Grandmia's Perfect Russian Princess

Chapter 15: Hopeless Case

Kellan Baptist

2 weeks later

I knock on Annae's door and she opens it, her eyelids half closed and her face, pale. She looks like the living dead, her blonde hair looks as if she only just crawled out of bed. Her tired grey/green eyes look into his dark ones and she stares, blinking slowly and then she screws up her nose in distaste. I look down at her and see she is still in her sleeping shorts and t-shirt, showing too much skin.

"Urgh, what do you want?" She mumbles, rubbing her eyes with the back of her right hand. She leans against the door and swears under her breath.

I pull the package out from behind my back and hold it out to her, she inclines her head at me and blinks a few times. Then she pushes herself off the door and walks into the house, I walk behind her and shut the door firmly. She lies down on the sofa and puts her forearm over her eyes, I chuckle under my breath and sit on the chair in front of the sofa. It was 12:00 pm and she had only just woken up by the looks of it. In place the package on the coffee table and watch her, I couldn't see her eyes but I knew they were closed.

"What is it?" She mumbles, I look up to see her eyes gazing back at me.

I glance down at the package and back up to her. "Open it."

She opens her mouth, but just at that moment Charley stumbles into the room and sits on the edge of the sofa holding her head. "Bright light," she murmurs.

"What were you doing last night?" I ask them.

"House warming party, Eva moved in with us," Annae sits up and sends Charley a sympathetic look. "She went out with Cameron, this morning."

Annae quickly walks out of the room and into the kitchen, I look over at Charley and see she is slumped against the arm of the sofa. Poor girl. Annae comes back into the room with a tray, three cups perched on top of the silver coloured metal tray. She hands Charley a cup and sets one in front of me, Charley blows on the liquid inside the cup and takes a sip. She looks at Annae and smiles.

Annae sits back down on the other side of the sofa and picks up the package, setting it on her lap. She turns it from side to side and shakes it near her ear, she carefully puts it back onto her lap and starts opening the paper with a delicate touch. Everything about her was delicate, her skin, her hair, her hands and her touch. She was like a flower, strong enough to stand in the wind, but could break at the slightest touch.

She takes the cardboard box out of the brown paper and opens the flaps on the top of it. She takes out a snow globe and sets it on the coffee table, she takes a piece of paper out of the box and shoves all the paper and cardboard onto the floor. She looks the note over and then her face sobers slightly, she crumples the paper up and throws it onto the floor near my feet. I pick the paper up and spread it onto my lap, trying to straighten out the creases. I look at the page and shake my head.

'My Dearest Child,

This snow globe was the last thing your father ever gave me, I want you to have it. I am truly sorry for all the pain I have caused you. I never meant for you to get hurt the way you did and for that I will be eternally guilty. You and your brother were the best things that ever happened to me, but your father left me and then your brothers father wanted nothing to do with him. This tore me apart and I lost a little of my sanity.

I hope you are well, Timothy and me are expecting a baby. I won't forget about you, I love you.

From Andrean'

I rip the letter up and throw it into the bin, along with the paper and cardboard. I turn back around and look at Annae.

Annae

I groan as my head starts throbbing again and look over at Charley, seeing her with the same exact look of pain upon her face. My eyes look back at Kellan and he waves, walking towards the door and closing it on his way out. That was a short visit.

I pull Charley off the sofa and drag her upstairs, pushing her into her bedroom and then going to Kelsey's room. I knock and receive no answer, I shrug and walk back to my room, pushing open the door and falling onto my bed.

I close my eyes and fall asleep really fast, as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Kelsey

It was time I pay Kellan and Niall a little visit, Eva was happy with her love life and it was the only one that was going right. It was obvious that Kellan loved Annae, maybe he didn't know it but I did, everytime he looked at her. His eyes would glaze over and his mouth would pinch at the corners, giving him a look of almost pain.

Niall was a different story, I knew that story about how Charley was clingy was a huge lie and I wanted to know why they lied. I just hoped to avoid Harry, ever since I slapped him I was feeling guilty, like I needed to apologise. I wasn't going to apologise of course, I was too stubborn for that.

I stop outside Niall's apartment and knock on the door, getting ready to run if Harry answered, they door opens and Niall stands there. He looks tired and his eyes have black rings around them.

"Is Harry here?" I ask tentatively, he shakes his head and I push past him into the room.

"Come in then," he mumbles under his breath.

"What is going on with Charley? And don't give me that crap about her being clingy, its total rubbish and I know it." I glare up at him and cross my arms over my chest.

He runs a hand through his hair and sits down, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. "I was an idiot. She said she loved me and I just stared at her, I watched her face crumble and then she told me it was over. She said she couldn't be with someone who would never love her back." He tells me, my eyes widen and I stare at him in horror.

"D...do you love her?" I stammer out through clenched teeth, I was going to rip his throat out.

"I think I do."

My head snaps up and I look at him, he loved her? "You're a fool and an idiot and you do not deserve our Charley. You should have told her straight away."

He holds out his hands in a pleading gesture. "I didn't know, honest."

"Well you should tell her, before its too late."

I stand up and leave the apartment, 1 down and only 1 to go.

I knock on Mrs. Baptist's door and wait on the front steps. Kara opens the door and smiles at me, she opens the door wider and she lets me in. I follow her into the kitchen and sit down on one of the chairs beneath the breakfast bar. "How can I help you, dear?" She asks.

"I came to see Kellan, if that is possible ma'am." I reply.

She turns around and smiles slowly. "Of course, he is upstairs first door on the right."

I thank her and make my way upstairs, I knock on his door and wait for a reply. He shouts for me to come in and I open the door, shutting it behind me. He looks up and his eyes fill with confusion. "Kelsey?"

"I want to talk about Annae," I say to him.

"An...Annae? Is she okay?" His eyes fill with concern and I nod, yes.

"I should be more specific, I want to talk about your feelings for her."

"My feelings?"

"Do you love her?" I ask straight out, no cutting corners.

"Of course not, she's marrying my best friend. She is a close friend, but I don't love her, that way." He replies, the little liar. I knew he was lying, but I also knew he wouldn't admit it.

I nod and walk out the room, trying to think of a plan to get him to admit his feelings for her, admit them before it was too late and she was married to a man she didn't love. I knew they both loved each other, but it would be harder to get Annae to admit than it was to get Kellan to do it.