Annie took Lucy upstairs to the room that she would sleep in.
"Thank you so much. Maybe all of your family could come and see pictures of my family in the photo album?" Lucy suggested.
"We'd love to do that, I'll get everyone," Annie replied. Lucy smiled. This family had shared so much with her that she had to she them her family. Everyone came upstairs and Lucy opened the photo album.
"Here is my sister Rhonda, me, and my baby sister Lindsey," Lucy said. She flipped the page.
"This is my dad fixing our swingset when I was only eleven," Lucy said. She showed pictures of her family, but there were no pictures of Lucy as a little kid.
"If you don't mind me asking, how come there are so many pictures of your sisters as babies, but none of you under age nine or so?" Ruthie asked. Lucy breathed.
"I don't know. There never has been. The oldest picture of me that I have is this one," Lucy replied, pulling out a picture of a little girl in jeans and a purple shirt. She wore blue and white tennis shoes and had dark blonde hair. Eric stood up. She flipped over the picture and there, in blue pen, it said: Lucy July, 1990 Eight years old. Eric tapped Annie and they went out of the room.
"I was born in July 1990," Ruthie stated.
"That's cool," Lucy replied. Ruthie smiled.
Outside the room, Eric and Annie talked.
"What is it?" Annie asked.
"That girl in that picture looks like Lucy," Eric replied.
"It is Lucy," Annie said.
"No, I don't mean Lucy Loveday, I mean Lucy Camden," Eric replied.
"Eric, it's impossible. When did Lucy disappear?" Annie asked.
"Can't you remember? The day Ruthie was born, Mary lost Simon and I went to go get him. While I was gone, Matt scared Lucy and she ran off. Then we found out about Jennifer and Ruthie. None of them know about Lucy, only Matt. None of them know about Jennifer, none of them," Eric replied.
"They don't know about Ruthie either," Annie said.
"That's true, but Ruthie's here, and she doesn't even know," Eric said.
"We're lucky she's here," Annie said, "And like you said, none of them know, don't mention it. It's impossible." They went inside the room.
"This photo wasn't taken here!" Lucy said, about the picture, adding, "This is the only picture that's not at our house or vacations."
"Look in the background!" Mary said, pointing to a car with California plates.
Lucy stared in the background of the picture, thoughts raced through her mind as she remembered running through a hall. It was a hospital. She was running, hair in her face, tears in her eyes.
"What day in July were you born, Ruthie?" Lucy asked.
"July 19th," Ruthie replied.
"That was a historic day," Mary said, "I lost Simon and dad had to go get him, then Ruthie was born."
Lucy's mind raced. She thought back, her thoughts unclear.
"Daddy, daddy!" She screamed as she ran through the hospital. She ran into a person a head on and fell. They reached to hold her and she didn't resist. Then, she realized where she was and stopped day-dreaming.
"I think I'm your daughter," Lucy said.
"What are you talking about?" Simon asked. Eric and Annie pulled each other out into the hall again. They motioned for Lucy to follow them.
"Lucy. We lost our eight year old daughter at the hospital when Ruthie was about to be born. We lived in California," Eric explained. Hot tears formed in Lucy's eyes.
"How did it happen?" Lucy asked.
"I was pregnant with twins. I went in a month early in labor. We were originally going to have a neighbor take care of our four kids, Matt, Mary, Lucy, and Simon. It happened so fast that we had no time and were forced to take the kids along. I went into have the twins, and Eric was out in the waiting room with the kids," Annie began.
"We all sat down, but Mary and Simon went off to race. He was only but really little. Mary was almost ten. Then Matt and Lucy started playing and she got scared. Mary came back and said that she had lost Simon. I went to find him and Mary went with me. We came back to find Matt reading Sports Illistrated and Lucy nowhere to be found. Then I was called into see Annie. There were complications," Eric replied.
"Then what happened?" Lucy asked.
"He came in and we had two daughters. Unfortunatly, one had died and the other was given a week. Eric went back out and they all searched the hospital up and down, but Lucy Camden was gone at only eight years old," Annie replied.
"Did she look like me in that picture?" Lucy asked.
"Yes," Eric replied.
"Ruthie's alive," Lucy said.
"Yes. We were very fortunate. What she doesn't know is that she has a heart condition," Annie replied.
"Here's what I remember. I was running through a white hallway and I ran into someone and that person was my mom," Lucy said.
"My daughter," Annie said. They hugged.
"I'll go tell the kids," Eric said.
"Ok," Annie replied. Eric walked into the room.
"What's going on?" Ruthie asked.
"Lucy is your sister," Eric replied.
"What?" Simon asked.
"I'll tell you," Eric replied.
"You better," Mary said.
"Should I be here?" Robbie asked.
"You're a part of this family," Eric replied.
"Dad," Ruthie said.
"Ruthie, you're a twin," Eric began.
"What? How? Where's my twin?" Ruthie asked.
"She's dead," Eric replied. Ruthie fought off tears.
"When did she die?" Ruthie asked.
"She died an hour after you guys were born," Eric replied.
"Why did I live? What happened?" Ruthie asked.
"You guys were premature. Her name was Jennifer. Her heart gave out," Eric replied.
"Anything else that I need to know?" Ruthie asked.
"You have a heart condition," Eric replied.
"But, when I get heart burn...."
"It's not heart burn," Eric said.
"How is Lucy our sister?" Mary asked.
"She got lost at the hospital," Eric replied.
"How's that possible?" Ruthie asked.
"It is. We've been keeping this from you guys for all of these years," Eric replied.
"Why didn't Matt and I remember?" Mary asked.
"Matt does remember. We told you that she was only a neighbor that we babysitted," Eric replied.
"And she believed you?" Simon asked.
"Not at first, but when Lucy didn't come back, she eventually forgot," Eric replied. Lucy and Annie walked in.
"Did you tell them?" Annie asked.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Ruthie asked.
"Ruthie, honey. This is true!" Annie replied. Ruthie stood up.
"I should have died too!" Ruthie yelled. She stormed out of the room. Mary went after her, but Eric held her back.
"But she needs to talk..."
"Let her go," Eric said. He loosened his grip on Mary and hugged her as she sobbed.
Ruthie stayed in her room. She sat in the closet, not wanting to come out. Just then, Robbie came in to her.
"Go away," Ruthie sobbed.
"Ruthie, please listen to me," Robbie said.
"What?" Ruthie asked.
"You should be happy that you're alive," Robbie replied.
"No. It should have been me. It shouldn't have been Jennifer. She deserves to have lived!" Ruthie shouted.
"It wasn't up to you! Ruthie listen to me! You're alive, you're fine!" Robbie said.
"Not for long!" Ruthie replied. She ran out of the closet and into the bathroom, slamming the door. Simon came into her room.
"What happened?" Simon asked.
"She threatned to kill herself," Robbie replied.
"This isn't good," Simon stated. Robbie nodded.
Lucy sat in her room. She felt uncomfortable in her own family's house. She's missed so much in her life. This was her family, but how would she have known? Her "family" had betrayed her. They took her. This was her family. That was the mother that she had been born to. That was her sister smoking outside. Her brother on a date. Her sister in the bathroom, hiding. Her twin brothers playing happily in their rooms. Eric walked in.
"Lucy. I'm sure this is uncomfortable," Eric said.
"No. It's ok. It's not your fault that it came to this, it's my fault," Lucy replied.
"Your fault?" Eric asked. Lucy nodded. "No, no, it's not your fault. You were a little girl. You had no idea what was going on. You were scared. You had no control."
"Don't give me that. It is my fault. So you can just quit sayin' that it's not! It is! Admit it! I wanted to go or I would have resisted! I would have screamed! I didn't! I wanted to go!" Lucy yelled. Eric tried to touch his daughter, but she pushed away.
"Lucy," Eric said.
"You don't know me. My fears, my goals. You don't know. You may be my biological father, but you're not my dad!" Lucy replied, storming out of the room.
"Thank you so much. Maybe all of your family could come and see pictures of my family in the photo album?" Lucy suggested.
"We'd love to do that, I'll get everyone," Annie replied. Lucy smiled. This family had shared so much with her that she had to she them her family. Everyone came upstairs and Lucy opened the photo album.
"Here is my sister Rhonda, me, and my baby sister Lindsey," Lucy said. She flipped the page.
"This is my dad fixing our swingset when I was only eleven," Lucy said. She showed pictures of her family, but there were no pictures of Lucy as a little kid.
"If you don't mind me asking, how come there are so many pictures of your sisters as babies, but none of you under age nine or so?" Ruthie asked. Lucy breathed.
"I don't know. There never has been. The oldest picture of me that I have is this one," Lucy replied, pulling out a picture of a little girl in jeans and a purple shirt. She wore blue and white tennis shoes and had dark blonde hair. Eric stood up. She flipped over the picture and there, in blue pen, it said: Lucy July, 1990 Eight years old. Eric tapped Annie and they went out of the room.
"I was born in July 1990," Ruthie stated.
"That's cool," Lucy replied. Ruthie smiled.
Outside the room, Eric and Annie talked.
"What is it?" Annie asked.
"That girl in that picture looks like Lucy," Eric replied.
"It is Lucy," Annie said.
"No, I don't mean Lucy Loveday, I mean Lucy Camden," Eric replied.
"Eric, it's impossible. When did Lucy disappear?" Annie asked.
"Can't you remember? The day Ruthie was born, Mary lost Simon and I went to go get him. While I was gone, Matt scared Lucy and she ran off. Then we found out about Jennifer and Ruthie. None of them know about Lucy, only Matt. None of them know about Jennifer, none of them," Eric replied.
"They don't know about Ruthie either," Annie said.
"That's true, but Ruthie's here, and she doesn't even know," Eric said.
"We're lucky she's here," Annie said, "And like you said, none of them know, don't mention it. It's impossible." They went inside the room.
"This photo wasn't taken here!" Lucy said, about the picture, adding, "This is the only picture that's not at our house or vacations."
"Look in the background!" Mary said, pointing to a car with California plates.
Lucy stared in the background of the picture, thoughts raced through her mind as she remembered running through a hall. It was a hospital. She was running, hair in her face, tears in her eyes.
"What day in July were you born, Ruthie?" Lucy asked.
"July 19th," Ruthie replied.
"That was a historic day," Mary said, "I lost Simon and dad had to go get him, then Ruthie was born."
Lucy's mind raced. She thought back, her thoughts unclear.
"Daddy, daddy!" She screamed as she ran through the hospital. She ran into a person a head on and fell. They reached to hold her and she didn't resist. Then, she realized where she was and stopped day-dreaming.
"I think I'm your daughter," Lucy said.
"What are you talking about?" Simon asked. Eric and Annie pulled each other out into the hall again. They motioned for Lucy to follow them.
"Lucy. We lost our eight year old daughter at the hospital when Ruthie was about to be born. We lived in California," Eric explained. Hot tears formed in Lucy's eyes.
"How did it happen?" Lucy asked.
"I was pregnant with twins. I went in a month early in labor. We were originally going to have a neighbor take care of our four kids, Matt, Mary, Lucy, and Simon. It happened so fast that we had no time and were forced to take the kids along. I went into have the twins, and Eric was out in the waiting room with the kids," Annie began.
"We all sat down, but Mary and Simon went off to race. He was only but really little. Mary was almost ten. Then Matt and Lucy started playing and she got scared. Mary came back and said that she had lost Simon. I went to find him and Mary went with me. We came back to find Matt reading Sports Illistrated and Lucy nowhere to be found. Then I was called into see Annie. There were complications," Eric replied.
"Then what happened?" Lucy asked.
"He came in and we had two daughters. Unfortunatly, one had died and the other was given a week. Eric went back out and they all searched the hospital up and down, but Lucy Camden was gone at only eight years old," Annie replied.
"Did she look like me in that picture?" Lucy asked.
"Yes," Eric replied.
"Ruthie's alive," Lucy said.
"Yes. We were very fortunate. What she doesn't know is that she has a heart condition," Annie replied.
"Here's what I remember. I was running through a white hallway and I ran into someone and that person was my mom," Lucy said.
"My daughter," Annie said. They hugged.
"I'll go tell the kids," Eric said.
"Ok," Annie replied. Eric walked into the room.
"What's going on?" Ruthie asked.
"Lucy is your sister," Eric replied.
"What?" Simon asked.
"I'll tell you," Eric replied.
"You better," Mary said.
"Should I be here?" Robbie asked.
"You're a part of this family," Eric replied.
"Dad," Ruthie said.
"Ruthie, you're a twin," Eric began.
"What? How? Where's my twin?" Ruthie asked.
"She's dead," Eric replied. Ruthie fought off tears.
"When did she die?" Ruthie asked.
"She died an hour after you guys were born," Eric replied.
"Why did I live? What happened?" Ruthie asked.
"You guys were premature. Her name was Jennifer. Her heart gave out," Eric replied.
"Anything else that I need to know?" Ruthie asked.
"You have a heart condition," Eric replied.
"But, when I get heart burn...."
"It's not heart burn," Eric said.
"How is Lucy our sister?" Mary asked.
"She got lost at the hospital," Eric replied.
"How's that possible?" Ruthie asked.
"It is. We've been keeping this from you guys for all of these years," Eric replied.
"Why didn't Matt and I remember?" Mary asked.
"Matt does remember. We told you that she was only a neighbor that we babysitted," Eric replied.
"And she believed you?" Simon asked.
"Not at first, but when Lucy didn't come back, she eventually forgot," Eric replied. Lucy and Annie walked in.
"Did you tell them?" Annie asked.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Ruthie asked.
"Ruthie, honey. This is true!" Annie replied. Ruthie stood up.
"I should have died too!" Ruthie yelled. She stormed out of the room. Mary went after her, but Eric held her back.
"But she needs to talk..."
"Let her go," Eric said. He loosened his grip on Mary and hugged her as she sobbed.
Ruthie stayed in her room. She sat in the closet, not wanting to come out. Just then, Robbie came in to her.
"Go away," Ruthie sobbed.
"Ruthie, please listen to me," Robbie said.
"What?" Ruthie asked.
"You should be happy that you're alive," Robbie replied.
"No. It should have been me. It shouldn't have been Jennifer. She deserves to have lived!" Ruthie shouted.
"It wasn't up to you! Ruthie listen to me! You're alive, you're fine!" Robbie said.
"Not for long!" Ruthie replied. She ran out of the closet and into the bathroom, slamming the door. Simon came into her room.
"What happened?" Simon asked.
"She threatned to kill herself," Robbie replied.
"This isn't good," Simon stated. Robbie nodded.
Lucy sat in her room. She felt uncomfortable in her own family's house. She's missed so much in her life. This was her family, but how would she have known? Her "family" had betrayed her. They took her. This was her family. That was the mother that she had been born to. That was her sister smoking outside. Her brother on a date. Her sister in the bathroom, hiding. Her twin brothers playing happily in their rooms. Eric walked in.
"Lucy. I'm sure this is uncomfortable," Eric said.
"No. It's ok. It's not your fault that it came to this, it's my fault," Lucy replied.
"Your fault?" Eric asked. Lucy nodded. "No, no, it's not your fault. You were a little girl. You had no idea what was going on. You were scared. You had no control."
"Don't give me that. It is my fault. So you can just quit sayin' that it's not! It is! Admit it! I wanted to go or I would have resisted! I would have screamed! I didn't! I wanted to go!" Lucy yelled. Eric tried to touch his daughter, but she pushed away.
"Lucy," Eric said.
"You don't know me. My fears, my goals. You don't know. You may be my biological father, but you're not my dad!" Lucy replied, storming out of the room.