As Long As You're Alive Here I Am

The next morning Jeph got up earlier than everyone else as usual and made breakfast. Anna got up ten minutes after him to help him as usual.

"Good morning." Jeph smiled as he saw Anna enter the kitchen

"Good morning." Anna replied, not returning the smile.

"You hungry?" Jeph asked, looking through the refrigerator.

"No." Anna said, standing idle in the kitchen.

"Of course not." Jeph muttered, reaching for some blueberries. "Can you take out a pan, please?" He asked.

Anna opened a bottom cabinet and pulled out a pan carefully with her good arm. The weight was too much to hold in her hand plus the weakness of her arm muscles. The pan fell on top of the stove with a loud bang. Jeph jumped in surprise and banged his head on the roof of the refrigerator.

"Sorry." Anna cringed, fixing the pan atop the burner.

"Don't worry about it. I'm starting to get used to it." Jeph said, mumbling the last part.

"You're a useless little bit-" Anna was muttering to herself.

"Stop talking like that." Jeph told her warningly.

Anna looked over at Jeph and unclenched her fists. She placed both hands flat on the counter top. Jeph turned his head and noticed her eyes start to glisten with moisture.

"It's okay. Go upstairs and get dressed. I'm making blueberry pancakes." Jeph said, placing things on the island. "Your favorite." He reminded her, patting her back.

Anna nodded and left the kitchen. As she was making her way up the stairs she noticed Quinn coming out of his room, rubbing his eyes.

"What was that noise?" Quinn asked when he saw Anna at the top of the stairs. Anna shook her head, fighting back tears. "Come here." Quinn said, hugging Anna to his bare chest and stroking the back of her head. "It's alright." He said soothingly.

"Okay." Anna said hoarsely.

"Look, go get dressed. The guys and I want you to meet someone." Quinn said, pulling away from Anna.

"Okay." Anna nodded slowly, turning to go to her room.

Quinn sighed, scratching his head and walked downstairs to see Jeph.

"What was that noise?" He asked Jeph.

"She dropped a pan. Then she started muttering to herself." Jeph said, taking measurements of batter. "I'm a little worried. She had her fists clenched, ready to hit something or herself." Jeph said, looking up at Quinn.

"I'll tell Bert to take her on a walk. She needs fresh air." Quinn yawned.

Jeph nodded and continued his cooking. Quinn returned upstairs to put on a shirt and wake up the others.

In Anna's room, Anna laid out some khaki shorts and a plain navy blue t-shirt. After putting on some socks and a bra with much difficulty, she began putting on her shorts. She sat on the edge of her bed and with her better hand pulled up the shorts up to her knees. She then laid down with her legs in the air and let the shorts slide over her knees. She pulled them all the way up and then zipped and buttoned them up. She moved on to her shirt. Sliding her broken arm through a sleeve and then the other, she pulled the shirt down and was done. She slipped on her Scooby-Doo slippers and then let her hair loose without brushing it.

Descending down the stairs, she could hear laughing and talking emitting from the kitchen. When she entered the kitchen she saw the unfamiliar figure of a man. Not seeing his front side, she had no idea who it was and simply sat down at the table without acknowledging him. She sat quietly and stared at the markings in the wooden table. Dan noticed that a person joined them. He looked at Quinn, Jeph, and Bert for a moment. They all made gestures to go introduce himself. Dan hesitated a moment before taking a step forward. Anna still hadn't acknowledged him. Her mind was completely blank.

"Hi, I'm Dan." Dan said, holding out his hand to Anna.

Anna slowly averted her eyes from the table to Dan. She slowly stretched her good arm out to shake his hand. Dan saw her bruise ridden arm and nearly screamed in horror. Anna didn't say anything to him. She simply looked back down at the table.

"Dan, this is Anna." Jeph said in attempt to make up for Anna's rudeness.

"Oh, so she's Branden's sister? Haven't seen you in a while." Dan smiled.

The guys bit their tounges, worrying Anna might burst into tears at the slightest mention of her brother. Anna looked up at Dan to see if she could remember him. Not seeing anything familiar, she just look back down at the table. Dan looked at the guys wondering if he said something wrong or offensive. The guys just gave him a look to dismiss it.

"Right, let's eat. I made pancakes. Blueberry." Jeph said, bringing plates to the table.

"Yes!" Bert and Quinn chanted.

Dan remained silent. He felt guilty although the guys told him to ignore it. Anna couldn't speak. The reminder of her brother was too much. She was having difficulty holding in her emotions. Everyone was seated and began eating. Quinn got up and brought orange juice, coffee, and milk to the table.

XXX

Breakfast had gone smoothly so far as the guys hoped. Then they hit a rough part.

"Anna," Quinn started. "you probably don't remember Dan." Quinn said, Anna shook her head. "He's a drummer and..." Quinn said.

"So what?" Anna said, looking up across the table at Quinn.

"He's our new drummer." Bert said, meanwhile Dan sat quietly feeling a little awkward.

Dan was aware of the situation with Branden's death and figured the topic wasn't a favorite of Anna's seeing as how she was Branden's sister. But he wasn't aware to what it extent it bothered Anna.

"What?" Anna shrieked. "H-He can't! Not drummer, no! He cannot! Never!" She continued to yell, standing up. "That's only for... Branden!" She cried, fleeing from the kitchen.

Dan sat quietly not wanting or daring to move. He felt guilt sink in deep into him. But what could he do?

"Sorry about that-" Jeph said and then they all heard the front door slam shut.

Jeph, Bert, and Quinn shot up from the table and sprinted towards the front door.

"Anna!" They all called as they ran outside. Quinn and Bert immediately regretted it as their bare feet touched the sun heated pavement. "Ouch, ouch!" They yelped in pain.

"Idiots." Jeph muttered, walking towards the sidewalk, protected by his slippers. "Anna," He called as he saw Anna walking down the sidewalk. "stop there." He said, catching up.
Anna stopped and dropped down onto the cool sidewalk, shaded by the over looming trees. Jeph walked up to her and crouched down beside her.

"I'm not going to force you to go back this instant. Why'd you run off?" Jeph asked, pushing stray hair out of Anna's face.

"I don't know." Anna cried softly.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Jeph asked, standing up.

Anna nodded and stood up with the help of Jeph. They continued down the street in silence.

"How are you feeling today?" Jeph asked, looking at Anna carefully.

"My head hurts." Anna said.

"That's because you were crying. Let's start walking back. You need to take your medication." Jeph said

They turned back around and began walking back to the house.