Knight Vision by Johanna Bock

sidewall.  As she stood there, the soreness in her body returned, reminding her of the past couple of hours.  She had not realized her mother’s word had caused her to go numb.  How could this man do this to her?
    She righted herself and grabbed the washcloth off the towel rack.  Turning on the faucet and placing the stopper in the bottom, her mind raced as the sink filled with hot water.  She knew in her heart, the passion they had experienced was real.  Was everything he told her a lie?  She had felt his heartbeat; he was telling her the truth.  Then again, maybe it was too good to be true. 
    She turned off the water and tested the temperature.  It was hot and it was what she needed.  Stripping off her clothes, she examined her body in the mirror.  Signs of their ’activity’ were obvious.  Shaking her head, she doused the washcloth into the water, willing her mind to go blank.  Lathering up the cloth, she proceeded to erase all traces of their lovemaking.  She scrubbed herself from head to toe until it glowed red from her pressure.  When she finished, she gently dried her sore body. 
    Reaching for her robe on the back of the door, she wrapped it around herself.  She picked up her clothes and dirty towels and dumped them into the nearby hamper, and then unlocked the door.  As she opened the door of the bathroom, the door in her mind also opened, allowing all her thoughts to tumble out.  Enough!  I don’t want to think about it , she cried silently.  She needed sleep and knew if she allowed her mind to open, she would have another sleepless night. 
    Exiting the bathroom, she noticed the lights were now out in the house.  Breathing a sigh of relief at not having to confront her mother again that evening, she silently made her way to her bed.  She closed her bedroom door, dropped the robe and crawled into the sheets, savoring the feel of the cool sheets against her bare skin.  She curled into a fetal position.  With a growing apprehension that she would lose control of her thoughts, she willed herself to sleep.  Within minutes, she knew it was a losing battle.  She found herself falling back on her counseling class’s techniques of relaxation in order to ease her anxious mind.  It had always worked in the past and it succeeded this time as well.  She was soon fast asleep.
     
    ***

 
    Chapter Twelve
     
    When Annie woke the next morning, she was still in the same position as when she had gone to sleep.  To her surprise, she found her pillow was wet.  She had cried in her sleep; she had never done it before.  As she started to move, she discovered the soreness was still with her.  She gingerly dressed and wondered if she should just get back in bed, telling the world to go away.  She smiled, knowing if she did it would be running away and she wasn’t the kind of person to take refuge in her bed. 
    She wanted to avoid her parents; she needed to talk to Leah.  Her world had gone from pleasure to pain to rapture to rock bottom in one evening.  She just had to work it out some way and she needed time to think.  Knowing it was too early to call Leah and unable to bring herself to talk to Jeff, she headed to the front door of the house.  Calling out to her parents, she cried, “I have errands to run and will be back later.“
    Reaching her car without interruptions, she started it and drove to a nearby park.  Turning off the motor, she sat there, debating with herself on how to exorcise these demons which were taking control over her thoughts.  All the ’spirit-killers’ she thought she had buried the night before came back to her in a rush.  She got out of the car and proceeded to walk around the park in the cool, brisk morning air.
    The brisk air and the power walk helped clear her mind, but she found no answers to her array of questions.  Thinking to herself, she noted that two days ago, she had not a care in the world and now her life was turned upside down.  Continuing to