Seeing her grandmother opening the front door of Jessica's house wasn't something that had ever occurred Lucy's mind. Her instinct told her to go because it wasn't a good sign that her grandmother was here. A voice within told her to stay. Her curiosity won it from her instinct.
They really didn't have a choice but to follow the old Bella into the house. They didn't know what was going on or what they should expect from this. The living room was empty and there was no trace of the woman that lived here.
"Sit down" was the only thing that was said to them.
The five of them obeyed the old Bella and quickly sat down on the sofa. Beca sat down in a chair facing them. Before one of them could open their mouth, the old Bellas captain started to speak.
"Lucinda Rebecca Johnson, I'm very disappointed in you" Beca said to her granddaughter.
"The same goes for you, Jade Alyssa Conrad" a second voice was suddenly added to the previous statement.
Stacie came from the kitchen with a very serious look on her face. Looking nothing like the sweet grandmother she usually was. She sat down on a chair next to Beca.
Stephen, Andy and Freedom who had never met Stacie before, just stared at the old Bella. Jade really was a younger version of her grandmother and they suddenly understood Jessica's strong reaction to Jade two days earlier.
"What part of stop searching didn't you two understand?" Stacie asked her granddaughter and Lucy angry.
"What the fuck were you thinking? Why on earth did you two think it was okay to harass our friends?" Beca wanted to know.
"These ladies are our friends. And you just waltzed in with questions because you're curious. Have you ever thought about the consequences? You almost gave Jessica an heart attack with your selfish actions. Have you ever thought about that?" Stacie asked them furious.
Lucy wanted to say something but the two old Bellas didn't give her a chance to say anything. The three other youngsters avoided any eye contact with the two older women or their friends.
"Tell me why you thought it was a good idea to drag them along in your search for the truth?" Beca asked pointing at Freedom and the Applebaum boys.
"Technically we didn't drag them along. Andy posted a message on Facebook with a question if someone could help him with information about his mom" Jade said.
"And when we found out about Freedom, we approached her. But it was her own decision to help us with our search" Lucy added.
"Have you ever thought about what it does to them? There is a reason why they didn't grow up with their mothers around. You may think it's wrong but they didn't make that choice lightly" Beca said.
"I'm sorry grandma. I didn't think about that. I know you all experienced horrible things and suffered. But this secret is a part of our family history. This secret destroyed so many lives. Not only your lives but ours too" Lucy said bitterly.
"Don't you think we weren't aware of that?" Beca asked.
"The point is that you made a mess by ripping open old wounds. We did everything we could to keep this secret a secret. Not for ourselves. Not for the ones that sacrificed their lives that day. But to protect your mothers" Stacie said now softly.
"We know it wasn't easy for any of you growing up. It wasn't easy for us to make that choice so long ago. But it was for the best. If we had to made those decisions again we would do it again. As much as it has hurt everyone involved, we as Bellas don't regret anything" Beca said firmly
"Even if you made the wrong choices?" Andy suddenly asked.
"As wrong as it may seem to you. To us it wasn't. I don't expect any of you to understand it. You weren't there. We where" Beca said.
"Do us all a favour and stop searching for the truth" Stacie said for the last time.
"No, we won't." Andy said.
"It wasn't a question. You have to stop this" Stacie said again.
"We can't just stop because you want it" Andy said visibly upset.
"This is maybe the only chance for us to meet our mothers. I can't speak for Freedom, but I can speak for my brother. Our father died recently. We only have our uncle Jesse. We don't know anything about our mother. What if she dies? Then we will never know" Stephen suddenly yelled angry.
"We know that. Benji was a good man and he did a great job raising you" Stacie said sympathetically.
"Well my dad is still alive but I agree with Stephen. We've came so far. Now is not the time to give up" Freedom said.
"It isn't strange that we want to know our mothers. Like Stephen said, his father died without telling them anything about their mom. At least my dad told me about my mother but I would like a chance to find out for myself who she is. They're not thirty anymore and before we know it, it could be too late" Freedom said.
"We're just curious about them. We have so many questions that only our mothers can answer" Stephen said now much calmer.
"We know that. And we promise that you will get the chance to finally meet your mothers. But it isn't that easy. So much has happened. They went through so much. It isn't easy for a mother to give up their own children" Beca said sadly.
"Give us one reason why we should believe you. All you did was lying" Andy said challenging.
Without answering him the two old Bellas just stood up and walked away. The five youngsters were left behind in confusion. Scared that they maybe had gone too far and offended the two old ladies they just sat there and waited for what would happen next.