Thank you! Enjoy!

Chapter 4

For the first time in weeks, Anna had actually slept well. She had woken up feeling renewed. Turning onto her back, she lifted her arms and yawned. Through her door, she could hear her parents making breakfast in the kitchen. The smell of eggs wafted into the room and Anna immediately felt nauseous. How was she going to make it through six mornings with that smell?

Sitting herself up, Anna grabbed her bag off the floor and searched for the nausea pops she had bought out of desperation at the maternity store the other day. She popped one into her mouth and prayed it would quell the sickness some. But soon, she would have to leave her bed room and join them for breakfast.

With a sigh, Anna climbed out of her bed and decided to go ahead and put her bathing suit on. It would be odd if she didn't. They had always worn mainly their suits during this week, heading to the beach soon after breakfast and not returning until sometime after lunch or before dinner.

Anna stepped out of her pants and pulled her shirt up and over her head. She only had two suits. She had been planning on buying some new ones, but with everything, she never got to it. She placed the top of one on and then shimmed the bottoms on. Her eyes were quickly drawn to her belly. It was there. It was small, but it was there. A bump.

Lightly, her fingers brushed over it and she just knew her mother would notice. Her usually taut stomach now had a slight bump. She knew she couldn't keep this secret from her parents much longer, but she had been hoping to wait until after their holiday when she could tell them over the phone and not face to face.

Glancing at the bump once more, she tried to focus just on it. It was her baby. She widened her hand over the bump and closed her eyes.

"Hi little one," she murmured. "I'm your mum. It's just going to be you and me, but I think we'll be alright."

"Anna! Time for breakfast!" Her father's voice bellowed down the hallway.

"Coming!" She yelled back. She grabbed her large cover up from her bag and threw it over her head. At least for now, she could cover the small bump up and she prayed her parents wouldn't notice it.

When she walked into the main area, she found that John was already awake and was sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. He looked as though he fit in with their family, as he sat there with his cup of coffee next to him and deep within his reading. Upon Anna entering the room, he glanced up from his paper and gave her a smile.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked her.

"I did, actually," she answered with a smile. "You?"

"Yes," he replied. "And you look well rested." John folded up the paper and placed it on the coffee table in front of him. Then he stood and walked with Anna to the small kitchen table, where Elsie had begun setting out their breakfast foods.

"Mum, Dad, this all looks so good," Anna lied through her teeth, as her belly did flips at the accosting smells. She placed the smallest amount of eggs she could get away with on her plate and then grabbed one pancake, leaving the rest of the fruit and meats alone. The only thing she was sure she could get down was a few bites of the plain pancake right now.

"Thank you for making breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Carson," John sincerely said to the both of them. "You'll have to let me take you out to dinner tonight as a thank you."

"Oh no, that's not necessary. We always like to make a nice big breakfast when we're on vacation. Lunch will just be some sandwiches and dinner is usually something light as well," Elsie explained. John and Elsie continued to make small talk, while Charles just glanced up every few minutes at John. Anna wasn't sure what was all being said, because she was just trying to make it through breakfast without throwing up.

"Anna, you need some protein," Charles finally spoke, taking a few slices of bacon and setting it on her plate.

"Dad, honestly, I….I'm not that hungry," she got out. She took the smallest bite of bacon in an attempt to appease her father.

"Anna, is everything alright? You usually have a full plate at breakfast time, dear," Elsie asked, expressing her concern. Anna gave her mother a tight smile and a nod.

"Yes, Mum. I…I am just getting over that bug, is all. But I'm feeling much better."

"Alright, if you say so," Elsie said, though not sounding convinced. John and Anna met eyes. This cover up wasn't going to be easy.

After breakfast, John offered to clean up. Generally, it was Anna's task since her parents had made breakfast. But John could tell the smells were getting to Anna, so he said he would do it on his own. Anna gave him a grateful smile, before escaping outside to the back porch for some fresh air.

She was surprised to find her father sitting on the porch drinking his morning coffee.

"Anna," he said, pleased to see her.

"Sorry, Dad. I just wanted to see the view."

"It's beautiful," Charles agreed. His eyes narrowed then and he sighed. "I do wish you would tell us what you're hiding, Anna."

At that, Anna's body froze. She shook her head and could feel tears building up behind her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to her parents and to disappoint them, but that's exactly what she was going to do.

"I'm not hiding anything," Anna finally answered a moment later, turning to face him and give him a smile.

"Anna, your mother and I love you. You know you can tell us anything?"

"I know," Anna lightly stated, trying to hide the shakiness of her voice. "Is this just because you don't like John?" Anna attempted to turn the conversation to something else. Charles mumbled gruffly under his breath and cleared his throat.

"I don't dislike your boyfriend, Anna. He seems nice, just older than you. How much older than you is he?"

"Fourteen years," Anna simply answered. Charles made a face, but didn't say another word about it. Anna thought about talking John up, because he was the most wonderful guy. He was a guy who would take a holiday to help you cover up the truth about the baby you were carrying. But the plan was for John to be the bad guy at the end of this and so, Anna just kept her lips tight together and turned back to enjoy the view.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

When they reached the beach an hour later, she could feel her nerves building in her stomach. They would know. As soon as she took off her top, they were going to be able to tell that she was pregnant. She just knew it.

But they didn't notice. At least, if they did, they didn't make any type of expression on their faces when her cover up came off. After a while being outside, Anna's nerves began to calm down.

"Would you mind putting some cream on my back?" Anna asked John. "I burn so easily." John happily took the bottle from her hands and squirted it into his hand. He warmed it up between his hands and then applied it to Anna's back. His hands were strong and sturdy. She melted some against his touch and let out the smallest of moans when they caressed against her shoulders. When his hands left her back, Anna felt disappointed it was over already.

"I should do you now," Anna offered. "You don't want to burn, especially on the first day." John nodded and allowed Anna to cover his back in the cream.

"Should I go and get us some drinks?" Elsie offered. Anna knew her mother was thinking of alcoholic beverages, but Anna wasn't sure how she would say no. Thankfully, John took the lead in that one.

"I don't drink, but I would like a water."

"Yes," Anna agreed. "Since John doesn't drink, I won't either. Water sounds good to me as well."

The day went well. Elsie and Charles headed back to the condo around lunchtime, leaving Anna and John by the water.

"I'm hungry," Anna said, turning over to her side to see John in the middle of a book. She had fallen asleep under the umbrella and had just woken up. John looked up from the pages of his story and gave her a small smile.

"Well, hello there sleepy head." At his words, Anna blushed.

"How long was I asleep? And did I snore?"

"Not too loudly," John teased. "And about an hour. We could find a place to eat lunch or head back to the condo."

"Find some place. Staying away from my parents is probably best. My dad told me he knows I'm hiding something from them," Anna admitted.

"Why don't you just tell them the truth, Anna? I don't understand why this has to be a big secret?"

"I thought you were here to help me," Anna snapped, anger hitting her faster than she could control.

"I am, Anna," John calmly replied. "I just…."

"You wouldn't understand, okay? So just leave it!" Anna jumped up from her chair and began to gather all of her things to place in the bag.

"I thought we were going to get something for lunch," John stated.

"I'm going back to the condo to take a shower and read a book," Anna hastily replied.

"Anna…."

"Just leave me alone!" Anna threw her bag over her shoulder and made her way back toward the condo. John sat back and sighed. He debated following her, but decided against it. He didn't want to make a scene in front of her parents if Anna ended up mad he followed her to the condo. So he determined it would be best to wait a while before returning. Sinking back into his chair, he felt a looming darkness about the situation based on Anna's quickness to anger. Things were likely as bad as he thought at that thought alone broke his heart.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-

John waited an hour to head back to the condo. Entering through the backdoor, he saw the Carsons playing a card game with one another, but Anna was nowhere to be found.

"Oh John, good. Anna said she wasn't feeling well, again. She showered and then went to bed. I started her some tea, would you mind taking it to her?"

"Sure," John answered. Although, he wasn't sure Anna wanted to see him. He walked over to the teapot and made Anna's tea for her.

Then he walked down the small hallway to her bedroom. Using his knuckles, he knocked on her door.

"Come in," Anna replied. John slowly turned the knob and poked his head in and lifted up the cup like a white flag.

"I brought you tea," he told her. Anna put down her book and motioned for him to come on in.

"Thank you. I….I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier. That wasn't fair to you. You have done all of this for me and then I treated you like that," Anna said, glancing down at her nails.

"It's fine," John replied.

"It is not," Anna countered, meeting his eyes. "It's not, at all. I just…I'm finding it hard to control my emotions. It's probably the pregnancy hormones," Anna joked.

"Probably," John agreed, although they both knew there was more to it than that. "Did you ever eat?"

"Yes, Mum kept bringing me food. I think she was hoping I was going to tell her my secret. She was sorely disappointed that I didn't."

"Would you like to go out, just us tonight? Have a nice dinner? Talk?" Anna licked her lower lip and nodded.

"Yes, I'd like that."

To be continued...