A Love Lost

Gabriel

Ana gave Peter a nice, hard beating. It was merciful compared to what I would have done. When the bastard left, Mary approached her daughter. Ana walked away from her. I tried and she walked further away. Ana was covered in bruises and red marks. Worse than the ones the thugs from the van gave her.

"Ana. Please." Mary pleaded.

"Leave. Just go." Ana said, her voice breaking.

She turned to me. "I know this is your house and I can't tell you to leave it. But if you love me like you say you do, just give me the rest of the afternoon alone." Her eyes teared up.

He broke her. He broke Ana. The strongest girl I knew. Before, Ana would want me there. Someone there with her. Not anymore.

Before any of us could say anything, she took off down the path that led toward the beach. She ran faster than I had ever seen her run.

"I am not going anywhere. None of us should." Mary announced to the rest of us.

"I agree. We need to give her space, but she also needs us." Tomas said. It was out of character.

We went inside. Mary, Antonio, and I made our way up to Ana and I's room while the others made their way to the kitchen.

Antonio and Mary sat on the sofa in my room while I stood on the balcony that overlooked the beach.

The water was calm, hardly any waves. There, on the tip of a small, sand peninsula, was Ana. Alone.

We remained like that.

The sun was about to set when I decided to make my way to the beach. To Ana. I found her still sitting on the sand peninsula, which was now underwater as the tide had changed. She sat there in the water, her arms wrapped around her knees and her head ducked. Her shoulders rose and collapsed with a shuddering affect. She was crying or she was panicking. It broke my heart into a million pieces while reigniting the fiery rage I had for her father.

I left my shoes on the white sandy beach, now painted a deep bronze by the colors of the sunset. As I drew closer and closer, I expected her to move away from me like she had before. However, she remained still. I stood in front of her and dropped to my knees.

"Go away." her voice broke.

I placed my index finger beneath her chin and tilted her face up to meet mine. She was completely broken. Shattered. The bruises and marks on her face were more vibrant than when I first saw them. They were stark contrasts to her alabaster skin. Her eyes were filled with swimming pools of tears.

"I am not leaving," I told her. It was the truth. I would never leave her. Especially now.

"Please, just go. If you know what is best for you, you will leave. I'm not who you want. I'm not perfect. So, please. Save us both the future heartache and leave."

She meant it. Or at least she believed she did. I had never known her to say things she didn't mean.

When I heard the sound of water splashing, I looked up to see the others making their way to us. They all stopped in a curved line behind Ana.

"Ana. Please try. Don't shut him out. Don't shut us out. " her mother pled.

Ana remained silent. I knew this wasn't easy for her. Either way, it was hard. If I were to leave, I knew it would break her. Yet, if I stayed, I knew it would be hard for her to move past this.

"Ana. You are my life. Without you I die." then I remembered a line from Wuthering Heights I quoted to her. It was perfect.

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger." I once again quoted to her, yet the difference between this time and the last was that I needed her, it was my last plea.

"This is how much you mean to me. I have no place on the planet if you are not by my side. I do not want anything if I cannot share it with you. But, if it is truly what you want, I will leave. You will never have to see me again." I offered unwillingly. However, if it truly was what she wanted, I wouldn't pain her with my presence.

I looked up at our family, waiting for her response. "Take care of her. I will see you all sometime soon."

Then I looked back at Ana, who stared back at me. Her eyes filled with an unspeakable sadness and an unfathomable terror.

"Goodbye Anastasia. I will love you. Forever."

I left. I didn't know where I was to go, but I got my car and drove away.