Saving Anna

Chapter Six

**This has not been edited or proofread.**

It felt like the weekend came super fast. Anna continued to stay at my place. I think a part of her was scared to go back to her apartment. That place held so many memories of Ross; I felt like though it was good to have those memories, they were killing her. Because I knew everywhere she looked in that small apartment she had, she shared a memory with him.

When I left in the mornings for work, Anna was still asleep. When I came home in the evenings, it looked like she had just forced herself out of bed. I never said anything; I just let her be. The fact that she was forcing herself to get out of bed for me was enough right now. I didn't want to push her too hard. All of this was so new to me, and I was terrified of screwing it all up by pushing her too much.

Right now, my plan was just to show her that I wasn't going anywhere. My plan was just to give her someone to continue fighting for. Her person used to be Ross. Now, I planned to make myself that person.

Today was finally Saturday, and I was determined to have her enjoy today as much as she could, not wallow in bed all day.

"I just want to sleep," she mumbled when I tried coaxing her from between my blankets. We'd shared my bed the past few nights. We hadn't had more rain since Tuesday night, but they were calling for more rain today, and it was supposed to last well into the night. We'd been falling asleep to the sounds of storms that I had played from every TV in my house—the living room, my bedroom, and the spare room—but I knew it wasn't anything like the real thing.

I was just trying to do my best here.

But I was thankful we were getting rain today. She was hitting another super bad low; I could see it coming. And I was hoping the storm would hold it off a few more days.

"You do more than enough sleeping for the both of us while I'm at work," I teased her. I knew she slept so much because of her depression, and it broke my heart. "Come on, sweet girl. Get out of bed."

She huffed but sat up. I grabbed her beneath her arms and pulled her up until she was standing on her feet. "Good girl," I praised. I'd come to realize that praising her lit her eyes up for a tiny sliver of a moment. If you weren't watching her like I always was, you'd miss it. "Let's go."

I led her out of the bedroom, her small hand encased in mine. She held my hand a lot now, and I did my best to ignore the way it always made me feel. She was seeking comfort; that was all this was.

I set a plate of toast in front of her with a steaming mug of coffee once she sat down at the bar. "Can you eat this for me?"

She frowned down at it. "I'm not hungry, Ryan."

I sat beside her with my cup of coffee and two slices of toast. "Will you do it for me?" I pleaded with her.

She looked over at me, her eyes locking with mine. I kept my gaze steady on hers. Finally, she sighed, caving in. "Okay."

I pressed a kiss to her temple before I focused on my own food and coffee. Once she had managed to eat her slice of toast, she sipped at her coffee. I washed our dishes and dried them before turning to watch her. She was lost in her head, staring out the back door towards the gloomy sky. The rain was coming in fast, and I knew she was longing for it.

Since I saw the good it did her on Tuesday night, I'd been praying for more rain ever since then. And I'd continue to pray for it for the rest of my life because my sweet Anna needed it to survive. Just as nature needed it to thrive, so did Anna. She would wither and die without it.

"Why don't you go sit on the back porch?" I suggested. "Enjoy the weather."

She looked over at me for a moment before she nodded and slid off her stool. I watched as she grabbed her blanket Ross had gotten her before slipping outside, sitting on the swing. I watched her for a minute, wishing there was some way for me to take her pain and make it my own.