Chapter 4

Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed and favourited this fic since I published it earlier this year. I've been trying to write as consistently as possible to make updates more often in the new year but I'm entering my final term of third year from January so whether that's possible will remain to be seen.

Harriet felt her body jolt in shock at the words, Callum squeezing her hand softly. The brunette stared at Luke; he had the same dark hair and brown eyes that she, Jack and Tanya did. How the woman hadn't spotted the resemblance immediately she didn't know. Moving her gaze to the girl stood beside him, she narrowed her eyes. Kimberley was the complete opposite of her siblings with her blonde hair and blue eyes.

"No," Harriet stood up slowly, not moving her eyes from the two people stood beside the door. Everyone's heads snapped towards the brunette who'd spoken for the first time since she'd entered the house. "He… He might be but she… She doesn't even look like us and she's far too young to possibly be dad's daughter."

Jack sighed and gestured for his sister to sit down before indicating for Luke and Kimberley to do the same. "Mum was pregnant with Luke when she left. Luke was born seven months after mum left."

Harriet felt Callum squeeze her hand gently as she shook her head in confusion. Her mum had been pregnant when she left? That went some way to explaining why she'd decided to leave when she had. Her mum had always vowed that if she was to fall pregnant again she wouldn't let her dad have anything to do with the baby.

"That still doesn't explain… Her…"

Jack glanced at Tanya who was chewing her lip. Harriet felt a pang in her chest as she watched her sister chewing on her lower lip anxiously. If the brunette closed her eyes, she could see her and Tanya sat in the shed at the bottom of the garden while their parents argued in the house. Tanya chewing her lip and Harriet staring at the wall in silence. Both sisters way of dealing with their family drama. Nothing much had changed.

"Kimberley's isn't dad's daughter. She's just mums." Jack shuffled awkwardly on the spot. He could sense his sister's defensiveness cracking the more he explained. "She was born in 1992."

Harriet stood up again, brushing Callum's hand off her knee. She rubbed her hands wearily over her face. All these revelations were hurting her head. Her mum dead? A niece and nephew she'd never met before? A brother and half-sister she'd never known existed? Suddenly, feeling as if the walls around her were closing in, the brunette pushed past her siblings and ran out of the house.

Slamming the front door behind her, she fled down the street. She had no idea where she was going but she knew she couldn't bear to be in the house with people she hardly even knew who were supposed to be her family. She had over half a lifetime of gaps that were yet to be filled in where her family was concerned and, despite the desire to have her questions answered, she wasn't sure she could face more revelations just yet.

X-X

Callum glanced round the room as the door slammed, the silence that had descended round the room deafening. Slowly, he placed his cup on the table and stood up, gesturing in the direction the brunette had just gone in.

"Im gonna go find her" Before the man could move, Jack stepped forward, holding a hand up in the man's direction.

"Do you mind if I go with you?" Callum frowned and Jack swallowed uncomfortably. "I know the area a lot better than you do that's all, saves you wandering round aimlessly."

Reluctantly, Callum nodded, leading the way out of the house and into the warm air outside. The two men walked beside each other silently, the awkwardness of the situation descending on the pair of them as they made their way through the streets, checking for where the brunette had gone.

"Does my sister talk about us much?"

Callum glanced up. He thought for a moment, tucking his hands inside his pockets. "I think she found it tough after your dad left. By all accounts, he wasn't the most loving father."

Jack sighed. "For what it's worth, I know mum regretted not taking Harriet with her when she left." They rounded the corner, making their way towards the children's play area. "Mum always said dad was manipulative. Harriet was older than me and Tanya, old enough to be brainwashed."

"I don't think she was brainwashed by your dad in the slightest. I think she was scared of what he was capable of." Stepping sideways, they let a mother and her child pass them. "She told me she used to believe that one day your mum would come back and rescue her, taking her to somewhere she could be safe and happy. Your dad never stopped being violent, just the person he was hitting changed."

"I know it doesn't make it right but mum did feel guilty about not taking her with us when she left, every single day for the rest of her life." Callum nodded slowly, turning and glancing out at the field ahead of them, searching for his girlfriend.

Narrowing his eyes, he gestured in the direction of the bench nearest the playground. "I think we've found her." Jack spun round, pausing at the sight of his older sister slumped on the bench, staring out into the distance.

X-X

Harriet leant her head back, letting the sun warm her tear stained face and calm her racing heart. After the past couple of days, she felt weary, her body emitting physically the emotional anguish she felt inside at what she'd discovered. On one hand she didn't feel any emotional connection to her siblings, her mother, they'd been out of her life for years and left her to fend for herself. On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel comforted by the fact her siblings were back in her life, despite the years it had took.

Feeling a shadow casting over her, she opened her eyes slowly and glanced up, meeting the big brown eyes of her younger brother. Callum lingered slightly further behind him, smiling weakly. "Are you okay?"

The woman shrugged. "I guess…"

Her brother sat down next to her, perching on the edge of the bench. "I know it's a lot to take in at once." He reached out, placing his hand over hers tenderly. "Mum always regretted it, you know."

Harriet sat up straight. "What?"

"She regretted leaving you behind, she always wanted to come back and get you."

"Why didn't she?"

Jack shrugged. "After Luke was born, mum was adamant dad wouldn't go anywhere near him. She was terrified at the damage he'd already done to us. She thought if she went back for you it would drag him back into our lives."

Harriet nodded slowly. "So she was happy to sacrifice me for him?"

"It wasn't like that, she was terrified you'd been brainwashed against her and wouldn't come with her."

Sighing, Harriet took a shaky breath. "He got worse after you left, even more violent and angry and frustrated." Jack chewed his lip uncomfortably. "I was terrified of what he was going to do… what he was capable of."

"You got out though"

Harriet felt tears rolling down her cheeks and she rubbed them away with her sleeve. "I'm sorry."

Jack leant forward, passing his sister a tissue from his pocket. "It's okay" Shuffling up the bench, he placed an arm gently around her shoulders. Harriet blinked; if she closed her eyes she was thirteen again, cuddling Tanya and Jack into her tightly, tears rolling down her cheeks and the backdrop of her parents screaming at each other. "I missed you."

Harriet sniffed, snapping out of her thoughts. "I missed you too" Without missing a beat, the brunette wrapped her arms around her younger brother, squeezing him tight and blinking back more tears.

"Come on, let's go home"

Merry Christmas everyone! Also, just in case I don't get to update in the next week, Happy New Year! I hope 2021 is a better year all round for you all.