Anastasia

Chapter (35): The Stalkers

In front of the mirror, inside the bathroom, Adrienne was checking her slightly red knuckle from last night. This morning, the storm within her from last night got subdued on its own after thinking of reasons why her sister would take a pill that could make her an addict. The one pill that Hanna took could be her door to addiction. She washed her face with cold refreshing water and dried her face with the towel, then walked out of the bathroom and saw Sage grabbing her bag, draping it over her shoulder.

"You're leaving now?" asked Adrienne, placing the towel down.

"Duty call." She smiled and earned a small smile from Adrienne.

Although Adrienne had a bright smile, Sage could see the disturbance lingering in her tired looking eyes. She sensed Adrienne's awakened body form last night when they were sleeping. Adrienne was having a battle of her own in her mind, and Sage couldn't do anything about it but leave her alone with her thoughts.

Sage walked over to her and cradled her face lovingly which made Adrienne smile more, and before Sage could speak Adrienne interrupted her.

"I know... I'll go check up on her today."

"Yes please. And go-"

"Go easy on her." Adrienne rolled her eyes, but chuckled along with Sage. "Don't worry, Sage. I'm feeling better today and I'll have a talk with her. I've been harsh on her last night, but because I was really worried. Hanna is a person who always defies anything illegal, even our dad, and to see her taking a pill and God knows maybe she's already becoming a drug addict behind my back, is scaring me a lot. Maybe I'm overthinking it as well. I don't know. I'm... I'm just worried."

Sage nodded slowly understandingly. "Can I tell you something?"

"Please."

"I don't think Hanna is a drug addict... I think she just wanted to try something new for once." She shrugged. "Sometimes we break the rules to have some fun, Aid. What she did is by all means wrong, but she seeks your guidance without telling you that directly. Hopefully, today you can talk her out of this and I know you will." Adrienne's expression got serious a bit but she was listening attentively. "Be patient with her and trust me when I tell you she didn't mean it that way. Don't lecture her."

..........................................

The steam of the mug was warming her skin as she was taking sips from her dark coffee with her eyes peering outside the window, watching the drops of rain as they tapped on her window lightly. Hanna's head turned to the door when she heard the bell rang. She frowned before placing her mug down on the brown table beside her and walking to the door. She opened it slowly and found Adrienne standing outside with a blank expression and hands shoved in her coat pockets.

Hanna looked down at the ground, holding the door with one hand, the other was draping beside her. "Can I come in?" Adrienne asked softly and her voice tone made Hanna feel at ease.

Hanna nodded at her silently, meeting her eyes briefly while opening the door widely for her to enter.

As Adrienne walked past Hanna, the younger sister moved behind Adrienne and wrapped her arms around her waist, hiding her face in her back.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled and Adrienne smiled sadly, patting her sister's hand. "I will tell you everything."

Adrienne turned around and placed her hands on Hanna's shoulders and lowered her head slightly because Hanna hung her head low to conceal her tears. "We'll talk about it now, and it's okay, Hanna. I'm here for you. I just need to know why you did that and for how long."

Hanna nodded at her and went to sit on the couch with Adrienne joining her. "I promise you it was the first time to ever try something like that," She started. "and it's the last."