Bought To Love

Karen's growing sense of panic to

ot cheeks. Impatiently brushing them aside, she stood stock-still outside the gleaming building while all aroun

-lipped bank manager to inform her that all funds in her account had been frozen, and no more would be forthcoming. But her rather hysterical request that the bank manage

was

y laughing at her when he'd handed over the formal-looking letter? She'd ripped it open and stared in horror as the w

structed to provide any

tment yesterday and who was responsible for her current state of homelessness? She would rather starv

el as if she were drowning. It was the same feeling she used to get when her mother would suddenly announce that the

t panic. S

r father's number, but it went straight through to his personal assistant, Louis Lane, a woman who ha

a surprise,' s

deep breath. 'I need to speak to

raid he

ll be back or where I

f she was being paranoid, or whether i

e as easy as that. He's g

hot her a funny look. 'My father? Gone to an ashram? To do

been trying to get hold of you for weeks. He's lef

ly reposing with several sticks of chewing gum and variou

you follow his

e there. Annie is the one who'll be able t

n she was taking. She didn't want Annie James to help her! What was it with her that suddenly her name was on everyone's lips as if she were some

p her now. She needed to think clearly. She needed to go back to the apartment to work out some kind of coping strategy until she could get hold of her father. And she would get hold of him. Somehow she would track him down-even if she had to hitchhike to the wretched ashram in orde

o eat that morning. But after putting a whole stack of shopping and a pack of cigarettes through the till, she had the humiliation of seeing the machine decline her card. The

er face growing scarlet. 'I shop here all the time-you

er to accept credit. And as she rang the bell underneath her deep down Karen knew there had been no

which was probably growing a forest of mold by now, a bag of oranges and those soggy chocolate biscuits which were past their expiry date.

ng over the note but not quite daring to meet the e

she could light up. Whatever happened to personal freedom? She wondered as she slammed the front door behind her and fumbled around for her lig