The Reluctant Fall

Fourteen.

She was lying there.

Unmoved, still, and silent.

...Yet, she looked peaceful, angelic, beautiful.

Anthony was convinced there wasn't a single person on the planet that could captivate his heart the way she could. He couldn't make sense of their connection to begin with, but now? There was no denying it - no turning away from it. Anthony sat at the side of her bed and lifted her hand to his lips. He knew this wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but feel the heavy weight in his heart as he looked at her. He always thought of himself as the protector, but he couldn't protect her, he was too distracted with himself and his own feelings to even be aware of his surroundings.

Sitting next to her bedside... it finally gave him time to think. Hearing she was Whistledown, well, things all started to make sense. It was why she had gotten annoyed when he took her to the club (obviously she knew he'd took women there before) and how she wasn't trusting of his feelings – he wasn't surprised due to his track record. Of course he had a past... but everyone did. It's just that his... was well and truly documented. Anthony didn't want to make Penelope feel uneasy of his feelings, so he had to assure her, regardless of everything, he wanted this, and he needed her.

His feelings were clear, but Penelope's weren't.

He heard movement from outside the door, but he didn't lift his gaze from her. He physically couldn't. "Anthony..." a quiet voice said as the door to Penelope's private room opened, "...Sophie's missing," Daphne stated nervously as she stepped into the room. "Benedict is going out of his mind, we need you."

Anthony's head directed towards her, "What do you mean she's missing?"

He saw her looked at her feet and squeeze her fingertips – something that Daphne done whenever she was nervous to tell him something.

This was serious.

Daphne cleared her throat and twiddled her fingers, "There's more to the story about Berbrooke Anthony, but if I tell you, you have to promise me to not to do anything silly."

Anthony scoffed and his sister pursed her lips, "tell me right now Daphne."

She repeated, "only if you promise."

"Fine," he replied sharply while rolling his eyes.

He sat and listened to everything Sophie had gone through - the blackmail, the attempted rape, the drugs. He felt the rise of rage within his very core. Why on earth he wasn't informed was sending him into a tailspin. He could have done something.

Why didn't they trust him?

"Why wasn't I informed?" he spat out in a fuelled rage.

Daphne bit her nail anxiously, "Sophie didn't want anyone to know, we were sworn to secrecy."

Anthony rose from his chair, "I could have sorted this, I could have sorted him, you know this."

Daphne looked frightened as his voice rose higher.

She flinched.

"Right, that's enough. Calm down," Simon said as he entered the room, "I can hear you from down the hall."

Anthony sat back down in his chair with his head in his hands with his legs shaking.

He was uncontrollable.

"None of this would have happened if I knew," Anthony stated painfully.

Because that's how he felt, his heart felt in physical pain.

Daphne started to cry, and it broke his heart.

He hated this.

"Daph I'm sorry," Anthony rose up towards her and wrapped his arms around her – after all none of this was his sister's fault. His anger was misdirected – wouldn't be the first time. He pulled her in closer, "I'm just going out of my mind over all of this."