~Chapter Six ~

Two days in the hospital felt like a lifetime. They wanted me to stay longer, but what was the point?

My life was already a mess, so lying around doing nothing just added to the emptiness. It took a lot of restraint for me not to ask to be put in a mental institution, because I knew pretty well that I was losing my damn mind.

I had nowhere to go, really. No one else I could turn to... except her. My sister, Brooklyn. I barely knew if she’d want to see me; could I blame her? after what I did to her.

But here I was, standing on her doorstep and pressing the bell more than I should have. The door swung open, and Brooklyn’s voice shot through, laced with irritation.

“Hold up, quit pressing my damn bell like—“ She stopped dead; her eyes widened as she looked me over, the mess I’d become.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She just stared at me, shocked and silent.

“Brooks…hey.” My voice wavered. “Ca-can I come in?”

Brooklyn’s face shifted; her irritation melted into worry as she took in the sight of me—the bandage wrapped around my head, the plaster covering parts of my arms and face. She stepped aside, letting me in without another word.

I shuffled inside slowly, feeling out of place, like a stranger in her home. I stood awkwardly near the entrance, barely able to even meet her gaze.

She folded her arms, like she was on guard, as she looked over at me with hard eyes. I knew I was in the wrong. I knew I didn’t deserve kindness after what I did to her.

“Brooks…” I began, but she cut me off sharply.

“What do you want, Anna?” Her voice was icy, and her tone was unforgiving. “Because I sure as hell know that you don't come back here after three years and expect me to ask if you want a glass of water.”

I swallowed, feeling a tear slip down my cheek before I could stop it.

“You were right, Brooks... you were right about him.”

Her expression stayed hard, but her eyes flickered. “Right about who?”

“Ethan,” I whispered; my voice broke. “My…my husband.”

She raised an eyebrow, her stance defensive. “Yeah? What about him?”

"He... he asked for a divorce,” I managed to say, my voice barely a whisper as the tears came faster.

“And I couldn't let him go. I couldn't watch her take him from me....then ...i...I got in an accident.”

Her eyes widened, confusion mixed with anger as she tried to pick up my words and piece them together.

“Hold up; make it make sense. Ethan, your supposed husband, asked for a divorce? And for who? Another woman?”

I nodded, biting my lower lip as I tried to hold myself together. “I should have listened to you,” I sobbed.

“I should have believed you.”

Brooklyn knew that Ethan was bad news the minute she saw him, I just thought she hated him because she felt all rich men were assholes. I wanted to prove to her that he was different, but each time I did she’d have something to combat me.

Despite the anger that lingered on her face, she took a step closer and wrapped her arms around me. I broke down completely, clinging to her as the weight of everything pressed down on me at once.

One time she had caught him kissing a random woman at an event we both attended, but called her a liar! I embarrassed her.

And I couldn’t afford to lose, not even the argument, I couldn’t lose Ethan, so I chose to leave my sister instead. My mother also tried to talk me out of it, she said she didn’t need a rich in law to have a better life.

I just wouldn’t listen, Ethan was so sweet to me that I thought he was Cupid himself . It was all a lie.

“Just calm down,” she said softly, holding me as I shook. “I don't fully understand. But…what are you going to do now?”

I wiped my face, feeling drained. "He told me I have forty-eight hours to get my things from the house or he’ll burn them. and my time expires today.”

She pulled back, her face twisted in anger.

“The house you two share? Is that man crazy?”

I nodded miserably, feeling the ache in my chest worsen.

“He has a new fiancée now, he needs to clear my closet for her.”

Brooklyn's eyes darkened, and she shook her head disgusted.

“Clear your closet because of some b*tch." She scoffed, looking at me like she was ready to go to war.

“Look, we're going over there, and we're going to beat the shit out of her.”

“No, God, no, please,” I begged, reaching out to stop her. “I don't want any trouble, Brooks. At least till the divorce is over.”

She shot me a look that silenced me.

“You don't get to come here, looking like a busted cone, and tell me what to do. If I say we're going to kick her ass, that's what we're doing.”

Part of me wanted to protest, to hold her back from what I couldn't fight by myself.

But another part... another part felt strength from her fierce loyalty. They sure were right when they said blood was thicker than water.

Brooklyn’s voice softened, though her anger still simmered beneath the surface.

“That man, the one I warned you about, the one that made you see me as a hater, threw you out of your home for some woman? You almost died because of him, and now you're telling me you're going to let this slide?”

Her eyes bore into mine,

“I'm going to get my revenge on Ethan; I can promise you that. And karma would definitely come back for him, Brooks.”

“We're not waiting for karma to come for him; we’re taking karma..... to him.”

She remained adamant; I couldn’t persuade her any longer. She was my older sister after all; I didn't listen to her advice, and it cost me this amount of pain. I'm not disobeying her anymore.

“Come on, We're leaving, right now!”