Chapter Twenty Five

Kaitlyn was cold. Walking through the park not far from home, this late at night and with the wind a merciless pain in the neck, Kaitlyn wished she had brought a jacket. But no, she hadn't thought of that; all she wanted was the escape, to be as far from her family as possible. She knew how angry Tyler was, how angry she felt about the whole thing. No, she didn't want to hear the fight, didn't want her mother trying to talk to her later, didn't want to hear lies, or truth. In fact, she wasn't sure which she even preferred at this point.

The tears had all dried up now, leaving her face hot and pasty-feeling. Her eyes stung, her fingers stung from the cold, and even though her head told her to go home, her heart was broken, and home was the furthest place from her mind.

Her phone was buzzing relentlessly, had been for the last hour. It was her mother, texting, calling, leaving all kinds of messages. No doubt, Erica had discovered her daughter was missing, and was trying to find her. Kaitlyn felt guilty; no, she didn't want her mother to worry, but there was a part of her that just wanted to be left alone, at least until she could figure it all out.

Who did she belong to? Who was she? Her whole life, she'd been Kaitlyn Beverly Evans, but now, she wasn't so sure. Was she an Evans? If her father wasn't really her father, then who was? She tried to wrap her mind around it; nobody had ever said she looked like her dad, maybe there was something more to it after all?

Her head throbbed with questions, uncertainties, floating around, bouncing back to the same conclusion: things were never going to be the same again, and she was kidding herself if she believed her family would be whole again.

Cold, shivering and new tears streaming down her face, she ignored yet another phone call from her mother, and kept walking.

Her fingers were blue, but she realized if she stuffed them in her pockets, they didn't feel quite as cold. She really should go home, she really should, but-

"Kaitlyn?"

Kaitlyn craned her neck, realized the voice was coming from a car that was slowing beside her as she walked along the sidewalk.

Her mother.

Kaitlyn's stomach did a flip as Erica slowed her car down to a steady pace, keeping up with Kaitlyn's strides. Kaitlyn could not meet her mother's eye.

"Kaitlyn," her voice sounded on edge, but there was relief washed in there too. "Kaitlyn, I have been worried sick! Why do you have a cell phone if you aren't going to use it? That's twice now, young lady, and if I recall, you promised you'd tell me if you were going somewhere. Now, get in the car."

It was difficult to figure out what Erica was feeling; she sounded mad, but she'd also sounded as though she'd been crying, and she sounded worried. Kaitlyn's heart was pounding, feeling anger seep through her veins as she kept walking.

"No," she said simply. "I don't want to go home right now."

Erica sighed, keeping her eye on the road as she drove a snail's pace next to Kaitlyn, ignoring the cars who passed her, some honking at her speed. "Why not?"

Kaitlyn felt tears invading her vision again, and she looked down. "I don't know."

Kaitlyn kept walking, but she became aware of the car slowing behind her. Good. Maybe her mother would just let her be, keep walking on her own.

No such luck; Erica was just parking the car.

"Honey, please get in the car," Erica pleaded as she jogged to catch up to her daughter. "We can talk about this, okay?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Baby, you're shivering. Here." Erica took her own jacket off and draped it over Kaitlyn's shoulders. Kaitlyn couldn't help but pull away from her mother's touch. Her anger was fueling her; part of her didn't even know who she was angry at anymore. She just felt so much anger, so much injustice, so much unfairness. Why did this have to happen to her family? Why did the V's have to come and tear the world apart? Her world apart? No, the world wasn't fair.

"Kaiti," Erica said softly, as they both stood in the middle of the sidewalk. "I know you talked to Tyler today."

Kaitlyn stared at the cement beneath her feet, willing her tears down to the deepest crevices of her body. She didn't want to cry, not now, not anymore. If Tyler was right, if her mother had lied to her, to Tyler all these years, she didn't want to let herself be vulnerable. Her mother meant too much to her. One tear, one hug from Erica, and Kaitlyn would fall apart.

No, falling apart wasn't an option. She had to strong if everything around her was crumbling.

So Kaitlyn didn't answer.

But she didn't need to.

"Honey, Tyler already told me he told you about your dad." Erica tried to meet her daughter's eye, to no avail. "So why don't you tell me what's going through your mind?"

What wasn't going through Kaitlyn's mind?

Kaitlyn sighed. Okay, this was it. She needed answers, and yes, she needed to hear the truth from her mother. If she even tells me the truth...

"Yeah, Ty told me. He told me everything." Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. "He told me that dad...Joe isn't his father. Why did you lie to us, mom? Why did you let us live our whole lives thinking he was Tyler's father? I mean, is he...is Joe even my dad?"

Well, so much for repressing those tears.

Erica stepped forward and grabbed Kaitlyn's arms, refusing to let go when Kaitlyn tried to pull away.

"Kaitlyn, you have to understand! When Tyler had his accident, the hospital tested us both for blood types, to see if we could give Tyler blood. They got the tests mixed up, okay, they had to. They told me Joe wasn't Tyler's father, but I know that's not true." Erica sighed, stared hard at her daughter. "Baby, you and Tyler are both Joe's children. He is your dad. There has never been anyone else."

Kaitlyn opted for the silent treatment, still staring a hole into the cement.

Erica breathed out. "You don't believe me."

No comment.

"Kaitlyn. We've always been straight with each other in this family, right? We don't keep things to ourselves, you and me, right? We talk. So tell me why, Kaiti. Why don't you believe me? Why can't you trust me?" Erica waited for a response, and when none came, she spoke again. "Is it because Tyler doesn't believe me?"

"No, mom." Kaitlyn spat, noticing the edginess in her voice. "I'm capable of making my own decisions about things! I don't believe you because I don't think this is the only thing you're lying to me about!"

Erica looked surprised. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about that day we went to the specialist. I'm not stupid, mom! I called my doctor. He was not out of town. And I did research - there is no such thing as a shot that helps with car crash symptoms. Come on, mom, did you think you could just lie to me about all this?" Kaitlyn kept going, feeling more upset, angrier. "You're gone way more than you need to be, and I call your office sometimes, and they tell me you left hours ago. You're always looking over your shoulder, you seem paranoid about everything, and I know it has something to do with the V's."

Well, technically she didn't know that, but after going over all the facts in her head, day after day, it was the conclusion she continuously came to. After all, the only odd thing about Kaitlyn's accident was the fact that she was healed by Visitor's. So why did Erica, after receiving a perfectly healthy daughter from the Visitors, insist on seeing a doctor they'd never even heard of?

No, none of it made sense.

"I think that's why you sent Tyler to dad's, too." Kaitlyn added. "If this has something to do with the Visitors, and I know it does, you wanted him at dad's to get him away from Lisa, because she's a V, and the daughter of the Queen of the V's. Mom, I'm top in my class, I'm not some stupid pre-teen airhead that doesn't notice things! I thought you knew me better than that! Something is going on with the Visitors. What are you hiding from me? From us? If you want me to trust you, mom, then stop keeping secrets!"

She waited for the outburst. For the typical mother response, "Don't talk to me that way," or "Watch your mouth, young lady", but it never came.

Instead, Erica just got quiet. She didn't deny Kaitlyn's accusations, just tried to dumb them down.

"Kaitlyn, you have nothing to worry about. Can you trust me on that?"

"No," Kaitlyn said emphatically. "I can't."

Silence followed. Kaitlyn couldn't stand it. She glared at her mother defiantly.

"No more secrets, mom."

Erica sighed, seemingly defeated. She bit at her lip, stared at the moon in the sky, wedged between a rock and a hard place. Kaitlyn stood her ground until Erica returned her gaze.

"Alright, Kaiti," she said quietly, seriously. "Get in the car."

"No, mom, I'm not getting in the car unless you-"

"If you get in the car," Erica paused, torn. "I promise I'll tell you what's going on."

This took Kaitlyn by surprise. It was definitely the last thing she expected to hear from her mother. She expected resistance left, right and center, not this. Still, Kaitlyn was skeptical. How could she be sure her mother wasn't just saying this to get her daughter to submit and get in the car?

Still, Kaitlyn thought back; she was pretty sure her mother had never broken a promise to her.

"Will you actually?" Kaitlyn asked, testing the grounds.

Erica hesitated, but eventually nodded.

"Yes, but come to the car first." Erica shivered. "It's freezing out here."