A/N: Yay, double figures! Thank you so much for all your support and reviews – They mean a lot to me. Keep reading and reviewing/commenting and I'll keep writing. Thank you very much and please enjoy this latest chapter!~

Chapter 10

Confession

Over the next few months or so, Naruto came round almost every day to check up on Kaeda and me. If he couldn't visit us, he would phone and we'd talk for hours. It made me feel important for the first time since Lee died.
I was now in my second trimester and my bump was getting bigger. It made me feel a little insecure, but knowing Kaeda was growing healthily inside me made me feel a lot better about myself. The pregnancy symptoms were easing off finally, and it was nice to wake up in the morning without my stomach churning. I did still feel slightly nauseous in the mornings, but that was probably due to hunger. Hunger was certainly better than not being able to get rid of the taste of bile out of my mouth for two hours.
Another symptom that seemed to be slowly going away was low blood pressure. That meant that I didn't pass out whenever I stood, and that my dizziness didn't cause me to throw up.
Now I'd been getting slightly bigger, I made sure to wear clothes that covered the bump so nobody could tell what was really going on. It was only a matter of time until I couldn't hide it anymore. When that time came, I'd already decided to resign myself to staying at home. School was completely out of the question. I just wouldn't have time for it anyway after Kaeda was born; she would be my number one priority for the rest of my life, especially in the first eleven years after she was born. None of my family members had the time to look after her whilst I was out either.

One particular morning; seven-thirty on a Monday to be precise, I lay lounged on the sofa, thinking things over. It would only be three months until I'd be holding my little girl in my arms. I was also fulfilling my new craving: cookie dough ice cream – for breakfast, that is. It was hard to tell if I was losing my mind, or if it was just the cravings.

The house was almost silent apart from the TV; Kankuro was on his way to college and Temari was at work. My dad had gone to the shops to buy me the panda pops I asked for.

There was nothing worth watching on TV apart from the news. It was all about politics, to which I couldn't care less about. I wasn't old enough to vote anyway. My father was one of the higher-ups and he hoped that Temari would replace him when he retired. Since he didn't want me to take over, I discovered how little I cared about what happened to the world.

Suddenly, I felt a weird sensation in my abdomen, like something fluttering and jabbing inside me. Was that Kaeda moving? It wasn't a completely foreign feeling either because I'd felt it before, only not as strong. I didn't think anything of it though. It also brought into my head the reality that I'd be a parent sooner than I thought.

Was I even ready?

I sat up and placed my hand on my small bump, smiling as she kicked again. "Wow baby, you're getting stronger every day, huh?" I asked her.

She responded by kicking again.

"Heh, you know who I am don't you? You recognize my voice."

At that moment, the front door closed and my father walked in, tossing the six-pack of panda pops to me. "Is that the right flavour?"

I nodded. "Thanks dad. You'll never guess what-"

"Gaara, I'm sorry, I'll be late for work if I don't leave now." He leaned over and pulled me into an awkward one-armed hug. "I'll see you later. Call me if you need me."

I sighed, disappointed that he didn't hear about Kaeda kicking for the first time. "Bye then."

He didn't respond. The door slammed and I was alone yet again.

For a few hours, I managed to fall asleep on the sofa. Occasionally, Kaeda woke me up by kicking lightly, but I soon got used to the feeling. Something I wasn't used to was the sudden sound of heavy drums and guitars from my phone. Kaeda kicked me sharply in the ribs, as if scolding me for the rude awakening. I winced. "I guess Avenged Sevenfold aren't going to put you to sleep at night huh?" Why in God's name I chose such a loud ringtone I'll never know. I squinted at the screen, trying to read the caller ID through sleepy eyes.

Naruto.

I pressed my phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Morning Gaara!" Came Naruto's overly cheerful voice.

"It's two in the afternoon." I corrected him, glancing quickly at the clock. Wow, I really had slept for a long time.

"Heh, my bad. You wanna come to the park with me?"

It would be nice for me to get some air; I hadn't left the house since two days ago when I went into the garden to chat with my sister. "Sure." I replied.

"Awesome! I'll swing by in about an hour."

"See you later." I said, ending the call. Walking around wouldn't do my sore back any good, but I didn't want to miss going out with my best and only friend. I went up to my room and pulled out a black hoodie. It had the print of a skull on the back and was about three sizes too big for me. My clothes had to be baggy to cover the bump and I knew that soon, even the baggiest of hoodies or shirts wouldn't be able to cover it. I put it on over my Iron Maiden T-shirt and pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans. They were already becoming a bit too snug and I was only six months gone! It made me realize how badly I needed new clothes. Going to the park may turn into a shopping trip yet, but that was fine - It wasn't as if I hadn't any money to spare.

I got my wallet out and shoved it in my pocket, along with my keys and phone, then put on my red and black converses before waiting for Naruto to show up.

3

The walk to the park with Naruto was great – it was typical July weather: Hot, slightly humid and sunny. My favourite. I loved summer, that is when I wasn't dying of heatstroke and regretting the huge hoodie I'd put on. It wasn't as if I could take it off either, because everybody would notice the bump.

When we finally reached the park, we sat on the swings for a while and I saw some kids run in through the gate with their parents. They immediately went over to the climbing frame, despite their mother yelling at them to be careful. It was a strange thought that soon, I would be doing that. I was terrified that I'd do something wrong. Hell, I'd never held a baby in my life! What would happen if I dropped her? How would I cope if I had her taken away from me by a social worker for not looking after her properly? I had no experience with children whatsoever, with being the youngest in my family. I didn't even have any cousins younger than me, nor nieces or nephews. I was quite literally the baby of the entire family. It sucked.

"You okay Gaara?" Asked Naruto, breaking my train of thought. His voice startled me a little.

I nodded absently. "Yeah, why?"

"You're quiet."

"So are you." I replied, turning to him. "Something on your mind?"

"Maybe." He responded.

"What's up?"

"I-I can't tell you..."

"Hey, I told you about my pregnancy, and that was meant to be a secret." I said, sounding a little hurt.

"I know, but I just can't tell you this."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Come on. Spit it out."

He sighed. "It's too soon to tell you after everything that's happened."

I moved closer to him. "Why can't you just say it?"

"It will only hurt you if I do."

"What, do you hate me or something?"

Naruto shook his head. "Quite the opposite."

I opened my mouth to say something when he stood up. "I'm bored. Let's go somewhere else."

God, he pissed me off sometimes. He was so good at avoiding my questions! That didn't mean I'd forget what he said either. I would confront him about it later. He was going to give me the answer I wanted whether he liked it or not.

"Come on." He urged.

I sighed and stood up, starting to walk out of the park with him. We didn't exchange a word for the next few minutes. His words were flowing in my head repeatedly.

"What, do you hate me or something?"

"Quite the opposite."

What did he mean by that? If he didn't hate me, that meant he liked me, but of course, he liked me. We were friends right? What if he meant he liked me... more than a friend though?

No. That was stupid. I didn't want anybody else because it would feel like I was cheating on Lee. I couldn't do that to his loving memory. It felt like my heart was going to betray me though.

I gazed up at Naruto, noticing a troubled expression on his face. His bright blue eyes held confusion and sadness, something I hadn't seen in a while. He was always cheery and I missed that happy side of him for once. Negativity didn't suit him at all.

Since my bump was bigger, my back was starting to hurt with all the walking. The hot weather was making me tired too, and thirsty. I stopped and leaned against the wall of a nearby gift shop, rubbing my back in an attempt to quell the dull ache.

Naruto stopped walking and turned to me. "Are you okay?"

"My back is killing me..." I groaned.

"Well I'm a little hungry. Do you want to go to a café and get a bite to eat? We can take a rest."

I nodded. "Sure. I'm a little hungry too."

"Aren't you always?"

"Haven't you noticed I have two people to feed now?" I asked him with a playful glare and followed him into a small café just across the street.

"I was kidding. Lighten up." He said taking a seat.

"I'm tired, hot, sore and thirsty. I don't really feel like joking around today." I said, sitting opposite him.

"You will when I'm done with you." He told me with a grin.

I blushed slightly. "Is that a threat?"

"Maybe."

I smirked and started looking through the menu.

A pretty waitress came over a few minutes later with a notebook in her hand. "Are you ready to order?" She asked.

Naruto looked up at her, or rather at her chest. "Ramen and a chocolate shake please."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Hotdog and a coke for me please."

"Coming right up." She collected our menus and walked away to fetch our drinks.

Naruto wiped the drool from his chin. "Gaara, did you see the tits on her?!"

"They were pretty big." I remarked absently. Being Gay, I never really took much notice of girls, but her cleavage was practically in my face as she collected our menus. It was hard not to notice.

"Damn right!"

"Naruto."
"What?"

"You're drooling again."

He shook his head and turned his attention back to me. "So how are you and little Kaeda getting along?"

"We're fine." I said with a smile. "She keeps kicking me."

"Does it hurt?"

I shook my head. "It feels weird but no, it doesn't hurt unless she kicks my ribs. Hardly surprising after the accident." My ribs were crushed from the impact of the crash, and I had metal plates and rods to replace the bones that couldn't be repaired. It was only a few months ago too, so I was still sore from it.

He grunted in agreement, his head turning at the sound of high heels on the wooden floor.

Of course, it was the waitress coming back over with our drinks and once again, Naruto's eyeballs were practically down her shirt in the time that she remained there. She left our table quite hurriedly after that. "Aww, Gaara, you scared her away with your hormones." He whined.

I resisted the urge to kick him in the balls. "You scared her away with your stupid drooling face."

He poked my forehead. "Now that wasn't very nice was it?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and sipped my coke. "So, what were you trying to tell me earlier?"

"Huh?"

"Oh you know the whole "quite the opposite" episode?"

He blushed a little, looking nervous. "Ah... w-well I-I... I gotta take a leak, be right back!"

"Oh no you don't. Not until you tell me." I growled, grabbing onto his arm before he could run off.

"I've forgotten!"

"No you haven't."

"Yes I have!"

"No."

"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"

"N-" I was cut off when Kaeda kicked me in my already bruised ribs. "Ow…" I murmured, placing my hand on my growing abdomen and rubbing softly to try to settle her. "Why must you kick me baby? Don't you like coke or something?"

"She kicked?!" Naruto said a little too loudly, reaching under the table and groping around for my abdomen.
I kicked him in the shin, earning a yelp of pain. "Idiot! I'm not some animal at the petting zoo - And keep your damn voice down!"

He pouted, and then proceeded to speak in a hushed voice. "Aww, I've never felt a baby kick before. Can I please feel Gaara? Just for a second!" He pleaded.

I rolled my eyes. "Later. Most people aren't accustomed to seeing a pregnant teenage boy with a drooling blond pervert groping his belly."

We were interrupted by the sound of the waitress putting our plates down onto the table. "Here is your food, please enjoy." She said, placing the chopsticks next to Naruto's bowl of steaming ramen.

I sighed and nodded at the waitress, "Thank you, we will." Then turned back to Naruto who was sat back down already, stuffing his face with ramen. I started to eat my hotdog, the questions I wanted to ask him still unanswered.

3

Later on that night, I offered Naruto to stay over and he accepted. It would give me another chance to interrogate him.

"So are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Naruto asked through a mouthful of popcorn as we watched a movie together. It was Terminator 4, and one of Naruto's favourites. I wasn't keen on the series myself.

"You know damn well what!" I hissed, turning to face him.

The blonde kept his eyes focused on the television. "Umm…" He shovelled another handful of popcorn into his mouth. "Well… can't we talk about this later?"
I turned the television off. "No, we can talk about this now."

He winced and faced me, not saying a word.

"Naruto."

"Fine!" He growled, blushing slightly, before mumbling something incoherent.

"What?" I asked.

"I said I love you! Okay?!"

"Shut up." I scoffed.

He looked at me hurt. "Well, you told me to say it!"

It suddenly dawned on me that he wasn't lying, and everything began to make sense. "You're really not kidding are you?" I asked quietly after a few moments.

"Why would I lie about something like that, huh? After everything that happened with Lee, do you really think I don't feel bad enough already?!"

I didn't reply and stared at the floor.

Naruto got up.

"Where are you going?"

"Home." Was his cold reply. "See you later."

"Naruto, wait."

"I can't do this! I can't love you when Lee isn't even cold in his grave! You're carrying his child too! If we start a relationship, she'll be calling me daddy as soon as she learns to speak, and who will be there to tell her that I'm not actually her father?!"

He had a point. If Naruto and I became an item, it would just be like cheating on Lee. I also had to think of my daughter too. It would be confusing for her as she grew up, not knowing whether to call Naruto by his name or call him 'daddy'

I missed Lee so much, and I knew I didn't want to hurt Naruto any more, not after all he'd done for me. He deserved to be loved; he deserved to be a part of Kaeda's lives and mine. "I'm sorry." I said weakly.

He stopped in the doorway and sighed.

"You've helped me so much and I haven't even thanked you once. You're much stronger than I'll ever be and… I don't deserve the happiness you've brought to me. If it weren't for you, I don't think I'd be here right now." I murmured, tears filling my eyes. "If my life during those first few months could be described as a storm on the sea, then I was drowning under those thrashing waves, sinking lower and lower until the darkness consumed me – but you, you're the bright ray of sunshine that broke through the clouds and pulled me to the surface again. When you came to see me for the first time after my accident, I felt safe and I could finally breathe again… I could move on." I paused for a few moments, before continuing tearfully, "Lee is gone, and he won't come back to me no matter how much I scream, plead and cry. The only way we'll be together again is if I kill myself, but you know I can't do that, not now this helpless baby needs me. It's true that Kaeda will grow up without her daddy, but I'll take her to his grave every day, tell her the stories of how wonderful he was so she knows he'll always love her and watch over her no matter what happens. He will never be forgotten, because I'm keeping his memory as alive as I can until the day comes when I join him up there."

There was complete silence for a few seconds, before Naruto turned and hugged me tight. There were tears in his eyes. "You're right."

I hugged back, burying my face into his orange hoodie and inhaling his scent. He smelled good - a mixture of clean linen and pine with a faint hint of spice from his deodorant. "Give me a chance." I murmured after a few seconds. "I'll prove to you that I can love you. Things are going to change."

"You know I can't resist that offer." He said in a soothing voice, pressing his lips to my forehead.

I smiled slightly, wiping my eyes on my sleeve. "Thank you."

Finally, he released me and we continued watching the movie. Minutes passed and his warm hand slid down to my growing belly. I stiffened at first, his touch making me feel nervous.

"Can I feel her kick Gaara?" He asked. "You said I was allowed."

I nodded, not taking my eyes off the screen. "Be careful, don't press too hard."

He rubbed gentle circles over my bump and Kaeda moved a little inside me, before kicking at Naruto's hand. I smiled a little and turned to him. "Heh, she likes you Naruto."

He gasped and stared in awe. "W-wow! That's the first time I've felt a baby kick! Awesome!"

"You're not the one who has to deal with her attempting to liquidize your organs if you don't give her what she wants." I scoffed, taking a swig from my bottle of flavoured water.

"And that's only going to get worse." He said, rubbing my abdomen a little more. It felt strangely good. I'd had a little bit of cramping for the past few days due to my body trying to adapt to accommodate her, and with Naruto's hands working their magic, the pain was slowly going away. "Tell me about it." I said after a few moments, closing my eyes and wrapping my arms around him.

He gently pulled me into his lap and I buried my face into the crook of his neck. The movie didn't matter anymore; I was with him and he was making me feel better.

We were silent for the next couple of minutes, before Naruto closed his eyes and leaned in close to me. I felt my face heat up and my heart began to beat faster. Before I knew it, we were kissing. I'd missed feeling lips against mine for so long and enjoyed every moment of the fluttery feeling I got in my stomach. We pulled away after a few moments and I stared at him, my face burning.

He grinned and stroked my cheek. "I've been wanting to do that for a while."

"Yeah?" I asked softly, kissing him lightly again.
The movie was soon finished, and it was about nine thirty. I reluctantly got up from his arms. "I want to take a bath, watch what you want."

He nodded. "Alright then. See you later."

I smiled a little and headed to the bathroom, making sure to lock the door in case Kankuro came barging in. The amount of times he'd forgotten to knock and seen either Temari or me in the bath was unreal. No matter how much we told him to knock, he usually forgot. That was why we begged my father to have a lock put on the door.
Once inside the bathroom, I went over to the tub and filled it with water, then stood in front of the mirror for a while. Looking at my reflection, I saw that I looked a lot better now than in the past few months. Finally, I was starting to regain some of the weight I had lost. Even Tsunade had told me I needed to gain at least sixteen pounds if I hoped to carry Kaeda full term. It was hard though; I'd been struggling to manage full meals after Lee died, having been too depressed to eat properly, or too busy resting after the accident. It was only now that Naruto was there for me that I was starting to get over the trauma of what happened. It wasn't as if Kankuro was helping me out though, he'd just drag me down again once I was on a high.
I stared down at the sink for a few seconds, and then looked back up to the mirror.
My heart felt like it stopped.

Lee was stood behind me, clear as day. The only thing was he looked exactly how I last remembered him when we were laying in that car together. He was soaked in blood and heavily wounded from what I could see of his torn clothes. Glass littered his sleek black hair and there was a weak smile on his face as our eyes met - the same way he'd looked at me all those months back before his eyes closed, never to open again. "Lee…" I whispered, my voice trembling from the shock. It was a horrible sight to see him like that again. I'd only just managed to push that image to the back of my mind, and here it was again, coming back to haunt me. Everything came flooding back to me and I fell to my knees, a choked sob escaping my mouth.
From the corner of my eye, I saw him step closer and kneel in front of me. "Be happy." He whispered, his ghostly fingers lightly brushing over my face.

"Don't leave me…" I whimpered. The comfort of feeling his presence again; having his warm, calming scent wrap around me was overwhelming.

Back then in the car, when he held my hand, he knew he was going to die, I could see it in his eyes, yet I refused to believe it – I loved him too much to think that it could happen, I trusted the doctors to make him live so we could raise our child together.

"I want you to let Naruto love you. Do not feel guilty. You deserve happiness." Came his voice again. He moved closer, wrapping his arms around me. I closed my eyes, letting his presence flow through me.

A cold splash on my face caused me to gasp and sit up. Kankuro stood over me, holding a now empty glass with a scowl on his face. I groaned, pressing a hand to my throbbing head and winced as it met a bruise. Was my experience with Lee just another dream?

"If you're going to knock yourself out in the bathroom, at least have the courtesy to keep the door unlocked!" My brother hissed, kicking me in the side. My arms immediately went to protect my abdomen.

Naruto rushed in at that moment, shoving Kankuro into the bathtub. "You leave him alone!" He snapped, before helping me to my feet. "Come on, you need to get some rest." He said softly.
Kankuro splashed around in the water and jumped out, coughing and spluttering. He grabbed Naruto's throat and slammed him up against the wall. "Fucking brat. Just what in the flying fuck were you hoping to achieve?" He growled, punching him in the abdomen repeatedly.

The blond coughed up blood violently, unable to get his breath as his body was pulverized.
"Leave him alone!" I cried, jumping on Kankuro's back and wrapping my arms tightly around his neck to choke him. He let out a strangled cry, stumbling back into the mirror and shattering it. The shards cut into my back and I hissed in pain. His whole weight was thrown back onto me as he fell, crushing my bump. Panicking, I attempted to push him away, squirming frantically to protect my unborn child. My brother complied with my wishes and got up, lunging at Naruto once more.
I glared at him and rushed forwards again, punching his back harder and harder until he let go, but he didn't.

Instead, he turned around, punching me hard. "You think you can stop me?!"

My head spun from the impact and I could see stars. I groaned, tenderly touching my lip and realized I'd bitten through it.

Naruto meanwhile was desperately struggling to get away, I could tell, but my brother was far stronger than he was and soon, his struggling got weaker. It was only when he finally lost consciousness that Kankuro walked over to me. I flinched, pressing myself back against the wall.

He picked up a glass shard and moved closer to me, then plunged the knife straight into his side.

My eyes widened and I leapt to my feet, grabbing hold of the shard and trying to pull it out. "Are you crazy?!"

Kankuro smirked. "You're dead meat." He hissed.
"What on earth is going on in here?!" My father growled, throwing open the door. He froze when he saw me, his eyes narrowing to slits.
My brother cried out in agony, collapsing to the floor. "What a-are you doing Gaara?!"

I stared at him in shock. "You fucking did this on purpose!"

My father rushed inside, shoving me back against the wall. "Get out of my way!"

"D-dad… It wasn't me! He did this to himself!" I tried to explain as tears filled my eyes.

"Enough!" He snarled, dropping down beside my brother and checking how deep the shard had gone in. He then turned him onto his good side and pulled out his cell phone to dial for an ambulance.

I just stood there, shaking violently. My father was seething with anger - I could practically feel the fury radiating off him and hitting me all sides. The bathroom floor was wet with the water from the bath and now mixed with Kankuro's blood. Did my brother hate me that much? Was he really that intent on getting rid of me? I hadn't done anything wrong! I was just protecting Naruto! "Dad, please beli-" I began.

"Not another word!" He spat, grabbing me by the front of my shirt. "I'm tired of your nonsense! Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean the world revolves around you and that I'll forgive you for anything!"

"I wasn't implying that! Just list-"

"Don't you dare answer me back, Gaara!" He snapped, shaking with fury. "I saw what you did, trying to kill your own flesh and blood!"

"If you would just listen to me, He's just doing this to get me into trouble, you know how he's been ever since he found out I was Gay!"

"You're psychotic! How can I believe you when you're the one who's more likely to pick up a knife and stab somebody! Your brother would never do such a thing to himself, he's not like you!"

"Yeah, nobody in this house is like me! Are you sure my mother wasn't seeing someone behind your fucking back? I don't belong here, I never did!" I hissed, turning around to leave, but he grabbed my arm, squeezing it tightly.

"Don't turn your back on me, I am talking to you!"

"No, you're shouting at me!" I corrected him. "You're not even willing to hear what I have to say, so what's the point of me being in the same room as you?!"

"Because you're an egoistic little liar! How am I supposed to believe a word that comes out of your mouth?! You can stay here until you realize just what you have done!"

Naruto then cut in, having regained consciousness. "Non-Believer, just hear me out then if you don't want to listen to Gaara! Kankuro attacked me! I wouldn't be surprised if he did this to himself!"

His attention turned to my best friend. "You! Get the fuck out of my house! Why are you always here anyway? Eating my food, breathing my oxygen, wasting my fucking time?!"

"If you haven't noticed, I've been here for your son since nobody else seems interested!"
"Why?" He snarled. "I know you're just dying to jump straight into bed with him!"

"No I'm not! You just hate anybody getting close to him, don't you? You can't stand it when he falls in love and becomes happy!"

"He's in love with you?!" He glared at me. "Lee isn't even cold in his grave and you're off chasing other people! You ought to be ashamed of yourself! What kind of example will you be setting for your child?!"

I placed my hands over my bump protectively and pressed myself into the corner of the room.

Naruto flinched and glared at him. "You know, you're not setting a good example to your kids either! What, by shouting at your son like this, not even attempting to understand what he's trying to say! I just hope that your shitty parenting skills don't rub off on Gaara!"

He lunged forward, gripping the front of Naruto's shirt and slamming him against the wall. "You know nothing about me, now get the fuck out of my house or I'll make sure you never walk again." He growled in a dangerous tone.

"Oh, don't you worry yourself old man, I'm going!" He shoved past him and stormed out of the room.

After the front door slammed, everything was uncomfortably silent. I was so scared of what would happen next.

My father stood up and turned to me. "You're not to see that damn brat again!" He growled in a dangerous tone. "Clean this mess the fuck up right now, then go to your room and pray to God that you don't utter a word against me for the rest of your miserable life!"

I started to cry, getting down on my hands and knees as I picked up the remnants of the mirror with violently shaking hands. I felt sick from fear, the unnatural feeling twisting my insides until my skin flushed hot. I leaned over the toilet, vomiting harshly into it.

"Hurry up!" My father snarled. "I said clean it up!"

I reached up to flush the toilet and went back to cleaning up the sharp fragments of glass.

Paranoia set in then. Broken mirror… Seven years bad luck, seven years bad luck, seven years bad luck…

Those words flowed through my head over and over. Tears filled my eyes. I didn't even care when my own blood mixed with the water on the floor. I deserved to feel pain, I deserved all this hurt. My hands were cut to ribbons in a matter of minutes, but I was too heartbroken to pay any attention to it. My family hated me; I knew it, especially Kankuro. He'd been making it clear how much he despised me for over a year now; that's what hurt the most. Before I came out, we were so close, completely inseparable, but I couldn't change who I was, as much as I wanted to. Being how I was hurt so much, yet I just couldn't bring myself to love a girl.

Whilst I was lost in thought, the ambulance team rushed in to see to my brother.

"What happened?" One of the paramedics asked from the other side of the room

"My two sons had a fight. I'm sure neither of them meant for it to go this far." My father replied.

"Is the other one in need of medical attention too?"

"No. He's fine."

I felt angry. This was Kankuro's fault! He was the one who kicked me whilst I was just waking up after knocking myself out! He was the one who violently beat up my best friend! I wasn't fine at all! My hands were sliced up, so was my back; not to mention my abdomen was hurting from where Kankuro had crushed me. I knew I was in the wrong for jumping on his back and trying to strangle him, but the stab wound was self-inflicted! I had nothing to do with it!

I finished picking up the broken mirror shards a few minutes later and carried them downstairs to throw in the garbage. Whilst down there, I ran my hands under the cold water to assess the damage the sharp mirror fragments had done to them. The cuts were a lot deeper on my left hand, so I started to bandage it up. The right one wasn't too bad luckily and the bleeding had already stopped - it didn't even need dressing.

I heard the frantic footsteps of the paramedics as they carried Kankuro down the stairs and out the front door.

My father was following them, but he stopped at the bottom of the stairs and beckoned me over.

Fear gripped my chest and my heart began to beat so fast that I could practically hear it. I swallowed hard, heading over to him reluctantly and avoiding eye contact.

He tilted my chin up. "You will look at me when I talk to you!"

I flinched, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Good. Right, I could ground you, but I don't think that is sufficient after what you've done tonight." He growled, grabbing the back of my shirt and shoving me up the stairs. "Go to your room right now."

There was a sharp pain in my abdomen and I winced, placing my hand on my small bump. "D-dad… something's wrong."

"Don't give me that! You're an egoistic, nasty, pathetic child and I'm sick of the sight of you. Don't you even think about speaking to me!" He hissed, shoving me into my bedroom. I toppled back into the dresser, hitting my back on the corner.

"I'm serious!" I protested, trying to get up, but the door was already closing. "No, you have to listen to me! Kankuro fell back on me! Something could have happened to the baby!"

He slammed the door shut, just as I collapsed against it.

"There's nothing wrong with you! You're just jealous that your poor injured brother is getting all of the attention aren't you?!" Came his voice from the other side of the door.

I frantically banged my fist against it and pulled on the handle hard, but my heart sunk when I heard the click of a lock. "No, please don't go! I wouldn't lie about something like this!"

"Hopefully this will teach you a damn good lesson!" He snarled. "One more word and I'll keep you in there for a week!"
I flinched, tears running down my face. Kaeda wasn't moving inside me anymore. "Fine then! You can keep me in here for a fucking week! You'll be damn sorry when you find out you've killed your grandchild and that your son has suddenly lost the will to live!" I snapped.

"You're a dirty little liar!" His voice was getting louder. "I don't have time to argue with you, your brother needs me!" With that, I heard him stomp down the stairs.

The house was reduced to silence once again, and worst of all, the electrics had tripped out. I didn't have access to the fuse box either, as that was downstairs. Not even the moon was out to send me even the slightest bit of comfort. I reached under my bed and pulled out Lee's sweatshirt, hugging it close as I cried myself to sleep.