AN: Please make sure you read the previous chapter before reading this one. I uploaded it Thursday night and I know there have been some pretty major issues going on with the site.

Thanks!


"What the hell is your problem, Mariana?" Jesus asked as he walked into Mariana's room and slammed the door.

Mariana had left the living room about fifteen minutes earlier and had fully expected one of the moms to come and lecture her for her behavior. But she'd been alone since storming up here until Jesus came into her room.

"Oh, so you're the only one who can come up here and pretend like I matter?"

"Cut the crap, Mariana! You know damn well Mama didn't know anything about Callie being related to her! You could tell something upset Mama last night and it wasn't because of Callie's language. What the hell is your problem?" Jesus hissed at his sister.

Mariana just stared at him and then threw her phone down on the bed and stood up, glaring at her twin brother.

"What do you know, Jesus? You know we are always the ones shoved aside! Ana, our grandparents, Mama!"

"Have you lost your mind or are you really this much of a selfish little brat, Mariana?" Jesus yelled at her.

That stung, Mariana had to admit.

"Callie is really Mama's niece! I am allowed to feel hurt by this information! I am allowed to be upset!"

"How do you think they feel? How do you think Mama feels? Especially since you practically slapped her downstairs," Jesus ranted.

"They barely spend any time with us now that Callie and Jude are here! Have you noticed that, Jesus?"

"Have you noticed, Mariana, that you are always with your friends or at STEM club, or acting like you have better things to do than hang out with any of us. Callie and Jude haven't changed anything. They haven't changed how Mom and Mama feel about you, me, or Frankie. Nothing has changed except for how selfish you are, Mariana," Jesus hissed.

"You don't understand!"

"I understand the world doesn't revolve around you! You're sixteen, Mariana, and you don't even realize that Callie is hurting. That kid, and she is a kid, Mariana, is only thirteen years old. How would you feel if it had been us still in foster care and then found out we had family that would have wanted us? Don't act like you don't know she has nightmares. Or are you that self-centered? You share a room with her!"

"I know she has nightmares, Jesus! I hear them! I hear her all the time. Every single night. Who do you think makes sure she is covered up and okay afterwards if she wakes up? Who do you think wakes her up if she starts to get loud? And you know why I do it, Jesus? Because she asked me to wake her up so she wouldn't alert Mom and Mama! So I do! I wake her up when she is begging people not to hurt her. I have been kicked and hit trying to wake her up from those nightmares because she tries to keep herself safe," Mariana said, tears starting to fall down her face.

"Why haven't you told moms?" Jesus asked, his brow knitted together.

"She begged me not to, so I didn't! I am not a horrible person, Jesus! She doesn't want them to know. She cries out and begs someone not to hurt her all the time. She told me that I couldn't tell because she finally felt safe. But I know she was hurt. She did it to protect Jude — 'Please don't hurt me, Liam, please. No, not Jude. I'll let you do whatever you want as long as you leave Jude alone.' I hear it all. But I made a promise and I wont break it. Especially not now that she is going to be my sister," Mariana hissed.

"Then why did you get so angry downstairs at Mama and Mom, Mariana?" Jesus asked.

Mariana looked up at her brother and hastily wiped her tears away.

"I get to feel hurt that I am not biologically related to one of our mothers, Jesus," Mariana whispered.

"Blood doesn't make us family," Jesus told her.

"Maybe not, but I wish I hadn't come from Ana. I wish I had come from Mama or Mom and not that bitch. Drugs were more important than we were. And then she fought the adoption because she thought she would be able to get money out of the moms and, Jesus, I want to be worth more than a few dollars to get high!"

"We are worth more than that! We are worth that to Mom and Mama!"

"It hurts, okay? It hurts that Callie comes in here and gets Mama! That she is related to Mama. I want that connection, too!"

With that, Mariana sat on the side of her bed and cried harder. She didn't want to be jealous of Callie — she knew Callie had been through a lot of shit she couldn't even imagine because she had, thankfully, been with her moms most of her life. Callie hadn't been lucky that way.

It did not mean she didn't wish that she was also related to one of her mothers. And she didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

Except … except how awful she had been downstairs. It had really set her off, seeing Callie wrap her fingers in the hem of Mama's shirt. It was something Mariana also did, usually when she wasn't feeling well or had something she wanted to talk about.

"I will tell Callie I am sorry. She didn't deserve what I said. But I get to be upset, Jesus."

"You can be upset. But remember, Mariana, Mama and Mom chose us. They adopted us. It wasn't their fault that it took more than a year for the adoption to go through. It wasn't their fault that Ana is such a bitch. Just like none of this is their fault.

"And none of this is Callie's fault either. I think she needs to know that you are not mad at her. She has had it rough, too. And, I think you need to talk to Mom and Mama about these nightmares Callie is having. You can't keep that a secret for long."

Mariana nodded, then jumped when she heard a yell from downstairs, "What do you mean I am only twelve!?"

Mariana and Jesus looked at one another — what in the world was going on now?


Stef and Lena were trying to keep Callie calm, but she had lost it when they told her Robert had paid to have her birth certificate altered to appear she was a year older than she actually was.

Callie was pacing back and forth in the living room, her actions almost comical had the situation not been quite so serious.

"What is his problem? I am twelve? I have already been twelve and it is not something I want to repeat! So does this mean I never actually turned one? If I am not thirteen, that means I am the same age as Sophia — wait, is my birthday the same?" Callie stopped and stared at Lena, waiting for an answer.

"Yes, Bug, your birthday is still the same," Lena replied.

Callie started pacing again, her hands moving dramatically as she talked, "This is what life seriously wants to hand me right now? I am freaking twelve years old! Wait, this means that I am actually younger than Sophia. This means my mom died when I was seven. It means I only got seven years with her instead of eight.

"It means I had one year less with my mom than I thought! Is this like some twisted joke? I hate him! I hate him," Callie ranted.

Stef and Lena knew they had to let her get it all out, else she was never going to come to terms with it.

"Does Jill know what he was doing while she was pregnant with Sophia?" Callie asked, staring directly at Lena since she knew Lena had seen him earlier in the day.

"No, she doesn't, Callie. She thinks you are older than Sophia by more than a year," Lena explained.

Callie nodded and then sat down on the floor, putting her head between her knees and finally letting it all sink in.

Was anything in her life not a lie?