Hiding Anna

Chapter Twenty-Three: Panic

"Cassie! What is Anna Brooks doing in our house?" Abi exclaimed, snapping me out of my long trance of staring at Anna's alarmed face.

Nervously darting my eyes between the two parties, I contemplated what I should say. I hadn't planned for this to happen. Anna was never meant to be found. She was supposed to stay hidden in our guest bedroom until her nine months were up and after I'd never see her again as she promised.

Yet here we are in this truly unexpected and infuriating situation which I had no clue how to solve.

"I-I... she... s-she..." I stuttered, furrowing my brows. How was I going to get out of this?

"I'm pregnant."

Looking up I shot a menacing glare at Anna. What was she doing? Was she actually going to tell the truth? I didn't know how I felt about that.

"Excuse me?" Harry demanded, walking into the room with his hands on his hips and a murderous expression.

"I'm pregnant and Cassie has been hiding me in this room and giving me food and water so I'm not on the streets." She said. Although her confession was simple and blunt her tone of voice was definitely not. The tremors coming out of her throat were so evident I could practically see the nerves radiate out of her. That was most likely because my siblings might kick her out.

I might kick her out depending on how this situation goes.

Harry and Abi both looked at me, their chocolate brown eyes perplexed, shocked and most of all begging me it's not true. That it couldn't be.

"Is this true?" The brittle harshness of my brother's voice reduced me to shame. I lowered my head and nodded slowly. "I don't understand, you hate her! Why would you help her?"

"I don't know." I admitted realising it was the truth. I didn't have enough courage to speak above a whisper.

"Cassie, this can't be true." Abi whispered, choking slightly on the words. "She can't be having a baby in our house."

"She's only staying here till she has the baby, then we'll never see her again. Right Anna?" I confirmed, looking over at the girl I hated and thinking over what I'd actually done for her.

I saved her when she would have been on the streets. I saved her from living in the abandoned village hall whilst being pregnant without medication or any sort of care. For all I know she would have had that baby right there in the empty hall and died from infection or worse.

"Yes." She replied, wiping away a static hair from her eyes.

"How long?" Said Harry tautly, conspicuously looking over Anna with disgust as if wondering how the bitch at school had been reduced to this helpless, homeless pregnant teenager.

At the end of the day that was what she was. I would never see her that innocently or ever forgive her for what she did but Anna needed help and no one else would give it to her.

"She's five and a half months into her pregnancy. I've been hiding her for the past two."

They gasped.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I had to. It had to stay a secret." I continued hating that I was the one apologising when it should be her.

"Do people at school know?" Abi asked, walking towards Anna and looking over the bump of her stomach as if it was an alien. Anna shrunk away slightly and flinched as Abi attempted to touch the growing baby.

"Only Corey and George." I muttered watching the situation unfold before me. "But they'll realise soon." I pointed towards her stomach.

Anna was somewhat protective of her bump, clutching it with her hands and turning away from my sister. Hurt crossed Abi's features but she pursed her lips and tried again to approach Anna and failed as she yet again moved away from her reach.