"Yeah...no. Ok, I get it!" I heard Elsa yelling from the office upstairs. She'd been up there for an hour. She was on some kind of phone call. I was in the kitchen, cooking dinner for Elsa when I heard the door slam shut and her footsteps coming down the hall.

She wrapped her hands around my stomach and put her head on my shoulder, next to my neck. "What's wrong?" I asked, still sweating over the stove.

"Anna...they're letting me go." She said as she pulled her head off of my shoulder. "At the end of the month."

I dropped the fork I was holding in my hand on the floor and reached to turn the stove off before I turned to face my sister. "You mean...the job that you've had for five years?"

"Yes." She said, beginning to sob.

I pulled her head into my chest and walked into the dining room with her. She weighed about 20 pounds more than I did, but I still sat her on my lap and began stroking her hair. "Hey, you don't need to cry. We'll figure something out. We always have."

"That's not all, Anna. I talked to our aunt too. She wants to take you in. She thinks I'll be incapable of taking care of you once I'm out of a job. I can't lose you. I'll have nobody to love." She said as she began crying, using my shirt to wipe her eyes.

I cupped her face in my hands and looked her in the eyes. "Nobody is splitting us apart. Not after all we've been through. And they can fuck right off if they think they can."

I could feel her jump and then shift uncomfortably on my lap. "What did you just say?" She asked, surprised at what I told her. "Anna, you know you shouldn't use language like that."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry." I said. "Call her back and tell her that she isn't taking me away from you. We can figure out what we're gonna do about your job later. Right now, we need to take care of some family stuff."

"Anna...you know she won't listen to me. She never has. Not since our parents died at least." She said as she got to her feet and walked up the hallway. "But I'll try."

I nodded at her as she closed the door behind her and began talking on the phone. I said I'd be there for her and I'm not going to let a family member break us apart. Elsa was fully capable of taking care of me.

I could hear her talking behind the door, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. I sat down on the hardwood floor outside her door and waited for her to finish. I looked down at my watch "10:47" it read. I leaned my head against the wall and shut my eyes. I was tired and the hallway was dark, only lit by the light in the middle of it.

I heard the office door open and Elsa walked out. "Anna?" She whispered, trying to wake me, but I was already awake. I heard her giggle and a few seconds later I felt one hand around my back and the other under my knees. The ground fell out from under me as Elsa pulled me up and carried me down the hallway and laid me on my bed. She pulled the sheets over me and I smiled. "Goodnight Anna" She said as she walked out of the room, turning the hallway light off behind her.