Chapter 16: Strawberry & Money

A/N: First of all, thank you so much for reading. I deeply apologize for the long wait. The last 3 years were simply insane – my dad had cancer, I lost other family members and some got really sick + I moved back and forth between Canada and Brazil…now I am back to my real home and will have more time to write my fanfiction.

For those who don't know I am a ghostwriter myself and so I am always writing…while living away from home I also had another full time job so at the end of the day I was simply exhausted.

Now I am back to ghostwriting full time and so I can also write my fanfiction. I will also (finally) launch my own books on Amazon, so if you'd like to hear from me and read my books (in English and Brazilian Portuguese) please shoot me a message here or on my e-mail silolicambooks gmail . com. My author name there will be SIL OLICAM.

Enough about me, onto the story. Please read and review. It always makes my heart flutter.

xxx

Chapter 16

Anne now had to get used to the idea of being a single mom and being the one who would have to take care of the house, the baby and bring money in as well. When she was still a little girl she thought someday she would be happily married, would have beautiful children and live a happily ever after dream like life. Well, dreams are very different than reality. By now she knew it would never happen to her, so now she had to be strong not only for her but for her baby as well.

After organizing her clothes and the little belongings that she had at Devil May Cry, she decided to go look for a job, since she needed it fast. She would stay at a motel or whatever for the time being. She would sleep anywhere but at Devil May Cry.

Every place she tried delivering her resume dismissed her, it was either because she was too young and had no experience, or because she lived alone and was going to be a mother soon. She couldn't lose faith, she had to keep on going.

Second day she decided to try finding a job at the local bars, they were small maybe someone would accept her in. Bars always needed people, right?

Entering 'Delirious Café', Anne spotted two girls that probably went to her high school. Let's say they weren't the nicest ones. She wanted to get the hell away from there, but the job need was stronger. She then headed for the counter and tried to talk to the bar manager, but before this one person could arrive, those two were already pissing her off!

"Look who is here Marta, the nun.", stated one of those familiar looking girls.

"Looks like she gave up the nun life since she seems to be knocking on the same door that we did.", the other replied, clearly inebriated.

"I thought she was too good to be looking for a job in this place, since she far superior than us."

Anne didn't even look at them while waiting for the manager to arrive, still even if she got accepted she wouldn't throw the work out the window, even if getting the hell out that bar was what she wanted the most at that time.

The only thing that brought her back to reality was the manager asking her what she wanted, the old woman didn't seem welcoming either.

"So what do you want girl? ", the old manager asked coldly, playing with her cigarette.

"I'm looking for a job, and I Just saw your café was in need of a new worker. I am available full time, and I can do anything – I can clean, make drinks, clean…anything."

"Do you even know what we do here, girl ?", the woman eyed her from head to toe, "Besides the obvious", she Said sarcastically.

Anne ignored the woman's dark sense of humor and told her she knew how to cook, how to wash, and do all that a bartender knows. But then when she was almost making the woman give her the job she had to tell her she was pregnant, and that probably was going to screw everything up just like it did in every other place she went to try and find a job.

"But miss, the only thing is that I'm two months pregnant,", when she stated this the old woman already was preparing a big NO as an answer, but Anne already had a lot in mind to try and convince the woman.

"But miss, if you allow me to bring the child, I can work normally, and would only go take care of the baby at my lunch time, please I really need this job.", she stated getting a bit desperate this time, since she was exhausted to receive no after no.

The manager thought and accepted the girl in, but under many conditions, being one of them if the baby got on their way she would be out. Anne accepted her conditions happy in the point that she finally managed to find a job, but sad at the same time because she would have to work with two people she literally despised.

xxx Some time later at Devil May Cry xxx

Life there had changed a lot since Dante's little quarrel with his older brother. Their fight actually changed everyone's life there.

First Kyrie was the one who did all the housework, leaving her without a friend to talk to nor a boyfriend to stay with since Nero had to work a lot harder now.

Dante's just missed his brother and Anne as well, never did he imagine he would get so attached to her in so little time. It was like she was his little sister or something. Vergil was gone now , well he was gone since the day they quarelled, the same day Anne was gone, but differently from Anne, Vergil didn't even said goodbye.

Dante then decided to ask Lady and Trish to move in with him since he was kinda alone; not that he would admit it to anyone, but anyways. Both girls were good in making life a little more interesting to Dante himself.

Dante wouldn't stop teasing Lady, and Trish would laugh and say he was totally into her only to receive a blow from Lady, and so on and so on. They weren't in permanently, just for a while. The sooner Dante would quite sulking, they'd move out again.

Nero and Kyrie were pretty happy with each other as the baby's due date approached. Nero was now like a younger brother to Dante as well.

Dante wasn't sure where Anne was, but he knew she wouldn't have gone too far. He just wanted to see how she was doing, if she needed anything; he just couldn't believe his brother would impregnate her and leave. It was when he decided to go look for her, even if it took a while to locate her.

xxx Back at Anne's work xxx

Anne already got used to her job as well as to those girl's bitching. Life was basically waking up at 5 am, going downtown to that damned café, working her ass off, cleaning, making meals, washing the dishes, and every possible thing that was in need to be done; it wasn't a full time job, things got worse as time went by, but the thing was: she needed money.

One afternoon when the café wasn't as crowded as in the mornings, Anne was just cleaning the counter while her two bitchy co-workers sat at the far end of the café just babbling on some stupid subject, they heard the door open. Both women change their subject to 'what a hottie thatjust came in, she then decided to take his order when she saw this 'hottie' as they put it was no one other than Dante.

That moment she couldn't believe he managed to find her, she wondered how! He wasn't the one to come to cafes like these, especially during the day. It was only a bar at night, and not even a good one anyways. Since her boss wasn't around she decided to sit with him and talk for a little while, even if those two heard and saw it; even though his brother did what he did, Dante had absolutely nothing to do with it. He was a great guy.

"Hey won't you take my order?, I came a very long way just to find this café.", he said winking, always in his playful mood.

"Dante how did you find me? I missed you!", she stated before hugging him close, only to receive a "Hey that thing is poking me!", meaning her belly was big and already poking him.

"Well I was kinda knocking in every door to know where the hell you were, so that' how I'm here now."

"I'm just glad that you could fine me." She genuinely told him. "We have strawberry Sundaes, I know you just love it."

"Yes please.", he said as he followed her to the kitchen, while the bitches only looked and tried to hear their conversation.

"So how's the baby doing?, he asked a little uncomfortable. That was a very unusual subject for him. He didn't really know how to act.

"He's doing pretty well, thank you.", she said happily, since she missed Dante a lot.

"So it's a boy then." He said with a smile. He was going to be an uncle, and to a boy!

"Yes, a little boy. And what about you? How have you been? Many jobs going on?"

"Yes, lots of stuff to do lately.", he said.

"How are things at Devil May Cry? Did Kyrie already give birth?"

"Not yet, I think they are almost two months away, and things at Devil May Cry changed quite a bit since your departure.", he said, clearly sad.

"How so?", she asked while preparing his Sundae. She knew very well why and she was really sad to be part of the reason why. The last thing that she had wanted was to split the brothers.

"Well not only you, but Vergil left… then Lady and Trish moved in so they could keep me company. I know they did it due to pity, but still…"

"Oh, I see." she sighed hearing for the very first time in a while the name she wanted to forget forever. She was very happy Vergil was a rather uncommon name these days.

"Here's you Sundae." She handed Dante a giant cup.

Dante took it and started eating it right away. They both continued chatting.

"So have you decided on a name yet?"

"Alex, I think. I'm gonna name him Alex." She said with a little more confidence now. Her eyes glimmered with pride. The baby was very loved already, despite the circumstances that he came to be.

"Nice name." Dante said, smiling.

"And Kyrie is going to have a baby girl or boy?"

"She still doesn't know, the brat is kinda ashamed to show his facts ya know.", he said laughing a little.

As he said that one of the bitches, Martha who had bleach blond hair and fake green eyes came to his table, took his once filled cup of Sundae and asked if he wanted anything else, always trying to insinuate herself for him. Dante asked for another Sundae, since it was delicious.

In less than a blink of an eye Martha was back with a huge Sundae in a tray. She left a piece of paper with her name, address and phone number on the tray. Anne only raised an eyebrow and kept the conversation going.

When Dante finished his dessert he took his wallet only to hear Anne say 'no need to pay, it's my call', Dante thanked her but kept taking money from his wallet. Dante took almost two thousand dollars and handled her.

"I don't want your money.", she stated looking him right in the eye, at this time the eavesdroppers thought he was the father and wondered 'How could she get that hottie on her bed'. Anne's face was tomato red. Dante's money was the last thing she wanted.

"It's for the baby", he stated simply. "Please take it. I insist."

"No, you don't have to give me money for the baby. You can't pay for your brother's doing, and even if he were the one trying to give me money I wouldn't accept it the same way." She said shaking her head.

"Just take it, It's not mine but I want to help it, he's still part of my family, you know." Dante said pushing the money in her direction. The eavesdroppers kept on watching them.

"Dante please, stop it."

"Take it.", he then opened her hand and put the money there.

She took it, stubbornly trying to give him back and went to her private locker to put it in her purse. On her way back she heard a 'How did you manage to fuck that hottie you, such an ugly thing', she ignored but still heard a ' Why won't you share him, since he already did his job on you. '

Anne kept ignoring them.

Dante heard all their conversation and after giving his farewells to Anne and almost exiting the cafe he only started shredding the paper Martha gave him into pieces.

"As if I would call such an ugly 'thing' such as yourself."

When Martha heard him, she got tomato red from embarrassment and rage.