"I'm coming! Give me a second, please!" I called out, laying the mop against the counter. I was never the cleaning type, but once I got into my clean-freak moods, I was like Mr. Clean. I grabbed the bottle of bleach on the counter and tighten the lid on it, hoping that the fumes weren't too strong. The last thing I needed was it to be Danni at the door and the fumes bothering her and making her condition worse. I turned the facet on, slipping my hands underneath the water, washing them before heading to the door. I turned the gold-plated doorknob clockwise, and was taken by surprised by the two men in dark police uniforms, standing with their backs towards me. I cleared my throat, getting their attention, and for the first time, a chill ran down my spine. The man to my left had a name tag that said, Cox, on his breast pocket, while the man's name tag said, Grant. Cox was a tall man; however, he was quite skinny for his height. His eyes were a slight bluish color with a hint of green mixed in them. Cox reminded me of a guy that would be a lover than a fighter, but I guess looks could be deceiving.

Cox's partner, Grant, was an all-package when it came to men. Tall, muscles bulging out from his uniform, a cocky smile up underneath soft facial muscles, making that the total package.
"Excuse me Miss. I'm sorry to bother you on your Sunday, but we were trying to find a person, and we thought maybe you could help us."

"Um…I don't know if I can sir, but I will try." I choked out, holding the door against my arm.
Officer Grant adjusted his black tie, clearing his throat, "we are looking for an Anneliese Tasker. The daughter of a Mr. Howard Tasker."

I straighten my stance from my name and my fathers, while my chest's muscles constricting. What did the police want with me or with my father? Confusion filled my mind and resulted in my head to throb. Officer Grant stared at me, eyeing me out and down, waiting for my response. I opened my mouth but then closed it since my voice was too hoarse to speak.

"Miss, are you, Anneliese Tasker?"
"Yes, sir, I am." My voice was cracking between each word.
"Miss Tasker, is your mother at home?" Office Grant asked, gesturing toward his partner to come closer.
I rolled my eyes, "no, she's in jail. I live here with my father, but he's at work right now."
The more I talked to these men, the more my attitude became worse, "what exactly is this about officers?"

Officer Grant approached me, he head hanging further down than normal as if he was in some type of despair, "Well, Miss Tasker. Your father, Howard, was in a terrible accident around 9'o clock this morning."
I could feel the tears saturating my eyes, down onto my cheeks, "Is he OK?"
Though I had a gut-feeling about the answer, I still had to ask to double check.
"I'm truly sorry; Miss Tasker, but your father died around 11 this morning."

I drew a quick breath in, my knees buckling inward, my vision becoming blurry. True enough, my father and I had our ups and downs but I never would have wished death upon him. He was everything to me from my father to my teacher, but now, he was gone.

Officer Grant faced his partner, "Cox, go to the car and get the paperwork for me, while I try and calm down Miss Tasker."
Cox strode over to the car, reaching into the backseat and fumbled around with the misalliances things, while Grant gently rested his hand against my shoulder. The muscles in my shoulder stiffen from his touch and normally I would complain about some stranger touching me, but when it is someone of the law, I decided that the smart thing to do was to keep my damn mouth shut. Besides, it wasn't like he was trying to hit on me, just trying to confront me during my time of need and lost.

As hard as I tried not to cry in front of him, it was inevitable. Tears streamed down my face, a hole in my aching heart growing bigger. Reality sunk in that I had no one left in my family. My father and sister were dead and my mother, well, she wanted me dead. I had no one to turn to for this. As for my friends, Danni had her own family and own problems to deal with, and she didn't need more stress placed on her. Then there was Sav, who loved me dearly, but there was no way in hell that his parents would allow me to stay with them. Besides, to me that would be disrespectful to the Bhandari's if I shacked up with their son in their own house.

"Miss Tasker…" Grant whispered, gaining my attention once again, "a beautiful girl like you shouldn't be crying. I know that the circumstances are not good but if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know."

I forced a smile upon my face, "Thank you Officer Grant. That means a lot." There was anything else I could really say. He was being humble and I hated when a man acted like I was a fragile angel. He removed his hand from my shoulder, resting it comfortably at his side. This was the first time that I had had a good look at him.

His dark brown hair that was neatly cut around the nape of his neck shimmered from the sun rays, while his eyes resembled more of an amber color instead of a light brown. Just something about his eyes was peaceful and if a person stared long enough into them, they would be completely and utterly lost. I trailed my eyes down to his left hand, noticing a white tan line where a ring was once there. Either it was a high school ring or he was married and took off his wedding band recently.

"Miss Tasker…" I heard his deep voice call out.
"Yes Officer Grant…" I answered, hoping that he didn't notice that I was staring at him.
"Here are the papers that I needed you to look over and fill out."
I took the papers from him and quickly scanned over them. A sharp pain shot through my head causing me to squint my eyes. The more I read, the worst the pain throbbed. It felt as if someone was stabbing me repeatedly in the head with a piece of fine, sharp glass. When it came to legal matters such as this, I always receive a migraine that doesn't cease for at least four or five days.

My thoughts were scattered, but I felt a soft pat against my shoulder blades that bother me back into reality, "Miss Tasker, I am sorry for your lost, but we have to attend to another call."
I glanced up, noticing that Officer Cox was already sitting in the passenger seat of the police car.

"I am sorry to have taken so much of your time, Officer, but thank you for staying with me as long as you did." I whispered, holding my elbow with one hand and my head with the other.
He smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets, digging around until he found a piece of paper and a pen. I quickly glanced down and so a small ring-shaped imprint at the bottom of his pocket, but my glance was averted back to his eyes. He jotted something down and handed it to me, "Here, please take this. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call. I always have my cell phone on me."

I wanted to decline, but it probably would be best to accept it and then throw it away later. I clasped the piece of a paper in my hand, placing it in my back pocket of my jeans, "Thank you, Sir."
He gave a small wink, whispering, "And I mean anything. From someone to assist you with something or…a man to fulfill your desires at night."

My eyes widen from his last remark, however, before I could tell his ass off, he was back behind the driver seat of the car, pulling away from the curb. I stared at the backend of the car in disgust, in deep thought about how I really wanted to kick that cop's ass. My emotions were all over the place, one minute I was upset about my father's death, and the next, I was pissed off at Officer Grant hitting on me.

I drew in a breath and sighed heavily. What was I going to do? Money wasn't an issue right now, and probably never would be, but my problem was more serious than that. Who would I resided with or who would give up their life and resided with me? The answer came easy to me, no one. The only family that I had left alive and not in jail was my father's younger sister, who is complete bitch; and my mother's older sister and two brothers.

Sadly, none of them considered me family only the daughter of a man that was taken away by a whore. Why would they give up their perfect lives to assist with mine? Maybe it was best if I just try to live with one of my friends for awhile, but then again, I hate imposing on their lives.

I went back inside the house, shutting the door behind me. A wave of fear rolled over me, running through my heart, suffocating me slowly. It hit me, I was alone yet again and this time, there was no one that could possibly save me.

I strode over to the couch and fell into it. Tears rolled from my cheeks, my chest burning from my emotional pain. My father meant everything to me and now he was gone. Snatched away from me like candy being snatched away from a baby. Nobody in my family understood me like he did. He always saw the good in me and my achievements, never doubting me more than a second.

My body became heavy, the weight of the world crushing my shoulders, breaking them little by little. My father, my best friend was gone…wilting away…and there was nothing that I could do to bring him back. Sadness crept into my heart, pulling it down, filling it up with depression and regret.

I brought my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms tightly around them. I wanted to remain in myself pity and remorse. I loved my father and I will never be able to tell him again.

Two hours went by and I still remained in the same position as before, drowning my sorrows in my own tears. I attempted to get up and search for my father's secret stash of liquor; however, my body and mind were unconnected. I glanced over to the dark maple coffee table, looking at the clock, and noticed that it was already six in the evening.

To my surprise, came a short knock from the door. I buried my face in to a flower, decorated pillow, hoping that whoever it was would just get the hint and go away. Again cam another tap, and I figured it would be best to answer it and get them to leave ASAP. I staggered over to the door and pulled it open. Standing there was a less formal dressed Officer Grant.

Dressed in a pair of tightly fitted Wrangler jeans and a dark, blue Western style shirt, Officer Grant gave a friendly smiled toward me. I could feel his eyes tracing over my entire body, eyeing me from my head down to my toes.

"Miss Tasker, would it be OK if I came in?" he asked, shifting his weight between his feet. Apparently, he was off-duty and he had the nerve to come back to my house and hit on me. I quickly glanced down and noticed that his naked ring finger still didn't have a ring around it. I closed the door slightly, "Um…I don't think that would be a great idea."

His lips became thin, "Oh, I see. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."
I nodded, "I'm fine."
He approached closer to the door, placing his foot between the door and the doorway. I could tell that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. I sighed, opening the door wider, "C'mon in."
He smiled, shutting the door behind him and followed me to the couch, sitting down beside me. I crossed my legs, trying to act normal around him. In all reality, this man made me paranoid and I hated to feel like that.

Officer Grant looked around, taking the view of the house, "You here alone?"
I narrowed my eyes from his question. What was he: a rapist?
"Nom I'm not. My aunt's upstairs taking a nap." I lied.
His expression dropped, "I see. Well, how hard of a sleeper, is she?"

I stared at him, "Why would you want to know that for?"
Though I had a feeling that I knew the answer, I still had to act dumb. He scooted closer to me, resting his hand against my inner thigh, rubbing it up and down.

"Well, you're a woman, and I'm a man. Put two and two together." He whispered, blowing onto my neck.
I pushed his hand off of my thigh, disgusted with this crooked cop. Did marriage mean nothing to him? I quickly got to my feet, "Please excuse me for a second."

I, more or less, ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind me as I grabbed for my cell phone off of the counter, dialing Sav's number. As the phone rung, I heard Officer Grant call out, "did I make you wet already?"

I gagged at this remark and finally Sav answered.
"Hey Anneliese, how are you?"
"Sav, can you come over now?" my voice was sharp and high-pitched.
"What's the matter?" he asked, his voice shaking.
"I'll explain everything when you get here. Just please hurry."

I heard a loud beep sound and glanced down, seeing that my phone battery died. Of all the times for it to die, it just had to be now. Even though, I didn't want to go back into the other room with that pig-headed bastard, what choice did I have? I had to remain calm and act like whatever he says doesn't bother me. I drew a deep breath in and flushed the toilet and turned on the facet. I unlocked the door and returned to the living room only to find Officer Grant, shirtless and his jeans unbuttoned and unzipped.

My eyes trailed over his body, taking in his soft facial muscles, his broad shoulders, leading down to strong arms that any woman would love to be caressed by. A warm sensation crept throughout my body, blood rushing to my cheeks. His lips parted, revealing two rolls of perfect aligned, whiten teeth. "You must like what you see. Maybe you would like to see more?"

I took two steps back, shaking my head from side-to-side, "No, I don't. I would prefer if you left, actually."
He shoved his hands into his front pockets of his sagging blue jeans, "Well, I don't think your body wants me to leave."
I rested my hands firmly on my hips, a growl escaping my lips, "I'm sorry! When did you get my body and what it desires! I'm tired of your mental sex games! Just because your 'wife' probably doesn't screw you, doesn't mean that you can hit on me, moreover have sex with me! A minor!"

His face stiffen, his brows drawing together as his lips grew thin. "You thought that I wanted to have sex with you?"
The corners of his mouth grew slightly upward as a small laugh escaped his lips, "I'm sorry to say, but you were wrong, my dear. I don't want to have sex with you. I want to make sweet love to you."

Nausea hit me and I really wanted to gag from this pathetic excuse of a man. I drew a deep breath in, shoving my hands into my pockets, noticing that I had my cell. Though I couldn't call or text anyone, I could screw with his mind to gain me a little more time. I pulled my phone out, waving it up in the air, "I'm glad that you said that. Now I'm going to give it to the head of police!"

His shoulders shifted as he snorted air from his flared nostrils. Even though, I was completely buffing, as long as he didn't know that, it didn't really matter. All of a sudden, Officer Grant charged at me, knocking me off of my feet. His body overlapped mine, his weight bearing down against my chest.

"Bitch, give me it now or I pry it out from your damn hands!" he demanded, wrapping his hands firmly around my throat. His grip grew tighter, cutting my airflow off. Was he seriously going to suffocate me to death? I tried to move my legs but with the lack of airflow, my muscles became paralyzed. I closed my eyes trying to concentrate on my leg muscles, hoping that they would move.

"Bitch, open your eyes! I know that I haven't killed you, yet!" he released his grip, gawking down toward my chest. I flashed my eyes open, drawing my knees underneath me, pushing upward, and "Get the hell off of me!"

I continued to push upward, kneeing him harder in the groin. His eyes crossed, his body rolling off of me. I quickly got to my feet and ran to the front door, however, my escape was delayed by Officer Grant grabbing hold of my hair. He yanked hard, pulling me against his bare chest. He rubbed up against me, allowing me to feel every bulging muscle in his body.

"Let go of me, please!" I pleaded. He pulled my hair again, however, this time, he pulled it until I was facing him.
"Kiss me…"
I gathered spit in my mouth and pooches my lips, drawing my head back, releasing the liquid from my mouth, "I rather die than kiss you!"

A growl escaped his lips and opened his mouth and quickly shut it as if he was going to speak, but then changed his mind. I heard a small clicking noise behind me and then a voice that I was glad to hear, Sav's.

"Let her go or you will have a bullet through your brain." Sav demanded, cocking the gun back. Officer Grant released me; quickly put his hands into the air. The static between the two men intensified by each passing second.
"Anneliese, are you OK? Did this bastard hurt you?"

I shook my head, "Nothing too bad…"
Sav glanced down at my neck, noticing the black and blue marks appearing around it. He bit his bottom lip, pointing the gun further out. I knew that Sav was protective, but I never knew that he was this protective.

"Get your clothes and leave. If I ever see you around her ever again, I will kill you in cold-blood. Do you understand me?"
Officer Grant nodded and gathered his belongings and was out of the door. Sav waited until the man was gone for ten minutes before locking the front door and resting the gun on the coffee table. I eyed the gun, wondering if Sav would have really killed him over me.

"Anneliese…" he spoke sharply causing me to jump, "Are you sure that he didn't hurt you, seriously?"
I stood up, grabbing his hands, "I promise you. You got here before he did anything."
I placed his hands on my hips, pressing my lips softly to his, "Please don't worry."

"How can I not? If something bad happened to you, I don't know what I would do. You are my girl and no one else's. Besides, why was he here anyway?"
I looked down, avoiding all eye contact with him. I pulled away from him, biting my bottom lip, "He's a cop."

Sav's eyes widen, "you mean that I pulled a gun out on a cop."
I nodded, "Yes…he came earlier today to tell me about my father."
"About your father? Is he OK?"
I closed my eyes trying hard to hold back the tears, "No, he's dead."
He wrapped his arms around me, picking me up off of the ground, cradling to his chest. Tears streamed down my cheeks, my heart in so much pain. Sav started to hum, kissing my forehead, doing everything he could to comfort me.

He carried me upstairs and laid me on the bed and went to walk away; however, I grabbed his hand, "Please, don't leave me."
He leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine, "I'm not baby girl. I'm just going to the bedroom, so you could get dressed for bed. I will return once you are done."

He walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him as I peeled my clothes off and grabbed a pair of shorts and a big T-shirt from my top drawer before crawling back into bed. A few moments later, Save returned by my side and crawled up beside me. He pulled me close against his body, stroking my cheek in circular motions. I felt myself getting drowsy and finally drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, panic struck me when I opened my eyes and saw that Sav was nowhere to be found. Did I dream everything and my father was still alive?, I thought as I rolled over on my side and noticed a piece of stationary folded neatly on the pillow. I took it into my hands and opened it, reading it slowly:

My Beautiful Anneliese,
I wish I could have been there when you opened your warm, beautiful eyes, but I had to go to school. Considering everything that you went through yesterday, you deserve a day to yourself. Don't worry, I will get all of your assignments and I will deliver your plans to the Student Council Meeting today. If you need anything, anything at all, please call me. I love you.
Love Always,
Sav

Blood rushed to my face as I reread over his sweet and caring words. The phase 'I love you', I didn't hear that often and hearing it come from the man I was falling deeper in love with meant everything to me. I glanced up at the wall clock seeing that I had forty-five minutes before school started, which gave me plenty of time to shower, to get dressed, and to get to school on time.

Fifteen minutes before school started, I walked thorugh the doors of Degrassi and mingled my way to my locker. Out the corner of my eye, I noticed that Adam and Danni were talking to a male student with brown, shaggy hair that appeared to be new foreign exchange student. When I approached them, Danni and the new kid were already halfway down the hall, leaving Adam, and now Eli, standing at her locker.

Eli sighed heavily, "Guess, I'm too late…"
"Too late? For what?" I asked, a little confused at the whole situation. Eli casted a baleful stare in my direction before punching Danni's locker.
"Dude, calm down. He's…"Adam tried to explain before Eli cut him off.
"Shut up! After all this…"

I flipped my hair over my shoulder, "Ah, Adam. He's just jealous because he has STRONG feelings towards Danni and he doesn't want another guy trying to interfere."
Eli snapped, "Damn right!"
I smirked and by the time he realized what he had admitted to, it was too late. He face flushed as I patted him on the back, "You come to ask her to the dance, didn't you?"

He nodded, "But it doesn't matter now…she has…Mr. London Accent Boy…"
Adam nudged Eli in the ribs, trying to knock some sense into him, "Jealously doesn't become you, man."

I covered my mouth, hoping he didn't see me laughing, but it was inevitable. I flashed a smile at Eli and decided it was best if I headed to math class. Though I wasn't good at math, I did enjoy limits and the derivatives, which was the only reason why I enjoyed the class.

Ah hour later, class was dismiss and I quickly found Mr. Simpson and explained to him about my current situation.
"Anneliese have you rearranged your living arrangements?"
I took a seat across from him, crossing my legs, "No, sir. He died yesterday so I haven't gotten in contact with my aunt yet."

He gathered four forms together, "Take these. Make sure your teachers understand your situation. Also when will the funeral be?"
"Tomorrow. The wake is tonight at 6:30 so I will talk to my aunt then."
He gave a reassured nod, "Would you like the funeral to take place here? I would say the wake too, but seems like you have that set already."

"Thank you, Mr. Simpson, but the wake and funeral are set. Plus I don't really want everyone at Degrassi to know."
He nodded as I walked out. Just in one day, my father will be buried and gone from this world, only leaving his fading memories behind. I sighed, bracing my back against the wall.

Thinking about my aunt made me nervous. Knowing that she already hates me and the fact that she has five children, made everything worse. The idea of asking her if I could live with them, when space was limited to them, would almost kill me. The last time that I had seen her was six years prior, right after my eleventh birthday. I hit my head against the wall, each hit getting harder each time. I felt a soft hand against my shoulder and to my surprise it was Danni and the new kid.

"Lise is everything OK?" her voice was soft and caring. I straighten my stance, "No, last night my father died in an accident."
She embraced my tightly, "Why didn't you call me!"
Tears filled my eyes, "Because…"

I knew that every Saturday, Danni did her treatments to help fight against her Leukemia and there was no way in Hell that I would bother her when she was sick.
"The wake is tonight at 6:30 and the funeral is tomorrow at eleven in the morning. I don't know if you can go to either because of you know…so I didn't want to bother you…"

"You still should have told me." She blurted out, squeezing me tighter.
"D-danni. Can't. Breathe. No. Air." I choked out before she'd release me.
An apologized look crossed her face about almost choking me to death by her hug. I wiped my eyes and nodded in the direction of the new kid, "Who's he?"

"My name is Connor Phelps. I just transferred from London."
I extended my hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Anneliese Tasker, Danni's best friend and other half."
Both Danni and Connor's eyes widen from my last remark before Danni elbowed me, "She's only joking. Lise, here, is dating Sav Bhandari, the guy I introduced to you earlier."

I pulled Danni to the side, "Oh, I have something to tell you about Eli, later. I think you would like to hear this."
She glanced up at me, "What is it?"
I shook my head, "Not here. Later today."
She cocked an eyebrow, cofusing setting in, but there was no way I would try to explain everything in front of this Connor guy. I flashed a faint smile, "Don't forget that the dance is next Saturday. I hope to see both of you guys there, and if I don't, I w ill hunt you down and drag you there."

I grinned devilishly, hoping I could break the ice with Connor. Even though, Eli didn't like Connor, that didn't mean that I couldn't be friends with him. He seemed like a nice guy and had piercing green eyes that could look deep down into one's soul and see their true colors. I waved goodbye to Danni and Connor and headed to the Student Council Room, skipping my next two classes. I wasn't the type of person to skip class, but considering what I had just went through, it would be OK. I approached the dry-erase board on the front of the classroom, and chose three different color markers, red, black and green, to plan the entire Christmas Dance with. Across the board I wrote the topics of Entertainment, Food & Drinks, Prices, Photos, and Music. Under the heading, Entertainment, I jotted down the words, live band, kissing booth with seniors, and the mistletoe dance. I stared at the words repeatily, deciding if all of them were good ideas. With the live band, everybody enjoyed Danni and her nad at the Halloween Dance, so I knew that would be a great idea. As for the kissing booth, I was undecided if that would be a good idea, since only the freshmen would enjoy kissing a senior. I wrinkled my nose at the idea and erased it from my list of ideas. I stepped over to Foods & Drinks, and wrote down, cupcakes, cookies, punch, egg nog, bottle drinks, and water. I looked over each sub-idea, and was satisfied with each item. With the pricing, I decided to wait for the other members, since they would have to help me with the music selection anyway. Though Danni and her band would play most of the night, I still had to have backup music whenever they decided to take a break.

I glanced over my shoulder at the other empty board across the room and walked over to it and started to draw a blueprint of the auditorium for the dance. I was good at a lot of things, but I was great at planning at school dance. After finishing my blueprint, I placed the cap back on the marker and rested it on the desk beside me. I took a seat and gently lowered my head against the desk top, closing my eyes for just a second. My eyelids were so heavy from my lack of sleep and I could feel myself falling asleep.

"Well, I guess I could nap for a little bit or until someone wakes me up." I said aloud before falling asleep.

I felt a soft touch against my cheek and I flashed my eyes open. I peered around the room and noticed that it was only Sav kissing me on my cheek.
"Are you OK? I hope I didn't scare you." Sav asked, sitting next to me.
I push up off of the desk and shook my head, "No…" I looked around for a clock, but didn't see one, "Um..what time is it?"

Sav reached inside his coat pocket and check his phone and held it up to reveal the time to me. I jump to my feet, "Why didn't you wake me up sooner? I'm late!"
Sav stared at me, "Late? It's only 5:30."

I faced him, slamming my palms against the desk, "My father's wake! I was supposed to be there at five!"
I drew my brows together, "I still have to change! That will take at least an hour!"
Sav got to his feet and pulled me against his chest. He embrace around me grew tighter, tracing his lips over the nape of my neck. I tried to resist at first but it felt so good and relaxing that I gave in to him. He flipped my body around, lowering his lips upon mine, tracing his tongue over my bottom lip. He knew exactly how to get me to forget every wrong thing and bow to his tempting seduction. Around him, I went from being a semi-hardass to a big softy. He just made everything seem so simple, so surreal.

Sav slid his hands underneath my shirt, rubbing my back, up and down as I gently pressed my hands against his firm chest, pushing him away from me. He widen his eyes from my actions and stared at me.
"I can't Sav…please respect that." I crossed my arms over my chest, averting my gaze. He touched my chin with his index finger and coaxed it up until I met his undying gaze.

"I would never do anything to you against your will. Please do remember that."
The corners of my mouth lifted up as I wrapped my arms firmly around him. He nibbled my earlobe playfully before whispering, "I think we better get you changed and to your father's wake."

I nodded after he released me, Good idea. Anyway you could drive me home and then to the funeral home?"
He smiled and reached for my hand, guiding me to his dad's truck in the student's parking lot. He helped me in, slamming the door, and ran to slid behind the driver's seat. He brought the ignition to life and drove me to my house, waiting outside while I changed.

I grabbed my black slacks and a white, laced blouse from my closet, and slid them over my naked body before heading back out to Sav. Sav smiled at me and drove off from the curb and to the funeral home, parking in the lot beside the home.

I jumped out of the truck, meeting him at the tailgate, taking his hand in mine and we walked into the home together to face another challenge…my aunt.
Standing off to the side, in a black strapless dress, was my aunt. The only reason that I could spot her so easily was because of her natural glossy auburn hair. I bit my bottom lip as I stared at the five people surrounding her, which were better known as her devil children.

My aunt glanced over at Sav and me and slowly approached us. Her eyes were red and puffy from her nonstop crying and grief over the death of her older brother. She looked past Sav and me and then back at us, "Where's that good for nothing her married?"

I wanted to tell her off, but bit my tongue, only due to the fact that this was MY father's funeral.
"They aren't married anymore. Father filed for divorce, besides she's in jail."
A smile rose upon her face, "Good, right where that slut belongs."

"Now Scarlett. That's no way to speak to your niece about her mother." A blond woman wearing a low-cut black mini-dress cut in.
"Speaking of sluts! Hope how are you? Pregnant again, I see. What is that, your sixth child?" Scarlett snapped.
"Yes it is. At least my man loves me and didn't leave me for a woman his own age unlike yours!" Hope flashes a smile, knowing that she had just won this little fallout.

Scarlett stomped off, leaving Sav, Hope and I to talk.
"Anneliese, I'm so sorry about your father."
"It's OK, Mrs. Hawking. I'm just glad that you could come."

Hope Cohen, now known as Hope Hawking, was my father's High School sweetheart. They started dating when they were twelve years old until they were sixteen and then she became pregnant with my half-brother, Nicholas. Hope the left my father shortly after she gave birth to my brother, for another man; and after that my father lost contact with her for ten years.

I only saw Nicholas a few times, however, I doubt that I could recognize him if I saw him on the street.
"Anneliese, there is no need to be so formal. Please just call me, Hope. Of course I would come! I loved your father very much."
I nodded, "Yes ma'am, I know. So is Nicholas coming?"
She placed a hand underneath her bulging abdomen, cradling her unborn child carefully, "Yes, once he picks up Nichole."

I cocked an eyebrow, unaware of who Nichole was. Maybe it was his girlfriend or a cousin. Hope grimaced at the sight of Scarlett approaching us. Scarlett thought every woman my father ever been with, was trash and bad for him.
"I see you haven't told my niece about yours and Howard's secret." Scarlett said, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"Secret? What secret?" I asked, glancing back and forth between the two women.

Hope cut her sea foam eyes in my direction, but avoid any eye contact.
"You see, Anneliese," Scarlett began to explain before Hope had cut her off.
"Shut up Scarlett!" Hope snapped, and then directed her voice to me, "You see dear, your father and I always had a very close bond. Well, two years after you were born, we ran into each other again, and we…"

I stared in complete silence, trying my best to understand what in the hell she was talking about. Scarlett patted her foot, clearly her patience was growing thin, "They had sex and she got pregnant!"

If that was the case, then that means that he cheated on Mother with Hope, a year after my sister was born. After all these years he didn't even mention that he had another child with Hope. Did my mother even know or was she lied to all these years?

Hope touched my shoulder, whispering, "We didn't mean for it to happen. We were each other's first loves and an old flame reunited. Your mother and my husband know about the one-night stand. I'm not proud of what we did, but I do not regret it since Nichole was the outcome of it."

I nodded, confused as hell from all of this. So Nichole wasn't my brother's girlfriend, but his sister, my half-sister. I felt myself getting sick and excused myself to the restroom. Sav was quick on my heels, rubbing my back, trying his best to comfort me. I couldn't wrap my head around this…lie. Since Nichole was two years younger than me, then that would make her fifteen. Fifteen.

"Anneliese are you OK." He whispered, stroking my hair.
"What do you think" today was suppose to be a day to view my father and I just found out that he hid the fact that he had another child with a different woman, besides my mother."
He pulled me into an embrace, cradling me against his chest. I felt his lips gently brush over mine, blood rushing to my cheeks. Having Sav here made it a little better, but knowing the truth still hurt. I step back, glancing up at the man I truly loved. He gave me a small smile, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

"You're so beautiful." He murmured as I touched his face, rubbing his cheek softly.
"Well isn't that sweet!"
I turned around, a smile lifting the corners of my mouth upward, "Danni, I'm so glad that you could make it."
Danni threw her arms around my neck, pulling me into a strong embrace. I tried to hold back my tears, but they just rolled from my eyes as she stroked my hair gently. Sav stood back, watching me with Danni, finally noticing that this was a time that he could not help me, but only she could. It was only something that she could understand and go through with me. I pulled away as she wiped my tears with the back of her hand. I told hold of her hand in my mine and walked up to my father's coffin.

My body trembled from staring at the wooden box in front of me. It gave me the freaking creeps. Unlike horror movies, which I loved, my father wouldn't be coming back. He was gone forever, along with all of my beloved memories.
"Lise, I don't mean to pry, but why did you have a close casket?" Danni asked, tightening her grip against my hand.

"I wanted an open casket, but the funeral director refused. He said that my father's body was too torn up."
"Is that so?" a deep voice came from behind us.
Danni and I faced the person behind us, only to see a guy in his mid-20s with short brown hair that was neatly cut at the nape of his neck and around his ears. His piercing hazel eyes appeared as if they were staring right through us, down to our very souls. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and white-buttoned dressed shirt that had the first button undone.
"Um…who are you?"

He extended his hand, waiting for me to take it, but when I refused, he then introduced himself, "I am Nicholas Cohen, your half-brother."
I traced my eyes over the man that stood before me, remembering the Nicholas that I had grew to know.
"You can't be. You don't have glasses and you don't have braces. Plus he was ugly and you're hot. So you can't be my brother."

Sav grabbed my free hand, gripping it tightly as if he was claiming his proptery, never taking his eyes from the man before us.
"Well, I wear contacts now and I had my braces removed three years ago." He explained, looking me over, "Wait, you thought I was ugly? Well, that's not nice!"

I shrugged my shoulders, unable to express any type of human emotions at the moment.
"Anne, you haven't changed a bit, except you finally discovered a different hair style besides pig-tails and gained a fashion sense. You finally got some boobs too."

Both, Sav and I, glared up at him from his remark.
"Dude! Don't be looking at MY girlfriend's boobs! No, man but me can stare at them!" Sav blurted out, pulling me against his chest. I felt my face go red as I stared blankly at him.

"You better not be staring at my younger sister's chest, you perv!" Nicholas growled, reaching for my shoulder. Sav spun me around him, my hair whipping against my back, "Don't touch her!"
"Would you two stop acting like children!" a high-pitched voice yelled.

Nicholas looked over his shoulder as Sav and my eyes looked over to a top, heavy blod with shimmering blue eyes.
"Nichole, I see you found me…" Nicholas smiled, grabbing for his sister's hands, "Anne, this is Nichole. Nikki this is Anneliese."

Nichole was fairly tall for her age, almost 6 foot if I had to guess. She resembled a sun goddess with her pale skin and her long silky blond hair that fanned down her back. Her crystal blue eyes simmering. She was wearing a black mini-dress that showed all of her curves that any man or woman would go crazy over.

She smiled, "Nice to finally meet you. I'm sorry about your father. Nick says that he was a real good man."
I didn't know what to say to her except, "He was."
Danni grabbed my shoulder and pulled me closer to her, nudging me to go into the other room.
"Lise, I'm sorry but I have to go," she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me softly, "I have to head home before Grams becomes too worried."

I nodded and watching her leave before heading to find Scarlett and figure out what the hell I was going to do about my living arrangements. I searched the entire funeral home, but still no Scarlett.
"Odd. Did she leave already?" I said aloud. If that was the case, I would just have to talk to her at the funeral tomorrow. I walked in the bathroom and turned the knobs to the facet. I cupped my hands together and placed them underneath the running water before I heard a gagging sound come from within one of the bathroom stalls. I quickly turned the knobs counter-clockwise and looked under each stall until I saw someone kneeling down to the toilet bowl.

"Excuse me? Are you all right?" I called out, pushing the door open.
"Go away, A-anneliese…"
That's when I noticed that it was Scarlett puking her guts out. Though I didn't really care for the woman, I still felt sorry for her. I stood behind her, clasping her hair between my hands as I avoided looking in the toilet.

The sound of vomit hitting the water in the bowl caused my own stomach to pinch and my throat burned from the acid raising.
"You know, you might want to see a doctor." I murmured, patting her on the back. She shook her head, placing her hands to her mouth, wiping the corners of it. I stepped back, my eyes narrowing from the disgusted sight. She grabbed the toggle and flushed, and then went and washed her hands.

"Can I…" I went to say before the creaking of the bathroom door interrupted me. A girl that looked just like Scarlett; stood in the doorway, tapping her foot repeatedly. She wore a black miniskirt with a white long shelves blouse with the first three buttons undone, revealing the black lace from her bra. Her long auburn hair curled and pulled back in a white ribbon.
"Mom, the boys and I were wondering what was taking you so long?"
"I'm sorry I worried you guys, but I think I had a little food poisoning and Anneliese here was helping me."
The young girl nodded and exited the bathroom, followed by her mother and then me. To my surprised, there were five kids, their ages ranging, as one of the older guys winked at me.
"Hey Mom! Who's this fox?"

"John! Mind your tongue!" Scarlett snapped, "That is your Uncle Howard's daughter, Anneliese."
John's smile dropped, while his mom looked at me, pointing at each one of her kids, "These are your cousin. John, Travis, Seth, Erik, and April."

I nodded and waved goodbye. There was no point asking about my new living arrangements. I walked back in the room with my father's casket and rested my hands on the box. I wondered why the funeral director insisted on having a close casket. I grabbed the lid and opened it completely, seeing my bruised father's face.

Right between my father's eyes as a bullet hole that shattered through his left temple. When the officers told me that my father had an accident, I assumed that he was a car accident, but this…this was murder.

A hand rested against my shoulder causing me to jump as I turned around only to see Nicholas.
"Easy there! Are you OK?"
"Nick…are father was shot…" I said pointing to the casket.

Nick lowered his gaze, tracing his eyes over Father's limp body. He moved closer to me, whispering, "We will find out who did this! Anne, if you ever need anything, please let me know."

The rest of the evening became a blur from being in shock. On the way home, I talked Nick into staying with me during the night and that we would go to the funeral together. However, if I would have known that we would have slept through the alarm clock and three hours past the funeral, I don't know if I would have invited him over.

When I awoke, I jumped to my feet and shook the dear life out of Nick, screaming, "We are late! Oh my God, we are late!"
Nick grabbed my shoulders, "Calm down! There's no point in rushing now. How about we just take the day to ourselves? Father is already buried and everyone probably has already left the gravesite."

I nodded, "OK. We can go by there later. Besides, I really needed to go shopping for an outfit for the Christmas Dance."
Nick smiled, "Anne, do you think that your friend, Danni would go out with me?"

I stared at him in awe, "you are nine years older than her. You do realize that?"
"And? Age is only a number." He said, crossing his arms over his chest, "I wouldn't try anything on her. I just want to see her smile."
"Nick, that's so sweet, but she likes someone…" I explained, hoping he would drop it.
I wasn't worried that Nick would try anything on her, but with the fact of her going through her treatments, I couldn't risk it.

"Could you call her and make some type of plans with her, please?" he pleaded, batting his eyelashes.
I sighed, picking up the phone, dialing Danni's number; however, I only received her voicemail.
"Hey Danni, it's Lise. I'm going shopping for the dance today around four and I wanted to know if you would like to come. If so, call me and I will make arrangements to come get you. Oh, my brother, Nicholas, will be coming as well…he has a crush on you…"

Nicholas grabbed the phone from my hand and a growl escaped his lips, "Anne! You are so dead!"
I laughed, pointing at the phone, "Easy, big boy!"
He quickly closed the phone and darted for me. I ran up the stairs, Nick right on my heels. I ran for my bedroom, slamming the door as I slid to the bottom of the door. I smiled, loving the feeling of having an older brother, even though that would soon change.