Her door crashed open, and the tall, athletically built blonde stood on the other side of it, his face twisted in anger. "Why aren't you down at the party Anna? I want you there with me!" Anna grimaced, barely hiding the passing glint of fear with a downward glance. "I was making sure I have everything for school next week Andrew." She lied. The haughty boy took a step towards her bed, seeming even taller than his 5'9 frame allowed. "Well you do. So get down here!" As he took another step towards Anna's bed, Glory stood suddenly, hissing at him. "And shut that rabid beast up while your at it or I might have to make it disappear" And with that, Andrew turned and left. Anna snatched Glory mid-jump as the cat was trying to get off the bed, and put her safely in the crate that was set up just for the cat.
Downstairs, Anna's mother was in the kitchen, making dinner for everyone and her father was nowhere to be found. Anna shuddered internally. With her dad not home, Andrew would basically have free reign. Anna shuffled into the living room, taking as long as she dared to, to cross over to the couch, where a spot was empty, right between Andrew and his best friend, Jamias. It was the only free spot to sit, leaving Anna no choice. Silently she suffered through the rest of the football game and half of the cheesy comedy that followed the game before dinner was pronounced ready and everyone filtered into the dining room to dish their plates, returning to the living room to eat. Anna stayed in the dining room, claiming she needed more space to eat, when in truth it was to avoid having to continue to be near her brother.
Alexia, Anna's mother sat down next to her at the table. The older woman sat silent for several moments, contemplating her troubled daughter. Finally she spoke. "Why do you hate your brother so much?" Anna's gut clenched. Her parents didn't know about their sons tendencies. They didn't know that he had tried twice now to rape her, nor that he had threatened her cats life repeatedly. At 5'2 and almost 200 pounds, Anna was no match for her brother. He was well muscled where she was downright fat in her mind. "I don't hate him mother, I just…" Anna trailed off, trying to find a way to say she didn't trust him without leaving herself open to more questions. "I don't like his friends. They are all mean at school to everyone and act like they rule the place." Anna's mother chuckled quietly.
"Anna sweetie, that's all boys. They will find their brains and manners eventually. You just have to be patient and stand up for yourself." Anna sighed. She knew her mother knew she wouldn't. After all the bullying that had happened at school, Anna had a very low self esteem, as her school councilor put it. Nobody knew that she actually had a lot of fear and no friends. Her brother had seen to the latter. Once Anna was finished eating, she helped her mother clean up the dishes. The phone rang right as Anna was hanging the towel she had used to dry the dishes up. "Ill get it mother…. Hello?" The gruff but patient voice of her father was on the other end of the phone. "Give Alexia the phone, Anna." She handed the phone to her mother. "Its dad." As the phone was taken from her hand, Anna looked around, finding the rest of they tidying completed.