Two Teens and a Baby

Chapter 1

Sunday afternoon I came home from church with Mom just like every other Sunday. After I changed out of my frilly blouse and Virgin Mary skirt, I fed my cat her extremely expensive food and then went upstairs to go finish my homework.

As I passed by my brother's room, I noticed his door was cracked open a bit. I peeked in and found that he was sleeping peacefully on his bed. I realized that the covers weren't pulled down and figured he had probably gotten drunk last night and passed out.

My brother's name is Kevin and he is truthfully a wreck. He used to be a good kid. You know, every father's dream son. Good grades, nice girlfriend, and star athlete. But after my dad died three years, my brother changed drastically. His grades dropped to C's and D's, the girls he brought home were easy and what I call white trash. He eventually moved all of his sports trophies into the attic where more dust settled on them every year. Kev didn't do much anymore. All he did was get high, drunk or act irresponsibly.

My dad and Kevin were really close father and son. You know the cliché type where the father would get home after work and come into the backyard and throw the ball around with his son in his suit? That pretty much describes what their relationship was before Dad was thrown into a hospital, suffering from pancreas cancer. I shook my head, feeling sorry for my pathetic brother and closed the door softly so that Mom wouldn't walk by and see her poor excuse for a son.

Once in my room, I shut the door and settled down at my desk to finish my calculus paper. Not even half an hour later I was interrupted by a knock on my door. "Come in." I called, writing as I spoke.

The door creaked open and Mom came into the room. She was still in her church clothes. "Hey sweetie." She said, taking a seat on the edge of my bed.

"What can I do for you?" I asked, swiveling around to face her in my chair.

"I just wanted to see what you were up to. Brooke called asking for you, but I told her you weren't up to feeling anybody. Was I right?"

I nodded slightly. Mom was right; I didn't even want to see my best friend today. I might not have mentioned that today was the three year anniversary of my dad's death. Exactly two weeks before Halloween, his favorite holiday. "Thanks."

"Anna, if you ever would like to talk to myself or a professional... it could be arranged." She reached over and patted my knee before standing up. "I'm going to go start dinner, okay?" She smiled slightly at me before closing the door behind her.

I finished any homework I had been assigned and then got up and stretched. I stared at myself in the mirror that faced me, expressionless. I have dirty blonde hair that passed my shoulders by a few inches. Both Kevin and I had inherited Mom's blonde hair and Dad's dark blue eyes. I stood at an average height, and weighed what I'm guessing is normal.

I'm not unpopular but I'm not popular either. I go to the parties with the jocks and cheerleaders and sometimes end up at chess tournaments cheering on the kids that are friendless. Dad always said I was his pretty girl that was friends with everyone. I rolled my eyes at myself. Yeah, everyone accept Aidan Donovon the most arrogant jerk I've ever met.

We met in first grade. I was the new kid.

Flashback

A small and skinny girl with blonde hair that reached her waist entered the class, gripping her mother's hand. Today was going to be her first day at a new school.

The teacher, Miss. Murphy talked to her mother for a moment, before sending her out of the class, leaving the blonde girl with the teacher in front of the classroom. Miss. Murphy clapped her hands for quietness from her first grade class.

"Class, we have a new student today. Her name is Anna Marie Duran. We'll welcome her to the school and help her out, won't we?"

"Yes." The class of innocent faces answered.

Anna shuffled over to a seat at an empty table and sat down, the class watching the whole time.

She took a quick look around and she caught the stare of one boy. He looked as if he had brown eyes from a distance when Anna looked closer she realized they were hazel; a mix of light brown, green, and gold. He was wearing a small smirk on his round face. His odd colored eyes frightened Anna and she looked away quickly.

The rest of Anna's morning passed slowly. Almost everyone had tried to speak with her and she wasn't exactly the most outgoing. When lunchtime came around, Anna sat by herself and ate the school's cold pizza, not feeling by herself at all.

It was sometime after lunch when it happened, Anna had figured out later. Following lunch, Anna had made the walk back to her classroom in the crowded hallway. When she returned to the same seat by morning, another girl was sitting at the table. Anna smiled politely at the other girl and sat down next to her, not planning to say anything to her.

"Hi! I'm Brooke Sansing and I'm new to this school too. I moved her least month." She grinned, showing two missing front teeth.

Anna smiled back. Maybe this girl was alright.

Brooke peered around to look at the back of Anna's head. "What happened to your hair?" She questioned curiously.

"What do you mean?" asked Anna, reaching behind to pull her long hair over her shoulder.

"Did you use those scissors Miss. Murphy asked told us not to touch? Ooh. I won't tell." Brooke whispered with a frown on her face.

Anna began feeling around her head frantically. When she finally felt her soft locks, she realized that it was no longer than her neck. She looked around quickly, trying to find a culprit.

What she saw was that same boy with the hazel eyes in the midst of the other children at his table, staring at her, his unique eyes filled with malicious mirth. He dangled the green safety scissors in front of his face with his eyes crossed, laughing sinisterly.

End Flashback

I still remember that day as the worst day of my life. I had been mortified. The way he'd chopped it was so sloppy that Mom had to cut it past my ears to make it look even. It had taken a long time to grow out. Even now I still kept it shorter fearful Donovan would do it again. He had told me a long time after, that he had cut it in the hallway after lunch when it was crowded.

He had disliked me from day one. Not that I cared too much for him either after what he did to me. I continued out of my bedroom, passing my brother's where I could hear him snoring through the door. I opened it and stuck my head in.

"Kevin, get up. Dinner's gonna be ready soon." Another snore.

"Kevin?" My brother turned over onto his stomach. I groaned and walked into the room. I shook him forcefully before pulling him off the bed. He woke up with a start once he hit the floor, groaning and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Damn kid, what do you want?" He winced. I held my breath because his breath smelled really bad.

"Dinner is ready." I replied backing away.

"Not hungry."

"You have to be. You haven't had anything but hard liquor since last night. Plus tonight is Dad's dinner." I put my hands on my hips and gave him a hard stare. Dad's dinner was really special in my family. My mom made all of what had been Dad's favorite foods and we ate in remembrance of him. It only happened once a year, and I wasn't going to let Kevin miss it. No matter how bad of a hangover he had.

"I'm not in the mood this year kid." I hated when he called me kid. He was only three years older than me. "I had a late night anyways." He picked himself up off the floor and sat back on his bed, rubbing his temples.

"Kevin. Dad would have wanted it."

"In that case, does that mean he would have wanted to have been dead too?" He smirked and scratched his (smelly) unwashed hair.

"Just make sure you're there Kevin." I backed out of the room, my eyes never leaving his. I shut his door with a snap, and ran downstairs and wandered into the kitchen where Mom was standing in front of the stove.

"Smells good." I said, announcing myself.

"Thanks. It'll be done in about fifteen minutes." Mom hesitated before continuing, "Is Kevin going to come down and eat with us?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course he is. If not, we'll just have to bring dinner up to him." I smiled playfully and took a seat at the table. "Are you going to the cemetery afterward?"

"I suppose so. Kevin said he'd go with me. Sure you wouldn't like to tag along?" She twirled her hair around her finger.

"I'm sure. You and Kevin haven't been anywhere together in a long time." I answered, fingering the tablecloth.

"Okay. You're right." She threw a grin over her shoulder and turned the stove off.

"Do you mind setting the table? The china's already on the table."

I walked into the adjoining dining room and set the table with Mom's finest dishes carefully. When all of the food was on the table, we sat down. Mom at the head of the table, and me on her right. It only took a few silent minutes before my brother came thumping into the room, his hair plastered to his head by water. Thank God he had showered.

He sat down across from me without a word to either of us. "Shall I say Grace?" He asked, holding his hands out f or Mom and I to take. We both bowed our heads and took a hand, surprised.

After a short prayer, we helped ourselves to the hot food with little conversation. It was always like this at Dad's dinner. We would try to make conversation, but it'd end up awkward when we mentioned Dad. This always seemed to happen, no matter how we tried to prevent it.

Dinner was done in under half an hour. I excused myself to my room, only putting my dishes into the sink. I'd leave the two of them to decide if they were going to visit Dad's grave together.

When I got back into my room, my cell phone was ringing the ring that meant Brooke was calling me. I picked it up, knowing I wouldn't be able to ignore the almost insistent ring. "Hello?"

"Anna?!" Brooke's high shriek made my ears ring for a moment.

"It's me." I said once I was able to hear again.

"Are you okay?" Her tone had gone down an octave. She sounded worried.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Stupid answer. I was fine though.

"Well, I came by and Daphne said you didn't want to see anybody! Are you suicidal?!" And there goes the dinging in my ear again.

Daphne's my mom. "I'm fine Brooke. It's just my dad..."

"Oh, okay. You had me worried about you." There was a comfortable pause before she spoke again. "Guess who I saw today?"

"Who, Brooke?" I asked, not exactly caring.

"Donovan was at the pet store while I was picking up some food for Hammy." Hammy is Brooke's dirty hamster. I don't like rodents all. Or Donovan.

"Oh?" Yawn.

"Yeah, I don't know what he bought though. I got my stuff and left, but he was probably in there for a while before I came in."

"I'm not totally sure I want to know."

"Well when I talked to him," She did a kind of giggle laugh before continuing, "he said it was for you."

"I suspect he'll give it to me tomorrow at school then."

"We'll see.

Brooke Sansing is my best friend. She's also one of those friends that are only nice to people she likes—meaning she wouldn't be caught dead talking to the losers. She's the bitch that everyone still wants to be no matter how badly she ruins them. It doesn't take much to set her off either.

"I'll just give it to Kevin. He's always liked his presents." I shrugged. Or I'll just keep it until the opportune time to give back.

Since my dad died, every year this time, Donovan would give me a present. Not normal ones that I liked, mind you. Three years ago he sent me coupons to High Heels, the gentlemens' club downtown. When I approached him about it, he insisted that since my dad had died and there would be a few financial problems, and I should help support my family.

Two years ago, he sent me a ring that was really bad metal that made my fingers itchy and swollen. I couldn't even get it off. He claimed he'd paid a lot for it after hearing that I really liked silver jewelry.

And last year, he had gone through a lot of trouble by breaking into my house and leaving a bag of pot in my room, where my mom would have easily seen it if she'd come in. At least that's what Kevin had told me. When he came in looking for a pencil, he'd found it and smoked it all before I could discover it. Donvonan's excuse that time was that it helped relieve stress. Not that he knows being on the football team, weary of random drug screenings.

"You still there Anna?" Brooke asked, breaking me away from my thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry. So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yep. Night."

"Okay. Bye." I clicked off and set the phone down. The day was almost over, and there was nothing to do. My only solution was to go to bed. I wouldn't have to face this day until next year again, and I was thankful for that. Once in bed, I closed my eyes, wanting to fall asleep right away. Tomorrow was another day.

Author's Note: Okay, this is my new story and I plan to finish it. I'm not always dedicated but I really like this plot that I have on the way because I've never seen it before. We'll see what happens. Review and let me know your opinions.