Anna was shocked to hear this. Timber racing was the American version of the steeplechase, which was a very rigorous and dangerous sport that had been going on for the last one hundred years, though it originated and was far more well-known in Ireland and the UK. The Maryland Hunt Cup was basically the Super Bowl of the sport and consisted of a four-mile course with twenty-two hurdles (fences usually made of timber) in varying heights, the highest being five feet. But this timber race was a much smaller event that was held annually in Greenwich to raise money for the children’s hospital. It was a quarter the length with only seven hurdles, the highest being two and a half feet. It was designed with teen riders in mind, but still, every year someone seemed to get hurt.

Anna’s overprotective father had barred her from participating in the Greenwich event, saying it was ridiculous that any idiot could sign up and that most accidents happened not because of trained equestrians like Anna, but because stupid boys were looking to impress long-lashed girls. Anna was so upset over the news that she phoned Vronsky, something she had never done before. Their only form of communication remained texting via Words with Friends, though Vronsky often joked about buying them burner phones.

Vronsky didn’t answer her call, which annoyed Anna, and even though she wanted to leave a message urging him to pull out of the race, saying his horse would have to jump over her dead body if that’s what he intended to do, she refrained. Instead she hung up the phone and deleted the call record from her phone. She thought about changing Vronsky’s name in her contacts to something else, but that made her think of her brother and the infamous “Brad,” so she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not knowing what else to do, she opened up the WWF game and texted him that he needed to call her immediately. She then asked Murf if he wouldn’t mind finding him for her, but when he asked where he should tell Vronsky to meet her, she had no answer. Everyone attending the event knew who she was, which meant everyone also knew that she was Alexander’s girlfriend, which meant that she couldn’t be seen with Vronsky without arousing suspicion.

Now what am I going to do? she thought. This is what you get for lying. Anna knew she was having a full-fledged affair behind her boyfriend’s back, but she continually justified it by telling herself she was going to break up with Alexander as soon as he was off bed rest, less than a month away.