Perfect Storm

Chapter 14

"I mean, I guess, how do you explain that?" Anya pointed at the pregnancy tests.

"I think I would know if my sister was pregnant. We never spent a year apart. I think I would have noticed." Demeter retorted sarcastically, but her gaze remained fixed on those positive tests.

"Well, I found a picture back at Henry's. It's Mia holding a baby, but there was also a guy in that photo. She had folded it away so that all you could see was her and the baby." Anya was certain that the baby was, in fact, Mia's. After all, the evidence was right in front of their eyes.

Demeter was clearly trying to figure out how to put the puzzle together when she had a sudden realization and started looking for something on her phone. "Is that the guy you saw in the picture?". She showed the exact boy with black hair and acne to Anya.

"Yes, that's him! They were holding the baby!"

"That's not Mia's. That is his nephew. But she loved and cared for him as if he were her own." She let out a sigh as she put her phone back in her pocket.

Anya felt as though everything she believed to be true was so far from reality and that her entire world was collapsing around her.

"Plus, she was with him until late 2017, and that says 2019." Mia's sister pointed at the Polaroid. "Around that time she was with Alex." She immediately realised what she had to do after saying that. She pulled out her phone once more and signaled for the women to wait.

Anya and Freya gave each other puzzled looks, but they agreed.

"What the fuck is going on?" Despite her desire to yell, Freya aggressively murmured in order to show respect for the other costumers of the cafeteria.

"I'll explain to you more once we're alone. But, to cut a long story short, I went to search the house and discovered Zoloft. Then Henry came back and told him how it needed to be prescribed, so then we searched up her files. And found hospitalisation and discharge papers. Many of them were suicide attempts. And it's way more than her sister knows. Then I found the pregnancy tests and the photos. I thought she would know more, but I guess Mia hid that from her sister too." Anya kept gazing over to Demeter, who was chatting on the phone while pacing back and forth. In contrast to her mother, she seemed to care a lot for Mia.

"Why would she hide it?" The blonde looked like she might start crying, but she kept it together. All of this happening so quickly was too much for her.

"Unfortunately, only Mia can answer that question." Anya sighed deeply.

Demeter then returned to the table with them and wore a defeated expression. "I thought that Alex would know something about it since they were together then, but he had no idea either. It's like she didn't want anyone to find out."

Anya had grown wary of everyone by this time and thought it strange that her sister was still in touch with her ex. "Why are you still in contact with him anyway?"

Demeter lowered her head to avoid looking them in the eyes. "We got along great with each other, and we had a sibling-like relationship. We never really broke contact, and especially when he told me he got engaged, I tried so hard to keep it a secret from Mia because I knew how much it would break her. She found out, though. We didn't keep in touch after that; we just wished each other a happy birthday and a happy new year."

                                                                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry finally managed to gather himself and stop crying after what felt like an eternity. The fact that Anya returned to the hospital was something he remembered, but he had no recollection of the bedroom being so tidy. His worry increased when he realised that all the papers were gone. He was certain that he was hallucinating and that Lucy had sneaked in and taken all the papers as he was having his breakdown. He quickly ran for his phone so he could call Anya. One ring of the phone was all it took for her to answer.