Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(137)

Tears in my own eyes, I shook my head. “Anna, he won’t…” I closed my mouth. No, Anna was right. It’s exactly what he would think. Shaking my head, I shrugged. “I’m sorry.”

I swallowed back the tears threatening to spill over as sympathy washed through me. Whatever was between her and Griffin, it was clear that Anna genuinely did like him, maybe love him even. I wasn’t sure, but I knew it was over now, and I knew how much an ending relationship hurt.

Watching my struggling emotions, Anna suddenly stood up. “I’m gonna be sick…” I moved to hug her, thinking her pain was emotional, but she held one hand out to me and one to her mouth. “No, I’m really gonna be sick.”

Turning around, she quickly opened the toilet lid and proceeded to throw up in it. Holding her hair back, I rubbed her shoulder while she 384



rested her head on her arm. She sniffled a few times, breathing heavier, then her anger seemed to resurface.

Shooting up to her feet, she wiped her mouth off on a nearby towel. As I gave her whatever words of encouragement I could think of, she grabbed the paper bag from the drug store and started shoving all of the tests inside of it. Crumpling up the bag, she stormed out of the bathroom.

Curious which way the emotional woman was going to swing now, I followed her out. Oddly enough, she stormed into my room.

“Anna…now what are you doing?”

Opening one of my dresser drawers, she shoved the bag inside and closed it. Glaring, she looked back at me. “No, this isn’t happening. This is just some weird dream that I’m going to wake up from any minute.” Dropping my mouth open, I pointed at the bag in my drawer. “You’re not dreaming, Anna. That did happen, and you need to deal with it now.”

She gave me a blank look as she started to walk out of the room. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kiera.” I grabbed her shoulders as she walked past me. She didn’t look at me.

“You can’t just wish this away, Anna. It’s going to happen to you whether you want to acknowledge it or not.”

Her face completely emotionless, she finally turned to look at me. “No, Kiera…it doesn’t have to happen.”

All of the blood drained from my face, from my body. Did she mean…? I couldn’t believe my sister would contemplate that. I knew she was freaking out, I knew she was distraught, but…I couldn’t believe she’d even consider…ending the pregnancy. “Anna…you can’t…” She jerked away from me, a trace of emotion back on her features. “I don’t know yet, Kiera, okay. I just…I need to let this sink in for a few days, alright?”

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I nodded at her, swallowing. Thinking was a good thing. Head down, she started to leave my room. At the door she stopped and looked back.

“Don’t tell anyone about this, Kiera, please? Not Mom or Dad, not Jenny, not Kellan or Denny…no one.”

I sighed and took a step towards her. “Anna, you don’t have to do this alone.”

She shook her head and held her hand out to stop me. “Please? If I decide to have an abor… If I decide to stop this, I don’t want any of them to ever know. Ever. Please? I haven’t told Kellan about your little secret!

And I totally covered for you when you were in the hospital after the Denny-Kellan fiasco, made up some stupid story about your appendix bursting when Dad got the bill…you owe me this.” Her voice wavered so bad, it betrayed how much this decision was eating at her. I knew my sister wasn’t a cold person that could end a life on a whim, but I knew the idea of bringing a baby into the world scared the crap out of her, especially in her weird situation with Griffin. Hoping she’d come around if I gave her space and silence, I nodded. “Alright, I promise you I will not say a word…to anyone.” She nodded and turned to leave and I grabbed her arm. “But you have to tell me… before you do it.” Tears dripping down my cheeks now, I shook my head. “If you decide not to keep it, you tell me before…not after, okay?”

Her eyes watered, tears slowly leaving them and trailing down her splotched cheeks. Pulling her into a hug, I added, “That’s my niece or nephew in there. You have to at least give me one last chance to talk you out of it. And if I can’t…you have to let me go with you…to hold your hand.”

When I pulled back, tears were streaming down her face and she nodded, hiccupping back a sob. My own face as wet as hers, I cupped her cheeks. “I love you, Anna. I know you’ll do…what’s best.” She nodded, then turned and left.

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21




Chapter


Hope


The next few weeks were all about my sister. We spent my spring break holed up in the apartment, me trying to convince her to see a doctor, her telling me no, throwing up in the bathroom, then crying on her bed for hours.

I’d go sit with her and stroke her hair. I pointed to her Hooters calendar on the wall, told her she was beautiful, and that this was her month to shine. It was April now, and her gorgeous face was proudly featured for the world to see this month. Complaining that she felt bloated and fat already and her tight outfit was getting tighter every day, she’d torn down the calendar and shoved it in her nightstand.

I hoped on a daily basis that her job wouldn’t influence her decision on whether to keep the baby or not. She was kind of top dog at her restaurant, the only girl there that had made the calendar. I wasn’t sure if they’d let her continue to be a waitress once she started showing. I mean, I’d never seen a pregnant girl in an opaque tank top and super-tight boy shorts. But I knew that legally she had rights, and if she ever gave her job as an excuse to terminate the baby, I’d bombard her with a list of them.