Anna's P.O.V

Tears tracked a hot path down my cheeks, my shoulders trembling with the sobs. I shouldn't have gone to that club. This was all my fault and now my adopted brother who I'd loved since the day I met him at thirteen hated my guts.

I tried to cover my head with the sheets to hide my shame from the angry man in front of me but he simply ripped it off, leaving me naked and crying on his bed.

“Is this how you go about opening your legs and fucking anyone who's drunk?” His voice was like poisoned darts into my chest. I couldn't believe he thought the worst of me because of a mistake we made together. What’s worse, I had already given my virginity to him last night.

Shame burned me like raw acid and a bitter taste flooded my mouth. “Please give me the sheets, I want to go to my own room,” I whispered in a tiny voice as my throat choked with tears.

“No!” He gritted through clenched teeth, balling the sheets up in his fist and tossing them far across the room. “Since it was easy for you to shamelessly seduce me and open your legs. You are going to leave my room naked so everyone can see what a cheap whore you are. Do you think sleeping with me would separate me from Joanne??? Huh??”

I shrieked, shaking my head as the tears flew from my eyes. But Simon remained adamant, not budging as I pleaded for him to at least let me take my clothes.

“Get out.” His voice was cold as he bit out.

Eyes blurred over, I wrapped my arms around myself, bent at the waist, and ran out of his room.

My room was in the attic, two flights of stairs away from Simon's room. I could only pray I wouldn't run into anyone as I bolted up the stairs, naked, shivering, and crushed.

Thankfully, I only met a maid at the top of the stairs and let out a startled gasp which I ignored as I ran past her, locking myself in my room.

For the next two weeks, I refused to go to school or leave my room. At first, it was the crippling shame that kept me bedridden, and no matter what my mom said, I wouldn't come downstairs.

She would bring me breakfast, lunch, and dinner, sending the maids back to clear the barely touched plates of food.

And then, the sickness began.

Rolling out of bed, I crawled along the wood board floors to my toilet just in time to empty the contents of my stomach in the bowl.

“Anna, why does your room smell like a damned abattoir?” A voice called out and I trembled, sitting upright, my back against the toilet bowl where I sat on the floor.

My sister's sneering face soon appeared at the doorway leading to my bathroom and I felt sick to my stomach. If she knew what I'd done, her usual harsh words thrown at me would be a present compared to what she’d do again.

The thought made my mouth water with bile and I threw up again but because of how empty my stomach was, no food came up, leaving me retching drily and sobbing until the wave pissed.

“Ugh, you look so disgusting.” Joanne wrinkled her nose as she moved into the bathroom. “Your mother needs to get you cleaned up and then off to the hospital.”

I shook my head immediately as I leaned up against the wall to raise myself from the floor. “No hospital. I'm fine. It's just a stomach bug.”

“Did I say I give a shit about whatever is wrong with you?” She applied a coat of lipstick over her already red lips, patting her perfect hair while standing in front of the mirror.

She didn’t even care that I was barely hanging on by a thread. Swallowing the bile that rose in my throat, I whispered. “Uhm, please Joanne. I need to shower. Can you step out for a bit?”

Her nose turned up in a sneer but surprisingly, she didn’t pick a fight with me and just slammed the bathroom door behind her.

Crawling my way into the shower cubicle, I switched on the hot water. As the water began petting down my back, my eyes stung.

Once again, I crumbled to the floor and began sobbing as the pain of rejection ripped me apart. Simon hadn't even said a word to me since that night. He hated me so much.

Finally, I exited the bathroom, swamped inside a huge cashmere robe that once belonged to my grandmother. It was my comfort clothes.

Joanne leaned against my vanity desk as I curled up on my side, wrapping my own arms around myself and drawing my knees up.

Usually, I wouldn’t be so comfortable with turning my back to my sister who hates the heck out of me, but I was really weak.

“Took you forever, slowpoke.” The spite in Joanne’s tone sent a fresh wave of nausea rolling through me and I shuffled around the bed, managing to turn to her.

“I’m kind of ill at the moment, Joanne.” I croaked in a voice hoarse from tears.

She sneered at me and for a moment, I wondered if she was going to drag me out of bed by my hair but instead a cruel glint entered her eyes. “You know I have some news to share…”

She trailed off and I sighed. Whatever it was. It couldn’t be good.

“What news?”

“You know, just the minor detail of Mom and Dad’s finalized divorce.” Her smile stretched wider, revealing her shark-like teeth.

Still, a stupid and pathetic hope flickered to life in my chest. “So…they are back together?”

Joanne looked at me as though I’d lost my mind and a wicked laughter spilled from her lips. “Together? Please, Anna. Haven’t you noticed? Dad’s been checked out of this disgusting place for months.” Her eyes held a malicious glee.

My stomach lurched where I lay shivering on the bed. “So…what about us?”

“Ah, yes, the real news.” She leaned back against the vanity desk, the designer logo on her purse catching the light. “Mom won custody.”

Relief washed over me and I couldn’t stop the rush of tears that stung my eyes. Mom. At least we’d be together. “That’s good, right?” My voice cracked with anxiety.

Joanne’s smile turned into a smirk. “Good for you, maybe. But guess what, sis? You get to stay here with your Simon and soak up Mom’s tears while I jet-set off with Dad.” Her eyes gleamed with a vindictive satisfaction. “First-class tickets baby. No more sharing a house with an ugly crybaby little sister.”

My blood ran cold and I didn’t know whether to smile or cry. Joanne had never been good to me, but with the dark turn my life took, god…I don’t wanna be here alone. “You’re leaving?” The question escaped my lips before I could stop it.

She shrugged. “Dad always hated this place. Besides, with his new job, we’re moving to the fucking city, and with actual success, unlike this suburban nightmare. Before you’re twenty, you’d be an ugly burnt-out single mother pushing prams in the local grocery store.”

My eyes and throat burned with emotions. The rest of her words were like daggers in my chest but when I didn’t say anything else in response, she swept out of my room, leaving the lingering scent of her perfume and an aching emptiness in my heart.

I curled up into a tight ball on my chest as tears streamed down my face. Joanne wouldn’t just be leaving, she was escaping into a life of luxury.

Dad was leaving me alone in the wreckage of a broken family and the silent hostility of a boy whose trust I’d inexplicably shattered.

The thought of facing Simon sent a fresh wave of dread crashing over me and I cried myself till the world went dark.

Anna's P.O.V

“Anna Reed!” A voice called out in the cold waiting room and I sat upright on the metal chair. “The doctor will see you now.”

Feeling my heart beat rapidly, I stood up from the chair and directly entered the doctor's office. The door shut behind me and I came face to face with a kind-looking woman in white slacks.

“Hey, are you Miss Reed, dear,” she asked me with a soft smile and I timidly shook my head.

“Come on in and take a seat, dear.” She waved at me.

Like a deer caught in headlights, I darted closer into the room and finally took a seat when I was sure nothing bad would happen.

She smiled at me again and reached for a folder. “You took a few tests some days ago.”

I nodded, hugging my arms as the cold persisted.

“The results are out.” She pulled out a couple of papers from the folder, scanned her eyes over it, and then glanced up at me. “Congratulations Miss Reeds. You are four weeks pregnant.”

You're pregnant.

The words hammered in my skull and my breath hitched in my throat, the air suddenly thick and suffocating.

Panic seized me, a cold terror clawing its way up my throat. I couldn't breathe no matter how hard I tried.

"Are you okay, Miss?" I heard the doctor's voice from a distance.

Gasping for air, I clutched at my chest, the doctor's concerned face blurring before my eyes. The room spun, and the floor seemed to tilt. A strangled gasp escaped my lips before the world dissolved entirely.

When I woke, a white ceiling greeted me, harsh fluorescent lights burning into my eyes. My body felt heavy, stuck to the bed under me.

Suddenly, a woman in blue scrubs appeared at my side, her smile strained. "Thank God you're awake now."

Her hands checked a machine beside the bed, her smile fading into concern as she glanced at my face. Without a word, the nurse bustled out, returning soon with the doctor from earlier.

"Miss Reeds," the doctor greeted kindly. "You fainted after hearing the good news. Are you alright?"

Good news? My eyes welled up with tears threatening to spill over. I shook my head mutely unable to speak as my throat constricted with a choking sob.

"Do you know the child's father?" she asked gently.

I nodded, the motion shaky and weak. My body rocked back and forth on the bed, a silent plea for the ground to swallow me whole.

"I see," the doctor said, a sad knowing glint in her eyes. "He won't be enthusiastic about this, would he?"

A broken laugh escaped my lips, a hollow sound devoid of humor. "He hates me," I whispered, the words tasting like ashes. "He would never accept it."

The doctor's gaze softened, and she held my hand in a comforting gesture. "Do you want to keep the child, Anna?"

Her words shattered the fragile dam holding back my tears. They streamed down my face, blurring the already hazy world. "Maybe," I croaked, my voice barely above a whimper. "I just... I want to go home."

Seeing the state I was in, the doctor didn't argue. She released me with a list of instructions - rest, a healthy diet, prenatal classes. The words went in one ear and out the other, my head a swirling mess of fear and uncertainty.

At home, my mother greeted me with a warm hug. "Is everything okay, baby?" She asked me.

But I couldn't bring myself to confess the truth that clouded my heart.

Instead, I mumbled about being sick for a while, the lie hanging heavy on my tongue.

As we sat together in the sitting room, my gaze fell on her face. She looked gaunt, her usual vibrancy dimmed. Slowly I began to realize that for the past few months, I've been stuck in my own issues and after that unforgettable night with Simon that led to this, I've barely seen my mother...like really see her.

A knot formed in my stomach, a terrible feeling gripping me.

"Mom, are you alright?" I asked, fear crawling into my voice.

A shuddering breath escaped her before she burst into tears. "Anna," she sobbed, "I have cancer, stage four. There's not much time left."

My world crumbled around me. The doctor's words, my unwanted pregnancy, all faded in comparison to this devastating blow. Now it all made sense.

My father left for good due to the divorce.

He left my mother because of his inability to handle a wife less than perfect. When she needed him the most, he abandoned her! Anger flared inside of me, but it was quickly consumed by an overwhelming wave of grief. My mother had cancer.

I pulled her into a tight hug, tears soaking us both. I'd been so selfish that I didn't even notice a damned thing. Seeing how broken she was, I promised to spend the rest of her days with her.

But God it came sooner than I expected.

Two days later, the inevitable happened. My mother's condition worsened, but she refused to go to the hospital. I could only sit beside her, sobbing quietly.

As she lay on her deathbed, her breath shallow, a figure appeared at the door - Simon. His face was stoic, and he was looking at any other place but me.

My mother reached out, her voice weak but firm. "Anna, Simon," she rasped, "promise me you'll both get married to each other." Her eyes flickered between us, holding a pleading urgency. "That's my dying wish for you both. Please. You both need each other."

What?