Switched at Birth

Chapter 1

Phoebe Tyler

Although I would rather be in Beck's RV bickering about what cheesy rerun we should be watching and what type of Hot Pockets we should have for our Saturday lunch, I was on the way to a law firm with my parents to meet with their lawyer. Not my idea of a fun Saturday, but I was curious to see what this was about. I sat in the back seat of my father's Mercedes and texted Beck.

Beck: What do you think they wanna meet with you for?

Me: I don't know. I probably am getting sued by Yerba for hissing at anyone that looked at you. Ganks.

Beck: haha. As funny as that would be, I feel that it's probably something a little different.

Me: we're almost there though; I will let you know what happens when we're through. Maybe my parents are getting divorced. But they still like each other, just not me.

Beck: Oh stop! They like you, they just don't understand you yet Jade. You're their daughter, and they love you. And I love you too. Don't sweat the meeting, everything will be fine.

Once we got there, we had to wait in the stuffy waiting room. I wasn't a fan of offices or waiting rooms. They were all the same and if they weren't silent, they played elevator music which I despised. Eventually, the secretary, whose name was like Doris or something called us back. My father and mother shook hands with Carl Chester, attorney at law. He seemed okay, but I wasn't about to shake his hand. Lawyers are sketchy and I hate them.

After we were all seated, Carl started explaining why we were here. "I called you in here today because I received some news on a mix up at the hospital where Jadelyn was born." God I hate my whole name.

"What mix up?" my mother questioned him, obviously concerned that somehow the hospital had missed diagnosing me with some crazy disease or forgot to tell them, or something like that.

"Well you see, on the day that Jadelyn was born, one of the nurses accidentally mixed up your baby with another baby," he spoke slowly.

"What do you mean?" my mother asked him. I looked over at my father, who was speechless and had a blank expression on his face. My mother was on the verge of tears though, obviously not wanting Carl's next words to be what they actually were.

"You were given the wrong baby to take home, Mrs. West. Jadelyn is not your biological daughter," he told her.

I have to admit, the news wasn't something I'd expected to hear today but I wasn't surprised. Not only did I not look like either of my parents, I was also completely different from them. We never saw eye to eye and we never agreed on anything, even what to have for dinner. Carl looked over at me apologetically.

"How do you know?" my father finally asked. "How could this have happened? How can you be sure?" he asked more questioned and actually started to get angry. Nobody even bothered to ask me how I felt about the situation.

"Well, a few months ago, a family from Dallas, Georgia went in for testing. Apparently their daughter wanted to know if she was actually related to her parents. She always thought she was adopted and that they were lying to her. She got some blood tests done, and it turns out that they were not her biological parents. Although we cannot actually confirm if you are her biological parents without testing, we are almost 100 percent sure. We did some research on what could have happened because like you, this family was sure that they took home the right baby. She was born at the same hospital as you were, on the same day only a few minutes before. We are sure that that is when the mix up occurred," he explained.

My mother and father were shocked. They were silent. Finally, I spoke up. "Well, I guess this explains why we don't look alike."

Everyone just looked at me. Finally my mother spoke up, "what's her name?" I was kind of upset she would even ask. I'm your kid mom, whether biologically or not. You raised me, but go ahead and love her anyway. God, my parents suck.

"Her name is Phoebe Tyler, and she would love to meet you both," he informed us. "And you too, Jade."

Apparently, this Phoebe chick and her family actually have been living outside of L.A. since this happened because they wanted answers. However, they didn't want to give my parents her contact information because they wanted either Phoebe or I to step forward if we wanted too. We left shortly after that. Nobody said a word on the ride home. I didn't even text Beck because I wasn't sure how to talk about this yet. Just one more thing for Jade West to complain about I guess.

When we got home, I walked into the kitchen to get something to drink and of course, my parents followed me. My mother was the first to speak.

"Are you going to call them Jadelyn?" she asked, obviously worried that I wouldn't.

I shrugged. "Don't know yet. Kind of a big thing."

My mother nodded, but continued, "I just think it would be good if we all got to know each other. I feel like you would really benefit from it."

I got angry. I tend to do that. "Who would it really benefit Mom? You two or me? I get that I'm not the child you should have had but God, it would be nice to maybe have you two remind me on today of all days that I'm still the little girl you raised and I'm still the little girl you're proud to call your daughter. Thanks a lot for once again making me feel like I'm not a part of this family!" I yelled before storming off towards the door. "Oh wait, I'm NOT!" And with that I left.

I walked to the nearest bus stop and waited for bus number 63 because that is the bus that took me to Beck's neck of the woods. He didn't live too far away by bus or car, but walking would have been excruciating. Although none of this was surprising to me, it still sucked. Why did my life have to be the one the hospital screwed up? I wondered what my biological parents were like. Although it was fun to imagine my real father being a famous thriller novelist, and my real mother being a dark ballerina, I was pretty sure they were probably something lame like accountants or teachers.

As I boarded the bus, I tried to figure out a way to tell Beck. I don't cry about things like this because I don't cry ever, but I mean, I feel like I should be crying. Beck is going to ask me why I'm not upset, and I don't have answer for him. I just don't care. Phoebe Tyler clearly cares, but I was perfectly content with NOT knowing any of this. Damn, this bus ride is taking longer than usual.

Finally, the stupid bus arrived. I walked the two minutes from the bus stop to Beck's house, where his shiny, silver RV was sitting in the driveway. I didn't bother knocking but I did take a second to regain some composure and walk inside. Beck looked up from the textbook he was reading. Such a nerd, it's a Saturday and he's doing homework.

Beck hopped off of his bed and put his book down, "Hey babe! How did everything go?" he asked, concerned and excited to know what lawyers could possibly want me for.

I shrugged. "Went alright. You know how much I despise lawyers. Carl Chester was just as sketchy and annoying as the rest of them," I explained as I sat down on Beck's bed and fiddled with his textbook.

He nodded, but looked confused. "What exactly did they want?" he asked, cautiously before sitting next to me.

"Well, if you must know, they just wanted to let us know about Phoebe Tyler," I told him, nonchalantly.

He nodded again. Maybe he is having a spasm. "Who is Phoebe Tyler? Did you emotionally harm her in anyway?"

It was a logical question. I emotionally harm a lot of people. "No. She is the girl you're supposed to be dating. The girl who is supposed to be living this rich and luscious life that I live. The girl who is actually the perfect mixture of my father's semen and my mother's eggs. You know, Phoebe Tyler in all her glory," I informed him.

Beck looked shocked and confused. He didn't say anything at first. He thought carefully about his words, something I hate and love about him at the same time. "Wait, so you aren't related to you parents?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "That is what I just said. Pull your head out of your butt and listen to me sometime!"

"Jade, that's a big deal. What the hell happened?" he asked, pushing some hair out of his face. He is really attractive.

I shrugged. "I'm not really surprised to be honest. I don't look like them, I don't act like them. I barely even like them."

He grabbed my hand. He knew that it was a bigger deal than I was letting on. "What's going to happen Jade?" he asked, concerned, as usual.

"I honestly don't know Beck. I don't think I want to know. I'm just going to let what happens happen and if I have to meet these people I will," I started, pausing for dramatic effect in the middle, "but I want you to be there if I do have to meet them."

He pulled me into him this time and kissed the side of my head. "You know I will be there. Whatever you decide to do, I will be there," he told me. "Wanna watch Bones?"

I smiled, grateful that he wouldn't let this be a big deal. I don't like things to be a big deal unless I make them a big deal. "I hate Bones." So we watched Bones, and I thought a little less about Phoebe Tyler.