77. Days

Genre: Drama
Characters:  Renee, Deanna
Prompt: 77. Days
Word Count: 1,111
Rating: PG-13
Type: series
Summary: Renee located Anna
Warnings: Talk of abuse

Renee kept her eyes locked on the house as she drew closer to it hoping her days of relentless searching wouldn’t have been for nothing. The aged brick house sat oddly on the corner of a secluded street and entirely too close to the train station with a heavy scent of burning metal and stale garbage in the air. 

She lifted her hand to the door, hesitated then forced herself to knock three times. “Who is it?” A light voice called through the door before she saw a figure emerge behind it. “Deanna? Hi, my name is Renee. If it’s ok, I just want to speak to you for a minute.”

“I’m not interested in buying anything.” The voice replied.
“No,” Renee giggled, “I’m not selling anythi-”

“Then what do you want?” The door opened slowly, she looked out both ways before redirection her attention to Renee. Everything from her skin, eyes, and hair took on a glow that almost made her look angelic, sweet as Eric described her personality but the expression on her face said something else.

“I uh, wanted to talk to you about an old friend of yours.”

“Oh yeah? And who might that be?” She shifted her weight to the left, leaning against the door.

“Ra-Ramone Ramos…” Renee hesitated then swore under her breath for speaking his name so soon. Anna’s eyes lowered with his name and without a word, she slammed the door, shouting for Renee to go away.

“Please Anna!” She knocked on the door again, “I think my friend is in trouble and I need to help her! You’re my only hope!” She continued to knock until the door opened again and this time Anna looked her over cautiously before allowing her to step inside. Closing the door behind Renee, she looked her over once again, “Eric?” She asked with a smirk.

“Yes.” Renee’s eyebrows knitted.
“I figured. You look like his type.” She flashed half a smile for the first time. 

Renee smiled back, nervously fixing her hair as she followed Anna through the house. Rounding the corner, she paused mid-step as Anna leaned forward to pick up a small child

“You can have a seat.” Anna motioned toward the plush sofa. As Anna placed the little girl on the sofa with a stuffed Elmo toy, she immediately recognized those eyes. The little girl was female replica of Ramone. The same jet black hair and light brown eyes that Ramone and his sister both inherited from their father. She sat back on the sofa making a plopping sound, obviously shocked and amazed by the resemblance.

“I take it you didn’t know about her?” Anna smiled again, running her hands through the child’s curly locks.

“No…” Was all Renee could say, unable to remove her eyes from the little girl.

“Well, Anna took a seat, “this is Kayla. Kayla, this is Renee, say hi?”

Kayla waved with the widest smile, the same as Ramone’s.

“Hi Kayla!” She replied, her heart warmed by the child’s gesture.

“So,” Anna’s smile faded, “Your friend is dating Ramone?”

“Kind of.” Renee shrugged, “She and Wilson…” Renee paused as she noticed Anna shift on the sofa. It was obvious in her movements that she hadn’t made peace with whatever happened between them. “She and Wilson had a fallen out a few weeks ago and it seems like ever since, he has been up under her. Even before then he would act funny when she was around Will and it seems like I’m the only one who has picked up on it.”

Anna sighed, “One thing about Ramone, he is very charming and very aware of it. He is able to convince the wises fish that it can breath on land! I made that mistake…” She sighed again looking down at her jeans. “I let Ramone’s charm pull me away from a man that loved everything about me! A sweet, caring man that could make love to me mentally without touching me! A man that I never deserved.”

Anna stared blankly at the wall ahead, hesitant, deeply saddened, “He loved me,” A somber smile formed, “and I threw it away! He fought for me and I still chose the wrong door.” She wiped away a tear that’d begun to travel down her cheek. “Ramone came to me one day and told me that he loved me. That Wilson was like a brother to him but he loved me so much that he was willing to set aside that bond for me. I didn’t choose. I couldn’t! Will had been so good to me that I just couldn’t break his heart no matter how bad I wanted to be with Ramone. One day, Wilson was waiting for me outside of my class with this…sad expression. He kissed me on my cheek and told me he just wanted me to be happy and you know what I did?” She laughed as more tears poured from her eyes, “I went to Ramone! I ran into the arms of a man who did everything but love me!” She swatted the tears pooling under her chin and took a deep breath. “A few weeks after that I found out I was pregnant. I counted back and was unable to tell who the father was. When I told Ramone, he called me a slut and told me he didn’t want me anymore more because I was tarnished! My entire pregnancy I prayed she would be Will’s child but when I saw her, I knew she wasn’t! I knew at that point that I’d messed up things not just for me but for her! He has never seen her and his family knows nothing about her!”

Renee fought the urge to cry as Anna pulled her daughter close, unintentionally knocking Elmo to the floor. She was at a complete lost for words, shocked and disgusted by what she’d just heard. She was a stranger to this child and already felt herself being wrapped around her little finger so how could he be so cold hearted and deny her?

“But that’s how it starts…” Anna began again, wiping away the last of her tears, “He’ll always be around.  He wants her to become dependent on his presence. After that, you’ll see her less and less and when you do see her, she’ll be closed off. No emotion, no enthusiasm, nothing!  She’ll be reduced to a shell of what she used to be. I love Kayla with all my heart and don’t regret her birth at all but if you don’t act fast, this is what your friend will be faced with…"

“a beautiful but sad future.”