It's Complicated

Chapter 50: Not My Baby

*Katie's POV*

As I'm stopped at a red light, I think about how it's been a stressful day for me. Hayley is still acting up & out of character, she seriously won't talk to me. She won't tell me what's wrong & it's breaking my heart. All afternoon I tried to take her shopping, out to eat at her favorite restaurant, I even took her to Rita's, but none of that mattered to her. In the middle of us driving back home to the house Jill calls me in a rather concerned voice. Normally, I wouldn't think twice about it but I was especially anxious today when she called.

"Hey, Katie! Um, I don't know if I should be the one calling but uh, have you checked out Instagram?"

"Nope, I've been with Hayley all day. Why? What's up, my friend?"

"Oh, well then I'm sure it's nothing! Forget I even called!"

"Jill! What's going on? Please tell me! Today's already been kind of stressful as it is."

"It's just that Annie posted a picture of her & some boy. They look awfully touchy-feely if you ask me. I scanned through the comments & someone said they were dating. Someone, some how got a picture of them while they were on a date.."

Everything she's was saying felt like it was trapped inside my head. My mind began to race a million miles per minute. How did I not know about this? Why didn't Annie tell me? I thought we were so much closer than that!

"..I don't know Katie. There's so many things on this "exposing" account on Instagram right now. Like I said, I scanned comments & found that page. There's several photos of Annie & this boy, it's creepy really. Apparently a handful of girls from the gym have confirmed information about the situation. But, Kate says that Annie doesn't talk to anyone in the gym anymore, so it can't be true."

I kept trying to process it all but none of it made sense. As if I didn't already have one problematic child, now I have two? My stress levels seriously go through the roof. Since Billy isn't home, I felt like I needed the company of my best friend. After all, she is the one who laid down all this drama on me.

"I'm sorry Jilly, I'm just kind of dumbfounded right now. Like I don't even know what to think. Just, um, can you meet me at my house? Please bring some wine because I definitely need it. You're more than welcomed to stay the night too, Billy isn't home for the next few days!"

"Sure thing sweet pea, I'll see you in 30!"

I'm sure you can only imagine how relieved I was when I saw her walk through my front door. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. She hugged me & just held me without saying a word. I wanted to break down & cry over a thousand different things, but I needed to hold it together. I needed to see what was going on.

We crack open a bottle of wine & we sit in my bed, I pull out my iPad Pro & I hand it to Jill. "Please, show me this account. I need to know what's going on, I need to see it for myself." She reluctantly grabs the iPad & begins searching for the account; she finds it & my heart sinks. I know I'm not prepared for what I'm about to see. "There's almost 2,000 posts are you sure Katie? There's a lot of stuff on here.." I fill my glass of wine up only to chug it immediately. I give myself a moment & nod to Jill to proceed with showing me the account.

As we sit there & go through the account there are rumors of Annie dating a boy, some believe it's Brennan but others think it someone else. There aren't any clear photos of this boy's face, but it's really obvious & undeniable that it's Annie in these pictures. As we read comments & "confirmation" from some of the gym girls, I begin to feel sick. Some of the things on this page are utterly ridiculous & outright offensive. My daughter would NEVER let anyone lay a hand on her! She's far too pretty & smart to deal with that! Not to mention she would NEVER cut gym! Gymnastics is her life! Why would she so easily throw that away? It's been 3 hours before we even finished reading everything on this Instagram account, I'm in disbelief.

I'm disgusted by the things I've seen & my immediate reaction is to blow up her phone. I look at the time & it's almost midnight, Annie still hasn't called or text whatsoever. I begin to think the worst, I can't help it. I need to know that my baby is okay. I need to know that nothing has or is happening to her.

As the night progresses on, I still haven't heard anything from her. My stomach is in knots, I'm tempted to call the police & every hospital in our area. Jill tries to calm me down as much as possible, but there isn't much she can do. Hayley sleepwalks her to way to my bedroom like she usually does when Billy is gone & that calms me a little. I hold her in my arms & run my fingers through her hair, but I can't stop thinking about Annie.

Around 2 AM, I hear a door slam in the kitchen. Jill & I both look at each other terrified, but Hayley is fast asleep & laying on Jill. I quietly get out of bed & grab the baseball bat that's next to the door. I try my best to open the door as softly as possible. I begin to walk down the hallway, I notice the kitchen light is on & there's two people. I immediately start hauling ass to the kitchen when I notice it's Brennan & Annie, they're about to kiss.

"JULIANNA GRACE, WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE!?" They both immediately pull away, both of their faces are bright red. Annie jumps off the counter & begins to run for the stairs. I try to grab her, but she moves too quickly. Before I know it I can hear her door slam shut. I walk into the kitchen to find a sad Brennan sitting at the bar. I know something's going on; he's avoiding eye contact with me.

"Brennan, what's going on? Please don't lie to me." I plead. He looks up at me & his eyes are full of tears; I know it's bad. "I can't. I can't have her hating me. I love that girl too much." He blurts out as he places his hands on his head. I sit down down next to him, I place my hand on his back, "please Brennan. I need to know!" I have tears rolling down my face, the feeling of not knowing what's going on is killing me. He looks at me with the saddest eyes, he can't fight back his tears. He takes a deep breathe & looks away.

"She was dating this guy, Daniel.." As he begins to tell me what happened I am mortified. My baby was going through all this bullshit but she never even told me. As the details get more gruesome I feel my whole body begin to shake. I'm screaming & crying, I can't believe this. I feel like I'm out of control when I feel someone from behind holding me into a hug. It's Jill. She turns me around & hugs me tightly, she cries with me. I don't know how much she heard, but she knows it isn't good. "..I'm so sorry Mrs. Katie. If I would've known sooner.." He pleads in between his sobs.

Jill sends Brennan up to check on Annie, leaving us in the kitchen. She tries to help walk me to the couch & I physically am incapable of walking. We walk maybe a few feet & I drop to the ground, hysterically screaming, "Not my baby! Not my baby, Jill! Why her?" She rocks me as we're on the ground, "I don't know sweet pea, I just don't know."