"Do you need to sit down?"

Hilary, with the help of Devon and Hattie had just spent close to an hour filling Savannah in on everything going on in her life without her knowledge. So, she wasn't surprised when Savannah ignored her question. All she could really do is stand there shell-shocked. And the more she went over everything she was just told, the angrier she got. And the angrier she got, the more emotional she got. To the point where without saying a word, she abruptly turned and bolted out of the kitchen and into the living room. Hattie, knowing her niece, stayed in the kitchen to give her a moment. Devon did the same and nodded to Hilary to follow after her.

"Savannah…" Hilary approached slowly. "I know that this is a lot to take in. Underneath your anger, I'm sure you have some questions. I can answer them as best as I can."

"I just don't understand any of this," Savannah said barely above a whisper.

"I want to make sure I'm clear on everything too. Your mother never told you any of this? Do you even remember Greg?"

"A little. Mostly I remember how frantic my mom was around the time he disappeared. But she didn't talk about him after that. And I knew better than to ask."

Hilary looked at her sister trying to read her emotions. She wanted to approach her in a way that wouldn't scare her off but she also wanted to engulf her in this sudden wave of love that washed over her the moment she saw her face. Instead, she decided to let Savannah come to her. She took a seat in an arm chair and waited for her to sit on the sofa across from her. To her surprise, she did so within seconds.

"So… You're my sister?" She asked staring at the floor.

"I am," Hilary smiled.

"You didn't know about me?"

"No. Not until very recently. And I immediately started looking for you."

"That guy in there, that's your husband?"

"Well.. no, not exactly. I mean, we're divorced… but together. It's a long story," Hilary chuckled. "Maybe I can tell you about it one day."

Savannah smiled. "You seem nice."

"So do you."

"You look like me."

"I noticed."

Savannah caught herself staring at Hilary in that moment and diverted her eyes. 16 years of uncertainty and lack of stability had left her closed off to most. But there was something in her that wanted to reach out to Hilary. To tell her that although she hadn't known about her, she had always wished there was someone out there that she could turn to. She had often wondered about her father too. The short time that he was in her life, Savannah didn't remember him being the most warm-hearted guy. She remembered him being a recluse at best. And then a ghost. "Is he dangerous?"

"Greg? I really don't know. What I do know is that you don't have to worry about that. There's no way in hell I would ever let him hurt you."

"What about my mom?"

"Well, honestly that's a different story. No one seems to know where she is. And if you think about it, if his anger is aimed at her, not knowing her whereabouts may be for the best."

"I guess…"

Hilary looked around the living room finally noticing all the clutter and boxes everywhere. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure,' Savannah replied.

"Are you ok here? I mean, are you happy? Well taken care of?"

"Yeah," she shrugged.

"So what's this about you skipping school?" Hilary smirked.

"Really?" Savannah laughed. "You've been here all of 20 minutes and you're grilling me already?"

"Hey, that's what big sisters are for."

"Sister… that's kind of crazy."

"Yeah it is." Hilary smiled. "You know what that means, right?"

"No, what?"

"It means if there is anything that you ever need, you can tell me. I don't care what it is."

Savannah grew silent and started staring at the floor again. "You asked about my skipping school."

"Yeah?"

"It's not that I want to or anything. My aunt thinks I'm running with the wrong crowd, but I'm not. Its just… Nothing. Never mind."

Hilary got up from the chair and sat down next to her sister on the couch. "Listen, I get it. Despite the sibling resemblance, you don't know me. Opening up to strangers isn't easy. So if you want to talk to me about anything, I'll listen. If you don't, I'll just sit here with you."

Savannah finally looked up at Hilary. "You're so pretty."

"So are you."

"No, I'm not. I mean look at me." Savannah said tugging at her worn down discolored sweater. "The other girls at school never pass up a chance to point it out either. They talk about my clothes and my hair. They call me a thrift store orphan."

Hilary could feel her fist begin to tighten. She wanted to ask Savannah for their names and locations knowing fully well that beating up someone's child would land her in jail. Instead, she took a deep breath and placed her hand on top of her sisters. "I know this may seem hard to believe, but I went through the same thing at your age."

"Really?" Savannah asked skeptical.

"Yes, really!" Hilary laughed. "High school was torture for me. But I was also dealing with a lot of other things. Family things. So by the time I made it to school and those other girls started picking on me, I just didn't care. I learned to ignore them until graduation and then I ran away as far as I could get. I know it sounds cliché, but it will get better."

"You're right, it does sound cliché." Savannah chuckled.

"Ok, well how about this, how about the two of us get out of here and go have a girl's day. Hair, nails, shopping. All of it."

Savannah's eyes lit up. Often times she had watched girls with their mothers and sisters out and about doing just that and wished she had someone to do that with herself. This woman sitting next to her had known her for only an hour and was already offering her kindness that she hadn't experienced before in her life. It filled her with mixed emotions. On one hand, she was grateful. Even excited. But there was another part of her that was festering anger and resentment for this part of her life being kept from her for so long. And that anger she felt started to boil over the minute she saw her aunt enter the room.

"So yall talked it out or what?" Hattie asked picking up a carton of cigarettes from the coffee table.

"How could you?" Savannah said standing up from the couch. "You've known all of this the whole time and never said anything!"

"First of all little girl, you need to watch your tone. I don't have to answer you. Some things aren't meant for a child's ears."

"So, if they didn't show up here today, you never would have told me?"

"Hell no."

"What kind of a person does that make you?"

Hattie took the cigarette out of her mouth and set it in the ashtray. The look in her eyes almost made Hilary jump up and stand in front of Savannah as a shield. "What kind of person does that make me? It makes me the kind of person who took your ass in when your mother didn't want you."

"Ok, that's enough," Hilary said injecting.

"No. You're in my house. I'll say what I damn well please. Because it's true. Brenda dropped this girl off on me in the middle of the night because she couldn't deal with her own sins. Because she didn't know how to be a mother. And what did I get in return? And ungrateful little bitch who doesn't know a child's place."

"I said, that's enough!" Hilary said jumping in Hattie's face.

"Oh…" Hattie said stepping back with a smirk on her face. "So you bad huh?"

"Ok, ok. Let's all just take a breath here for a moment." Devon said gently pulling at Hilary's arm. "We're all trying to process a lot right now. Hilary, let's just give them a minute."

"What the hell is wrong with you?' Hilary asked once she and Devon where back in the kitchen. "That woman is clearly off her rocker."

"I'm not going to disagree with you, there. But matching fire with fire is going to do nothing but torch this entire situation to the ground. We need to come at her in a different way."

"You just don't get it." Hilary said pacing the floor.

"Get what?"

"This environment. This house… Devon, I grew up in a house like this."

Devon gently nodded his head and pulled Hilary into his arms. "I know."

"I can't leave her here."

"I don't know that we have a choice in the matter."

"There's always a choice."

"And there's always consequences too. You don't have the legal right to just snatch this girl out of here. And if you did, have you forgotten who is waiting for her back in Genoa City?"

"Well then what?" Hilary's voice began to crack. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know, babe. I honestly don't know."

"Maybe I can reason with Hattie."

"Yeah, I don't think so."

"Well, I have to try." Before Devon could protest, Hilary walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room. To her surprise, Hattie and Savannah were sitting on the couch next to each other significantly calmer than they were when Hilary had left them. "Is everything ok?"

"Peachy," Hattie snarked.

"Savannah?" Hilary asked

"Yeah, we're good."

Hilary was unconvinced but the sudden shift but decided not to push it any further. "Ok. So, about that girl's day?"

"Savvy has homework to do. And chores." Hattie interrupted.

"We won't be long."

"And I don't care."

"Hattie…" Hilary clenched her teeth remembering Devon's advice. "I apologize for stepping out of line in your house. But please try to understand where I'm coming from. My mother was all the family that I had for so long. So when she died, that was it. And then out of the blue, I find out that I have this little sister. And there she is. She's right there. Close enough for me to touch. I know it doesn't make any sense… but I love her already. I just want to spend some time with her. To get to know her. Please."

Savannah looked up at Hilary with tears in her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to grab her things and leave with her and never look back. But she knew that wasn't possible. She looked over at her aunt who gave her a look that was hard for Hilary to read. Savannah stood up, wiped her face and walked over to Hilary. She wrapped her arms around her neck and held on tighter than she probably should have. "Thank you for coming. It really was nice meeting you. But I think you should go now."

"Savannah…" Hilary began to plead.

"You heard her," Hattie said also standing up and walking towards the door.

"Look at me." Hilary brought Savannah's face up to hers so they were looking eye to eye. "If you want me to go, I will. But you have to promise me that you're safe here. Promise me."

"I am. I promise." Savannah forced a smile to convince her sister of her lie.

Hilary grabbed her purse, pulled out a business card and wrote her personal cell phone number on the back. "If you ever need anything, you call me, ok?"

"I will."

"I mean it, Savannah. Anything."

"Savvy. My friends call me Savvy."

"I can see that. It suits you."

"You're on TV?" Savannah asked looking over the card. "So, you're like famous or something?"

"Kind of but not really. Another story for us to share one day." Hilary smiled.

"We should go," Devon said noticing how impatient Hattie was becoming by the door. "It was very nice meeting you Savannah."

"You too."

"Ok, well…" Hilary knew she had to go but couldn't get her legs to move. So she pulled her sister into another hug. "I meant what I said. Anything. Anytime. Anyplace. You call me and I will be there. I promise." Hilary finally got the strength to pull away from her sister and begin walking towards the door.

"Hilary," Savannah called after her.

"Yes?"

"I know it doesn't make any sense… but I love you too."

Hilary smiled as the tears began to streak down her face. After years of feeling like she was alone in this world, she finally had a piece of her family to cling on to. Turning around and walking out of that house was one of the hardest things she'd ever done.

After Hattie closed the door behind her, Savannah collapsed onto the couch and started crying into a pillow.

"Girl, stop being so damn dramatic." Hattie huffed as she lit another cigarette. "You did what was best."

After a few minutes, Savannah finally managed to pull herself together and glare at her aunt with discontent. "I did it ok. I got them to leave like you told me to. Now tell me where my mother is."