I looked at Kristin first. She looked completely shocked. I could tell she didn’t know a thing by the look on her face. The look on her face was one of bewilderment, amazement, and in her eyes you could see how upset she was. She knew what was about to happen. All hell was about to break loose and there was nothing anybody could do to stop it.
Kevin looked guilt stricken and astonished. He knew everything about my child hood and he could’ve told me everything but yet he didn’t. About that time Tania came down the stairs and stood beside Nick.
Sariah, Aj, Nick, Laura, Howie, Lindsay, Madison, Krista, Ali, Mary, Sarah, and Kryi all looked the same. Awestruck and totally clueless.
Tania, at the moment she was my bestfriend, the only one that really seemed to understand other than Faye. She helped find truth rather than hide it from me.
Mom and Dad looked more guilty and upset than I had ever seen anybody. Like some little kid that had gotten caught coloring on the walls or with their hands in the cookie jar right before supper. The people that created and gave birth to me and the girl standing next me yet couldn’t tell me about her. Couldn’t keep her memory around even if she was dead.
Then I looked at the Littrell’s, the people that we’re like my second parents. At the moment they had the same look on their face that my parents did.
I looked at Kimmy next. Oh I felt so bad for her, she had no idea. She was innocent in all of this yet stuck in the middle of it.
Brian was the last one. I almost couldn’t bare to look at him. In all my life I had never felt more betrayed by anyone than I did him at this very moment. He looked so guilty, of course he was guilty, so…upset and apologetic. I stood there and looked into his eyes, the eyes that I thought would never lie to me. I felt the tears sting the back of my eyes. Just at the moment my life seems so wonderful it all comes crashing down all over again. “Kimmy why don’t you go upstairs and play and take Jordan with you ok?” I asked her. It was actually more of command than a request. She nodded her head and grabbed Jordan out of his carseat and carefully carried him upstairs. Once I heard her bedroom door shut I looked up. “So is somebody gonna explain or am I gonna have to stand here and guess?” I asked them.
“Why don’t we go outside and all sit down and your mom and I will explain.” Dad said starting to walk out the back door. Mom, Jackie, Harold, Lindsay, Madison, Krista, Ali, Mary, Sarah, and Kyri all quickly followed. Nick, Tania, Brian, Kevin, Kristin, Howie, Laura, Aj, Sariah, Faye and I were all left there standing there staring at each other.
“I’ll meet you outside.” Faye stated quietly walking for the door.
“We’re gonna go too.” Howie said, motioning to himself and Laura.
“Yea us too.” Aj said. He grabbed Sariah’s hand and the four of them disappeared out the back door.
“Emily I…” Brian started to say walking towards me.
“I don’t want to hear it Brian and stay the hell away from me.” I sneered.
“Emily please I…” He started but I interrupted again.
“Brian just don’t. Nick, Tania can you two please give us some time alone and tell everybody we’ll be out in a little bit? This shouldn’t take too long.” I asked.
“Yea.” Tania stated quietly and grabbed Nick’s hand pulling him out the back door.
“You know I over reacted when you told me LeighAnne kissed you and I will forever be sorry for that but I’m not over reacting this time because there’s no possible way to overreact. This is big enough that I could react any way I wanted and it couldn’t even come close to over reacting. You kept my past from me Brian, a very big part of my past and future, my own sister. How could you? That seems to be the only question going through my head. I’m curious enough, as to how you could do that, I want to know. I don’t want you to answer now I’ve got too many people waiting on me but I want you to answer it later but I doubt I’ll be this calm later so you better think of a good way to explain it. Now I’m not going to beat around the bush and I’ll make this very clear. We are over.” I stated slowly and calmly. Then I walked out the back door. I sat down on the grass between Faye and Tania. Harry, Tim, Jerry, and Ann had showed up. I guessed that Jackie had probably called them. We all sat in silence for a couple minutes and Brian came out the back door and sat down beside Kevin and Harry who were towards the back.
“You know you can start explaining now.” I stated to my parents who were on chairs at the front of the group.
“Ok well I’m sure you two know you’re twins.” My mom started. Faye and I nodded our heads. *Duh of course we know* I thought.
“Well your mother and I aren’t sure how much you two know but we’ll start from the beginning so everybody knows.” Dad said. We all nodded our heads and he began. “Your Mom and I had wanted a baby so bad and when we found out she was pregnant we were ecstatic. We were even happier when we found out she was having twins. 7 months after we found out, you two were born. Our beautiful baby girls arrived right on time and everybody couldn’t wait you see you both. You two meant…mean more to your mom and I than life its self.” He stated. Mom started telling the story then.
“You two were defiantly a new experience to your father and I. Everything had always went perfect and we always had baby-sitters if they were needed. Brian and Kevin always jumped at the chance.” I shuddered and felt like bursting into tears at the sound of Brian’s name. “Everything had always went pretty much perfect till the 8th of September in 1983. I had taken you two outside to play and the phone rang and I ran inside to grab it really quick. You both had started crying so I hurried to get off the phone. By the time I got out there only Emily was there. I took her and went inside and called the police. I was terrified because somebody had taken one of my beautiful baby girls. After I got off the phone with the police I called your dad and he came home. When the police got there I told them everything I knew and you in the words of a 2-year-old said that some guy had taken your sissy away. You asked everyday for about the first 6 and a half months where she was. After that you started asking every other day. Then after a year of looking she was pronounced dead so we put all of her stuff up in the attic. We couldn’t bear to get rid of it. Once we put all her stuff up you were so young you got to where you stopped asking about her so much that within the next year you totally stopped asking. You pretty much forgotten about her because we’d buried her memories. It was your father and I’s fault you forgot we more or less made you forget. Everybody stayed quiet about her so they didn’t upset anybody and she was never brought up again, until now. It’s your dad and I’s fault that you’re in so much pain and we’re very sorry. We should never have let her be forgotten. We should have talked about her, kept pictures and other things out but we didn’t and now I may lose the both of you.” Mom said she choked up in plenty of places but kept going. By the time she was done everybody was in tears especially me. Atleast I knew why I forgot her now and that it wasn’t my fault.
Everyone was quiet for a couple minutes till I spoke up. “I’ll eventually forgive you for what you did. All of you for what you did but it’s gonna take time. And right now this is too much.” I stated and got up running inside. I jogged up the stairs to Kimmy’s room. I knocked on the door then opened it sticking my head in. Kimmy was sound asleep on the bed and Jordan was lying beside her asleep. I quietly walked in and grabbed Jordan. I walked back out gently closing the door behind me. I walked into my room and lay down on the bed lying my baby boy beside me. I lay there crying my eyes out.
“Oh Jordy.” I cried rubbing his little tummy. “Oh how could they Jordy? They buried everything of her from me even the memories of her and now that I remember it all again it hurts so much. Oh I feel like I have hardly had anytime with you Jordan. You’re so big and yet you’re only 4 months old. I love you Jordan.” I whispered through my tears. I laid holding Jordan close to me as I cried myself to sleep.
*Outside*
*Brian’s POV*
Everyone sat quietly crying after Emily had ran inside. It was a couple minutes later and I seen to feet stop in front of me. I looked up to see it was Jeremy. “What?” I whispered.
“Come on I want to talk you.” He stated. I quietly got up and followed him to the picnic table that was at the other side of the yard.
“Look Jeremy if you want me to go talk to her I’m already going to. You hurt her and betrayed her trust but I did the same thing. She broke up with me right before we came out and let me put it this way, it was the calm before the storm, and this is gonna be one hell of a storm. She wants to talk to me, she wants to know why and you know what I’m gonna tell her?” I asked. He shook he head.
“What?”
“I’m gonna tell her the truth. That you made me keep it from her. That I came so close to telling her so many times but I’d remember how upset she used to get and that I’d promised you and Kasey I wouldn’t say anything. You used her emotions, the feelings of your own daughter against me so I wouldn’t tell Emily she had a twin.” I stated tears still running down my cheeks.
“You can’t do that Brian.” Jeremy stated.
“Yes I can Jeremy. I don’t want to make you and Kasey out to be the bad guys but I promised her when she was 7 that I’d always tell her the truth and I’d always be there for her. I broke both of those. I wasn’t there for her when Cory started abusing her, when she needed me the most. I didn’t even start out with the truth when I promised I’d always tell her the truth. I should’ve told her then. That very day I should have told her about Faye and it would all be different. Maybe it’d be better, maybe it’d be worse but she’d know and she wouldn’t have had to find out like this. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go tell her the truth about why I kept it from her. Then I’m gonna try and get her back.” I stated and walked away. I hadn’t realized Kevin had heard everything till a couple minutes later. I walked in the house and a hand grabbed my arm tightly.
“You will not tell my daughter that.” Jeremy said. Before I had a chance to speak up somebody else did.
“Get your hands off my cousin.” Kevin stated. “You did the same thing to me. Used your daughter’s feelings against me so I wouldn’t say anything about Faye. Well now it’s time she knows the truth and if that means that you end up not so perfect in her eyes than so be it.” He said with tears also still running down his cheeks. Jeremy slowly let go of my arm. He walked back out the back door never saying a word.
“Thanks Kev.” I stated.
“No problem. Now go talk to her, get this storm over with. And don’t worry she’ll forgive you I know she will, it just may be a while” He stated. I nodded my head and walked up the stairs. I gently opened the door leading into her room to see her holding Jordan close to and sound asleep.