Chapter 8：Off my rocker

"Michael Hilary Whittaker," she exhaled, ignoring the way he flinched at her use of his middle name. "What on earth are you doing here?" As far as she'd known, he had been planning to study abroad for the next several years. She didn't hesitate to ask about it. "Weren't you supposed to be off on one of your grand adventures, tearing up new classrooms and causing chaos in libraries?"

He rubbed at the side of his neck with his right hand as he looked at her sheepishly. "I ended up staying here."

"You had everything lined up, though? You were even talking about how you had your flight booked and your bags packed?" Anna spoke with no small amount of confusion and it showed in the way her voice trailed up at the end of each query.

He waved a hand in the air and shrugged. Dismissively, he said, "Oh, you know how it is. Some stuff happens and plans change."

That didn't seem right. Michael had been really excited about the trip. He'd been looking forward to exploring a whole new culture, learning the language - he'd been going on and on about it long enough that even Anna was aware of it - and they had only acquaintances at best.

Regardless, it didn't seem like something he was comfortable discussing, so she decided to let it go with only the usual condolences. "I'm sorry to hear about that; I remember how excited you were to go."

He looked at her strangely, but nodded. "Thanks," he told her. His twinkling eyes were strangely still. "I really do appreciate that. Anyways, are you local here? I thought you were on the other side of the city."

Anna made a face. "Stuff happens and plans change," she echoed back to him, then forced a grin. "I have a new roommate."

"Weren't you living with your sister?"

"Yeah, Laura's still back at the old apartment."

"Well, hey, do you wanna exchange contact info then? If you're new to the area, I can take you around and show you the good places to eat!" he suggested. "We can catch up on our mutuals and see if we can dig up any good gossip."

Anna laughed aloud, pleased by his easy glee. "Alright," she agreed, reciting her phone number. "Go ahead and text me. I'll check my phone when I get home."

He fingers paused in their movements as they tapped the number in and he frowned. "You don't have it with you?"

"Nah, that thing wouldn't fit in these pants. Please, do you think women get anything functional when it comes to clothing?" she smirked at his reaction.

"What if something happens?"

Stunned by the question, she stared for a moment, but then quickly shook her head. "What would happen? I'm just minding my own business and going for a run." And besides, if anything strange were to ever happen to her in her lifetime, she figured it already had when Kenneth and his subordinates had trapped her like a rat and taken her away. With all of the chaotic information she'd already taken in, she didn't think that the person in front of her could possibly add to the mess. After all, he was a normal guy, one that used to have big dreams but now was just making his way through life - it was the same as everyone else.

"Something could still happen," he insisted, the frown growing even deeper at her casual response.

"Why does it matter?" she asked him, curious. His reaction to this was stronger than she'd expected for such a small thing.

Michael sighed, then shook his head. His expression grew rueful and he apologized, "Sorry, Anna. I was just worried."

"Did something happen?" she asked, pressing for more information.

Anna jerked back in horror, struck by dual notions of 'I couldn't have known' and 'I as insensitive'. Aloud, she exclaimed, "That's terrible! I'm so sorry! Is she okay? How long ago was this?"

Rubbing at his neck again, Michael shook his head. "She's fine, it's old news at this point. Let's plan to meet up again sometime soon. I can tell you all about it then."

Sensing that it was time to let the conversation go, Anna agreeably nodded. "I'll see you next time! Enjoy the rest of your run!"

He nodded to her and resumed his jog. Anna stood there for another moment, watching him go. What a strange encounter. Still, it was too bad - Michael's little sister had gotten into an accident and it had halted his future growth.

Well, maybe not halted so much as adjusted. He still had quite a lot of potential. Innate power wasn't something that external events could easily affect.

Shaking her head, Anna got off of the joggers' path before someone could come and smash into her the way she'd run into Michael. After looking around for some points of reference, she sorted out roughly where she was and began to slowly walk back towards the mansion. She felt a lot calmer now, almost as though she was a soda that had been shaken up and opened. Enough time and fizzing had occurred so she was a slowly settling drink, mellow and sweet.

The walk back took a long time - longer than she'd thought. Her long legs had eaten up plenty of distance when she'd gone out earlier, feeling crazed. The walk back was soothing. She took in the sights, noting a few local shops that she might want to visit later on.

As she walked, she also thought about her day. It was strange to think about all of the things that had happened, but considering each item as she walked along helped her to compartmentalize everything. It gave her that bit of distance she had been unable to achieve earlier. That didn't mean things were any easier. Rather, this gave the events a solid weight they hadn't held before.

She realized that she could not act as though any of this directly affected her. Regardless of whether or not she was the woman Alex thought her to be, the reality was that she was herself - Anna Rosaline Walker. Whoever his old wife was didn't matter, because she wasn't that woman. Whatever similarities he was seeing, whatever awkward comparisons he was making - nothing that mattered to her anymore, because while he was her roommate and benefactor, that's all he was at the moment. She hadn't lied to him when she'd told him they might one day become friends and more, but today they were only acquaintances and that had to be enough for both of them.

It didn't slip her mind that just as he needed to be okay with less than he might want, she would have to allow herself to give more than she intended. The contracting fear in her gut caused her to reflexively want to avoid him, but that wasn't fair to him either. She wasn't afraid of him. If she was afraid of anything, Anna had to admit she was afraid of this ghost of herself that had lasted six hundred years to suddenly appear and haunt her.

She nodded in response to the quiet greetings she received from the staff, barely noticing any of the stares. She hadn't thought about her state. A quick glance at the grandfather clock in the hall told her it was almost time for the promised dinner. Anna considered fasting and staying in her room instead but then ruthlessly killed that thought. Hadn't she just promised herself to be kinder, to be more yielding and fair so that she wasn't unnecessarily cruel? This situation wasn't fair, but that didn't mean she had to exacerbate it.

Remembering the list she'd begun to write on the stationery in her study, she realized that attending dinner would also give her the opportunity to further question Alexander Burke. There was still a great deal about him that remained a mystery and she got the feeling that some of it was not what he wanted it to be.

That was fine.

Everyone had some kind of skeleton in their closet.

"Miss Walker, may I pick out an outfit for dinner while you bathe?" Lissa was on her as soon as she caught sight of her in the hall. Anna had the sneaking suspicion that one of the other staff members had let her know she was coming.

'Be kind,' she reminded herself. Aloud, she said, "Yes, please. That would be very helpful, Lissa, thank you."

The blond maid seemed to have been gearing herself up for an argument and stopped abruptly at Anna's response, her eyes going wide even as her mouth fell open. Then, excitedly, she curtsied and said, "Thank you, Miss Walker! You won't regret it! I won't pick out anything too ostentatious!"

In the shower, Anna considered her situation with the staff. They were loyal to Alex and were distantly polite to her if not outright resentful. It was fortunate that Lissa apparently wasn't an enemy she needed to worry about in this manor, but after things with Alex eased up, she knew she'd have some problems on her hands. Anna smiled to herself as she rinsed her body, wondering what kinds of difficulties and snide discourtesies Alex's staff would come up with.

She'd have to prepare appropriate responses for each. In a world where you couldn't even trust your sister, there was no need to return rudeness with kindness or kindness with cruelty.