"No way."
"Look at her eyes."
Anna immediately squeezed her eyes tight shut, realizing her mistake a second too late.
One of the two men must have seen her eyelids twitch because the next second they were on
her. One of them grabbed her arms and suddenly she found herself pinned to the bed, a hand
over her mouth. The tall one`s face was an inch from hers. Her heart erupted, beating like
never before.
"All right then, listen," said the tall one, the intention unmistakable in his
whispered voice, "you make a sound and we break your fingers. You understand?"
Claire`s warning surfaced in Anna`s mind,
"Don`t fight them, Anna. It`s worse if you do."
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