Her Name Was Annie by Beth Rinyu (the little red hen read aloud txt) 📕

“If they have to go, then so do I. I realize I look like a hypocrite, but I’m even more of one if I stay in my safe little bubble promoting peace and love while others have no choice but to go and fight for it, even if they don’t believe in it.”

As I looked into his chestnut brown eyes on that eve of his departure after we had made love for the first time, I had foolishly believed he only saw me when he stared back. At seventeen years old you believe a lot of things, like the boy you give your heart to will come back from war as the same man he was when he left. Like everything he was about to witness over there would be unseen, just by the sound of your voice or the touch of your hand. Little did I know back then, but my parents were right, I was just a child who really was so naïve when it came to the world.

Now here I was alone, afraid, and terrified of what the future held for Tommy, and as I looked down at my belly, I was terrified of what the future held for me. I was always tiny and still wasn’t showing any signs, even at four months, but it was only a matter of time before I could no longer hide the consequence of our actions. I wanted to write to him and tell him, but didn’t know where to send the letter. Would he be angry at me for distracting him with this worry while he was in a foreign country, fighting for his life, or would this give him more reason to come home safely? Then there were my parents. They’d never forgive me for bringing shame to the family.

“Frankie.” My attention jolted from the words on the paper to the familiar voice calling my name. I hastily folded up the letter and placed it in my pocket as Dominick, Tommy’s brother, stepped into the gazebo where I had been sitting. I felt as if I was being disloyal to Tommy by allowing another guy to be sitting beside me in our spot at the park located right across the street from Tommy’s house.

“Hello,” I murmured, wiping away the teardrop rolling down my face. Dominick was two years younger than Tommy and fiercely competitive with him. Their looks were the only thing they had in common. Both were tall with dark eyes and dark wavy hair, and both were handsome, but to me, Tommy would always be the more attractive of the two.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I’m well.”

“Want some?” he asked, holding out the joint he had just taken a hit from.

“Actually, I was on my way home.” I stood up and walked past him, not much in the mood for making conversation—especially not with him.

There was something about Dominick Cavlan that got under my skin. He had asked me to a dance before I started dating Tommy, and I had turned him down. It seemed to be a blow to his ego when I rejected him and even bigger one when I started going out with his brother just a few months after. He was the son who always did the right thing or shall I say did everything his father expected him to do. Tommy wasn’t into politics, and as much as his father wanted him to be, Tommy wouldn’t bite.

When Dominick graduated from high school a year ago, he allowed his father to groom him into the political world that defined the Cavlan way of life. At eighteen years old, Dominick was already attending political fundraisers, with his short hair perfectly groomed, wearing a three-piece suit. He was so different than other kids our age. Most of the guys wore their hair long and unkempt and wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything remotely resembling a suit. But as he stood there inhaling another hit of his joint, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, I had to wonder, was that the real Dominick? The one who behaved and dressed more like most of the people my age and not the one who was a puppet for his father’s political aspirations of him?

Tommy was always fiercely protective of his younger brother, and in a way it bothered me. I understood the importance of being close as brothers. I was the same way with my own, but if I would make even the smallest critique of Dominick, Tommy would rush to defend him. I knew if Tommy and I were going to be together forever like he had promised, I would have to learn to get along with Dominick a little better.

“I got a letter from Tommy today.” I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to face him. The letter from Tommy that I had etched into every crevice of my mind was over three weeks old, so any news Dominick had from him that was more recent was welcoming.

“What did he say?”

“He actually sent me a photo to give to you. He said he didn’t have time to write two separate letters, so he asked if I could give it to you. If I’d known I was going to run into you here, I would’ve brought it with me.”

“What’s it a photo of?”

He shrugged. “It’s in a sealed envelope. I didn’t open it. If you want to take a walk back to the house with me, I can give it to you.”

“Umm…” I knew I was the last person his parents would want to see showing up at their house.

“My mother and father aren’t home if that’s what you’re worried about. Janine is, though. I know she’d love to see you.”

Janine was Tommy and Dominick’s little sister. Besides Tommy, she was the only one in that family who accepted me. She was only twelve years old and not yet jaded by her family’s pretentious lifestyle, and