Chapter 24

Anelise stirred awake, finding herself back in her room. Her parents were perched on the chairs, their faces a mask of shock. She wondered how much they knew and braced herself for the conversation to come.

She must have made a sound because her mother’s head snapped up, her gaze locking onto Anelise. She rose from her chair and settled next to Anelise on the bed.

“Anelise, how are you feeling?” she asked, her hand gently brushing Anelise’s hair.

“I’m okay,” Anelise responded, picking up on the worry in her mother’s voice. “Hi, Dad.”

Her father looked up at her, his nod confirming her suspicion—they knew about her pregnancy.

Anelise let out a sigh. “So, I’m guessing from your reaction, Dad, that you know I was pregnant?”

“Yes,” her mother snapped. “How could you be so careless?”

“Hey! I was careful! I used protection every single time! Not that you ever taught me about it!” Anelise shot back, her patience wearing thin.

“What are you implying?” Kim asked, her voice rigid as she stood up.

Neil moved to stand behind her, his hands resting on his wife’s shoulders. “Are you suggesting this is our fault?”

“I came here completely naive about life! You sheltered me so much that I didn’t even know what sex was!”

“I thank God every day for pairing me with Leslie during our freshman year. If not for her, I wouldn’t have such a wonderful friend, and her family has been a great help too!”

“Oh, I’m sure they were a great help! Filling your head with nonsense! I knew this was a bad idea!” Kim shouted.

“They showed me love and compassion! They let me learn things on my own, which is more than you ever did!” Anelise shouted back.

“Well, as soon as you’re discharged, we’re taking you home where we can keep an eye on you! This is absurd! Getting pregnant! How many men have you been with?” Neil’s voice rose.

“I will ~not~ be going to Chicago! I have a life here! I’m graduating in a few months! I’m staying here!” Anelise retorted.

“~No!~ You’re coming home!” Neil growled.

Anelise took a deep breath, trying to ease the soreness creeping in. “I’m twenty-one years old. I’m an adult. You can’t force me to do anything, Dad. I’m staying here, finishing my degree, and finding a job.”

“It could be here, it could be somewhere else. I don’t know. But I won’t be returning to your house where I feel like a prisoner.”

Kim recoiled as if she’d been slapped. “A prisoner? We gave you a wonderful life! We gave you everything! We kept you safe!”

“I never got to do anything! Ballet, sleepovers, hanging out with friends, going to the mall—those are the things I wanted, and you never let me.”

She continued, “And if I ever did get to do it, you had to be there the entire time! I was never given the freedom to make mistakes, to learn about social norms, to learn about life!” Anelise replied.

“But you were safe! That’s a parent’s job! To keep their child safe!” Kim yelled.

“That’s not their only job, though, Mom,” Anelise sighed. “Look, I know about the baby you lost before me.”

Neil and Kim gasped. “How?!”

“I overheard you and Aunt Peg at her wedding. I heard her telling you that you both were smothering me and stunting my social development. I had no idea how to interact with my own cousins! I haven’t seen them since!! I understand that you were scared—”

“You have no idea what it’s like, Anelise! ~None!~ To hold your dead baby in your arms, praying for it to wake up, for God to give them back,” Neil spat.

He continued, “Then to be gifted another child and the fear swallowing you whole every day that they won’t wake up and you won’t get another day with them! Your mom and I agreed we were to do whatever it took to keep you safe!”

“And that’s what we did! Until you got around these people that filled your head with delusions about how you were sheltered! And look what happens, you started sleeping around and got pregnant!”

“I didn’t sleep around! I fell in love!! I found friends and people who love me and trust me to make decisions that work for me!” Anelise said, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes.

“Look at you, Anelise! You’ve lost weight, and I can tell you had makeup on. You’ve gotten double ear piercings, and I’m sure you dress immodestly!” Kim yelled. “That screams you are out sleeping around!”

“No, Mom! I got healthy! You kept me sheltered and oblivious! Every time I wanted to do something, you handed me another book and told me to go read. So I gained weight from a lack of exercise.”

“Once I heard you and Peggy fighting, I was determined to get into a college where I could make my own life! To make my own choices! Once I got here, I started eating healthy and took up walking. I started getting involved.”

“Under Leslie’s watchful eye, I started interacting with people, learning how to be an eighteen-year-old, not a twelve-year-old!”

“Once I saw how real people acted in life, I couldn’t stand the thought of going back to your house to be stifled again! I had developed a personality and people liked me!”

“So I made up excuses on why I couldn’t come back on vacations and breaks. I took jobs that would let me work and earn money even if I didn’t need it with my scholarship.”

“I went on vacations with the Rothschilds. I went shopping, and I developed into my own person! And if you had ever given the Rothschilds ~any~ sort of chance, you would see what amazing people they are, all of them!”

“They treat me like family!” Anelise shot back, tears welling up in her eyes. “When they found out I was pregnant, they didn’t shame me or call me names, like you did. They loved me and helped me plan!”

“They gave me the space to make my own choices, something you’ve never done!”

Neil and Kim stood there, their faces hardened and their eyes filled with judgment.

“Who’s the father?” Neil demanded.

“That’s not your concern,” Anelise replied. She wouldn’t drag Michael into this mess.

“I think we’ve said all there is to say,” Kim declared. “You’ve made your stance clear. If you won’t come back with us, then this is where we part ways.”

“We won’t tolerate a child who disrespects us this way.”

Anelise was stunned into silence by her mother’s harsh words. She turned to her father, who began to speak.

“Starting next month, you’re off our insurance. We won’t be supporting you in any way. No money, nothing. If you change your mind by tomorrow night when we leave, you can call us.”

“But understand this, if you do call us, you’ll be returning to Chicago this weekend and living by our rules. If you choose not to, then we won’t be contacting you again.”

“You can come back to us when you’re ready to apologize. We’ll discuss the rules then.”

Anelise was shocked by their ultimatum. Their demands were ridiculous. She wasn’t a child! They hadn’t listened to a word she’d said and showed no remorse for their actions.

She wiped her tears and made her decision. “I’ll send you a graduation announcement when I get it. I love you, but I’m staying here.”

Neil and Kim nodded, grabbed their coats, and left. Neil added, “We’ll be at our hotel until tomorrow afternoon if you change your mind and want to apologize.”

Anelise watched them leave, the door closing behind them. She sank back onto the pillows and closed her eyes, praying for sleep to come.

Leslie and Naomi had been in the hallway, hearing every word. They were proud of Anelise for standing her ground and appalled at Kim and Neil’s ultimatum.

The Morgans paused when they saw the Rothchilds standing there, and Kim sneered at them.

“I hope you’re happy. You’ve ruined my child and stolen her from me!”

“Kim, I haven’t done anything of the sort. Let’s not fight. I want to work together to help Ani.”

“I want to continue watching her grow into the amazing young woman she is. If you could just see past your anger and truly see her, you’d be so proud of her!” Naomi tried to reason.

“Don’t lecture us about our child! You filled her head with nonsense and brainwashed her with your craziness!” Neil retorted.

Naomi knew it was a lost cause. “I just hope you know what you’re doing and don’t regret this moment…”

Neil took Kim’s hand, and they stormed off to the elevators and left. Naomi could only watch in disbelief.

“Mom? What do we do now?” Leslie asked.

“We do what we’ve been doing for the last three and a half years; we love Ani,” Naomi replied, hugging her daughter. “Now, go check on her. I need to call your dad back and get us something to eat. Ashley is on her way up too.”

Anelise had been pretending to sleep for the last hour while Leslie and Ashley sat in her room. They finally left to get something to eat with Naomi, and she was alone for the first time.

Leslie and Ashley were sitting with their mother in a waiting room across from Anelise’s room. They had a clear view of the elevators and the nurse’s station.

They were eating and drinking when the doors opened and a handsome man rushed out, asked a question at the nurse’s station, and sprinted down the hallway to Anelise’s room.

“Wow... He really does shatter the ‘Matt Douglas Scale’!” Ashley said in awe, and her mother and sister nodded in agreement.

—

It was 7:30, and Michael’s legs were jittery during the taxi ride to the medical center. He tossed some bills at the driver and dashed into the building. He remembered the floor Leslie had mentioned and stopped at the nurse’s station.

“Anelise Morgan? I forgot the room number!” he asked, panting.

“Room 527, just to the right,” the nurse pointed. He thanked her and hurried down the hall and into the room. He saw Anelise lying on the bed, her face stained with tears.

Her eyes widened at the sight of him and she sat up. “Michael!” she whispered.

He rushed over and wrapped her in his arms, holding her tightly. “I’m here, love,” and she began to sob.