Read Online Demyan & Ana by Bethany-Kris - Free Book Online

They’d split and open up until her flaws and mistakes were out there for them to see. If she cried, they would know .
    Ana didn’t want them to. 
    “I’m sorry,” Ana said, holding back tears. “Please let me leave.”
    Anton, seeming stunned, stepped aside silently to let her pass.
    Her father would never hurt her. Even when she was a bratty little child, he never once put his hands on her in anger. He loved her.
    Ana was, and always had been, his princess. She did no wrong in her father’s eyes.
    How would he feel about her if he found out what happened?
     
    • • •
     
    “Thank you for meeting me,” Ana said, trying to smile but failing.
    Koldan sipped on a to-go cup of coffee, shrugging under the weight of his leather jacket. “Wasn’t doing much, anyway.”
    “Liar. When I called, there was so much noise in the background, I couldn’t hear you.”
    “Doesn’t mean it was important to me, so it’s better for me to move on to what is,” he replied like it didn’t make a difference.
    Ana didn’t miss his unspoken words.
    Other things weren’t important to him. She was.
    Koldan tipped his head in the direction of her coffee. “Drink before it goes cold, krasivyy .”
    Ana’s hands were warmed by the coffee. The late October air chilled every other part of her. They could have stayed inside the coffee shop after they purchased their drinks, but the amount of people inside sent Ana’s anxiety swimming thick.
    Did they know when they looked at her?
    Could they see her invisible damage?
    Because sure, the bruises were gone and the ache had left, but inside … she was broken.
    “Hey,” Koldan murmured, gazing at her with an intensity that seemed to dig right down into her soul. “I lost you there for a second.”
    Ana barked out a laugh. Pulling her legs up to rest her feet on the bench under her backside, she placed the cup to the side and sighed. “You’re not the only one.”
    “What’s going on, Ana? Talk to me. You call me in a panic, ask me to meet up with you, and then stare dazed at your hands. I’m fine with doing that, too. Watching you watch nothing, I mean. If that’s what you need, cool shit, but I don’t think it is. Come on, just talk.”
    Sucking in another gulp of air, Ana explained her earlier close call with her parents. Koldan stayed silent through her tale, worry and sadness dancing in his gaze while his shoulders grew tense.
    “They’re going to pick up on your depression, Ana,” he said when she finished. “They’re your parents and they love you. They raised you, so trust that they know when something’s not right with their kid.”
    Ana blinked, confused. “I’m not … depressed.”
    Koldan cleared his throat, setting his own coffee down and resting his clasped hands between his knees. “Depression is more than suicide, you know. Most people, that’s the only thing they consider when depression gets tossed out there. It’s way more than that. Sometimes you just don’t want to talk, move, or even think. You hurt, physically and emotionally. You’re drained—exhausted. Irritability walks hand in hand with your sadness. For no reason other than the fact you couldn’t be anything else, you’re stuck in a cloudy haze that won’t clear.”
    “Depression,” Ana echoed.
    “You’re still raw,” he continued. “It’s only been a week, but it’s not going to get better if you keep putting on a brave face while the fears eat away at you on the inside. What you need is support and professional care, Ana, or it’s only going to get worse. You should tell your parents so they can help you.”
    Horror squeezed Ana’s throat like a noose. “I can’t.”
    “Listen, no one is saying you have to name a name though I really wish you would. What I’m trying to get you to understand is even admitting to them an attack happened might be beneficial in more ways than you know. Therapy or—”
    “I can’t tell them.” Ana’s rebuttal came out fierce as she