Going Home

    Anna got out of the car and a man in a black suit opened the gate of her old house for her to enter. Fear was visible in his eyes. She didn't know what to expect. Anna couldn't feel happy about returning to the house where she grew up. She didn't know how she would be received by the man who had literally bought her, and being received by someone who worked for him was not a good sign. Would she be just another maid in that house? She knew he had a wife, who didn't accept the situation and left him, but she was afraid, because a man at that age could have fantasies that denigrated women. All the big mafia bosses were famous for their eccentric tastes.

  The man who opened the gate, however, spoke courteously.

  “Come along. Boss Allister left instructions on how to receive you.”

  “He left instructions? Isn't he here?”

  “We can't talk about the chief's routine or activities, miss.” He said and motioned for her to follow him, after taking the small luggage in his hand.

  Anna followed him, thinking about the apartment that man had bought for her father, and the security that now surrounded him. She was prepared to face anything so that her father would continue to be well looked after. She raised her head and entered the house, following behind the man.

  He led her to her parents' bedroom, which was the largest in the house, and left her alone.

  Anna looked around. The double bed had been replaced by an expensive and exquisite wooden one and it looked bigger. The closet had also been replaced by a newer, more expensive one.

  Anna thought it didn't matter. She was sure that old man hadn't bought it to make her happy. She picked up her suitcase from the floor and began to take out her few items of clothing, when the door opened and a woman in her forties entered, without knocking and with a serious countenance.

  “Leave your rags there, miss. The boss won't want that mixed up with the luxury of his clothes, and the ones he bought for you... Let's go. You must shower before he... Before you meet him.”

  “I know where the bathroom is.” Anna said, realizing that the woman didn't like her.

  The woman stared at her impatiently.

  “Then go! What are you waiting for? Do you want maids to scrub your back?”

  Anna crossed her arms.

  “I'm not dirty.”

  The woman looked at her with contempt. She shook her head negatively, hatred in her eyes.

 “Then change those rags you're wearing. I can't tell you're not dirty. You're garbage. I don't know how the boss had the nerve to swap a woman like his for... You.” She said this and left without giving any further explanation, and Anna began to believe that she would hate the man who had bought her. Why had he hired someone who liked his wife for that house?

  She went to the closet and saw the beautiful dresses inside, on hangers and with protectors, showing that there were no clothes in there that weren't haute couture.

  She chose a black dress, because it reminded her of mourning, and that was how she felt at that moment. She was sorry that she had never slept with any of her schoolmates who had tried to get her into bed, and now she was going to lose her virginity under a disgusting old man.

  She opened the door and went into the living room. She knew the house well, but she still found the peculiar taste of whoever had decorated it strange. It was too impersonal. And she didn't like it. But it was perfect. She knew she wouldn't like anything there. She wasn't supposed to like it. What she wanted to do was stay at school, but she knew that would never happen again.

  The door opened and startled her. The man who had bought it walked in.

  Anna examined him, disguising her admiration. He was tall, his hair was starting to gray discreetly on the sides, his eyes were blue, he was very handsome, and he didn't look his age at all. He also stared at her in admiration for a few minutes, before smiling and showing Anna that his smile was also perfect.

  “I didn't expect to see you here...”

  “Would you rather I waited for you in the bedroom? I can go back there.” She said bravely. She knew she was facing the most dangerous man alive, and he seemed to appreciate her proposal.

    “I didn't know you'd already changed, that's what I should have said.” He said, looking at her amused.

  Anna looked at his hand. He was carrying a bottle of liquor.

  “Are you going to let me drink it?” She asked, pointing at the bottle with her chin.

  He looked at his own hand and then at her again and his eyebrow arched.

  “Do you want to?”

  “I think it would be easier for me...”

  “What would be easier? When they sent me reports about you, they didn't mention that you drank...”

  “I never drank.” She hurried to say. She wanted him to understand quickly that it would be a sacrifice for her to lie with him.

  And Allister understood. He wouldn't be the head of the mafia if he didn't understand these intentions. And he thought it was funny. He went over to the coffee table, where there was a set of six small glasses and an ashtray and filled one of the glasses and drank, placing the bottle on the table, before turning to her.

  “I want you to be aware of everything that's going to happen between us, Anna. I've dreamt about it too much to accept that you're in a state of numbness... You'll understand later, and then, if you want to drink... There are lots of bottles of liquor in the cellar. You can help yourself.”

  “Is there anything I can do to save you from that?” Anna asked and saw the man's countenance harden. She flinched when he said coldly.

  “Go back to your room and wait for me there.”

  Anna hurried up the stairs to her room. Her heart raced at her audacity. That man was the nightmare of many young women, friends of hers, who told stories of his evil deeds, done to people for far less than what she had just done. She had hurt his manhood. That wasn't her intention, but she knew that's how he must be thinking. She felt like locking the room. She controlled herself and sat on the bed to await her fate. It took him a few hours and that made her even more anxious. Anna kept imagining all the ways he could hurt her, and she was still scared because of the pain her friends said they felt when they first had sex.

  Allister entered the room, it was almost eleven o'clock at night. Anna was hungry, thirsty, anxious and tired, but she stood up as soon as he stopped in front of her and waited.

  She could smell his perfume. It was pleasant. He raised his hand and made her stand with her back to him. Anna felt warm, surprisingly soft hands touch her arms and caress her, before she felt his breath on the top of her head. He pushed her long hair away and kissed her neck. Anna felt her whole body shudder and respond to that contact, as if this was what she had been waiting for all along. As if this was what she wanted. She felt him slowly remove the straps of her dress and it fell to her feet. She liked what she felt and was surprised that she was enjoying it. He turned her towards him again and, pulling her by the nape of the neck, bent down and kissed her lips. A calm, patient kiss, like someone tasting a delicious fruit. He laid her down slowly on the bed and Anna felt him take a deep breath and look at her. He was standing there staring at her in amazement. He got up and left the room. And in the days that followed, she often found herself longing for him to come and repeat that sweet agony. Always with the hope that this time he would finish what he had started. It couldn't be just that. What she didn't know, and didn't care to know either, was that her whispers and anxious pleas for him, when she was unconscious, delirious in her dreams, were being heard by the owner of blue eyes just like All's, but younger, through a small room next to that bedroom.