Introduction:

I found myself crashing, almost in slow-motion, onto my bed, the air waving around me and the world falling apart before my eyes. As my back finally hit the bed in a messy explosion of pink and black bed sheets and pillows, I closed my eyes and counted to ten.

But that didn't help. It only made me think of him more. Whenever I was upset, Corey would just tell me to close my eyes and count to ten, then everything was automatically better. But it doesn't work anymore.

I hugged the picture frame I held in my hands closer to my chest, then closed my eyes again, hoping this was all just some terrible dream, and I'd wake up when I opened my eyes and find myself back in the normal world. Before my parents got divorced. Before I was seperated from my sister. Before Corey died.

I took a single glance at the photo in the frame, and that was enough for all the tears being locked inside my eyes to all break free. "Such a happy family." I whispered in a broken sigh.

My finger traced the outline of everyone in the photo, starting with my father, Jameson Darke. His rich black hair, streaked with grey, framing his strong, well-built chin. His bright green eyes, staring deep within mine. Next to him, resting her head on his shoulder, with her arm wrapped around his stomach, my mother. Jessica Darke, now Parker.

Standing beneath them, was my sister, Alexandria. She had my mother's light brown hair and striking blue eyes. Beside her, was me, Analysa. I was an exact mirror of my father. Dark black hair, bright green eyes, a Darke smile that could haunt you.

On the other side of Alexandria was my brother, William. Though, we all called him by his middle name, Corey. He also had my father's black hair and green eyes. I'm afraid to look in a mirror now, knowing I may burst into tears at seeing my own reflection. It's so much like his.

I tossed the picture aside and rolled over onto my stomach. We're we a perfect family? Yes. Until, of course that dreaded day.

We lived in a really small town. We weren't rich, but we weren't poor either. My father and his family had come to America from Romania when he was hardly a year old. They did better than most who came. They managed to start a bakery in our small town, and the business thrived, and still had when my father took over.

One day, we had all decided to go swimming in a river near the bakery. We were all having a great time. The sun was shining beautifully on the murky green water. Light danced off the giant rocky cliffs standing above the water. Being twelve years old at the time, my curiosity wouldn't hold still.

I decided to go climb on top of the cliffs. I had made it all the way to the top and no one had noticed yet. I looked down at the water below. Many large, sharp rocks poked their way through. My eyes widened and suddleny, I was frozen with fear. "Corey help!" I screamed out. Suddenly the whold world erupted into chaos.

It didn't take long for Corey to climb up the cliff. I was screaming, afraid of falling, though I'm sure I had absolutely no chance of it. Corey ran to me, but couldn't stop himself in time. He went crashing over the cliff. The world stopped for a second. All I saw was Corey's body, crashing down off the cliff. I heard so many screams.

So, I closed my eyes, counted to ten, and when I opened my eyes, the most horrifying image you could ever see in your life had unfolded before me.

All I saw, was my brother's body, lying underneath me, completely pierced through the chest by one of the rocks below. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I fainted.

When I woke up, I was told Corey had died. That was kind of obvious to me though. No one could possibly survive something that terrible.

Corey's death caused too much pain and stress on the family. Even though this was one of those time where the family is suposed to pull together and grow even stronger. It was just too much though. We lost the bakery. My parent's got divorced, Alexandria and I, though we need each other most at this time, were seperated.

So now, two years later, I'm living with my father in an entirely different state. And Alexandria is living with my mother back at our old house. We've just finished moving in and I'll have to be going to school tomorrow for the first time in this new place. Life couldn't get any worse, and all I can do is close my eyes and count to ten.

Chapter 1:

"Hey, Ana," My dad shouted from the living room. "Alex called."

"Yay!" I squealed, then grabbed the phone from my dad, quickly dialing Alex's cell number.

"Ana!!" She squealed. "How are you?!? Make Dad get you a cellphone!! We need to talk more!!" I could hear the frustration in her voice.

"I know! It sucks enough that we live so many miles apart, but we only get to talk to each other maybe once a every month! This is not really the greatest of times for us to be apart." I sighed

"I agr-" I couldn't hear the rest of what she said, thanks to the loud, honk of a car horn. "Crap. Gotta go. Mom's being impatient."

"Okay. Tell her I love her." I smiled into the phone softly.

"I will. Tell Dad the same. Te iubesc, Ana."

"Okay. Te iubesc, Alex."

I hung up and grabbed my backpack from behind the staircase. "How's Alex doing?" My dad asked.

"She's good. She sends her love." My father nodded with a quick smile. Then slowly rose from the couch, following out the door to the car.

The ride to my new school was painfully silent. I was dreading walking through the school doors. I've seen way too many shows about this. I'm either going to go in there and be treated like a miserable freak, or I'll become the coolest girl in school. And that seriously scared the shit out of me.

It didn't take me long to figure out which one I'd be.

I walk into my first class, and am instantly intimidated by all the tall, beautiful blondes, hanging on their hot, muscley, major steriod-head boyfriends. They all wore short skirt, practically revealing their butts, along with tube tops, tank tops, whatever the hell they wanted to wear.

I felt like a crow in the middle of a flock of doves, with my long, black hair, plain jeans and t-shirt. Nervously, I took a seat near the back as the teacher anounced to the class that I was a new student, named Analysa.

All eyes were on me. I gave a them all a nervous smile and a short, two-finger wave. One girl snorted, throwing her hair behind her shoulder and returing her attention to the teacher. The rest of them followed her, doing the exact same thing.

Yeah. It was obvious how this would play out. Well, as my grandmother used to say, "Ei bine, porcarie!!" Romanian for "Well, crap!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At lunch, sitting completely alone at the last table in the five rows of very long tables, I ate my lunch in silence, while the other kids sat together in their cliques, even though everyone is the exact same, pointing and laughing at the new girl. These people must have no lives, if they can spend so long just pointing and laughing at someone.

There was a tap on my shoulder, sighing I crossed my arms and turned around. Behind me were a group of guys all huddled together, the one who must have been their leader had an eyebrow raised, apparently waiting for something.

"May I help you?" I said sarcasticly. A few of the guys snorted.

"This is our spot." One of the guys said. But then a guy came out from the back, who was seriously, the most insanely gorgeous guy I had ever seen in my life. He had light brown eyes, short, spiky hair that matched, a perfect muscular build, and seriously, one of the most beautiful smiles.

"Let her stay. She hasn't already been swallowed by the demons, let's keep her pure." He said, refering to all the blondes at the other tables. The guys all followed his orders, sitting down around me.

"You must be their leader." I said, surprised at how easily his slaves obeyed him.

He chuckled. "Yeah. Pretty much." He stuck out his hand, trying to make space in the crowd for a handshake. "My name's Aaron."

I shook his hand. "My name's Analysa."

His eyes widened. "Wow. That is seriously the most beautiful name I've ever heard."

I giggled, unable to stop myself. I quickly clasped my hands over my mouth, blushing.

"You're so cute!! Just look at you, you're so red!! Hey, there's a dance this Friday. Wanna go with me?" The guys around us gasped.

"Well, yeah. Sure. Why not?" I smiled. So, even if I didn't have any female friends, I may end up with a super gorgeous boyfriend, and a few guy friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Already? It was your first day, and you already have a date to their dance? That seriously has to be some kind of record!" Alex said.

I couldn't help but call her. This was just too big of a deal to let it wait.

"Ana!" My father called out. "Hang up and come in here. Don't worry, it'll be worth it."

"Sorry Alex, but Father Man is calling. Apparently it'll be worth hangin up on you." I chuckled.

She laughed. "Okay. Alright. Te iubesc, Ana."

"Te iubesc, Alex." Slowly, I pressed the end button, then walked into the living room, groaning.

"Heads up." My dad said, throwing something towards me. I caught, just barely. It took me a few seconds to realize what the little black thing in my hand was.

"You got me a cell phone?" I smiled, instantly running to hug him. "Thank you so much. This means the world to me."

He smiled. "I know. Now go upstairs, into your room, sit at your computer desk and go text away." He smiled mischeviously.

I did as he said. Instantly putting in Alex's number. Alex had been training me on how to use a cellphone, knowing Dad would give in soon.

Hey!!!

Have you even looked at your computer yet?

I paused then turned to face it. Laughing instantly. Is that what I think it is?

Haha. Yep. There's a button on the back of the big white thing that turns it on. I had to try and help Dad set it up while you were at school. Turn it on!

I pressed the button and a little box showed up, saying that AlexDaMasta wanted to chat. Nice screen name. I accepted and another box showed up, this one had Alex's face in it.

"Hey!!!" She squealed.

"Alex!!!" I felt myself close to tears. It had been so long since I'd seen her face, or heard her voice. She looked a little more mature, being sixteen now.

Before we knew it, we were both in tears, catching up on our lives the past year. Though we still couldn't touch, just being able to see her face again made me think that nothing in the world could ruin this moment. And really, nothing could.

Chapter 2:

Alex had helped me quite a bit with my outfit for the dance, even if by webcam. Being two years older than me, she automatically believed she had more fashion sense. Which, sadly, is probably true.

So, as we brought absolutely everything out of my closets, dumped it out onto my bed, and dug through it, piece by piece, Alex finally spotted what would apparently be the perfect choice. A long, black, lacey spiderweb-designed dress that touched the floor when I wore it.

"I wore this on Halloween! It's a Valentine's Day dance." I laughed.

She shook her head. "Wear those converse boot thingies Mom can't stand with it. It'll look amazing." I agreed and put the dress on. Well, the dress managed to actually fit me perfectly, fitting tight exactly where it was suposed to, completely flattering my amazing, but always hidden by baggy clothes, figure.

Alex practically did my makeup. She had me bring my makeup bag over to the computer, pulled out her matching one, grabbed out makeup and made me do exactly what she was, accidently turning me into some gothic beauty. "You need to wear makeup more often!!" She squealed. "You're gorgeous. I'm pretty jealous!! That thick black hair!!"

I giggled. "Thanks. Gotta go, though. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow morning."

"Okay. Te iubesc, Ana."

"Te iubesc, Alex!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess I should have seen this coming when the most gorgeous guy at the school happened to ask me to the dance. Especially after all the girls had suddenly been really nice to me the next day. But, I kind of figured that they thought me going to the dance with Aaron made me cool. I was wrong.

It was all just some plot to humiliate the new girl though. I walk into the dance, and there he is, sucking off some blonde bimbo's face.

I pretend no to notice though, and hide the pain. I take a deep breath, walking right past the two and sit down at one of the chairs they have set aside the dance floor.

Completely unknown to me, however, a guy was sitting directly beside me, perched like some beautiful black raven, observing a hurt pigeon with sad eyes.

When I finally saw him, I couldn't pull may gaze away from him. He was beautiful. His eyes were the color of night, soft and sparkling. His smile was sweet, and showed compassion. It also seemed we had picked the same theme for dress for the dance. He was wearing black leather pants and a torn Slipknot t-shirt. His hair was jet black with bright red tips covering his left eye. And to top it off, (Teehee. Pun) a fedora.

"You're Aaron's 'date', aren't you?" He said with a sad smile.

"Yeah." I sighed. "You're the blonde bimbo's date, huh?" He nodded.

"I think we should just trick them into thinking they actually pulled a prank that helped us." He sat down on his butt with a thud and looked deeply into me. "You know what I mean?"

I laughed. "Yeah. You know it would just break their hearts if they knew that their prank actually helped us find each other." He held out his hand and I shook it. "My name's Analysa." I said.

"I'm Josh. Now, let's go break some hearts." He grinned, pulling me up from my seat, keeping my hand in his as we walked right on past Aaron and out the door, looking like any other couple madly in love.

"There's a cemetery near. You wanna go?" He asked. I giggled. "Isn't that a bit cliche?"

He shrugged. "Probably, but it's a gorgeous night. I think it could fairly romantic."

"Okay then." Then we took off running down to the nearest, creepiest cemetery we could find.

"This is my mother's grave." Josh said, tracing his finger along the name carved into the stone. "Died giving birth to me, so I guess you could say it was my fault."

I sat down, wrapping my arm around him, laying my head on his shoulder. "My brother died two years ago, saving my life, even though I was in no danger. That was my fault."

Josh looked up at me, smiling with slight tears in his eyes. Slowly, he pulled my chin to his, our lips meeting in a soft kiss. then, a few minutes later, I'm very sure we will go to hell for this, but we made love on his mother's grave. I don't know if I should include this in my message to Alex in the morning.

Chapter 3:

"Happy birthday." I awoke to my father's kiss on the top of my head. I smiled up at him, wiping the sleep from my eyes and stretching with a yawn. "We haven't really talked about this yet, but what do you want for your birthday?"

Tears threatened the corners of my eyes. "Dad. We have to go. It's Alex and Corey's birthday too. We've celebrated together every year since the day I was born. We can't stop now."

I was born March 12th. Alex had been born two years earlier, on March 13th, and Corey was born a years before that, March 14th. Every year since I was born, we've celebrated our birthdays together on March 13th.

"How did I know you were going to say that?" He grinned. "Good thing I called your mother a few days ago. Good thing I sneaked into your room last night to pack up all your stuff so we can leave immediately."

"You didn't!" I wrapped him in a huge bear hug, then jumped out of bed. "Does Alex know?" He shoook his head, chuckling.

"We decided it would make a nice birthday surprise. Now go hurry up and get dressed, we've got about an eight to ten hour drive ahead of us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gazing through Alex's window, I sent a smile to Mom, who was talking to Alex about her plans for her birthday party tomorrow. "It just won't be the same without Ana here! We've celebrated together for so long now. We can't stop now."

Mom coaxed Alex outside of her room. After Alex was out, Mom ran over to the window to open it for me. I was quick to slide in and find myself a nice hiding place under Alex's bed.

I could barely keep quiet when Alex came back inside to go to bed. The instant she turned the lights off to go to bed, I had to pin my mouth shut to stop the giggles.

Slowly, I got out from under her bed and just simply got out, put on my best yawn and climbed into bed beside her. I could feel her instantly freeze, in confusion, perhaps? It was too dark to see her, but I wish I could have seen her face the instant I yawned.

Suddenly, she giggled. "Jason! How long have you been hiding under my bed?" Alex scoot over and threw her arm over my chest. "Uhh, Jason? How long have you had boobs?"

"I went through an odd change this afternoon." I said in my best man-voice. Alex suddenly jumped out of bed and ran to the light switch as I burst into a giggle fit.

"Ana!!!" She squealed I ran to hug her. It had been too long since we'd been together like this. In fact, I think it had been exactly a year.

"Alex! I've missed you so much!!" I embraced her tightly, never wanting to leave.

"Ana." She pulled away. "There's something I've been wanting to tell you, but I didn't want to tell you by text." I nodded. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. "I'm pregnant."

My smile faded. "No, Alex. No, no. You..." She bit her lip, nodding. I bit my own lip. "I'd say you're too young to be pregnant, but then, that would make me a hypocrite."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "What...do you mean?" I bit even harder down on my lip. Her eyes widened. "Holy shit. No, no, no, no! There is no way!" Sadly, I nodded.

"Looks like we're both pregnant. Does Mom know?" I asked her. She shook her head. "Your the first person I've told." I nodded. "Same here."

I sighed. "Well, this'll be fun."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Happy eighteenth birthday, Corey." I whispered into the soft March air, blowing around me in a calm, beautiful wind. You'd think the cemetery wouldn't be that great of a place for a birthday party, but to Alex and I, it was nothing short of perfect.

"Te isbuesc, my brother." Alex whispered, softly stroking the flowers laid by his headstone. I wrapped my arm around her waist, resting my head on her shoulder. "Ready for this?" I whispered, butterflies instantly swarming around at the words.

Alex gulped, then nodded. We took hold of each other's hands, slowly turning to face our crowd. My mother, father, my mother's brother, my grandparents on my mother's side of the family, Alex's boyfriend, Jason, and all of our friends.

Together we stood, our eyes meeting. We gave each other a quick nod. Alex spoke for us. "Everyone, we have an announcement. We love you all more than anything, and we think there's something you all need to know." She gave me a nod, telling me it was my turn.

I gave a fake grin, taking in a secret, deep breath. "Alex and I...are both pregnant." I winced, wanting terribly to go hide behind Alex. Alex gripped my hand even tighter.

Our crowd was silent. Jason approached us, taking Alex's hand in his. "Is this true?" His eyes were worried. Alex nodded. Suddenly, the entire world seemed to erupt with chaos as a roar came from our audience. Dad was yelling at Mom. Mom was yelling back. Grandma was trying to seperate them. My friends all surrounded me, shouting, swallowing me in some loud, pit of darkness.

"Please! Everyone just stop!" I cried out, crashing to the ground. Everything went silent. Alex dropped beside me, scooping me up in her arms. Tears were uncontrolably falling.

"This should be a time to celebrate. It's our birthdays, mine, Alex's, and Corey's. What the hell is wrong with you all?!? This was suposed to be a time when we all work together to make the best of our situations. But all you guys can do is fight and yell and just fight some more with each other! I thought we were family!" I couldn't stop myself anymore.

"Come on, Ana. Come with me." Alex stood up, dragging me with her. Together, we made our way to the farthest away from the party we could get. Alex was trying to wipe my tears away, but they just wouldn't stop.

"Why do our lives suck so much?" I asked, forging a smile.

Ana shook our head. "I don't know. All I know is that we have to stick together this time. We can't let them seperate us no matter what. But I have a feeling Mom's going to kick me out fo the house."

"Yeah. She probably will, even after my little outburst back there. But, that just means you can come live with Dad and me."

Alex hugged me. "Okay, now come on. Let's go back to the party and see if we can get this mess straightened up, then we'll talk to Mom about me staying with you guys for a while."

I smiled. "Te isbuesc, Alex."

She smiled back. "Te isbuesc."

Chapter 4:

Mom didn't really kick Alex out, but we decided to take her back with us for a month. We decided we'd work out a custody agreement, so Alex and I wouldn't have to be apart. One month we'll stay with Mom, the next we'll stay with Dad, and just keep going back and forth.

Dad had Alex and I transfered to a different school, Josh's school. It would be easier on the both of us, he though. And it was. I had Josh there and all of his friends, so that meant Alex and I wouldn't have to worry about having to make friends.

Josh took the news of my pregnancy very well. He was grinning from ear to ear, so happy with the news, as long as I was happy. And thanks to him, I was.

Josh wasn't very good at keeping his mouth shut though, so everyone at our school already knows that Alex and I are "preggos" as they say. And none of them care. They're definitely not the kind to judge. "No one is a misfit here at the school of misfits." That's pretty much their motto.

Alex and I have an art class together, which is a blast, of course. The teacher is amazing too, so she let us all put on old t-shirts and jeans and paint all over each other. Never in my life have I felt so close to my sister as I do when we're both covered in paint, head to toe, laughing until it hurts.

Alex and I also have lunch together, which is great. Right now, I feel I need her by my side every second she can be there. Even though we have two seperate bedrooms, we find ourselves falling asleep in the same bed anyway.

"No way! You guys are both due November 28th?" We nodded in unison, laughing. "As of right now, yep!" The girls around shook their head, chuckling.

"So what if you guys have the babies the same day? That would be so cool!" I glanced over at Alex. She grinned. "That would be pretty cool."

"Another question!" One girl called out. "What the hell does Tay Eebesc, or whatever you guys say mean?"

I chuckled. "Te iubesc. Our grandparents were from Romania, and didn't speak much English, so we learned a lot of Romanian from them. Te isbuesc, means 'love you.' "

"Aww! That's so cool! I'm totally gonna start saying that now!!" The bell rang. A few of the girls groaned. "We'll have to meet back up here Monday. Ah, wait. You guys are going back to your mother's tomorrow, right?" We nodded. "Okay, see you in May then!!"

"Later guys!!" We both called out. Together, we stepped out of the school, where our mother's car was waiting, already packed with a month's worth of our stuff, ready to go back to her place. This would be the first time I'd be back for longer than a day. "I've missed Mom." I said softly with a smile.

Chapter 5:

"Here's your old room back, though, from what I've heard from your father, you'll probably just end up sleeping in Alex's room." My mom flopped down on my bed, inviting me to sit by her.

"Wait. So you've actually been talking to Dad?" Mom chuckled, tucking her arm around my shoulder.

"Well, now that we've started this whole custody thingy, it's kinda required. We're both adults, we've learned to forgive, forget, and let go of grudges. Though it's still hard." I nodded, resting my head on her chest.

My mom took a single look at me and shook her head. "Hard to imagine. My little girl, so grown up. Both of my girls. You've grown since the last time you slept in this room." I smiled.

"Yeah." A thought suddenly came to my mind and my smile faded. "Is all of Corey's stuff still in his room?"

I felt my mother gulp. "Yes." She said softly. I nodded, slowly standing up and making my way to Corey's room.

The usual smell of Corey's room (man-stink mixed with a hint cologne) was gone. His cheetah-print blankets were still on his bed, perfectly made. His fourth-year, Camp Ozark blanket was folded around his pillow, like a pillow-case, the way he always had it.

Slowly, I sat down on the bed, gazing around the room. The Used, Halo, and Avenged Sevenfold poster were hung all aroung the walls. Something hanging from the back of the bed caught my eye. I unhooked it off the bed and took a second, rolling the beads and shells of the necklace between my fingers, remembering making this for him on his fifteenth birthday.

Smiling, I clipped the necklace around my neck. Suddenly, another idea came to me. I grabbed a few of Corey's cat-eyed marbles (he started a collection when he was twelve) and ran out of his room. "Hey Mom, Alex, I'm going to go to the cemetery." I called out.

I ran all the way, as fast as I could. It's a pretty small town, so the cemetery is just a short trip down the road.

I found myself falling on my knees, laughing, in front of Corey's grave. Carefully, I set two marbles on his headstone, and then pushed the other three into the ground, burying them in the muddy soil. Still chuckling, I rose back up to my knees, patting my dirty thumbs against my jeans.

It wasn't long until Alex was there with me, her arm around me, smiling and laughing with me as we revisted stories from our childhood, growing up with Corey.

"Remember all the plans you had Corey? You were going to graduate this year! then you'd spend a year partying and chilling with your friends. Then you'd go to some culinary school and become the greatest chef the world had ever seen. Even better than that Gordon guy." I chuckled into the wind.

Alex laughed. "Do you think it's a major coincidence that whenever you're here, it's always windy?"

I chuckled. "Of course it's not a coincidence. It's Corey. Speaking to us, laughing with us through the beautiful whisper of the wind." I said softly, remembering a poem Corey had written.

"Corey's poem." Alex smiled. Then, at the exact same moment, we both recited the poem.


"Ever shall I part,"

"Please forget me not"

"My heart shall always remain with you"

"Wether through your hopes and dreams,"

"Or the beautiful whisper of the wind"

"Forever with you, I shall always be"

"Te iubesc"

Chapter 6:

"Awww!!! Look at you guys!!!!" Our friend, Melissa squealed. "Look at your little tiny baby bumps!! It's so cutsie!!!" We were instantly stampeded by a large group of familiar faces we hadn't seen in a month.

Josh grabbed me by the arm, swirling me away from the mob ato his arms. "Ello Love." He said with a wink, pulling me into a kiss. He softly pushed me away to look at me. "My God. Look at you!!! You looks so beautiful and happy." His eyes softened and a wide, beautiful grin stretched across his face. Slowly, he wrapped me in an embrace, making me sway softly to a silent tune.

"Send it to Facebook!!" Alex shouted. I chuckled, ignoring our watchers, until Melissa shouted, "Okay, now we need a double baby bump picture!!" I laughed, breaking off the embrace and moving to Alex's side.

We lifted our shirts up to show our growing bellies and wrapped our arms around each other's waist. "Soooo cute!!" The girls all squealed as we pretended to be models, posing for preggos pics.

The first bell of the school bell rang and, groaning, we all seperated into smaller groups, slowly making our way to our first class of the day"

"At least I know I won't fail the test." I whispered to the girl sitting beside me. She chuckled. I seriously learned all of the stuff we're learning now last month. "The most suckish thing about going back and forth from schools. So this means, there could be something I'm not learning!"

I thought about that for a second then laughed. "I guess it doesn't really matter anyway. I've already screwed up my life with this little number." I giggled, pointing to my stomach. The girls around me all laughed.

"Okay, chica, now you know we're soooo not gonna let that happen, right?" I nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I figured you guys would say something like that. I'm really just worried about Alex. She graduates next year. She'll have a really young baby. I can't imagine her being able to juggle so much. She's never been a multitasker."

"Don't worry, she'll have a whole buttload of help. You just need to relax and keep all worries from your mind." I nodded and remained silent the rest of the class, deep in thoughts of the future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm glad to have you back." Josh scooted closer to me, wrapping his arm around my neck. His finger traced my stomach. "This still just doesn't seem real." He smiled, kissing the top of my head.

"I know. I don't think it ever will." I layed back, find a comfortable spot in the soft grass of the football field.

Alex slowly sat down and layed down on the other side of me, wrapping her arms around me, joining in on our cuddle.

"It's nice to see you too." I giggled, welcoming her into the group.

"Shut up. Jason's not here, I need a cuddle buddy." I laughed, pulling her in closer.

"You're welcome in our cuddle anytime, Alex." Josh laughed.

Alex chuckled. "Thanks Josh. Don't foget guys, the football team has practice-" She was cut off by the sounds of screaming, running, and pands and helmets bumping together. "Right now." She finished. Giggling, we all stood up as fast as we could, which for Alex and I wasn't very fast. Togther, we ran, screaming like little girls, to the bleachers.

While on the bleachers, we scooted back together in our cuddle group, sitting in a beautiful silence, watching the guy's practice. It was a perfect moment, being with two of the people I love most.

A calm, cool breeze swept by. "Okay, make that three." I said quietly to myself, looking up at the sky.

Chapter 7:

June, the most beautiful time of year to be in the South. The lightning bugs have finally emerged from their slepping states and are ready to come out and dance in the beautiful black of midnight with the children of the Earth.

Holding hands in a little circle, Alex, Jason, my mother, and I all skipped around, laughing and dancing around a jar of lightning bugs we'd caught. Barefoot, we allowed the soft mud beneath us to crawl up between our toes, a welcome warmth in the coolness of night.

We released the lightning bugs back into the sky, then all slowly sat down in a circle. Eventually, one by one, we all layed down, gazing up at the stars above, trying to decode the stories hidden within their glowing lights.

And we'd all fall asleep out there beneath the moonlight, as we've done now for many years. Even though I couldn't be cuddled up next to Corey or my dad this year, my mother's warm embrace was good enough for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, the four of us woke up with sore backs and soaking clothes. "Ughhh. That was sooo not a great idea!" Alex said with a groan.

"I know what you mean. But, it was fun though. We'll just have to remember to bring pillows with us next time." I said, sitting up and stretching my arms.

My mom smiled at us, combing though her hair with her fingertips. "Come on girlies, and Jason, let's go back and change into some dry clothes and I'll get breakfast started." The four of us all stood together, taking each other arm in arm and slowly beginning our walk back to the house, accompanied by a lovely summer breeze.

"Wait! Everyone! Stop." I grinned and pointed to the sky, where the sun had just begun to rise and had painted the sky beautiful mixes of red, orange and pink. Together, we all sat down to watch this beautiful scene that so many people here tend to take for granted.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't have to leave, and that Dad and Josh could come back here, and we could all live perfectly in this beautiful place." I whispered to myself.

Hearing the words, Mom threw her arms around me. "So do I, my Analysa. So do I."

"What's happened to the bakery?" I suddenly asked.

My mom sighed. "They're going to tear it down in August, if no one buys it by then, and I doubt anyone will."

Alex and I bother jumped up at the same time, probably way too fast. "No way are we letting that happen!" I said. Then looked to her. She nodded. "We gre up there! They can't just tear it down!"

"Well, there's not much you guys can do about it, I'm afraid." Mom sighed.

"No! We can! We can all work together and save up the money and buy it back!" I could see the pure determination in Alex's eyes. "We'll do it! Won't we Ana?" She looked at me and I nodded, grinning.

"Why don't we? We can at least try!" She grinned. My mother sighed, but then chuckled.

"Well, I guess I'll try and help out too." She said. So it was settled. We were going to fight. That bakery was more important to our family than anything, and we were going to do whatever it took to get it back.

Chapter 8:

"You guys better be careful at those jobs of yours!" The doctor smiled and chuckled. "It's insane for girls your ages, especially if you're pregnant, to be working so hard. You guys must really want this."

I looked over at Alex, then back at the doctor. "Yes. We do. This place means so much to us." The doctor's smile was warm and friendly as she listened to me.

"I know what you mean. My sister and I had a favorite tree we would always sit by during the afternoon and just talk, play, or read. It was a beautiful, gigantic oak. But then, one day, it was cut down. I would have done anything to keep that tree up there. So many memories were with that tree and it hurt to see it gone."

The doctor looked out the window thoughtfully. Then she turned her attention back to Ana and me. "Well, let's check these babies out! You guys want to know the sex, right?" I smiled and nodded eagerly. "Okie dokie. Well, then Ana, why don't you come up here first?"

I quickly stood up, along with Josh and sat down. As the doctor was checking the baby's heart rate, I looked back at everyone else in the room. I couldn't help but giggle. There was Mom, Dad, Alex, Jason, and Josh. Suddenly, the warm jelly stuff was being spread around my belly, which kind of shocked me and made me yelp.

"Sorry. That just kind of came out." The doctor chuckled and all of us in the room turned our attention to the ultrasound machine.

"Wow. Check it out Ana. There's your baby." I felt Josh's hand tighten around my arm as the doctor said that. I looked back at him. He was biting his lip, but he was smiling. "Wow. I would bet you anything that this is going to be a girl."

I looked up at the screen and saw what she meant. The baby had her legs crossed and was being stubborn, refusing to let the nosy doctor see their.

Suddenly, the air conditioner kicked on, actually startling the baby, making it throw it's hands over her ears and uncross it's legs. "Aww! It's a girl!!" Many of us shouted at ounce.

"Wow. It's like deja vu, though this time it isn't me in the chair." My mom laughed. "Ana did the exact same thing! Don't you remember honey?" She looked at my dad, then suddenly her hands were clasped over her mouth, realizing she'd just called him honey.

Dad didn't seem to notice though. He just kept looking at the screen. "Yeah. I remember. Ana was always such a stubborn little girl. But she was also so scared of loud noises." Dad stood up, and walked over to me. Josh moved out of his seat and let my dad sit there for a second.

"You've got a little you in there." He grinned. "She's going to be just like you. So strong, independent, and she'll fight for waht she thinks is right. She'll carry the blames and burdens thrown upon her, but she'll make it through, and come out stronger than ever."

My eyes got teary. I looked over at everyone else, especially at Mom, who was already grabbing tissues. I put an arm around Dad's shoulder, pullling him in tight, whispering thank you into his ear.

Next came Alex's turn. It didn't take any time at all to find out it was a boy. He seemed to be very proud of himself. "There's our little Corey." Mom said laughing.

Alex looked back at Mom, then grinned. She looked to Jason. "Corey." Jason nodded, grinning, knowing exactly what she meant.

"Sounds perfect." He kissed her forehead. "Our little Corey."

And so we left there that day, feeling better than we ever had in two years. We were a family again, with a few new additions to the tree.

Chapter 9:

I rested a hand across my sixth-month-pregnant belly. "You know what I just realized, Alex?" I turned to face her, our bellies almost colliding.

"What? That our parents are probably the two stupidest people in the world?" We both laughed, then took a peek out the window, seeing Dad's car already gone.

"My thoughts exactly."

Now you see, as you know, our parent's have been seperated for, like, two years. But, for the last two weeks, they have been actually going out! On, like, actual dates and stuff! But at least now they've finally realized they're mistakes, and hopefully won't do anything stupid like that again.

Alex and I slowly sat down together on the couch, comparing bellies, though they were the exact same size. "Haha. Mine's bigger!" Alex joked.

"Now way! Check it out, mine's like almost an inch taller." I joked back.

"Oh come on, maybe a quarter of an inch, but-"

"Ha! So you admit mine's bigger!"

Alex laughed. "Okay. Fine. You got me. But now, let's get serious for a bit. How much farther do we have until we can get the bakery back? We seriously don't have much time at all. The deadline is at the end of the month!"

I paused for a moment. "Well, between all the help we've been getting from everyone, we seriously are only about one hundred dollars off!! Don't worry. We can do this!"

I went to the window and looked out at the winding dirt road that lead to town. I smiled warmly, knowing that someday, we'd be going down that road to Alex and I's bakery, to be named Corey's Bakery, if we're able to get it back.

"Ready for school to start back tomorrow?" Alex asked.

I smiled. "Are you? Senior year. That's a pretty big deal."

Alex grinned. "I'll be fine. I've been doing this long enough. It's no big deal."

It felt good, knowing I'd be back in the South for a while. With Mom and Dad kind of back together, and they constantly going on dates, being so far apart would just complicate things, so Dad has decided to sell our house and move in back South with Alex and Mom. Yeah, this means I won't get to see Josh often, but I'm still happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks later, Corey's bakery was bought and prepared to be put back in business, with promising results already. People were excited about the Darke family coming together again, and it turns out they'd really missed our deserts. Everything would be back to normal again.

Okay, strike that. Corey's gone and Alex and I are both knocked up. But hey, at least we can smile and laugh again. Together.

Chapter 10:

"Yeah. Only about two more months, I think." I overheard Alex saying to one of our customers. I smiled, resting one hand on my stomach as I pulled a batch of muffins out of the oven.

Corey's Bakery has only been open for a little while, but it's already done very well. The world is at peace, it seems to me. I feel like nothing in the world could ever go wrong! The Sun is shining, my entire family is glowing with happiness, and life is flowing at a beautiful pace, smooth as a summer's breeze. Like a beautiful puzzle, my life has been pieced back together.

"Ooh. Wow. Now those look very good! Well done girls!" Alex and I both said thanks in unison as customers continually complimented the deserts and decor. "Your parents don't even help you two out, do they? They just let you girls so all the work. But it's probably better this way. The place looks better than it did when your parents were running it."

I moved closer to Alex, wrapping a hand around her waist and resting my head on her shoulder. Together, we gazed out into our success, a color mix of oranges and pinks splattered along the wall and floor, dotted with display stands covered with colorful cakes and cookies, and tables and chairs. Along the walls were pictures and paintings. The pictures of all our family. My grandparents standing in front of the bakery when it was first opened, my parents standing in front of it when it was passed onto them, the a picture of Alex and I standing in front of it when we re-opened it.

But in the center of them all, the largest picture, was of Corey, the third current owner. He was smiling seemingly proudly at us. And the happy, rejoicing breeze told me he was. He was proud of us all.

Alex and I sat down together at one of the tables when business started to slow down a little. We discussed the old times, when she, Corey, and I would all run around the bakery showing off the deserts we decorated to the customers. Those were always the first deserts bought. The customers appreciated the hard work we kids put into making our sloppy, but beautiful cakes and cookies.

Never did we worry about what the future would hold for us. We knew that as long as there were people in the South, there would be a need for a bakery. One of our goals for the future was openeing up a second bakery in a larger town, and maybe even starting a chain of bakeries all over the state. Mabye even the country!

Sure, it would take a while of hard work, money, and patience, but a dream is a dream. And if it's possible for me to be 15 and already have an absolutely perfect life with those I love most, if it's possible for my parents to get back together after a nasty divorce, and if it's possible for the wound in my heart from Corey's death to heal, then anything is possible. The sky is the limit. No, the edge of the universe and beyond is the limit.

Chapter 11:

With Alex and I's due dates approaching nearer and nearer, we were on contant watch, no matter where we were. Even if we were taking a bath, someone would be right outside the door, or even inside the bathroom with us. Josh even came down to the South, just in case Alex or I went into labor early.

Alex and I were both due November 20th now. Every time our duedate would maybe get pushed back or forward, it would still always be on the same day. Everyone's convinced it will sort of be like a Father of the Bride: 2 moment, and we'll both give birth on the same day, maybe at the same time.

The doctors are expecting everything to go very well. So far no problems have been found with either of us. Everything is fine. Everything is...perfect.

Little Corey and "Baby No-Name" would be here soon. Josh and I still couldn't come up with a name, so we have decided we will just wait and when she comes, we'll give her whatever name first comes to our minds.

"Any day now, huh?" My mom's sister, Leah, came and sat down beside me, sitting down a large plate of chocolate chip cookies that had just come out of the oven. Unable to resist, I grabbed a few.

"Probably not any day now. I mean, I still have maybe two or three more weeks." Aunt Leah smiled.

"You were born two weeks early."

My eyes shot wide open. The blood drained out of my face. I seriously could have this kid any day now. I felt the blood drain from my face. "Oh god. I'm not ready yet! I'm not ready for this! Ahh. I can't do this. Ohh God. I'm only fifteen-" My tounge twisted and my mouth went dry.

Aunt Leah laughed. "Calm down, girlie. You'll be fine. You still have a while. Everything will be okay, alright?"

I nodded, smiling slowly. "Okay."

"You don't want to get too excited like that right now. You could go into premature labor." And so the panic set in once again. Aunt Leah laughed, giving me a pat on the back.

"Leah!" Mom's scolding voice called out. "Ana, you wanna know why you were born two weeks early? Because of this little girl here! She practically scared you right out of me!!"

Mom sat down with us, joining in on the cookies and the conversation. "Don't worry Ana. Everything will be fine. Don't let this old bat over here scare you." She pointed over at Leah, who gave her a light smack on the shoulder, and suddenly, I couldn't help but see so much of Alex and I in Mom and Aunt Leah.

"Thanks for the cookies Aunt Leah." I stood up and grabbed another cookie to go. "I'm going to go see how Alex is doing." Mom and Aunt Leah waved goodbye and I left to go see if I could find Alex. I really needed to talk to her.

Chapter 12:

"Shit!" I muttered under my breath as a dull, long pain hit me. I glanced over at Alex, who had the exact same look on her face as I probably did, and who was also holding her stomach just as I was.

When it was over, we both sat up at the same time. I walked over to her. "You felt it too." Her eyes widened.

"If we both felt it, I think I know what it is." Her face had gone pale.

I bit my lip, not wanting to believe it. Not right now in the middle of art class! "Let's just wait a while. It could have been something else. If it happens again, we'll notify the teacher.

(A while later)

"Holy shit!!" Alex and I whispered in unison. Both our hands went up at once.

"Girls?" Mrs. Ashcroft called out.

"Mrs. Ashcroft!" I sighed after the contraction was over. "It's an emergency. Majorly." Alex nodded.

The teacher's eyes went wide. "Oh my God! Is it...?" Alex and I both nodded violently. "Holy crap! Go, go! Go to the office call your parents!!" Mrs. Ashcroft was hopping around like the energizer bunny, helping us up out of our seats and running us as fast down the hall as we could go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No." Tears were running down my face. My grip around Josh's hand was as tight as it could be. "That can't be right!! That's impossible!"

There had been complications with Alex. Her baby had been stillborn. Alex was now fine, but in major distress.

"And it seems you might have a few problems too. You don't have a very good chance of making it through the birth." My voice was caught in the back of my throat, frozen with fear. My grip on Josh's hand couldn't be any tighter. I gulped, carefully putting out my words.

"Dr. Morrow, can you please promise me something?"

The doctor nodded. "Anything."

"If I don't make it through this, please,give my baby to Alex. I want her to be the godmother. Tell her I love her, but I'm in a better place, with Corey, Little Corey, Grandma, and Grandpa.Tell her to follow her dreams, open up another bakery and never forget about me."

The doctor nodded, swallowing her tears. "Okay. I will."

"Lastly," I said. "Give her a kiss, and tell her I said te iubesc."

The doctor nodded again. "Don't worry, if you don't make it I will, but we are going to give everything we've got to get you through this. Now come one, it's time for you to start pushing."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Sometimes our everything just isn't enough." The doctor told me. I shook my head, not willing to believe it. "No! I've already lost Corey! Not Ana too!! Please!!"

Tears were sliding down the Doctor's cheeks. "I'm sorry. She wants you to keep her baby for her though."

I nodded. "Yes, of course!! I'd be honored."

A nurse and Josh brought in Ana's child, my new daughter. She was so beautiful, and already looked so much like a Darke.

"Ana also wanted me to tell you, te isbuesc." The doctor told me as they handed the small little bundle. The doctor smiled. "Any ideas for a name?"

"Of course." I grinned through my tears. "Analysa."

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 20.06.2011

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My Sister, Brianna. Te iubesc, sora me.