84
+25 BONUS
CHAPTER 84
ANNA’S POV
“Anna.” Dad was the first to speak, still staring at me like he couldn’t make sense of anything. His voice sounded like it came from far away, and it only made my confusion worse.
I tried to sit up, but the moment I moved, a sharp pain shot through my head.
“Ouch.” I winced, reaching up instinctively, my fingers brushing over the thick bandage still wrapped there. I’d almost forgotten about it.
Ryan was standing a few steps away, frozen. His eyes were wide, his Adam’s apple bobbing, but he didn’t say a word. He just stared. At me. Not blinking. Not moving. Just staring with that unreadable expression that made my stomach twist up inside me. I could feel my cheeks heating, and my heart was hammering way too fast for someone who just woke up from a hospital bed.
Why the hell was I dreaming about Ryan like that? Why was it so real? And worse, why did I have to do it in front of my whole family? What was wrong with me?!
I prayed I hadn’t said anything stupid or made any sounds, but judging by the look on everyone’s faces, maybe I had. Maybe I actually moaned his name out loud. Oh God, please no.
Mom was the first to break the silence. “We’ll, uh… leave you to rest,” she said awkwardly, tugging at Dad’s sleeve. Dad looked like he didn’t even know what to say. Grandpa and Grandma followed her quietly, all of them moving out of the room one after another.
I could’ve sworn I heard Grandma whisper something like “Poor thing” on her way out. Poor thing? Me?!
When the door finally clicked shut, the silence that followed was deafening. I thought Ryan would leave too. He didn’t. He just stood there, still staring. His face was a storm of emotions, shock, confusion, maybe even relief. I didn’t know what to make of it.
Then he spoke.
“Anna….my love.”
I froze. “Huh?” I stared at him like he’d just grown two heads. “Me? Your love?” What did that even mean? Sisterly love? Friendly love? What kind of love was he talking about?
He started walking closer, and the look on his face… God, it reminded me of that dream. The exact same look. My body tensed without permission. I could almost feel heat spreading through me, and it made me want to slap myself.
Why on earth had I dreamed about him like that? It felt so real, so vivid that I could still feel the ache, the way my body had reacted to him. I wanted to scream. Or faint. Or both.
“Big bro,” I said quickly, trying to remind myself, and him, of who we were. But the second the words left my mouth, he froze. I saw it in his eyes. Pain. Disappointment. His jaw tightened and he frowned.
1/4
84
+25 BONUS
“Please don’t call me that,” he said quietly, stepping closer.
I frowned back. “Why? Aren’t you my big brother?”
He didn’t answer. Just looked at me with an expression I couldn’t explain, confused, desperate, maybe even lost. I didn’t understand what was happening anymore.
I swallowed hard, trying to calm myself. But honestly, it was really good seeing him again, even with all this weird tension. It had been years. Five long years since I’d seen him, and now here he was, standing in front of me, older, different, taller, and yet somehow still the same.
Except… it wasn’t the same.
Because the last time we saw each other, I’d made a complete fool of myself.
The confession. The kiss. The whole embarrassing scene before he left for school. Just remembering it made me want to scream into a pillow.
How could I even talk to him about that now? What was I supposed to say? “Hey, Ryan, remember that time I kissed you and said I liked you even though you were my brother?” Yeah, no. I wasn’t doing that.
And now, to make matters worse, I’d apparently moaned his name in my sleep.
“Ugh!” I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “I’m sorry,” I blurted without even thinking.
Ryan blinked. For a second, I thought he’d get angry or at least say something serious, but instead, he laughed.
Wait.
He laughed?
I dropped my hands and stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “What’s funny?”
He shook his head, smiling slightly, the kind of smile that wasn’t mocking but still made me want to scream. He walked over and sat beside me, just like he had when I first woke up. “It’s completely normal,” he said, reaching for my hand.
I pulled it back immediately. “Normal?” I repeated, narrowing my eyes. “What’s normal?”
He gave me that same calm, infuriating pok. “Normal that you had a wet dream and moaned my name out loud ,” he said casually, like he was saying something as ordinary as the weather.
My mouth fell open. My brain short–circuited. “I–what?!” I practically squeaked. “That’s normal to you?”
He chuckled again, which only made it worse. My face burned so much I was sure I was turning red. I stared at him in disbelief, my thoughts spiraling. Nothing about this was normal. Nothing. My parents heard me. My grandparents heard me. Rygn was sitting beside me acting like this was completely fine, and I had no idea what universe I’d woken up in.
But what scared me the most wasn’t that. It was the way everyone acted. Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, they all left without saying a word. They didn’t even question it. They didn’t yell, didn’t judge, didn’t even look disgusted. They just… left. Quietly. Like this was something they already knew.
2/4
84
+25 BONUS
1 shook my head, trying to make sense of it, but it only made me dizzier. It felt like something was missing, like there was a hole in my memory I couldn’t fill no matter how hard I tried. The dream. The way Ryan looked at me. The way I felt. None of it felt new. It felt… familiar. Like it had happened before.
I didn’t even realize I was staring off until Ryan’s voice pulled me back. “Hey,” he said softly. His tone had changed again, lower, careful, almost protective. “Don’t think too much, babe. Everything will make sense to you eventually.”
“Babe?” I whispered, my heart skipping a beat.
He smiled faintly, his eyes warm in a way that made my breath catch. Then, slowly, he took my hand again, this time I didn’t move fast enough to stop him, and lifted it to his lips. His mouth brushed against my skin so softly it sent a shiver up my arm.
My breath hitched. My eyes widened. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest.
What the heck is happening?
