Forced To Love | ✔

Chapter 6

Alyssa's POV

t was already noon by the time Henry and I arrived at my house. We left the car parked just outside the house. It was a tightly knit neighbourhood where the houses were built very close to one another. My house had a small lawn and it was two-storeys high. It was modest looking. It was neither huge nor small.

Henry's house was slightly larger, with a garage and a pool in the backyard. It didn't bother me though. In the past, I used it as an excuse to visit Henry's house often when I was still in high school.

His mom was kind enough to allow me to swim in the pool when I had free time. Usually, I would go to swim in his house when I knew that he wouldn't be around. I was very self-conscious and critical of my body. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me sauntering around in a skimpy swimsuit.

However, I was starting to get desperate for his attention. No matter what I did to win him over, he never seemed to notice me. Once, I had worn this beautiful floral dress to his dad's birthday. I had my hair and makeup done at salon near my house. Many had complimented on my look that day. I thought it would impress him too, but I was so wrong. He barely looked my way. I had become disheartened after many failed attempts. Nevertheless, I decided not to give up.

One fine day, I decided that I would steal one of Anna's bikini and swim in his pool. As planned, I started swimming around in his pool. I figured that he may be able to see me from inside the house or perhaps get a closer view of me in my bikini if he happened to come to the backyard by chance.

When I heard Henry's voice coming from near the back door, I thought I was finally going to prove to him that I could be just as beautiful and sexy like the popular girls in my school. I was so wrong. Not only was Henry standing there, he had five other guy friends standing beside him, who were blatantly gawking and whistling at me.

At that time, I had been so embarrassed that I literally jumped out from the pool and ran home without glancing back. Even thinking about it now made me cringe.

I shook my head as I got out of the car, trying to dispel the humiliating memory of mine. Both Henry and I walked to the front door of the house. He pressed the door bell and we both waited silently for the door to open. We had barely spoken to each other on our way to the house. Henry had looked rather preoccupied with his own thoughts and so was I.

Looking at Henry now, he seemed more excited and nervous than I was. His demeanour had changed. His usual confident self was nowhere to be seen. He was fidgeting a lot, which was very unlike of him. Furthermore, he was rocking back and forth on his heels with his hand stuffed deep into his pockets. His eyes never peeled away from the door. He could barely wait and went to ring the doorbell again when the door opened.

"Omg, Alyssa and Henry, welcome home!", my mother exclaimed as she reached out to envelop me in a big warm hug. I had missed my mother very much after moving to Henry's apartment. I missed everything about her. I felt tears brim to the surface of my eyes as I hugged her back tightly.

"I have missed you so much, my darling." she cooed as she kissed my cheeks affectionately and looked at me with teary eyes like mine.

"I missed you too, mom." I kissed her back on her cheek.

"Oh dear, I forgot about you!" she released me and proceeded to hug Henry too. He hugged her back and mom ushered for us to enter the house. As I stepped in to our house, I was transported back to when I was younger. I had made so many beautiful memories in this house. It felt good to be back home.

"Where is Anna?", Henry questioned Mom, almost too eager for my liking.

Mom looked anxious, like she was hiding something from us. I could sense that there was something amiss in her at the mere mention of my sister's name.

"Mom, is everything ok? You look nervous." I touched her shoulder as her eyes began to moisten.

"Mrs Heather, what is going on?", Henry demanded, raising his voice while he did so.

I glared back at him, warning him not to say another word. He shot daggers at me with his eyes.

I wrapped one of my arms over Mom's shoulder and brought her closer to me.

"Mom, please tell us what's going on. We're starting to get worried here.", I talked to her softly, hoping she would open up to me.

"Alyssa...I don't know why this has to happen to us.", "she hugged me and burst into a full-blown cry. I was startled by her sudden outburst of emotion. I was perplexed. I looked back at Henry who looked just as confused as I was.

It was at this moment I knew that something terrible must have happened. Mom was always cheerful and optimistic. Even at the hardest of times, she overcame all struggles with her head held high. What could have possibly gone wrong to have made Mom breakdown like this? It was only then that I realised Dad and Anna were not around either.

"Mom, where is Dad and Anna?", I asked as I pulled away from her and wiped the tears from her face.

Before she could say a word, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. All of us looked towards the stairs in anticipation.

"Anna", I gasped.

It was the only word that left my mouth when I saw her.

Hi guys! Hope you liked this chapter. Stay tuned for Chapter 7 as we will finally get to know more about Anna.

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Anyways, thanks for reading! Bye :)