Leaving Home

Chapter 5: Leaving Home

Acting on an impulse, Anna reached up to smooth down Andrew's hair that seemed to defy gravity, but even on tiptoe, she couldn't reach the top of his head. Andrew silently bent down a little, and Anna, with a smile in her eyes, gently pressed his hair down.

"Mr. Luxton, your hair being a bit messy doesn't detract from your handsomeness at all. I'll be going now."

Andrew's expression shifted subtly as he reached out to stop her. "Wait, leave your contact information."

Anna pursed her lips, entered her phone number into Andrew's phone, and handed it back to him. "Then... I'm off."

Andrew followed her a few steps, concerned. "Take care of yourself. Don't lift heavy things anymore. Call me if you need anything."

Anna smiled at him and nodded. "Yes, I'll take good care of the baby."

The warmth of the girl's smile steadied Andrew's roller-coaster of emotions from the morning, grounding him. He finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Upon returning to the store, Wendy immediately reached out for Anna to hand over the money. "You didn't say anything wrong, did you? We can't afford to upset those managers."

Seeing Anna come out, Wendy quickly put the money away. "There's still half a truckload of goods outside. You need to unload it; we ordered a lot today."

Anna stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Wendy. "I can't move it anymore; I don't have the strength in my arms and legs right now."

Wendy looked incredulous, stepping out from behind the counter and staring at Anna angrily. "What do you mean you can't move it? You're a grown person, how hard can it be to move a few chickens? You're just lazy, Anna. Of all three sisters, you're the least successful and the laziest. Whenever there's work to do at home, you always make excuses. I've obviously fed you too well."

Anna was used to being scolded and typically just listened silently until Wendy tired of yelling. But today, she couldn't hold back. Her lips trembling, she looked at Wendy. "I'm lazy? Mom, honestly, who does more chores around the house than me? I do more than even you or dad. Cleaning the house, washing clothes, cooking, doing the dishes, I do all of that in addition to my studies. Even the night before my college entrance exam, I washed all the bedsheets and sofa covers until 2:30 in the morning. When little John wet the bed in the middle of the night, even though you knew, you didn’t get up. You called me to change his sheets and clothes. What have I not done?"

"Shut your mouth, don't you dare bring up your brother fighting out ."

David was trying to calm Wendy down, saying, "Enough, why hit the child? Thankfully, there's nobody in the store right now. How would it look if customers saw?"

He then turned to Anna, frowning slightly. "Anna, John is still young and has a strong sense of pride. If he heard what you said, he'd be so upset he wouldn't eat. He's your brother; don't you know how to be compassionate towards him?"

Tears that Anna had been holding back finally broke free. She was used to her mother's angry shouts and even being hit, but her father's words were like soft thorns, piercing her heart, more painful than a slap.

She remembered how, whenever her brother threw a tantrum and refused to eat, her mother would spend ages coaxing him, ending up either giving him pocket money or buying him gifts to make him happy. Yet, if she was late home from school duties and missed dinner, David might ask if she had eaten, but that was as far as his concern went.

"Anna, just apologize to your mom and stop this, before someone comes and sees the commotion," David urged, pulling on Anna's arm.

Anna jerked her arm away, looking at Wendy and David, crying out as she spoke.

Wendy's face turned livid with anger, and she raised her hand to hit Anna again, but David intercepted. Wendy pointed at Anna, her voice dripping with disdain. "Yes, because you're just a girl, and what use is a girl? We've raised you for years, and this is what you've become? You couldn't even get into a university. What can we possibly expect from you in the future?"

Anna bit her lip hard, tears streaming down her face. "Fine, then put all your hopes on your son."

She turned and ran out.

"Anna!" David called after her urgently, while Wendy angrily retorted, "Why chase her? Let her run. I want to see where she can go. A girl like her, what can she do? She'll realize how good she had it at home when she can't find food outside."

Anna ran out of the store, still hearing Wendy's angry shouts behind her. She covered her ears, desperately trying to escape, her tears blurring her vision so much that she couldn't see the road.

The harsh sound of a car horn snapped her back to a semblance of awareness, but by then, a car was speeding towards her. Anna's body froze. In that moment, she found herself torn between dodging out of the way and the thought of letting it hit her, to end the constant disdain and verbal abuse.

Her instincts kicked in faster than her thoughts. She instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach, trying desperately to dodge to the side, protecting the life growing inside her above all else.