I woke up to the birds chirping around me and the early dawn light peering over the horizon. I stretched lazily and watched the beauty of the world as it came alive around me. The sun slowly rose to shine its light on the eastern part of the property and smiled as the first rays of the day hit my face. The morning was truly my favorite time of the day.
I decided to get off the roof and head inside to take a shower and put on a dash of makeup before I went downstairs to grab some breakfast. As I bound down the last few steps, I noticed the (extravagantly) large breakfast laid out on the table. Bacon, waffles, an omelet, and even some hashbrowns. My mouth started watering and I only paused for a moment when I saw the note. I inspected it once I picked it up.
To the best sister in the world. I'm sorry. Well, that wasn't overdoing it or anything. I sighed and sat down, I sat there, wondering when he had ever gotten up early, let alone extra early. I knew then that this time, he was truly going to try to make an effort to come clean. I smiled to myself and knew it was going to be a good day. I left my golden hair down on purpose, to try and hide what I could of the bruise. When I was ready and it was time, I got in the car and drove to school.
The parking lot was full, so I had to park in the very back and walk all the way to the front doors. There wasn't anybody staring that I saw, but that didn't mean anything. I made my way through the crowded hallway to my locker, trying to protect my face as I trudged through the sheer mass of bodies. I entered my combo robotically. Grabbing my first-period stuff, I shut my locker and then jumped when I turned and saw Alec leaning against the locker next to me.
"How are you," he asked quietly, concern filling his eyes. I nodded.
"I'm good." I looked down at my shoes. "I've gotta go to class though, so I'll see you later." He nodded and I hurriedly walked away.
Class was agony. I could feel quite a few stares on my face and I buried my nose in a book and didn't take it out for the next three periods. At lunch, I avoided Alec and got my food and sat down at an empty table silently. At the same time, Mitch and Alec got up from where they were sitting and started over to me, but they froze once they saw each other. I rolled my eyes.
"Mitch, Alec," I said softly, but their attention was at me instantly. "No. Not today." They nodded and Mitch hesitantly turned away and sat at a nearby table. I could feel his gaze burning a hole in my face. Alec came and sat next to me.
"I'm sorry, Anna. I know it will be hard, but I just want to make things right with my sister." Emma was walking over at that point, a confused and suspicious look on her face. She had black hair and a mocha complexion. She was sweet and caring and funny, and sometimes I think Alec liked her because she put him in his place more than anybody else could. But as she got nearer, Alec started to talk faster, getting quieter and until he was whispering feverishly to me. All he wanted was to fix things, etc.
"But don't you get it, Alec? Things can't be fixed. They will never be the same again, ever. I don't want it to be like that, but the way you just so carelessly hit me was it. I've put up with your drinking for three years. Three years of my life I've used trying to save you, only to watch you flush everything down the toilet. Until you get your act together, I don't want to have anything to do with you." I put as much force as I could quietly into my words and got up and threw away all my lunch, since I had suddenly lost my appetite. I walked out of the hall into the bathroom. I got some toilet paper from one of the stalls and wiped under my eyes, knowing it was useless, because half the foundation I'd had on was gone, my bruise now fully exposed; only covered by a thin cover of hair.
"Anna?" Emma called into the bathroom. I sniffled a little.
"Yeah?" Emma came in and checked under the stalls. When she was satisfied there was nobody in there except for us, she came over and hopped up on the counter beside me on my right side.
"What's the matter? I've never seen Alec so distressed like that. I heard the last bit of your conversation and I wanted to know. Alec stormed out of the cafeteria in a rage after you left. What happened? I swear you can trust me. I won't say anything to Alec." I nodded and inhaled a deep breath as she started to rub my arm in a soothing way.
"Saturday night we went down to the lake and there, of course, was a huge party. Well, Alec, being who he is, had a lot to drink and was completely wasted. I was talking to Mitch, who was apologizing for something he said earlier, and Alec caught us talking. You know how they really don't get along, right?" I continued when she nodded. "He freaked out and I tried to tell him to get in the car, but he-he didn't," I said, my voice cracking. "It didn't end well for me." I tucked my hair on my left side behind an ear, and turned towards her. I couldn't look at her face, I just couldn't. I could wreck Alec's relationship by doing this, my mind screamed at me. It's the only thing keeping him sane!" I felt another tear start to run down my face.
"Oh, Anna," Emma breathed out in horror. She lightly touched the bruise and I flinched. "I'm sorry," she apologized quickly. She was still staring at it.
"The swelling has gone down and the color isn't nearly as bad. He had his ring on," I said in a small voice. Emma gently pulled me into a giant hug and I squeezed her torso and she stroked my hair.
"I know you probably hate him right now, I would too," she said. "But he didn't mean to. I know he didn't mean to at all." I nodded.
"I know that, but I still can't forgive him now, not yet. If he comes clean like he promises, it'll be a step in the right direction, but I don't know how he's going to fix this." Emma nodded.
"I know, honey, I know." We sat there until there was a knock on the door.
"Anna? Emma?" Mitch called.
"Come in, Mitch. It's just us," I said. I pulled myself away from Emma. Keeping my hand in hers, though, we turned towards Mitch as he came around the corner.
"Hey, Anna," he said as he came and sat right next to me on my left side. He captured my other hand and held it tightly in his. I could see Emma's eyes widen. I cut her a silent pleading look, and she nodded slightly, letting me know she understood. "Are you all right? Do you need any aspirin? You look like you're about to be sick. Do you want me to go get you some food? I don't mind really." I cut off his talking by smiling and leaning against him, sure to make sure my face didn't bump his shoulder too hard.
"I'm fine," I said as I looked up into his eyes. I could see the smile there. His dark brown hair was falling into his gorgeous eyes, and as I stared at them, I realized I didn't want him to leave my side.
"Well, I want to go make sure Alec hasn't stormed off of campus," Emma said, with a hint of laughter in her voice. "I'll see you later, Anna," she said and shot me a wink as she walked out. I rolled my eyes at her, but smiled.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Mitch asked again.
"I promise, I'm fine," I said.
"Pinkie promise?" he grinned and held up his pinkie finger.
"I don't pinkie promise anymore, it's stupid," I said and pulled back from him with a frown, crossing my arms.
"Come on," Mitch said again with a grin, still holding out his pinkie finger.
"No," I said forcefully and scooted away again as he scooted closer. He was quick enough to snatch my hand, though, and I tried pulling it away, but it was no use. "Let go of me," I said. He still didn't. "Mitch, I said let go!" He backed up, putting his hands up.
"Fine, but I'm not going to leave you. Not when you're feeling so shitty about yourself."
"Who said I'm feeling shitty about myself?" I frowned at him, annoyed.
"You feel bad because you wanted to go to that party, you wanted to split up, you wanted to have fun and not have to worry about what your brother did. You can't help but feel that it is your fault. But Anna, it's not. You can't help that your brother makes some of the shittiest choices on the planet. That's not how it works. Everybody is their own person and is only in charge of their life. They get to decide how they live it. How are you going to live, Anna? Are you going to hold yourself back by trying to make Alec's decisions for him or are you going to live for yourself?" I sat there in stunned silence.
"Somehow," I said quietly, "It seems that you know us both better than we know ourselves." I rested my head on my knees. My head was throbbing painfully.
"Come here," Mitch murmured and I put my legs down and let him hug me gently to his chest. To my credit, I didn't start crying or even sniffle, even with the emotional turmoil that was bubbling over inside me. "Anna, please stop beating yourself up about this. It isn't doing you any good because it isn't your fault. Not in any way, shape, or form. Nobody blames you. Why are you doing this to yourself?"
"I do it because I'm the only one Alec looks to. I'm the one he calls at three in the morning, the one who gets him home before light and cooks him food. Our parents are barely even at home. I love them, but even when we were little, we had nannies while they were out socializing. They don't even care enough to call while they are at the beach house. They could show up after a trip one day and find us both dead and it would hardly faze them." So I knew that last part was reaching a little, but the rest of it was true; my parents didn't exactly get any awards for caregiver of the year. "They don't care, Mitch. I'm the only one who cares about Alec enough to save his ass from getting arrested or killed. I play the part of both his sister and his mom, the concerned one we never had. That's all I know now."
"Anna, you need to be yourself and not Alec's mom anymore. There is only so much you can do before you waste away, and Alec's getting close to the breaking point."
"That's even more of a reason for me to protect him!" I cried out as I shoved against his chest. "I won't let my brother break. I won't. Whether he was the one who did this to me," I pointed to my face, "Or not, he's still my brother and I love him. What he did one time when he was drunk isn't enough to make me stop loving and caring about him."
"But your brother is destroying you, Anna! Can't you see that he's taking everything up that you have? Even before this happened, you would come in on Monday mornings looking like the walking dead. He's like a vacuum, Anna, and he's slowly sucking your life away from you."
"Maybe I don't care, Mitch! Maybe he gave me a reason to live for!" At his shocked expression, I knew I had to elaborate, and I did so, almost whispering. "When Alec called me that first night he was so drunk from forever ago after my best friend died and my boyfriend left and my parents were gone, I was contemplating suicide. He was the only one who kept me from dying that night, from ending it all. It's gotten better now that Alec relies on me and I can rely on him, but I can't help but think what would have happened if he hadn't asked me to come get him. Sometimes, on my worse days, I wish he hadn't called." I stared Mitch in the eyes, wondering if he'd finally get what Alec was to me. He just stood there stunned though, and I shook my head, disappointed. "And now that I made him promise to stop drinking, I don't know what I'm going to distract myself with anymore."
There, let him give me Zen advice on that. I hopped off of the counter and mumbled, "I can't do this," and walked out the door, intent on leaving all the bullshit behind me and going home.
A/N: What do you think Anna's going to do next? Fan, comment, and let me know what you think! ♥Alex