Cass shook her head. "No. That's not it. I've spoken to her before. She's destroyed herself, though, without any of us realizing it. I don't think anyone could bring her back. I'm serious" she said.

Ad looked up. She could feel it. Excruciating pain. But it was emotional, not physical.

Anna couldn't take it anymore. She pulled out her wand and examined it. She hoped someone found it when she was gone. She carefully twirled it expertly in her fingers, thinking over every spell she knew.

Cass' head snapped up. She looked from Bray, to Ad, and back to Bray. "Yu feel it, right? You know what she wants to do?" she asked. Or was it only her that could feel the Healer letting go?

Bradin looked up, a serious look on his face. He disappeared without a word.

A few minutes later, the teenager appeared on top of the grave Anna was in front of. He stole the wand away from AnnaLeah and threw it somewhere she wouldn't find it. "No you don't AnnaLeah" he demanded.

Ad looked up uncertainly at Cass. "You really think Bray can stop her? She's a Brant. When she gets her mind set on something, No one can stop her" she reminded the berry-headed girl.

Cass put her hands in front of her and moved them up and down, like a scale. "True. But Bray is made of pure epic WIN" she said.

Ad rolled her eyes. "Still, even if Bray's there, Alex better hurry up" she said, glancing at the clock.

Anna looked up at Bradin. "Give it back. Why aren't yu ging to let me end this? End the pain I've felt since I was nine. Twenty years, Bradin. That's how long I've been hurting. Now give me back the wand" she demended in return.

Justin looked at them. "If I know Bradin he'll make sure she doesn't do it" he said.

Bradin looked at Anna. "What will it accomplish? You're hurting, yes, but think about what you're doing to Uncle Alex, Justin, Ad even. Neither Cass, me, Miranda, Summer, Autumn or Lucas want this. No one wants it. Except you. This wand is not coming back in your hands. Being dead gives me a lot of power. Power means you have no chance against me. You're not dying. I wouldn't let Justin and I refuse to let you" he explained, a stern look on his pale face.

Ad bit her lip and looked up at Cass. "You are, like, the best with healing spells. Even though yu aren't really here, is there anything you can do?" she asked.

Cass thought long and hard. "No, I'm sorry. Even if I could, I wouldn't. You have to stop depending on our presence, Ad. We can't keep coming here" she told the red head.

Anna looked up sadly. "So you want me to suffer. My family was lined up against a wall and murdered one by one, and only five people survived. Then Matt turned on me. He betrayed his family and fell in love with Miranda. I love Randa, I truly do, but we risked our lives just by being friends. It was never me that poisned Randa. She did that herself. She killed herself right there in front of her daughters. Ad her two eldest did the same. And I was blamed for that!" she said, her voice rising considerably. "I wanna be there. Be with my family" she sobbed.

Bradin listened. "I want you to come to terms with it. There is a lot I wish I could take back. But my time has gone. If you kill yourself, yours will too. You can't do this to yourself. The pain hurts, I understand that but you have to stay alive and come to terms with this, Anna, don't you understand? You will be ending your pain but you will be destroying so many more lives" he replied. He didn't want her to suffer but he didn't want anyone else to suffer. "Just let people in. They can help you. Remember we're all still in your hearts, we always will be" he added.

Anna sniffed. "You dn't think I've tried? I just can't. All I want is my family back" she said. She looked around. "Is Alex coming? I don't trust myself driving home" she said.

Bray sighed. "You have to try harder" he demanded. He wasn't going to let her throw her life away. "He's just parked the car across the street" he told her. He knew she'd be wondering how he knew that but it was part of being a spirit. He could see things coming.

Anna's bottom lip trembled. "Try harder. You sound like Miranda. She'd always tell me to try harder when I couldn't get something right" she said softly. She looked up and over her shoulder at the car across the street. She only nodded. "I gotta get outta here" she muttered, starting to stand up. She wiped her eyes.

Bradin sighed. "I'm not convincing you, am I?" he asked. He knew he wasn't. He shifted from the grave stone to Anna. He stood in front of her. "Where are you going?" he asked.

Anna shook her head. "No you aren't" she said softly. She turned around. and pointed. "Alex" she said simply.

Bradin sighed, feeling defeated, upset, like he didn't matter anymore. Almost as if everybody had forgotten about him. With that feeling in his heart, tears fell down his cold, pale face and hit the muddy floor. He didn't feel right at all. How was it even possible for a spirit to feel so much emotion?

Alex got out the car and locked it before starting to walk toward Anna and her visitor. "Are you ok?" he asked Anna curiously. Then he looked at a crying Bradin. "What's wrong, Bradin?" he asked.

Anna shook her head and started crying all over again as the pain hit her full force. "I just want the pain to end" she sobbed.

Alex looked at Anna and slipped his hand in hers. "It will" he told her. Then he looked at Bradin. "Don't take this the wrong way but did you do something to upset Bradin?" he asked.

Anna sniffed and nodded. "I think I did. He couldn't onvince me to stop letting go, so I think I upset him" she said quietly. She turned to Bradin. "Sorry"

Alex looked at Bradin then at Anna. "No, it isn't that. He wouldn't be upset over something as trivial as that. There's something else" he replied. He looked at Bradin.

Bradin stared Alex in the eyes. "You forgot about me. You don't care about me now I'm gone" he said, anger in his hazel eyes.

Anna shook her head. "No, Bradin. That's not true. No one ever forgot about OR stopped caring about you" she told him. She knew she hadn't. She cursed herself for letting Bradin and Cass die.

Cass stepped out from the shadows in a different outfit. She wore a long black cloak over a deep Slytherin green gown and bare feet. Better than the torn up clothes she had died in. She threw her hood back and approached the strawberry blonde. "We know you never forgot us. You're probably he only one. Dad's happy I died. Ad never gave me another thought after they got out of the hospital. My sisters don't really remember me" she choked out, tears running down her ashen cheeks.

Bradin shrugged at Anna. "Thats not how it seems to me" he replied.

Cass crossed her arms and stared her uncle down. "Don't play with us. Do you still remember us? And do you still care?" she pressed.

Bradin glared at his uncle until he answered Cass.

Alex looked at the two of them. "Of course I remember you" he replied.

Cass huffed. "There s one person you all forgot. Except AnnaLeah" she said softly as her mother approached behind her.

Miranda ran a hand through blue-is locks as her golden eyes flashed. "She speaks the truth" she said, her cryptic voice barely echoing.

Bradin turned to look at Cass. Then he looked at his silent dad. "You remember but you don't care anymore. I'm gone out of your life so why should you care?" he replied, tears still falling down his pale cheeks.

Anna sighed and shook her head. "We all do care about you! Why wouldn't we?" she asked.

Bradin looked at AnnaLeah. "You might but he doesn't" he replied, anger in his voice.

Ooo...this isn't ending well...
 

Anna turned to Alex. "Is he telling the truth?" she asked him.

Cass nodded.

Miranda snorted. "In my book, yes" she said, almost sneering. She looked up at her sister-in-law. "Seriously, Anna. Don't act as if I don't know what you're running from. I did the same thing. I never meant for you to get the blame for this..." she said, smacking Cassandriana in the back of the head lightly.

A thought hit Cass. "I'll be back..." she said softly. She disapeared and appeared next to Ad, jerked her up, and dragged her away from Justin. "Don't you remember yesterday? What Justin said? What he did? He said he regretted proposing to you! Are you just gonna let it slide?" she asked furiously. And she knew exactly what Justin had kept from Ad that had caused that whole mess. "Ad, I know you hate to hear this, but...everything's not what it seems..." she warned her, taking her shoulders and shaking her gently.

She strode back over to Justin. "Don't act as if I don't know what goes on in that head of yours" she hissed.