Rescued: A Festive Novella Read online

  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 about 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 address

  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.

  Chapter Four

  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.

  Chapter Five

  The first rays of sunlight snuck through the curtains almost immediately after Anya had finally slipped into a restless sleep. An hour and a half she noted, checking the time on her phone, an all-time low even for you Anya.

  “You’re awake” came Sophie’s sheepish voice from the kitchen, “I have coffee from downstairs” she offered, bringing Anya her usual order from their local café. A short macchiato followed by a double-shot latte was the only way Anya had found to help her face the day with little to no sleep.

  “Thanks, Soph” she replied gratefully, groggily pulling the lids from the coffees and breathing in the caffeinated wake-up call.

  “About yesterday Anya, I’m really sorry—everything just snowballed and every time I tried to stop and fix things I somehow managed to make them worse. I didn’t mean any of those hurtful things, I am just angry and annoyed with myself and my life, really I am sorry”.

  “I’m sorry too” Anya murmured into her coffee. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was apologizing for, after all she’d meant everything she’d said yesterday to Sophie.

  “Excellent! I’m glad that’s done” Sophie exclaimed triumphantly before clapping her hands together and disappearing into the bathroom.

  And, there it was. She’d just copped Sophie’s trademark dismissive attitude. A first for Anya and judging by her rising temper it’d be the last time too. Enough was enough, Anya needed time away from Sophie.

  “Let’s go shopping” Sophie called as she emerged from the bathroom, a statement more than a question and just the thing to set Anya’s temper into a furore.

  “No, Sophie. I have something to do today”

  “You never have anything on Anya is this about Jack—because you know, I think you should be careful, guys like that…” she trailed, dismissive and seemingly oblivious to how cutting and hurtful her comment was.

  “Like what, Sophie? Tell me, what do you actually know about men other than how to fuck them then leave?”

  “ANYA!”

  “What? Don’t like hearing the truth, is that the problem?”

  “What has gotten into you—I know it’s a hard time of the year for you, but seriously of all the people you should be thankful to—“

  “Oh, so I need to be thankful to you now Sophie? Right, well here you go: thank you Sophie for being there when my family was killed, thank you Sophie for being a friend and helping me through my hard times—”

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it Anya. You’re being impossible” Sophie interrupted.

  “Have a good day shopping” Anya snapped, heading to the bathroom and slamming the door closed before Sophie had the opportunity to see her tears.

  Chapter Six

  I looked for you all day. Sophie came to the beach and I’d hoped you were there too. Can I come and see you? the first text from Jack read.

  Over the following hours, Jack phoned three times and there were more than a dozen calls from Sophie. She let them all go unanswered.

  Anya, answer my calls. Are you ok? Finn just had a call from Sophie saying she hasn’t seen you all day. Just let me know where you are, I’ll come to you. Jack

  Then thirty minutes later, another text from Jack: Anya, please, I’m worried. Where are you?

  She’d spent the day sitting in a cheap motel room, trying desperately to clear her mind; it was time to move on with her life, she knew that much for sure. But how, and with who?

  Sophie was the one person from her past who had been there through thick and thin, had held her close after the accident, had known how all-encompassing her grief and guilt had been and had given her uncompromised support throughout it all.

  Then there was Jack—she’d only known him for a day but the connection they had was palpable. He knew her past, understood her history and still wanted to be with her. He was offering her a future. A future she desperately wanted and needed.

  Jack, I’m ok. I needed t
o get away and sort some stuff out she text him.

  Where are you Anya? came his immediate reply.

  Can you tell Sophie that I’m fine and I’ll talk to her in the morning? Will you come and see me? she replied, texting him the address of the motel.

  “Anya—you had me worried. Are you ok?” he asked visually assessing her for signs of problems as she stepped aside, letting him in to the tiny motel room. “What are you doing here?”

  “I needed some time out, away from everything so that I could get my thoughts in order. This was the easiest and cheapest place to escape to” she laughed.

  “You’re exhausted, Anya” he whispered, closing the distance between them in one step, sliding his arm around her waist and gently pushing her hair from her face, “you need to rest. We can talk later.”

  Melting into his embrace, into the comfort of his protective arms, she felt the tiredness take over. Leaning into him, she rested her cheek against his chest, the scent of his soap and the ocean engulfing her senses. She murmured almost silently, “Will you stay?”

  “I’ll stay until you tell me to leave” he replied, planting a gentle kiss on the top of her head before walking her to the bed, letting her go only to pull back the covers and settle her beneath them before pulling a chair over to the bedside.