DYLAN'S POV
I held Arianna very close to me, sitting up in bed right next to her. I hated to see her crying. Arianna was always a happy person, it was very sad to see her tears. I gave her time, and when she had calmed down, I told her that I was listening. My little sister looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "you're going to be mad at me Dylan. You're going to kill me."
I was wearing a leather jacket which I slowly pulled off and hung on the back of a chair that was very close to Arianna.
"I am your brother, and I want to listen to you. Whatever the problem is, I am willing to listen and I will help you. You know that I will do my best to help you; and our parents and Ciera are also here for you. All of us are here for you, Arianna."
She thanked me and hugged me tight, then she loosened her grip of me, folded her legs and shifted to sit facing me. It was like she wanted to read my face. She wanted to see what I was thinking; to analyze reactions and understand how I felt about what she was going to tell me. When we were sitting face to face, Arianna suddenly lowered her gaze. She could not face me anymore. She seemed embarrassed. Ashamed. She seems sad.
In a low hoarse voice, she started to talk, "Dylan, I...I met a guy. On the day that you went to Hallowcave, the very first time you went, when you and Anisha and Liam visited Ms Meyerton…it was on that day that I met him. We spoke a lot, and ….and I really liked him. He…he is a very nice guy. I overstayed at his place, and when it was night, I had to….I had…to…to call home. I lied to mum and dad, and said that I was sleeping over at your place. I'm sorry, Dylan. Our parents were…were not aware that you had flown to Hallowcave, so I…I just used your name to hide my errors. I am sorry. …..so I…I slept over at the guy's house. Initially I wanted only to spend some time with him and come back home…but then he…I mean, we were enjoying each other's company. I wanted to spend more time with him; and he also felt the same. So we stayed, and we ordered a simple meal, ...and we ate. I…I wanted to sleep in my own room…he said OK….but then we watched a movie which went well into the night. I…I fell asleep on the sofa….he lifted me to….to the room where I was sleeping. And then he….he was about to leave the room when I woke up. It was me….it was me who asked ….asked him to stay. He….he was in the same bed with me….and he….he kept his distance but then…one thing led to the other...and I…I…I mean he….we…we made love…." She faced down, playing with her fingers. Huge teardrops fell on the back of her palms.
For a moment I was blank. I did not know how to react. I cleared my throat and wiped off my sister's tears.
"You met him on the day that I went to Hallowcave? Did you know him before that day?" I asked.
She gave a slight nod.
"Who is the guy, if I may ask?" I asked her.
"I…I cannot possibly tell you. But Dylan, there's more….."
"OK, you can tell me."
"I don't know how to say it but…but..Dylan I…I am…" she cried.
"You can talk to me, Arianna. What happened? Did the man rape you? He forced you?"
"No no no! He did not! I was well aware of what I was doing and to be honest, it was me who initiated it. He meant to leave the room but I asked him to stay. Although I had no intention of having sex with him. It just happened. But he did not rape me."
"OK I understand. So you said you were at his house?" I asked for clarification.
"At his house, yes," she sniffled.
"Arianna, you need to tell me more. Was it your first time at this guy's house? Is he a fellow student with you? I'm not blaming you, but I'm failing to see how you could have just met him and went off to his house. You must have known him pretty well to go to his house and stay until late; to the point of telling mum and dad that you were sleeping over at my place, while you were at his house? As far as I know you, Arianna, if you were to stay late away from Clear Opal, it can only be at my place. I don't know of any friends that you have. Who is the guy?"
"It's I guy I like. And he likes me too. So I had just visited him because he was going through a tough time. I wanted to comfort him. He appreciated my presence, but then since we both have feelings for each other, we ended up in bed together."
I was silent as my mind was busy searching. Searching for Arianna's friends. Arianna hardly ever spoke of a friend. She had none. She was a loud person yes, easy to talk to, and always loved by almost everyone, yet she had no close friend. She did not even have a boyfriend, as far as I knew. So then who was this mysterious man who had just appeared and jumped to bed with Arianna? I felt a surge of hatred and disgust welling up inside of me, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to see this man.
And I could not help but wonder, what was the guy's intention with Arianna? Had he just treated her as a one night stand, or could it be that he loved her?
"Are you mad at me?" she asked in a small pitiful voice.
"I'm not mad at you. I'm here to support you through everything," I assured her and brought her in for a hug. Slowly, Arianna straightened her legs out front of her.
How I wished to just squeeze all the information out of her; but then I could not force her to talk. I wanted to give her time and make her understand that she could trust me.
"Dylan, do you think I am a bad girl?" she asked in a tiny voice.
"You're a very good girl. The best sister I could have ever asked for."
"But then good girls don't do what I did." The pain in her voice broke me.
"This guy…is he someone I know? Or does dad know him? Mum? Ciera? Does anyone know him?"
She looked at me and faced down to nervously play with her fingers again.
"You can be open with me, Arianna. I am your brother."
"You know him," she said.
"I do? Who is the guy? I really want to know him." I could not hide my curiosity.
"Before I tell you who he is, there's more, Dylan." her voice was becoming smaller and smaller as she continued to tell me her story.
"I'm listening. Tell me all." I gently wiped off the tears off her face. Huge teardrops kept falling on her hands, and I used a tissue paper to wipe them off. Her hands were very cold and I pulled the blanket.
"Get inside the blanket. Your hands are freezing cold. Let me adjust the air conditioner," I stood up to pick the air con remote and set it accordingly. Arianna was holding my jacket which she had taken from the chair back.
"You can wear it if you want", I told her.
"No, I have decided to get inside the blanket", she slowly put back the leather jacket on the chair. Arianna covered herself with the blanket and smiled sweetly at me. Her smile looked sad. She still had streaks of tears on her cheeks, yet she still smiled warmly at me. I smiled back and sat very close to my little sister who I loved too much.
She coughed a little and faced down again. I knew more tears were about to come, so I quickly calmed her down..
"Everything is going to be perfectly fine."
"Mamma will kill me." She whispered.
"No she won't….you said there's more. Please tell me. I'm all ears."
"Mamma always told me not to drag her name through the mud. She always says we mustn't tarnish the de Milo name. We must do proper things, like what Ciera did. Ciera married KJ, and she did everything as per the book."
"We're different, Arianna. We can't all act like Ciera. You are Arianna. I am Dylan. So live within your lane and when you make mistakes, you learn from them."
She remained silent and stared up into the ceiling. Tears welled up in her eyes. She let them fall and I wiped them off with great pain.
"I was a virgin before this guy," she let out a small chuckle.
"It's ok Arianna. You made a mistake. You're going to kill yourself with guilt. Take one moment at a time…and tell me everything. You said there's more."
"Yes there is…" she sobbed.
"Tell me." I encouraged her.
"I really don't know how to say it."
"Just say it. Don't think much about it. Say it."
"Dylan, I am pregnant."