Another Five Years

Carry That Weight

The long hallway gave him time to watch her as she walked ahead of him. She was definitely taller than he remembered her, though she was wearing heels. It was like she had grown into her body, the sharp angles were now soft curves and the young adorableness had morphed into the fox in front of him. He was staring at the way her ass moved in her tight dress when he noticed she was limping a little like she was favoring a hurt hip or leg. Had she fought off the swamp monster to get his wallet back and been injured? Maybe he needed to take her to get a rabies shot. He laughed at his own joke and she turned to give him a questioning look.

"You okay?" he asked, biting back his smile. "You're limping a little."

"Yeah, just a bit sore," she said quickly, then stopped in front of a door marked 2112. "You know it's funny, I totally thought of you when they gave me the Rush room."

"How the hell did you even get this?" She was only nineteen, there was no way they'd rent to her alone.

She shot him a wicked smile. "My ID says I'm 25."

He nodded at her but was still thinking about her limp. Had he hurt her when they... she wasn't limping before they... wait... oh fuck. Oh, fucking shit. Oh no. "Anna...," he asked carefully, his voice shaking a bit, "back there... at the club... us... was that...?"

She played dumb as she dug for her hotel keys in her bag, "Was it what?"

"Was that your first time?"

She cleared her throat and turned the key. "Sorry, I probably wasn't much fun," she said quietly. 

He stood dazed in the hallway, replaying the night in his head. He had actually taken her virginity on some filthy desk in the back of a dingy dive bar and he hadn't been very nice about it. The sound she made when he was first inside of her rang in his ears, making him cringe. 

"Are you gonna come in or can I close the door?" she asked.

He mechanically walked into the room, barely registering that she had lied about having two beds and slumped onto the lone queen sized bed. "Anna, I'm so sorry. If I had known..." he looked around as if the room would explain for him. If he had known he wouldn't have touched her, he would have left well enough alone and said his goodbyes then and there, let some other idiot have what he himself didn't deserve.

"Don't be sorry," she said, leaning against the bed to take her heels off. "I'm glad it's over with."

"But it wasn't... you know... romantic," he replied, feeling like an idiot when she laughed loudly.

"So it's not always like that!" she teased. "I'm gonna take a shower... unless you want to go first?"

He shook his head and waved her off, wanting to be alone with his self-loathing. The shower churned on and the sound of water splashing off skin drifted into the bedroom. He listened for a moment before thinking maybe he could make it up to her. Shrugging out of his clothes, he quietly slipped into the shower behind her. He felt his heart in his throat at the sight of her, but his stomach dropped when he noticed the wisps of blood circling the drain. She stared back at him with wide eyes, pulling her long hair off her back and over her shoulder to try and cover herself just a little. She looked scared and a little shy, but without all the makeup and tight clothes, she was his Annie again. 

All it took was one arm outstretched for him and he was on her, kissing every inch of skin he could reach while she held him to her. This time he was gentle, holding her up against the tile wall and easing into her as if she were made of glass. Her nails dug into him again, though this time it wasn't from pain. He smiled against her lips, thinking he would forego a shirt at his next gig to let everyone see her scratches on his skin before remembering there were no more gigs for him. The band was done and so was he. Maybe he should forget Seattle and take Anna home. They could get married and start on those eight kids he had promised her so many years ago. But the thought of him being a washed-up musician at 21 made him falter and Anna gasped when he suddenly pulled back, setting her feet back on the shower floor.