When we’d gotten back from our afternoon of fun, I’d let Mackenzie go take her shower first. I wanted to check on Anabelle anyway. She’d been quieter than normal, and I wasn’t liking it too much; however, I was giving her, her space.
Moving to her door, I knock before opening the door. Finding her room empty, I turn to head back to my room only to stop when I hear the faint sounds coming from my music room. I move to the door and crack it open, only to stop in surprise at the sound of my sister’s beautiful voice.
Shit, how did I not know she was able to sing?
Pushing the door open further, I lean against the doorframe, cross my arms over my chest and listen to her.
Words of an angel sing
Nothing can come between
My heart is his and no one else’s
Speaking from the heavens above
No one is around to hear him but me
Words of an angel to my ear
He is the miracle that keeps me here
My heart belongs to him and no one else
He’s my angel from above
There is no one else I want near me
No one can take the pain away
Only the words of the angel in my dreams
For now, and until time ends
My heart belongs to him and no one else
Never again will I feel nothing but the pain
When he is not here
Words of an angel sing in my ear
Only in my dreams will I be complete
All because my heart bleeds for him alone
I’m beyond words as my sister continues to sing such a heartfelt, yet painful song. Instead of using a keyboard Anabelle’s holding one of the guitars I have in here, her fingers flying across the cords.
Fuck.
Where did she learn to play like this?
Stepping further into the room, Anabelle must have felt me enter the room because she opens her eyes and lifts her head up to meet my gaze.
“Umm, hey,” she murmurs.
“Who taught you to play like that?” I ask.
“I did,” she whispers, her head lowering so that she doesn’t meet my eyes.
“You did?” I ask, not sure if I want to believe her.
“Well, umm, I did, but only after umm, my boyfriend started teaching me.” Her breath hitches as she speaks.
“Boyfriend?” I didn’t even know my sister had a boyfriend. What else hasn’t she told me?
“Derick. He, umm, died six months ago when someone shot him,” she states, her eyes lifting to my own. Tears filling hers as she lightly strums the cords once again.
“Fuck, Anabelle, why didn’t you tell me this?” I ask, moving across the room and kneeling in front of her.
“I didn’t want you to worry about me. I loved him but you would have flipped because he was older than me.”
“How much older?”
“Nineteen.”
“Anabelle, I wouldn’t have been pissed about that, sure if he was twenty-one then fuck yeah, I would be. But nineteen, that was only two years older than you. That’s nothing compared to the age gap between me and Mackenzie,” I mutter.
“Maybe so, but you would have been pissed over the fact I’d had sex and ended up pregnant.” I’m shocked out of my mind at this bit of info. Glancing down at my sister’s stomach I couldn’t tell if she was pregnant or not.
“You’re pregnant?”
“I am,” she nods in confirmation.
“What the fuck, Anabelle? Does anyone know?” I demand, keeping my voice as calm as possible.
“No, I haven’t had the nerve to tell anyone. I wanted to keep a piece of Derick just for myself, at least for a bit, before sharing the news. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Lex, but for once I had something that was for me, then that was taken away. I found out I was pregnant two weeks after the funeral and I didn’t know how to say anything, so I kept it to myself because I had a piece of Derick still with me. I loved him so . . . so much and he’s gone. The pain is too fresh and yet I have a miracle within me.” Lifting the guitar from my sister’s hands, I put it on the floor and pull her into my arms.
“Shh, it’s okay, Anabelle. It’s okay,” I murmur as I hold my sister to me as she cries. Her cries become sobs of pain as she releases all of her pent-up emotions.
I feel like the worst brother in the world for not being there for my little sister. I’ve tried to hide the shit I’ve been going through and what Mackenzie has endured, I didn’t think my sister had her own shit.
Now her world is changing in more ways than one. I’m about to be an uncle to a child I didn’t even know she was carrying, until now. And he or she will be here within months if my calculations are correct.
With her in my arms, I gently stand and carry her out of my music room. Instead of carrying her to her room, I take her to my room. As much as I wanted to spend the evening alone with Mackenzie, Anabelle needs me and her best friend more.
Chapter Ten
Mackenzie
Snuggling deeper into the warmth of the covers, I try to fall back to sleep. Only when my brain clicks on, I realize that warmth I’m feeling is coming from Lex’s body do I wake fully.
Lex is holding me.
This is the first time since we’ve slept in his bed together that he’s ever held me while I slept. Sure, I’ve curled into him but never has he held me like this in my sleep. Where my backside meets his front and . . . holy mother of . . . h-he, Lex is not a small guy. Hell, he’s not your average guy.
Which shouldn’t be surprising but damnit I’ve never felt anything like that. It should
