**FINALLY! Okay, I'm sorry it's been, like, 2 weeks, but my brain was turned to mush and I had some studying to do (I failed that test though… darn…). Oh well, forget that. So, this chapter is shorter than I would have wanted it to be, but hopefully Friday I'll have a longer chapter. I would like to thank the Academy for testing days! (got out at 11:30, yay!)**
Dinnertime that evening was awkward. Dan and Diana were excited to hear about Jess's first day of high school, but she wasn't saying a word. After awhile, Dan decided to break the silence. "How was your appointment with Dr. Madden, Di?" he said.
"Same old, same old. I really don't think I have to go anymore."
"Who is Dr. Madden anyway?" Jess asked, looking slightly intrigued. "What does he do?"
"Dr. Madden is…"
"Your cousin." Dan blurted out.
"Yeah. He's a psychopharmacologist. You must be proud of your cousin."
Jess smiled slyly and said, "It's kind of hard to say that considering I don't know him. Why won't you guys just tell me the truth? Like, families don't lie to each other, and I know that Gabe and Natalie are NOT my grandparents." Jess was furious at this point. "So why have you been lying?"
"We haven't. You're letting your imagination fly with you."
"If that's so, then why did Natalie commit suicide days before her 14th birthday, and why did Gabe get all the attention? Wait, then Nikki must be right. You DO kill kids."
Dan could not believe what his daughter was saying. "We do NOT. Do you want the truth?"
"Duh."
"Okay. You see, Gabe died because of intestinal obstruction when he was very little, not even a year old. Your mom hallucinated him a lot and cared a lot about him, and that led Natalie to killing herself."
"Then why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?"
"Cuz…"
"Yeah?"
"Cuz your sister was made fun of for having a dead brother."
"Oh, so truth is finally told, isn't it?" Jess stood up and walked away.
"Jess…" Diana called.
"Fuck off."
"Jessica Phoebe Goodman, you get back in here right now!"
"I don't want to… and that's the truth!" Jess ran to her bedroom, slammed the door and sighed, not wanting anything else to do with her parents.
After a few hours, she overheard her parents talking. "We're failures," Diana said. "You know, she's just like her!"
"She's not, Diana," Dan responded. "She has a point. And we're not failures either. Look, we were young when Gabe was born and Natalie came not long after he died. We didn't know how to take care of kids…"
"And we still don't. Jess is mad at us."
"Come on. Didn't you get mad at your parents when you were 14?"
"Well, I guess. In fact, the only time I talked to my parents was when I was mad at them, but that's understandable when you have an overachiever for an older sister. That damn Alice always got what she wanted."
"Well, you get the point now. Jess is mad cuz she found out she has 2 older siblings who both died."
"Wow. Maybe we should go and talk to her."
"Not on my watch," Jess muttered. She opened her window and fell the 2 stories to the ground.
"Jess, what are you doing?" someone called out. "Is there a fire?"
Jess looked up and saw Martin staring at her. "No, you idiot! There is no fire! I just found out that I'm not an only child."
"Wait, are you related to Natalie Goodman?"
"How do you know her? Wait, did everyone but me know about her? Oh my god…"
"Get a hold of yourself, woman. Obviously, I didn't know her personally, but she used to be my cousin's boyfriend."
"Your cousin?"
"Henry Glaceau."