Kristen took a deep breath, raised her fist, and knocked. Immediately, she heard the lock unlatching and saw the doorknob slowly turning. Then, she saw one blue eye, undeniably Annalise's peering out at her. "Kristen?" Annalise's soft voice spoke.
"Annalise? It's me," Kristen said, leaning closer, "You... called?"
The door quickly closed and Kristen felt her spirits drop. Why would she call her over just to slam the door in her face again? However, she heard the chain over the door unlatching and soon the door was opening once more, this time much wider so that Kristen could see Annalise in full.
 |
| This is what I imagine Annalise's hair looking something like |
"Come in," Annalise said, moving aside so that Kristen could enter.
Kristen took a step inside. The interior of Annalise's apartment had not been what she had expected at all. Based on Annalise's reclusive nature, she had expected it to be dark and drab, with bare walls and plain furniture, and hardly any lights, while she would just sit in the corner huddled up like a frightened animal, alone in the dark. However, once she stepped inside, she was greeted with soft classical music playing in the background. The walls were painted a light turquoise blue. Also hanging on the walls were... Kristen wasn't sure, but they were thin purple and pink glass decor of some sort, kind of shaped like waving streamers. The many lamps around the room reflected off the glass and made the walls look like they glimmered. The walls' many hues shimmered down onto her white sofa and chair.
Kristen stared in awe. "Whoa, Annalise. This place, it's... whoa." She didn't know how to describe it.
"Thank you," Annalise said, closing the door and locking it behind her.
She moved over to a small set of speakers and quickly shut off the music. Then she turned back to Kristen. "Do you want to sit?" she asked.
"Oh um, okay," Kristen said.
They both moved over to the couch and sat down. There was a short silence. Kristen wrung her hands together. What was happening? She cleared her throat. "So..." she began awkwardly.
"Kristen, you have to break up with David," Annalise said quickly.
"Why did you want me to come over here?" Kristen asked at the same time.
Kristen stared at her sister. "What?" she asked.
Annalise took a breath. "I said, you have to break up with David," she repeated.
"What? Why?" Kristen asked, caught off guard. This had not been what she had been expecting.
"Because he's a no-good, manipulative, sleazeball, scumbag, spawn of the devil," Annalise responded.
Kristen lowered her eyebrows. "What are you talking about? How do you know? You've never even met him! You wouldn't meet him! You slammed the door in our faces after shouting at us! After shouting at me! Calling me a monster."
Annalise blinked. "I never called you a monster," she said.
"Yes you did," Kristen said, "I remember it clearly. I brought David over to meet you and when you opened the door, you began shouting and you said exactly: "Stay away. I've told you, you monster.""
Annalise's face dropped. "And you thought I said that to you?"
"Well, didn't you? You did tell me to stay away before that. Who else would you be talking to?"
"David!" Annalise said.
Kristen stopped. It was a moment before she spoke again. "Why... why would you say that to David?"
"Because he's a no-good, manipulative, sleazeball, scumbag, spawn of the devil," Annalise repeated herself.
"But... how do you know him?" Kristen asked, "He said he had never met you before."
Annalise scoffed slightly. "He would say that," she said, "Well, that's a long, brutal story."
Kristen stared at her, confused and inquisitive. Annalise closed her eyes and took a deep breath as though she were calling back all her memories. "It was back in my freshman year," she began, eyes still closed, "I didn't really have any friends or anything. I just went to class everyday then went home."
She finally opened her eyes. "No one really ever paid any attention to me... or so I thought," she said, "One day I had to go to Student Services. The boy at the desk told me that he had seen me come into the building everyday and always noticed me. He told me he thought I was one of the most gorgeous girls he had ever seen in his life. Well, of course I soaked in everything that he said. I had never been noticed by anybody in my life and here was this boy-- this older, amazingly good-looking boy-- who told me I was pretty."
Annalise sighed. "He asked for my number right then and there," she said, "And within the week he called me."
Kristen leaned forward. "David?"
Annalise nodded. "David," she said, "As you probably know, he was the most charming, perfect guy. The ultimate dreamboat, prince charming, Casanova, whatever. I was completely swept off my feet by the end of our first date."
She shook her head bitterly. "Little did I know," she mumbled.
"What?" Kristen asked.
"Well we dated for a while," Annalise said, "A few months. It was a very passionate relationship. I was convinced I was in love. Then it got to midterms and that was the first time he asked me." Her face hardened.
Kristen immediately understood. "To...?"
"Yeah. He told me he loved me and I couldn't have been happier. I was so in love with him that I returned the sentiment without question," Annalise continued, "That was when he asked me. Actually, he more told me. He said it as a matter of fact, like "since we love each other, we should seal our love in the most tender way possible". I was caught off guard by it, but I actually considered it. However, I decided against it. It didn't feel right."
She sighed. "But that didn't stop him," she said, "He kept asking and asking and asking. But I stayed firm in my answer... for the rest of the year."
Annalise leaned against the arm of the sofa and covered her face with her hand. Kristen leaned closer to her, concerned. "What? What happened?" she asked gently.
"I gave in," Annalise said, "He broke me down, piece by piece and finally I said yes. Just two weeks before finals, I went over to his place and we did it. Sealed the deal. Made love."
Kristen could hear her voice cracking slightly. She sounded so sick when she said it. Kristen scooted closer to her and reached out a hand. "Anna..." she said, softly.
"But that wasn't the worst of it!" Annalise cried, "Oh no, there's so much more!"
Kristen pulled her hand back as Annalise sat up straight and looked her straight in the eye. "After our little night together, he came to me and wanted me to do it again," Annalise said, eyes narrow, "Well, I just felt so wrong about it and didn't really want to. I told him I thought one time was enough for the time being. He got upset and insisted on it. "Don't I mean anything to you?" he said. I got upset as well and told him that love is not all about having sex all the time... And that was when he showed me the tape."
Kristen's eyes widened. "The... tape?"
"Yes. The video tape he had taken of us in his room," Annalise said, her eyes beginning to brim with tears, "He had filmed the entire thing and threatened to put it up for all to see if I didn't do as he said."
Annalise shook her head, wiping at her eyes. "You can imagine, I didn't want to sleep with him then. The dirty tramp," she mumbled, "But I didn't want that tape up for people to ogle at either. But what could I do? I weighed my choices and finally decided that I'd rather put up with the humiliation of the sex tape if it meant David was out of my life."
She took a deep breath. "So that's what happened. At first it was fine, but gradually, people began to look at me different. I would randomly get wolf-whistles from creeps on the street. Then, I started getting notes left in my bag and coat pockets about my "technique" and stuff, and I was starting to get harassed everywhere I went. Soon, it got to be too much and I had to leave. I got my own apartment out here and started taking online classes. It was good for a couple years... until David found me. Now I've started getting knocks from some of my "fans"."
Kristen reached out to her once again. "Annalise, I am so sorry," she said, "I was the one who brought David here. I had no idea."
"No, Kristen. I'm sorry," Annalise said, "I should have told you about him sooner. I was afraid though. I thought by distancing myself from you, he would leave you alone. But, I forgot how malicious he actually is. I mean looking at all the other girls..."
"Wait, what do you mean "other girls"?" Kristen asked.
Annalise reached down beside the couch and pulled up a white laptop. "Oh I've done some research since I've been locked away," she said, opening the laptop, "I wasn't the first girl David has targeted."
Kristen scooted over so she could see the screen. Annalise pulled up a website. Leskov’s Ladies. It wasn't very extravagant, just a giant gaudy title at the top and a few videos listed below it, each with their own smaller titles.
"Six girls he's got so far," Annalise said, gesturing to the videos, "He's been at this for a while. At least once a year since he was pretty young, he picks out a girl and then just manipulates them until he gets them to sleep with him. Then he films it and hangs it over their head, threatening to put it up here unless they continue to do so. He gives each of them a nickname. See?"
She pointed to each video. "Golden Dream, April Flower, Sweet Valentine, Arabic Beauty..." She swallowed and pointed to one. "Rainbow Queen."
"That's you?" Kristen asked quietly.
Annalise nodded.
Kristen leaned forward onto her knees. "I can't believe this," she whispered, "How could he do this? I mean, I really thought..."
She felt tears brimming at her eyes. Annalise noticed and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I know," she said.
Kristen leaned into her shoulder, the tears now coming freely. Annalise wrapped both her arms around her and hugged her close. "I know," she whispered again, rocking her back and forth.
"That no-good, manipulative, sleazeball, scumbag, spawn of the devil," Kristen muttered into her sister's shoulder.
Annalise gave a slight chuckle. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
Kristen sniffled. "So what made you suddenly decide to tell me all of this?"
"Well... tonight I got a knock on my door," Annalise began slowly, "I thought it was just going to be one of my "fans" come to bother me, so I ignored it. But then a voice came after it, calling my name. It said that they needed to talk to me right away, something about you being in trouble. It was enough to capture my interest. No one had ever come around mentioning you before, so I opened the door for him. He told me he was a friend of yours then explained your entire situation to me."
Kristen gave a small nod. Annalise continued. "He said he needed my help because he was worried about you and didn't know what else to do."
"Which friend was it?" Kristen asked.
"Um, big guy," Annalise answered, "Jonathan? I think."
Kristen stared ahead. Jonathan. The sound of his name sent a warm feeling through her body. Jonathan, her tutor, her friend. Jonathan... who was in love with her?
Kristen took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, then she sat up. "I just remembered, I'm supposed to go meet David in a little bit," she said, suddenly frowning.
Annalise saw the dark look come into her little sister's eyes. "What are you going to do?" she asked.
Kristen stood up. "I'm putting the spork in this," she said, "I mean... you know what I mean. I can't think when I'm this mad!"
She marched over to the door and unbolted it. She opened it and then turned back to Annalise. "This ends now."
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