~Anna's POV~

Somehow, I had managed to distract myself with skate boarding and ice skating and going out a lot. It helped. I didn't have enough time to think about the nightmare but that didn't mean it went away. And because of what I saw, it made it hard for me to be with Itachi. I didn't want to stay away from him or anything but in his presence, it was the same feeling as what I had when I had suspicions about him being sick.

Manny called one day with excellent news that he was blessed with a daughter and both him and Jess decided to name her after me. That was one of the best things that happened to me and I was happy for days.

Being happy and distracted was good but when it all went away, there was emptiness again and tiredness again. I wasn't strong enough anymore to go on days without sleep so there were periods of shut down when I had to live the nightmare over and over and over again.

Once again, I found myself wanting everything to end.

~Itachi's POV~

"Itachi, no, I am fine. You don't have to come over." I sighed and closed my eyes.

Max told me that once when they went skating, Anna slipped and injured her arm, so I called her about it. My father had told me to supervise Sasuke for a while until he got back so I couldn't really go to Anna as much and frequently as I wanted to. And strangely enough, she herself insisted on me staying where I was.

"You are doing it again." I told her on the phone.

"Doing what?"

"Distancing yourself." She didn't reply. "Anna?"

"I'm not... Its just..." I heard her sigh, "Nevermind. There's nothing to worry about Itachi."

"Then you certainly wouldn't mind me dropping in for a visit."

"Its alright-" I ended the call before she started her protests again. It certainly wasn't alright. She was hiding something and today I would be making her spill it all.

"Sasuke! I am going out for a while!" I yelled so my brother could hear me from the living room and to his own.

"Finally!" He yelled back.

I headed out immediately and picked a whole load of dark chocolate for Anna. She loved the bitter treat. The trains were crowded so I had to wait for a relatively empty one to get on. It wasn't long before I arrived at Anna's house. The light in the sky was getting dimmer.

I rang the bell and Anna herself opened the door. For a weather not really cold, she was wearing a black full sleeved v-neck shirt and..

What the heck?

"Why are you wearing a skirt?" She was wearing a long skirt that ended about six inches below the knees.

"Good evening to you too." She seemed annoyed.

"Good evening, yes." I stepped in and closed the door behind myself, handing Anna the chocolates.

"I was too lazy to put on pants for no reason at all. And thanks." I nodded and followed her to the living room.

"It suits you." She flashed a small smile and sat on the couch, I sat beside her and in the proper light of the room, I saw her face and sighed. "You know, there is something I absolutely love about you."

"Hmm? What's that?"

"That you are confident about yourself and that for that reason you don't put on any makeup."

"Thanks...?" I wasn't finished though.

I placed my hand on her cheek and my thumb below her eye and continued, "so when you do use it, you do it so badly that I know you are hiding something." I swiped my thumb and removed the makeup from under her eye, revealing dark rings and small bags. "How long haven't you been able to sleep?"

"Its nothing big." Anna moved my hand away and turned her face too, away from me.

"You know I can help, so why didn't you tell me?" I asked placing my hand on her shoulder.

"I said its alright. Just a few bad days. Nothing big." My grip on her tightened and immediately she winced and moved away, clutching at the place where I was holding here just seconds ago. I wasn't gripping her that hard that it would hurt her.

I advanced my hand, eyes narrowed. Anna tried prying my hands away but she was weak right now so I managed to hold her in place by grabbing her arm and touched the shirt cloth where she was holding her hand. It was wet. And getting wetter. She was bleeding.

"Anna." I warned so she would tell me herself. She stood up and got some tissue, pressing it on her upper arm. The upper arm, I knew, with some history.

"I was just trimming my hair and my scissors slipped. Just that." She answered a little too quickly, panicking. She was never a good liar. An honest person never is.

"Oh really?" She nodded, not maintaining eye contact. Another thing she did when lying. I let that go. "And why can't you sleep?"

"I don't know." Again. Again and again she lied.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that all the answers you gave me just now aren't a lie." I stood up as well and took her hands in mine, to keep her there.

Slowly she raised her head and even more slowly and reluctantly, matched her gaze with mine. Once our eyes met, I tried boring into her soul but I didn't have to. All the worries and the pains were right there on the surface.

"Say it." I urged her and deepened my look. She lowered her head and eyes, clenching her teeth, trying her best not to cry. I know it was a dick move but I needed her to confess everything before I did any comforting. Thankfully, it wasn't long before Anna told me everything.

"Its that nightmare again. Every time I close my eyes, Itachi, I see you die!" She yelled. It took me off guard. "I can't sleep. How can I sleep like that?! Its been months! I tried controlling myself, I really did but watching myself murdering you is something I would die before letting happen! Its all emptiness when I can't sleep and its all fear and horror when I do sleep. Hurting myself didn't help... I thought the pain would take everything else away but nothing helps and I couldn't... I just couldn't ask you for help because whenever I see you, I remember that terrible thing and its just..its just...too much..." She trailed off in the end, pulling her hands away to wipe the one tear that slipped free.

But is it ever just one tear?

I pulled Anna close to me and sat her down, wrapping my arms around her and helped her cry it all out. It was the first time that she let it loose like this, all the fear and all the pain and hopelessness and it exhausted her. Many times she passed out from it with her eyes still wet then woke up with new grief and cried that out too until there was nothing left.

I regretted putting her in such a situation but it was necessary. She was carrying such a heavy burden all by herself for how long? Months! She was strong but strength isn't always helpful.

~

"I am sorry..." I sighed.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." I stroked her hair and passed her another piece of chocolate. Once she felt the heaving pile leave her, she found out she was quite hungry. We were still on the couch. Anna was quiet again after apologising again, sniffling occasionally and trying to calm her breathing.. A change of topic might be nice. "So how did you bruise your arm?"

"Max and I went ice skating..." She was a little tired so it was taking her some time to answer. "Dylan appeared out of nowhere.."

"He didn't hurt you right?" I asked, alarmed.

"No..no. He just...wanted to make things right and apologised...a lot. It was sudden so I just slipped..."

"Not really news. You have that tendency." She hit me lightly on the chest for mocking her. "And you forgave him?"

"Of course. He was miserable for some reason and I never hated him for being against me..."

"I am having a look at your wounds as soon as possible." I informed the girl who sighed.

"Yeah... I don't trust myself in that area anyways..."

And she fell asleep again.

~

In the morning, instead of being a little better, Anna was sickly pale and nauseated. Eric told me she's been like that for a while now and the doctor had told her to rest but she didn't listen.

"Oh God..." Anna grabbed her head and winced.

"You should probably sleep-" I suggested.

"No.. No its fine. It will go away..." I doubted that. She didn't look like she will get better if left unattended. "I am going to go get some water." She stood up but I sat her down.

"No. You sit. I will go."

"I can do it myself. I am not crippled." I sighed and walked behind her but she turned her head sharply and glared at me. "Don't follow me."

"Alright alright." I sat back down, still on edge.

I kept hearing her faint complaining from the kitchen and closed my eyes. It was Eric's loud yell of "sis!" that alerted me.

I quickly went to the source and more quicker called for an ambulance. Eric was pressing a pile of clean cloth on Anna's head to stop the bleeding there. She was just sitting on the floor, conscious but unconscious.

I bent in front of her and told Eric to get more cloth because these were already soaking. I raised her head and supported it to stay raised with my arm. My eyes went to the bloody counter corner. She must have hit her head there.

"You'll be fine. The ambulance must be arriving soon." And on cue, it did.

They took Anna from my arms and gave some basic first aid then took her to the hospital, not answering anything I asked or Eric or Max yelled when he found out.

Doctor Umehara was asked for and he told us that it was a stroke but since we caught it sooner, there was negligible damage. Anna was given six stitches on her left hairline. Not much blood was lost but it was still enough to make her pale and weak. The doctor said there might also be a concussion but it had less chances. Anna had to stay two days in the hospital-so the doctors could make sure we knew how to tend to stitches-before she was allowed to go home.

~