Chapter 2
I got home quickly, going upstairs and heading directly into my room. I changed out of my clothes quickly, crawling into my poorly made bed. I turned out the light, and pulled the covers over my head, closing my eyes and wanting to sleep. But something was keeping me up. Something nagging at my nerves. I turned on my TV and watched, thinking that would make me tired, but it had no effect on me. Suddenly, Daddy burst into the room.
"Get out of bed April, we need to talk," Daddy snapped, the hallway light filtering into the room. I blinked, and threw the covers off of me, shoving my feet into my pink fluffy slippers by my bed, and shoved my arms into my robe, tying it tightly. I shuffled downstairs, and went into the living room. Mother sat on the couch, her eyes bloodshot from crying. Daddy stood beside her.
"What's going on?" I asked immediately. Daddy sighed.
"As you know, Georgia's child died," he began. I nodded.
"Yeah, I knew that."
"Well, we have something to tell you. That child, was my child." My eyebrow rose as I stared at him for a moment. I turned to Mother.
"And you knew about this?" I asked, folding my hands across my chest. A piece of golden hair fell across my face. I brushed it away.
"Yes, I did. You see, Georgia's husband, had a low sperm count, and Georgia didn't have her period as a child. But one day, me, Georgia, and your father were talking, and we decided that your father could. . . " she was about to say something, but I cut her off.
"OK, OK, don't give me the details," I pleaded, holding up my hands. Mother sighed.
"So, basically to say, that child that Georgia was carrying, was to be your half sister," she concluded. I closed my eyes and let breath escape from my lips.
"I know this is hard on you," Daddy said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Oh yeah, real hard on me," I replied sarcastically. Daddy narrowed his eyes at me.
"Go to bed, right now," he snapped.
"No problem," I said slowly, then marched upstairs.
"How can she take that so lightly?" Mother wailed as she buried her face into her hands.
"She's young. Only 17. She'll understand one day," Daddy reassured her. I almost laughed out loud. Just what I need, a half sister 17 years younger than me to be running around, annoying me, I thought. I walked into my room and shut the door behind me. I laughed for a minute, then crawled into bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. I snuggled in, and closed my eyes, fatigue washing over me, and soon, I fell asleep.
In the morning, my phone woke me up, again. I cursed at it and answered the phone.
"Hello?" I mumbled.
"Good morning," Jeff greeted me. I squealed with excitement.
"You like waking me up in the morning, don't you?"
"It's only because I can't be beside you," he replied. My heart melted.
"Oh! I have to tell you what happened last night," I told him, and preceded to tell him the events that happened last night.
"All of the good stuff happens when I'm gone," he complained teasingly.
"Yeah, well you said yourself that you couldn't come home. You're stuck in school," I told him. He laughed.
"I know, it's my fault that I want to go to school and get a good career."
"It is," I teased.
"Well, I can see you in about. . . 8 weeks," he said. I gasped.
"8 weeks!" I cried. "I can't wait that long!"
"Relax. I'll try and find some time before then to see you, I promise," he said. I sighed.
"OK," I said softly.
"I have to go. Freshman orientation is soon," he announced. I sighed.
"OK then. I love you."
"I love you too," he said and hung up. I cradled the phone, and tossed the covers off my legs and dressed. I picked up the phone and called Katherina, my best friend.
"OK, do you know what time it is?" she snapped when she answered.
"Yeah, get up. Let's go out and do something," I retorted.
"I'm sorry, but night clubs are only open at night," she fired back. I laughed.
"Get up," I urged. She sighed.
"Fine! Come and get me! We'll go to the beach," she announced, then hung up. I grunted, hung the phone up, and went to go get my bathing suit. I tossed it in a bag with sunscreen and headed downstairs. Mother was hunched over a cup of coffee, and Daddy was reading the paper.
"I'm going to the beach," I declared, picking up an apple. No one answered.
"OK, what would you say if I was getting a tattoo?"
"You'd be grounded for the rest of your life," Daddy said quickly, not removing his eyes from the paper. I giggled, and headed out the door. I hopped into my truck and sped down the streets and pulled up in front of Katherina's house. I honked the horn, and she ran out of the house, shaking her head. She wore a dark red halter top and capris with sandals. She crawled into the car and punched my shoulder.
"I hate you," she muttered.
"I love you too Katty," I replied, then laughed. I sped off towards the boardwalk. I told her about last night, and she nearly peed her pants.
"Oh, that's good," she breathed, tossing her hands into the air. I sighed.
"Yeah," I agreed, and parked right in front of the boardwalk. I got out, slammed the door, and locked arms with Katty. We walked into changing rooms and changed into our bathing suits. We walked out onto the beach, and lay our towels out, and spread out.
"So, Jeff is a college boy?" she asked. Sadly, I shook my head.
"Yeah," I replied. She punched my shoulder.
"Ah, get over it. You'll see him soon," she announced. I rubbed my shoulder where she had hit me. She smiled. My cellphone rang from inside my bag. I fished it out and answered it.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hello honey. At twelve, we're going to visit Mrs. Hastings at the hospital and we're going to bring her lunch," Mother declared. I groaned.
"Mother, that means I only have another hour to be here!" I cried. She growled angrily.
"April," she hissed.
"Fine, fine, I'll be there," I snapped, and hung up, throwing the phone onto my beach bag. Katty looked at me.
"My mother is making me go and visit Mrs. Hastings," I muttered angrily, clenching my fists.
"Relax," Katherina said, placing her hand on my shoulder. I sighed and lay back on my towel.
"You and your parents haven't been getting along, have you?"" Katty asked. I shook my head vigorously.
"My mother has been a royal pain in the butt," I replied. "I wonder how we can even be related."
"Well, you guys don't look alike at all. I mean, you have golden blonde hair, and blue eyes, and your mother has brown hair and hazel eyes."
"Yeah, that is kinda odd," I said thoughtfully, stroking my chin. Katty's eyes widened.
"Maybe you were switched at birth," she breathed. I laughed.
"Yeah, that's it Katty," I said sarcastically. She shrugged.
"Just watch one of those daytime talk shows. It happens all the time!" she cried. I rolled my eyes.
"OK Katty, think what you want to. Whether I like it or not, I'm related to the Sanders," I mumbled, and put my sunglasses on.
"Aw, you're no fun," Katty whined. I closed my eyes, but a shadow cast over me. I opened my eyes and stared at Julia standing in the way of my sun.
"Hello, April," she said sharply. I chuckled.
"How's your cheek feeling?" I inquired. She scowled.
"Just fine," she replied, gritting her teeth.
"Do you mind? You're in my way," I snapped, gesturing for her to move. "Oh, and by the way, is your brother here? I'd really like to have a word with him," I told her, and sat up. She stomped away, hopefully to retrieve her brother. He came back minutes later. Katty looked up with interest.
"Have a seat," I demanded sharply, patting next to me.
"I'd rather stand," he said, folding his hands across his chest.
"So, can you tell me why you were being such a bastard when I slapped your sister?" I questioned.
"You had no right to do that," he bellowed. I grunted.
"You told me to ignore her!" I cried back in protest.
"Still, you didn't have to slap her," he retorted. I stood up and started to pack up my things.
"What are you doing?" He demanded.
"I'm leaving. This place is infested with Jackson goons," I flared. Katty started to pack her things also. Brandon laughed, and strode off back to the Jackson clan.
"Oh, Brandon, wait!" I cried after him. He turned around.
"What?" he snapped. I walked up to him, smirked, and slapped him hard across the face. He looked at me angrily.
"That's only a piece of what I gave your sister," I said in a seductive voice, and sauntered off. Katty started applauding.
"Nice work my friend," she said happily and started to walk to the truck. I hopped in and sped off. I dropped Katty off at home, then drove to my own. Mother was there at the door, ready to jump on me.
"You're late!" she screeched, stepping aside to let me in.
"Only just a little," I muttered.
"We're supposed to be there in like 5 minutes!"
"Then go without me," I replied, walking upstairs.
"No! You're going! There's no way out of it!" She yelled. I turned to her sharply.
"Oh, so I can't say that I'm under the weather like you always do because you're having a bad hairday?" I snickered. Her face turned white. I lifted the corner of my cheek. She sucked in her breath.
"Just do as I say. Now change," she commanded, and pointed up to my room, her eyes locked with mine. I spun around and charged upstairs. I slammed my door, and looked in my closet for something to wear. I settled on a low neckline shirt and a mini skirt that mother would surely hate. I stalled in my room. Mother pounded on the door.
"We're going to be late!" she shouted.
"Go without me and I'll be there in a minute. I can't find my shoes," I lied. She growled.
"Fine! But you better show up," she warned and thumped downstairs. I put on my shoes, and went downstairs. Mother and daddy had already left. I grabbed my keys, and crawled into my truck, then sped down to the hospital. Mother and daddy were already there, waiting impatiently. Mother tapped her foot on the ground rhythmically, and Daddy had his hands folded across his chest.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Jeff called," I lied. "I tried to get here as fast as I could."
"Yes, I bet you did," Daddy hissed. I lowered my head. Mother looked at my outfit, and gasped.
"Did you think that you could dress any worse?" she whispered.
"No. But I could have gone naked," I said sarcastically. She grunted and pulled her head back sharply.
"Can we just get this done and over with?" I muttered. Mother sighed.
"Yes," she replied, took my wrist, and pulled me into Mrs. Hastings's room, stumbling as I entered. Her eyes bulged at the site of my clothing.
"Hello, Mrs. Hastings," I breathed, laughing nervously. Mother looked shocked for no reason, and Daddy looked embarrassed. I smiled, flashing my teeth at her, and stood at the back of the room as Mother and Daddy walked up to talk to her. I nodded or shook my head when they asked me a yes or no question. The nurse brought in a tray of food for Mrs. Hastings. It looked like it had been scraped off the side of a dumpster! I looked up and finally took a good look at the old hag.
For one, she wasn't having the best hairday. Her eyes were bloodshot, and gray bags were under her eyes. She was wearing no make up, which kinda scared me. I smiled fakely, and looked around the room. Mother cleared her throat, signalizing that I should say something nice.
"How are you feeling?" I blurted. frowning. Georgia sighed.
"I could have been better," she breathed, tossing her hand into the air.
"Did you enjoy making my half sister?"
"APRIL SANDERS!" Mother screamed, leaping out of her chair. Mrs. Hastings's eyes widened as she gasped. I bolted out of the room, running back into the lobby. Daddy ran after me, and I wanted to run, but I didn't dare to. He grabbed my arm and pulled me violently to him.
"How could you say such a thing!" he asked, trying to control his temper, which was soon going to get out of control. I bit my lip. It had just came out. Honestly.
"I'm sorry Daddy, it just came out!" I cried. Daddy's face turned beet red. Mother burst out of the room.
"I can't believe you're my father," I said, ripping my arm away. Mother's face turned so pale, I thought she was going to be transparent.
"You're not," Daddy shouted, stepping away from me. Mother gasped.
"DANIEL!" She screamed. Daddy gave her a reprimanding glance, and she shut her trap.
"Face it Daddy! I'm your spawn! You're child! Your daughter April Sanders!" I screeched at him. He turned around and smiled cruelly. It was kinda scaring me.
"What?" I asked in a small voice, twisting my gold hair nervously. He shook his head and walked over to me.
"I have some shocking news to tell you, daughter," daddy said calmly. "You really, aren't, our daughter. You have no relationship to us, whatsoever." Mother burst into tears, and ran over to Daddy and grabbed his arm, but he shook her off.
"Stop being so pathetic Vivian," he snapped, his eyes still connected with mine. I looked at him oddly.
"Daddy, you're going crazy," I choked, a lump caught in my throat.
"Oh no darling. You see, I must explain how you ended up in our hands." Mother sucked up her tears. "You see, we found you in an adoption center. Your mother was deep into debt, and was on the verge of poverty, so we offered to take you off her hands." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was frozen into place. Was I happy that I wasn't related to them? Or was I deeply saddened, because the people I thought that were my parents, weren't my parents anymore? Or . . . was I angry? Was I angry that they kept this from me for 17 years?
"Of course, I'm leaving out one important detail. You have 3 other sisters."
I decided right at that moment. I was angry.
"What!" I cried. I nearly screamed it. People that were in the lobby had left by now. They didn't want any part in this.
"Oh yes. 3 other sisters. Isn't that wonderful?" Daddy asked, clapping his hands together as the creepy smile returned to his lips. "Surprise!"
"What a great surprise," I shouted, than ran away from them, heading out the sliding doors.
"April!" Mother cried after me.
"Let her go Vivian. Let her find this out on her own," I heard Daddy said, and the doors closed behind. I hopped into my truck, and sped towards home. I nearly collided with an SUV on the way, but I didn't care. I stomped into the house, and dropped my purse down, panting because I had nearly run to the front door. I looked up. On the wall, was a recently taken picture, of me, Mother, and Daddy. I took my shoe off, and threw it at the picture, the glass shattering into a million pieces. Tears stung my eyes. I kicked my other shoe off, and bolted upstairs, slamming the door and hearing another picture shatter to the ground. Hopefully a picture of the whole family together, I thought. I flung myself on to my bed and started to cry.
How could they keep this from me? All these years, as we tried to be a happy family, they still kept it from me! I growled angrily as I pounded my fists into my pillow, some feathers exploding. I threw it across the room, then folded my hands across my chest. Just wait until Jeff and Katherina hear about this.
I got home quickly, going upstairs and heading directly into my room. I changed out of my clothes quickly, crawling into my poorly made bed. I turned out the light, and pulled the covers over my head, closing my eyes and wanting to sleep. But something was keeping me up. Something nagging at my nerves. I turned on my TV and watched, thinking that would make me tired, but it had no effect on me. Suddenly, Daddy burst into the room.
"Get out of bed April, we need to talk," Daddy snapped, the hallway light filtering into the room. I blinked, and threw the covers off of me, shoving my feet into my pink fluffy slippers by my bed, and shoved my arms into my robe, tying it tightly. I shuffled downstairs, and went into the living room. Mother sat on the couch, her eyes bloodshot from crying. Daddy stood beside her.
"What's going on?" I asked immediately. Daddy sighed.
"As you know, Georgia's child died," he began. I nodded.
"Yeah, I knew that."
"Well, we have something to tell you. That child, was my child." My eyebrow rose as I stared at him for a moment. I turned to Mother.
"And you knew about this?" I asked, folding my hands across my chest. A piece of golden hair fell across my face. I brushed it away.
"Yes, I did. You see, Georgia's husband, had a low sperm count, and Georgia didn't have her period as a child. But one day, me, Georgia, and your father were talking, and we decided that your father could. . . " she was about to say something, but I cut her off.
"OK, OK, don't give me the details," I pleaded, holding up my hands. Mother sighed.
"So, basically to say, that child that Georgia was carrying, was to be your half sister," she concluded. I closed my eyes and let breath escape from my lips.
"I know this is hard on you," Daddy said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Oh yeah, real hard on me," I replied sarcastically. Daddy narrowed his eyes at me.
"Go to bed, right now," he snapped.
"No problem," I said slowly, then marched upstairs.
"How can she take that so lightly?" Mother wailed as she buried her face into her hands.
"She's young. Only 17. She'll understand one day," Daddy reassured her. I almost laughed out loud. Just what I need, a half sister 17 years younger than me to be running around, annoying me, I thought. I walked into my room and shut the door behind me. I laughed for a minute, then crawled into bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. I snuggled in, and closed my eyes, fatigue washing over me, and soon, I fell asleep.
In the morning, my phone woke me up, again. I cursed at it and answered the phone.
"Hello?" I mumbled.
"Good morning," Jeff greeted me. I squealed with excitement.
"You like waking me up in the morning, don't you?"
"It's only because I can't be beside you," he replied. My heart melted.
"Oh! I have to tell you what happened last night," I told him, and preceded to tell him the events that happened last night.
"All of the good stuff happens when I'm gone," he complained teasingly.
"Yeah, well you said yourself that you couldn't come home. You're stuck in school," I told him. He laughed.
"I know, it's my fault that I want to go to school and get a good career."
"It is," I teased.
"Well, I can see you in about. . . 8 weeks," he said. I gasped.
"8 weeks!" I cried. "I can't wait that long!"
"Relax. I'll try and find some time before then to see you, I promise," he said. I sighed.
"OK," I said softly.
"I have to go. Freshman orientation is soon," he announced. I sighed.
"OK then. I love you."
"I love you too," he said and hung up. I cradled the phone, and tossed the covers off my legs and dressed. I picked up the phone and called Katherina, my best friend.
"OK, do you know what time it is?" she snapped when she answered.
"Yeah, get up. Let's go out and do something," I retorted.
"I'm sorry, but night clubs are only open at night," she fired back. I laughed.
"Get up," I urged. She sighed.
"Fine! Come and get me! We'll go to the beach," she announced, then hung up. I grunted, hung the phone up, and went to go get my bathing suit. I tossed it in a bag with sunscreen and headed downstairs. Mother was hunched over a cup of coffee, and Daddy was reading the paper.
"I'm going to the beach," I declared, picking up an apple. No one answered.
"OK, what would you say if I was getting a tattoo?"
"You'd be grounded for the rest of your life," Daddy said quickly, not removing his eyes from the paper. I giggled, and headed out the door. I hopped into my truck and sped down the streets and pulled up in front of Katherina's house. I honked the horn, and she ran out of the house, shaking her head. She wore a dark red halter top and capris with sandals. She crawled into the car and punched my shoulder.
"I hate you," she muttered.
"I love you too Katty," I replied, then laughed. I sped off towards the boardwalk. I told her about last night, and she nearly peed her pants.
"Oh, that's good," she breathed, tossing her hands into the air. I sighed.
"Yeah," I agreed, and parked right in front of the boardwalk. I got out, slammed the door, and locked arms with Katty. We walked into changing rooms and changed into our bathing suits. We walked out onto the beach, and lay our towels out, and spread out.
"So, Jeff is a college boy?" she asked. Sadly, I shook my head.
"Yeah," I replied. She punched my shoulder.
"Ah, get over it. You'll see him soon," she announced. I rubbed my shoulder where she had hit me. She smiled. My cellphone rang from inside my bag. I fished it out and answered it.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hello honey. At twelve, we're going to visit Mrs. Hastings at the hospital and we're going to bring her lunch," Mother declared. I groaned.
"Mother, that means I only have another hour to be here!" I cried. She growled angrily.
"April," she hissed.
"Fine, fine, I'll be there," I snapped, and hung up, throwing the phone onto my beach bag. Katty looked at me.
"My mother is making me go and visit Mrs. Hastings," I muttered angrily, clenching my fists.
"Relax," Katherina said, placing her hand on my shoulder. I sighed and lay back on my towel.
"You and your parents haven't been getting along, have you?"" Katty asked. I shook my head vigorously.
"My mother has been a royal pain in the butt," I replied. "I wonder how we can even be related."
"Well, you guys don't look alike at all. I mean, you have golden blonde hair, and blue eyes, and your mother has brown hair and hazel eyes."
"Yeah, that is kinda odd," I said thoughtfully, stroking my chin. Katty's eyes widened.
"Maybe you were switched at birth," she breathed. I laughed.
"Yeah, that's it Katty," I said sarcastically. She shrugged.
"Just watch one of those daytime talk shows. It happens all the time!" she cried. I rolled my eyes.
"OK Katty, think what you want to. Whether I like it or not, I'm related to the Sanders," I mumbled, and put my sunglasses on.
"Aw, you're no fun," Katty whined. I closed my eyes, but a shadow cast over me. I opened my eyes and stared at Julia standing in the way of my sun.
"Hello, April," she said sharply. I chuckled.
"How's your cheek feeling?" I inquired. She scowled.
"Just fine," she replied, gritting her teeth.
"Do you mind? You're in my way," I snapped, gesturing for her to move. "Oh, and by the way, is your brother here? I'd really like to have a word with him," I told her, and sat up. She stomped away, hopefully to retrieve her brother. He came back minutes later. Katty looked up with interest.
"Have a seat," I demanded sharply, patting next to me.
"I'd rather stand," he said, folding his hands across his chest.
"So, can you tell me why you were being such a bastard when I slapped your sister?" I questioned.
"You had no right to do that," he bellowed. I grunted.
"You told me to ignore her!" I cried back in protest.
"Still, you didn't have to slap her," he retorted. I stood up and started to pack up my things.
"What are you doing?" He demanded.
"I'm leaving. This place is infested with Jackson goons," I flared. Katty started to pack her things also. Brandon laughed, and strode off back to the Jackson clan.
"Oh, Brandon, wait!" I cried after him. He turned around.
"What?" he snapped. I walked up to him, smirked, and slapped him hard across the face. He looked at me angrily.
"That's only a piece of what I gave your sister," I said in a seductive voice, and sauntered off. Katty started applauding.
"Nice work my friend," she said happily and started to walk to the truck. I hopped in and sped off. I dropped Katty off at home, then drove to my own. Mother was there at the door, ready to jump on me.
"You're late!" she screeched, stepping aside to let me in.
"Only just a little," I muttered.
"We're supposed to be there in like 5 minutes!"
"Then go without me," I replied, walking upstairs.
"No! You're going! There's no way out of it!" She yelled. I turned to her sharply.
"Oh, so I can't say that I'm under the weather like you always do because you're having a bad hairday?" I snickered. Her face turned white. I lifted the corner of my cheek. She sucked in her breath.
"Just do as I say. Now change," she commanded, and pointed up to my room, her eyes locked with mine. I spun around and charged upstairs. I slammed my door, and looked in my closet for something to wear. I settled on a low neckline shirt and a mini skirt that mother would surely hate. I stalled in my room. Mother pounded on the door.
"We're going to be late!" she shouted.
"Go without me and I'll be there in a minute. I can't find my shoes," I lied. She growled.
"Fine! But you better show up," she warned and thumped downstairs. I put on my shoes, and went downstairs. Mother and daddy had already left. I grabbed my keys, and crawled into my truck, then sped down to the hospital. Mother and daddy were already there, waiting impatiently. Mother tapped her foot on the ground rhythmically, and Daddy had his hands folded across his chest.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Jeff called," I lied. "I tried to get here as fast as I could."
"Yes, I bet you did," Daddy hissed. I lowered my head. Mother looked at my outfit, and gasped.
"Did you think that you could dress any worse?" she whispered.
"No. But I could have gone naked," I said sarcastically. She grunted and pulled her head back sharply.
"Can we just get this done and over with?" I muttered. Mother sighed.
"Yes," she replied, took my wrist, and pulled me into Mrs. Hastings's room, stumbling as I entered. Her eyes bulged at the site of my clothing.
"Hello, Mrs. Hastings," I breathed, laughing nervously. Mother looked shocked for no reason, and Daddy looked embarrassed. I smiled, flashing my teeth at her, and stood at the back of the room as Mother and Daddy walked up to talk to her. I nodded or shook my head when they asked me a yes or no question. The nurse brought in a tray of food for Mrs. Hastings. It looked like it had been scraped off the side of a dumpster! I looked up and finally took a good look at the old hag.
For one, she wasn't having the best hairday. Her eyes were bloodshot, and gray bags were under her eyes. She was wearing no make up, which kinda scared me. I smiled fakely, and looked around the room. Mother cleared her throat, signalizing that I should say something nice.
"How are you feeling?" I blurted. frowning. Georgia sighed.
"I could have been better," she breathed, tossing her hand into the air.
"Did you enjoy making my half sister?"
"APRIL SANDERS!" Mother screamed, leaping out of her chair. Mrs. Hastings's eyes widened as she gasped. I bolted out of the room, running back into the lobby. Daddy ran after me, and I wanted to run, but I didn't dare to. He grabbed my arm and pulled me violently to him.
"How could you say such a thing!" he asked, trying to control his temper, which was soon going to get out of control. I bit my lip. It had just came out. Honestly.
"I'm sorry Daddy, it just came out!" I cried. Daddy's face turned beet red. Mother burst out of the room.
"I can't believe you're my father," I said, ripping my arm away. Mother's face turned so pale, I thought she was going to be transparent.
"You're not," Daddy shouted, stepping away from me. Mother gasped.
"DANIEL!" She screamed. Daddy gave her a reprimanding glance, and she shut her trap.
"Face it Daddy! I'm your spawn! You're child! Your daughter April Sanders!" I screeched at him. He turned around and smiled cruelly. It was kinda scaring me.
"What?" I asked in a small voice, twisting my gold hair nervously. He shook his head and walked over to me.
"I have some shocking news to tell you, daughter," daddy said calmly. "You really, aren't, our daughter. You have no relationship to us, whatsoever." Mother burst into tears, and ran over to Daddy and grabbed his arm, but he shook her off.
"Stop being so pathetic Vivian," he snapped, his eyes still connected with mine. I looked at him oddly.
"Daddy, you're going crazy," I choked, a lump caught in my throat.
"Oh no darling. You see, I must explain how you ended up in our hands." Mother sucked up her tears. "You see, we found you in an adoption center. Your mother was deep into debt, and was on the verge of poverty, so we offered to take you off her hands." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was frozen into place. Was I happy that I wasn't related to them? Or was I deeply saddened, because the people I thought that were my parents, weren't my parents anymore? Or . . . was I angry? Was I angry that they kept this from me for 17 years?
"Of course, I'm leaving out one important detail. You have 3 other sisters."
I decided right at that moment. I was angry.
"What!" I cried. I nearly screamed it. People that were in the lobby had left by now. They didn't want any part in this.
"Oh yes. 3 other sisters. Isn't that wonderful?" Daddy asked, clapping his hands together as the creepy smile returned to his lips. "Surprise!"
"What a great surprise," I shouted, than ran away from them, heading out the sliding doors.
"April!" Mother cried after me.
"Let her go Vivian. Let her find this out on her own," I heard Daddy said, and the doors closed behind. I hopped into my truck, and sped towards home. I nearly collided with an SUV on the way, but I didn't care. I stomped into the house, and dropped my purse down, panting because I had nearly run to the front door. I looked up. On the wall, was a recently taken picture, of me, Mother, and Daddy. I took my shoe off, and threw it at the picture, the glass shattering into a million pieces. Tears stung my eyes. I kicked my other shoe off, and bolted upstairs, slamming the door and hearing another picture shatter to the ground. Hopefully a picture of the whole family together, I thought. I flung myself on to my bed and started to cry.
How could they keep this from me? All these years, as we tried to be a happy family, they still kept it from me! I growled angrily as I pounded my fists into my pillow, some feathers exploding. I threw it across the room, then folded my hands across my chest. Just wait until Jeff and Katherina hear about this.