Chapter 20

It had been two days since Anna left the hospital; she locked herself in her room, refusing to talk or to listen neither to Alex nor any of her half-brothers, who kept trying to reach her; the previous events kept repeating in her mind with no stop.

She stood up from her bed and walked a few steps to the big glass window decorating her room. She sat on the edge as she always does, leaned her head on the glass, and allowed the fragments of her memories to flow.

The door went open, Liz crossed the steps between her and Alex and whispered something Anna didn't catch. Alex's expression tensed immediately, and with a forced smile, he kissed Anna's forehead, saying, " Annaliz dear, stay here. I'll finish some hospital procedures, and we'll leave, okay ?" Anna nodded in agreement and sat back in her bed while Alex followed Liz outside the room.

Among a lot of noise, Anna could hear Allen roaring but couldn't understand what he was saying ... She felt unease and a picture of a dark room and a couple of men standing came into her foggy vision, her head hurt a bit and she felt her heart tighten, she wanted to call Alex but the voices outside faded.

She needed a break, a bit of fresh air, so she walked out of the room, heading outside this hateful place with its painful smell.

In the garden outside the hospital, Alex stood with his cold demeanor, listening to Allen's complaint, who was crossing the yard back and forth like a captured lion. " And now what? For how long will you keep me from seeing her? Forever?" Allen questioned with a clean objection. Alex took a deep breath to calm down and pressed the urge to break Allen's face for allowing things, .... Anna, to get here, to the hospital.

" Sit and let's talk rationally, and more importantly, you should be grateful that you are still able to see at all, cuz God knows how much effort I am using to stop myself from ruining that handsome face of yours"

Alex's voice raised in a threatening way at his last words, which made Allen get even more upset at the idea of being blamed for what happened to Anna.

He had barely slept and eaten in the past couple of days, just wanting to see her and make sure she was ok like everyone kept telling him, still keeping him from seeing her like he was the cause of all her troubles.

He dropped himself on the stone chair next to him, hid his face in his hands, and with a defeated voice he said, " I can't believe you guys are doing this to me...." He laughed in sarcasm, raised his head to meet Alex's worried eyes, and continued, "After all that I went through all alone... When you guys were all together..., you were excluding me again... It was all your plan, for God's sake, you're the one who insisted on making her remember..."

Alex empathized with Allen; he knew how hard the past years had been for him, and that's why he never minded his cold attitude towards him, Adam, and Sam too. But, mostly he knew quite well what Anna meant to him. He ran his hands over his face in an attempt to smooth his feelings, sat next to Allen, patted his shoulder in a comforting way, and said with a much calmer tone,

"No one is trying to do that; what happened before was not anyone's fault, neither was what happened this time... I am sorry I put you at fault; it's just the fact that I was away .... Anyway, that's been said, I am afraid you still need to keep your distance for a while..." Alex stopped speaking, gauging Allen's reaction. At his last statement, Alex saw Allen's objection clearly stated on his face, which made him try another way. " For Annaliz's sake, we'll simply do what's best for her, and for now, that would be taking a step back, Allen, for her."

Anna headed outside, searching for her phone to call Alex; she raised her head from her bag only to see him standing with Allen; she could tell from their body language that they were arguing. She shook her head in frustration, recalling how hard Allen tried to visit her but Alex didn't allow him.

She stepped towards them, smiling at how protective Alex could be; she couldn't believe he blamed Alan just cause it was him, who took them out that night. It didn't cross her mind at all that the real reason was something else, something they were trying so hard not to reveal to her. However, her whole world, shifted the next minute when she stepped close enough to hear the two men's conversation.

Allen passed his hands over his face as the realization hit him, he tried to be calmer when he said

" I know you're right, but I am afraid I can't do it, not this time Alex"

Alex was about to object, yet, he ignored his unspoken disagreement and continued with a decisive tone, " I can't step back anymore..." Allen's voice waved with tension but firm when he added, " I wanna be part of her life too; she is my Soul. "

Alex stood ready to argue, but his words got lost while his gaze passed Alen, looking back at the girl standing shocked behind them.

Anna's bag slipped from her hands, making a sound when hitting the ground; following Alex's eyes and the noise behind him, Allen turned around to see Anna frozen, with a pale, shocked voice. He stepped forward and called, "Anna!"

Lost in shock, Anna stepped back and held her head, trying to stop the pain along with the memories rushing in her brain, images, voices... most of which were about the little boy who had haunted her for months now and the word "Soul." ... She kept shaking her head hoping the flood of images would stop.

A tender touch on her shoulders made her raise her head to meet Alex's worried eyes, she could see his lips moving yet, his voice was distant she struggled to let her voice out saying " Back at the restaurant, he was there and ..." Alex's eyes widened in surprise, his heart was beating out of his chest, his mind raced with the worst case scenario, Anna turned her gaze to Alen and continued " He was with him, he called him dad"

"You guys have been lying to me all along..." Feeling dizzy and confused, Anna paced back and forth in disbelief. However, the undeniable fact kept sinking into her heart with a destructive impact