The looks in the eyes of each member of my family were nothing short of shock, confusion and wonder as to what I could possibly have to tell them. I found myself feeling shocked at the wide array of emotion on their faces as I looked around the room. It wasn't how I'd always envisioned it working out, but then again, nothing about this situation was "normal" by any means.

There was no beating around the bush anymore. It was quite obvious I had their undivided attention, and that were all ready to listen to what I had to say.

Actually, that was probably the understatement of the century!

I did any and everything I could possibly think of to stall longer. I felt my heart rate and pulse quicken as I began to tremble nervously. "All I ask is that none of you freak out on me or act judgmental." I said, my voice quivering slightly.

"Jolie… for god sakes… just spit it out already!" Lana snapped.

I again glared at my sister. "Lana, shut up!" I hoped she could see the frustration in my eyes. "This is hard enough for me, and I surely don't need you making things worse."

I remember seeing Lana's eyes widen as big as saucers at my response. I knew then, without a shadow of doubt, she had an idea as to what my secret was.

"Oh. My. God." Lana managed to choke out.

"What?" That was, of course, the only logical response I could muster.

I don't think I could accurately depict the look on her face at that moment, but I do know it's a look that I will never forget. It was a look that I'm sure will probably haunt my memories for as long as I live.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" she asked with disdain in her voice.

I felt the color drain from my face at that moment. I saw my family's look of anticipation and shock as they waited for my answer.

The point of no return had been reached. "Yes, I am." I replied.

Obviously, it wasn't the way I would've liked to have told them, but the fact of the matter was, I hadn't exactly had a succinct plan in my head to tell my family per se. As you might've guessed, my news was quite a bombshell. Some seemed more accepting of the news than others, though. I was quite relieved by that fact.

"Who's the father?" Chris asked inquisitively.

I sighed again. I realized then that I wasn't prepared for this part of the conversation whatsoever. I was, however, relieved that the tone in my brother's voice was curiosity and not judgment or disdain. I could tell he was among those in my family who would accept my baby. "Why does that matter, Chris?" I replied hesitantly.

Chris and Mark shared a glance between each other and I noticed it right away. It made me very nervous. I knew they had an idea as far as the answer to their question was concerned.

"I would just like to know." Chris answered.

It wasn't what Chris said in response to my question that unnerved me beyond words. It was the ice – like chill in his voice. "Chris… you can't always be the protective older brother." I looked at him nervously. I could almost venture to guess what was going through his mind.

Chris eyed me with an eerie calm and cool demeanor. To make it worse, the smile he flashed only served to confirm what I had been suspecting. I guess somewhere deep down, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Chris and Mark already knew who the father of my baby was. After all, I met him because of the two of them. "Not trying to be the protective big brother, Jo-Jo. Just would like to know who the lucky guy is." he replied.

I ignored my brother's response when I heard Lana get up from the table again. I looked at her and noticed she had a disgusted look on her face. I couldn't understand or comprehend why, either. "What's your problem?" I asked somewhat sarcastically.

"You're seriously pregnant?" she replied with equal sarcasm.

"Yes, Lana." I paused for a moment in order to keep my composure. "I'm seriously pregnant."

That seemed to only disgust her more. The look on her face got worse as she maintained eye contact with me. "How could you do this to yourself, Jolie?" she asked.

"I beg your pardon?" I replied defensively.

"Lana, stop." Mark looked at Lana with a very stern expression. "This is nobody's business but Jolie's."

That only earned him a glare from Lana. She was determined to give a piece of her mind. That much was obvious to everyone. "Mark…" She returned his stern look. "Don't tell me what to do. Jolie is my baby sister, and I for one, will be damned if I stand by and watch her ruin her life by giving birth to a bastard child."

"Lana, that was completely uncalled for and you know it."

I was lost in the fact that my own sister had called my baby a bastard child, but I was alert enough to recognize the male voice that scolded Lana. It was my father's voice.

"No, dad, it wasn't. I don't think it was uncalled for at all." Lana shot back.

That was more than I was willing to take. I certainly wasn't going to let Lana treat me like that. "You know what, Lana…" I again stood up angrily from the table. "You're nothing but a damn hypocrite."

"Oh, really?" she replied.

"Yeah, really." I growled.

Lana scoffed angrily. "How do you figure?" she asked, every ounce of her voice oozing with disdain.

"How do I figure?" I repeated angrily.

"Did I stutter?"

I couldn't believe that the person standing in front of me was my older sister. I couldn't believe that she was basically turning her back on me. I couldn't understand her attitude toward my baby, and at that point, I wasn't sure I really even wanted to. "You're nothing more than a damn hypocrite right now, Lana. How dare you call my baby a bastard child." I spat back.

"How am I being a hypocrite, Jolie?" She had a look of arrogance on her face. "I'm only speaking the plain, brutal truth and you know it."

"Lana… the last thing I need right now is someone who's only going to be hypocritical and judgmental." I hope she could hear the bitter tone to my voice. "I need a sister right now… nothing more."

"See, that's where you're wrong, my dear sister. You need someone who isn't going to lie to you and tell you what you want to hear. You need someone who isn't going to coddle you all the time."

"I cannot believe you're acting like this, Lana."

"Okay, Jolie. Whatever you say. If me telling you the truth and being honest with you makes me a hypocrite, then I guess that's what I am."

I looked at her with sadness in my eyes. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be my older sister who was always there for me. I felt like I didn't even know the person I was talking to. "You honestly don't see how hypocritical and hurtful you're being right now, do you?" I murmured.

I fervently hoped Lana would be able to recognize the hurt and raw pain written all over my face. I wanted her to realize the depth of pain she was causing and it was then that I realized I was actually wishing pain upon my own sister.

"I don't think I'm being hypocritical at all, Jolie. You're not ready to be a mother." she replied matter-of-factly.

"Girls, stop this, for god sakes. You two are sisters, goddamn it."

Looking at my mother after that outburst was absolutely unbearable and heartbreaking for me. I remember seeing tears welling up in her eyes and feeling angry beyond words with Lana.

While it might've seemed childish and immature to anyone else, I blamed Lana solely for causing those tears. I completely disregarded the bombshell I'd dropped. My thought was that if Lana would've been more supportive of me instead of being judgmental and hypocritical, the evening wouldn't have taken such a sour turn.

"That's real rich coming from you, Lana. You've already got a son, and you're eight months pregnant with your second child!"

"That's completely different!"

"Oh, really?" I glared at her. I was not going to concede. "If my memory serves me correctly… you and Mark weren't exactly married when you had Damien."

"We got married after he was born." she growled.

"My point exactly, Lana." I eyed her intently and smugly. I knew I was right in standing my ground with her. "You weren't exactly ready to be a wife or a mother at that point, but we all stood behind you and supported your decision."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I knew then that this was a turning point. She would either see things from my perspective or she would continue to feel the way she obviously did. "We all knew you loved Mark, and that he loved you. We all knew that you two were meant for each other. That's why we all supported you two and everything that went along with that." I put my hand to my belly. "All I am asking is for you to do the same for me."

Obviously, there were differentiating circumstances that surrounded my situation as opposed to my sister's. Those would be dealt with when the time came.

"So are you telling us that you and the father of your baby are going to get married and raise the baby together?" she asked.

I rubbed my forehead in frustration. I couldn't understand why she was being so damn infuriating. "Alright, Lana…" At this point, I was like a bull seeing red. "You want the truth?" I felt my anger reaching a boiling over point. "No, we aren't getting married, and no, we aren't going to raise the baby together."

"So you're going to raise the baby, work and go to school?"

"Lots of women are single moms and are able to work and go to school." I replied.

"And how the hell do you plan on managing that?" she asked.

"You know what, Lana…" I took a deep breath to steel myself. "Just because you're my older sister doesn't give you the right to judge or run my life."

"Well, obviously, someone does cause you sure as hell don't know to."

"Fortunately, that's not your job."

I put my shoes and coat back on, knowing full-well my family would never be the same again. I walked out of my parent's house with a very heavy heart.