Annie's Return

[Red Ranger 1]

Liked the little chat between Geoff and Annie, hope he's just as understanding when he finds out what it is, hope she tells him soon as well.Wonder how much Irene knows.Looking forward to more.

[ish_the_angel]

Chapter 4.

Annie sat on the couch for a while longer. She realised she couldn't just get rid of her baby, it went against everything she'd been brought up to believe. She was going to become a mum - a single mum. At least she had a loving and supportive family here to help. After the mess Geoff found himself in with Claudia she knew he couldn't possibly judge her, not outwardly anyway. Inside he'd probably be pretty disappointed in her, which was not far from how she felt about herself.

Annie knocked softly on Geoff's door. He invited her in and she sat on the end of his bed.

"What's up Sis?" he could see she was struggling.

"Geoff, I'm... pregnant," Annie stumbled. She had her head buried in her hands now and Geoff had no idea what to say or do. He put a caring hand on her back to comfort her. It was a great shock to him, and Annie hoped he'd never stop being her protective big brother.

"So this is why you came back early. Someone in Japan did this to you?" He suggested.

Annie nodded. Geoff could hardly believe that this could have happened to her baby sister. If he'd had things his way she would've been kept wrapped safely in cotton wool for the rest of her life. He hated seeing her in so much pain.

They sat and chatted for a few more minutes, then Annie announced she was going to the library for a while to catch up on some study. There was only 2 weeks left of the school year, and she wanted to make sure she didn't fall too far behind. She was glad to have something else to focus on for a little while as she packed her schoolbag with some books and headed down the path. For the next couple of hours she would focus on nothing but the information on the pages in front of her. Tomorrow could wait.

[Red Ranger 1]

Glad that Annie told Geoff and that he was all right with it.Looking forward to more of it.

[ish_the_angel]

Thanks for the comments

Chapter 5:

Geoff was glad Annie had told her what was going on. When Ruby got home from her shopping trip he debated whether he should tell her or not. He realised she would find out eventually and he really needed someone to talk to. Ruby wasn't the kind of girl to run off and tell the world, Geoff trusted her a lot.

"Hey Rubes. I found out what's up with Annie," He told her. "Some guy in Japan took advantage of her, slipped something into her drink when she wasn't looking. She's pregnant."

Ruby was shocked.

"Oh... poor girl. Is she... I mean will she be ok?" Ruby looked genuinely concerned. Annie had been Ruby best friend for a while now. She could hardly believe that such an innocent young thing could have to go through an ordeal like that.

"She will be, I hope,"Geoff answered. "She has no idea who it was, and there was nothing the police over there could or would do about it."

Ruby hesitated like she didn't know what to say.

"Yeah it's pretty messed up," Geoff said, shaking his head.

When Irene got home from her shift at the Diner Annie still hadn't returned. It was getting late and Geoff was worried about her. He was scared more than anything - scared she might do something she'd regret. He was about to go down to the library and bring her home, when Ruby suggested that it might be better if she went there herself. Geoff knew that Ruby would be able to handle Annie with the great sense of compassion she always possessed.

"Call me when you get there," he suggested to Ruby. He wanted to make sure she was safe. For all he knew she may not have even gone to the library. Right now she could be anywhere.

After she left Geoff got busy peeling veggies for dinner. It was a welcome distraction, and when Irene finished her shower she looked pleasantly surprised to see dinner prep was being taken care of. Small talk in the kitchen helped pass the time as he waited to hear his phone ring. He checked it a couple of times, just to make sure the battery hadn't gone flat. When it finally rang he was completely relieved when Ruby told him she'd found Annie fast asleep in a quiet corner of the library.

Fifteen minutes later the girls walked in the door. Annie headed upstairs to freshen up before dinner and Ruby reassured Geoff and Irene that they'd had a good chat and things would be ok.

[Danni02]

Good couple of updates. Glad Annie told Geoff and he was ok with it.

Poor Annie Glad Ruby is there for her too.

Looking forward to reading more.

[Red Ranger 1]

Hmm, not sure if it was Geoff's place to tell Ruby, he should have asked Annie first.Also not sure if the version of events he told her is what actually happened or what he thinks happened.

[ish_the_angel]

Chapter 6.

The next few days passed by slowly for Annie, she tried to concentrate on her studies but found she'd rather sleep when she was supposed to be awake, yet had difficulty sleeping at night time. She was trying to avoid most people, and the questions they were bound to ask. Although Annie trusted her family not to spread gossip she knew that in a town this small the word would soon get around.

More than anyone else, she was trying to steer clear of Romeo. Before Annie had left they kind of had something going on. Nothing serious, but she wasn't sure how to explain things to him. During her lunch breaks at school she spent most of her time in the school library. Ruby suggested a few times that they go to the Diner to grab lunch but Annie really didn't feel up to it.

By Wednesday she let her guard down a little and agreed to go to the Surf Club after school for a couple of hours. She'd been working hard and really needed to relax a bit. No sooner had she and Ruby started their game of pool, Romeo walked in the door.

"Annie!" he called out to her. "I haven't seen much of you since you got back. Do you want to hang out some time?". Romeo looked so sweet excited to see her, but Annie doubted he'd want anything to do with her when he found out the truth about her.

"Sorry Romeo, I have a lot on at the moment," she told him, doing her best to avoid making eye contact. "Some other time."

"Annie, have I done something wrong?" Romeo wasn't going to go away as easily as she'd hoped. "It's just that we were getting along really well before you went overseas but now it's like you're not interested in even talking to me," he explained.

Annie looked up at him but still couldn't find the right words to say to him.

"If there's someone else then just tell me and I'll get out of your hair." Romeo was starting to look annoyed.

"Yeah there kind of is someone else. It's complicated," said Annie lowering her gaze again.

"Ok, fine. I guess that's it then." Romeo turned and walked away.

Annie placed her hand on her stomach where her baby lay. "And it's all your fault," she whispered after him.

[Danni02]

Aww Romeo.

Im sure he would be supportive and help Annie?

Looking forward to an update.

[Inactive User]

This is really good. More soon please

[ish_the_angel]

Chapter 7:

"Hey Geoff," Romeo approached him as we was helping Irene pin up some flyers in the Diner. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah I guess so. What's up?, Geoff asked, climbing down from the chair he'd been standing on.

"It's about Annie - she's acting strange. Before went on her trip we were really close, but now it's like she doesn't want to know me." The poor guy looked helpless.

Geoff wasn't sure what to tell him. He wasn't good at lying but knew he couldn't say what was really going on.

"I don't think I'm the one you should be talking to about this, Romeo," said Geoff. "It's not my place to say anything." He excused himself and went into the kitchen before Romeo could ask any more questions.

Romeo stood there for a moment trying to figure out what he should do next. His phone beeped in his pocket and he pulled it out to read the message then took off towards the beach. Geoff hoped it someone who might distract him from his rift with Annie, if only to buy her some more time to work out what to do about him.

After Geoff finished all the jobs Irene assigned to him he took a walk along the beach. It was such a nice day, far to nice to stay indoors. He saw Romeo and Xavier wresting on the beach over a football and felt relieved. At least Annie wouldn't have to handle tat confrontation again just yet.

At home he found Annie sitting at the table flipping through a 'Girlfriend' magazine. He sat down and told her about Romeo's inquisition. Suddenly tears appeared in Annie's eyes.

"It's ok," he comforted. But by now tears were fast-coming. Annie lowered her head onto her arms and began sobbing uncontrollably.

"No it's not! You don't understand," she protested.

"Then talk to me," Geoff offered.

After a moment of no speaking Annie finally stopped crying enough to talk. She looked up at Geoff and began.

"I didn't get pregant in Japan. The baby is Romeo's!"

A figure at the kitchen door caught Annie's eye. The look on Romeo's face as he stood there told her he'd heard what she said. She pushed past him and bolted out the door before he had a chance to speak and left the two men in shocked silence.