The Dark Horse

The Talk

Anna:

I still couldn't wrap my head around what happened. Was I dreaming? Was it real?

I replayed today's events in my mind again. It was nothing less than a scene straight out of movies.

I calmed my nerves and sent my parents, Oli and Angie message to come home by six as a guest will be visiting. I kept the message short because of my muddled brain. I'll explain them when I understand.

Oli had his own place while Angie lived in dormitory of her college. Dad and mom are usually home late after a full day of heavy work. So I informed them before hand.

My phone rang after barely one minute of the the message being sent. We have special notification alarm for family's messages and calls. And no matter how busy we are, family comes first.

The first one to call was dad.

"Baby who is coming on such a short-" I cut him off.

"Dad please make conference call to mom and Angie and call Oli over if he is around. I don't think I can explain everything one by one to each one of you." I said my voice still dazed.

"Baby why are you sounding so weird?" He asked concerned.

"Dad, can we discuss it with the whole family?" I pleaded.

Instead of responding, dad made quick calls to mom, Angie and Oli.

"What is it about honey?" Mom was the first to ask.

"I wanna know the same thing." Dad said.

"Um guys, actually, uh, I don't know how to explain this but um, uh" I was still thinking of the best way to drop the bomb.

"Oh no Anna, please tell me you didn't." Angie sounded horrified.

"Didn't what?" I asked confused.

"Please Anna, please tell me you're not pregnant." Angie replied making me choke on my spit.

"What? Baby are you alright? Don't worry we are with you whether or not you want the child. I'm always with you honey. We'll get through this together. You have us. Don't do anything stupid without thinking." Mom said before I could utter a single word.

"Who's the guy? I'm gonna kill him if he doesn't take the responsibility of you. Don't worry. Your elder brother is there for you." Oli fumed.

"What do you mean by take responsibility? So what if she is pregnant? We won't have her marry an asshole. Only and only if he is remotely compatible for our little girl, only then can he be in the child's and Anna's life. Otherwise we Parish can take care of a little kid." Dad refuted.

"You're right dad. What was I thinking? Just because she's pregnant doesn't mean we marry her off to anyone. She's barely eighteen now. There is a long time before we think of marriage." Oli agreed.

"Oh my baby. It's all my fault for not explaining things to you. If I warned you about precautions, this would never happened. No one will blame you honey." Mom consoled.

Fuck, what's wrong with my family? I am a little off and they started thinking for the worst? Oh Lord, save me from my crazy family.

I didn't even get the chance to speak until they reached to baby names.

"Guys!" I screamed to have their attention.

"Anna it's not good for you or the baby to scream like this. You should relax. I'm coming home right now to take care of you." And she hung up.

"Me too Anna. Your elder sister is with you. You can always rely on me. I'm on my way." Angie said and hung up before I could utter a word.

"I'm on my way too honey. And I'll bring Oli along. Don't worry about anything. We will take care of everything." Dad said.

"Yes Anna rest in your room. I will bring you your favorite fruits. You rest." Oli said and the line went dead.

"Aahhhh" I screamed on top of my lungs startling the servants working around.

"Damn my crazy family. They don't have even a single brain cell working properly. They're crazy, absolutely, absolutely crazy. Their brain has gone on strike." I cursed under my breath.

One hour later, Mom was the first to come home. I was still pacing around trying to calm my stupid brain to think properly.

"Anna, I told you to rest. It's not good for the baby. You need to take care of it. You can't get all reckless now." Mom said.

"Mom, for heaven's sake, listen to me before going on total rampage." I started.

"No you need to listen to your mother honey. She knows what's the best for you." Dad said rushing in with Oli on tow.

"I know you're stressed out but relax. You are not alone. You have us. It will be okay." Oli said consoling.

"Listen to me-" I started again, but surprise surprise, they cut me off again. If they don't stop now, I'm gonna kill my own family.

"Anna, are you okay." Angie cried as she rushed to hug me. "You should be more careful sister. You must have heard about precautions, you should have used it. Please tell the father isn't a junkie or any thug. They are the worse kind." She was practically sobbing now.

Would it kill this girl to be a little bit more optimistic? On top of that her weak heart. She will die young from heart attack.

I felt a severe headache coming. I sat down on a couch and massaged my temples.

"Baby where does it hurt?" Mom asked.

"Sir, madam, there is a man outside looking for Ms Anna." Merida, our maid informed us.

"Looks like your boyfriend is here." Oli fumed.

I widened my eyes. No, no, no, no. Not now. Not now.

"Bring him in." Dad said sternly.

Mom and Angie quickly came sat on my side taking one of my hands to comfort and console me.

Dad and Oli stood in front of me protectively. If it wasn't this infuriating, their actions would be rather sweet.

Please Lord, leave me some dignity.