a/n: wowww!!! so i didn't have this story on my laptop here at school and i had no idea what i wanted to do with this, i won't lie. but i'm taking a 'mothers and daughters' class up here at school and we just covered adoption and well...it got my juices flowing. i'm hoping that i'll be able to keep going with this story as i can see a little bit of a path starting to form as to where i want this to go. but i'm sorry that i took like...a year to update!!!! i'm not dead, i promise. R&R!!!! -nic

Chapter 5- The Truth pt. 2

"MOM!!"
Rachel DeWitt lifted her head from the couch cushion where she lay watching television. The fight with her daughter earlier had not been fun and when Brooke comes in here screaming her name…well that won't be fun either. She sighed as Brooke appeared in the doorframe.
"Yes?"
"Tell me right now, am I adopted?" she crossed her arms and stared at her mother.
Rachel's eyes went huge and she stared at her daughter. "What?"
"You heard me," Brooke said quietly.
"Where did this come from?"
"Just tell me yes or no Mom."
The older woman just closed her eyes and looked away. "Yes," she said very quietly.
"What?" Brookes hard resolve seemed to shatter at the very syllable.
"Yes…you are."
Brooke just stood there staring at her mother with her mouth open, tears in her eyes, unable to say anything.
"Come here," her mother patted the couch next to her and Brooke walked very slowly and stiffly over to it and sat down, staring straight ahead. "It was sixteen years ago when we adopted you. Your father gave you up, I don't know anything about your mother. The only thing he wanted was for you to keep your first name of Brooke. We didn't think it was that hard of a request so we did that."
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" she whispered.
"I was waiting for the right time…"
"Oh really? Well it's been a little bit now Mom, when do you think the time will be right? When I'm getting ready to be married?! Did you think I would never find out??"
"No! I was going to tell in time!! You just…seemed to be so happy I didn't want to bring you down by telling you this…and how did you find out anyway?"
"Mr. McGuire told me," she shot her mother a dirty look. "How the hell does he know before I do huh? Does everyone in the fucking neighborhood know?!" her voice rising.
"Brooke, I know you're upset but you better watch your language," Rachel said sternly as her daughter just glared her.
"Well? How does he know and I don't? I only just started dating Adam like a month or so ago!"
Mrs. DeWitt swallowed deeply, turned her head and sighed. "Because…he's related to you," she whispered.
"…What…." Brooke was dumbfounded.
"He's related to you. That's how he knows. He had no idea that we were even living around him until recently though. What did he say to you?"
"It…wasn't him," Brooke faltered. "But the guy said that he knew my mother a long time ago from school and when I said that you didn't grow up around here and he got real quiet and said 'your other mother'."
"Who did?"
"A guy with curly hair that's like…in his thirties or something. I don't know," she shrugged. "And how am I related to the McGuires?" she cocked her head curiously.
"Well you know how I told you that I didn't think dating Adam was such a good idea? It's because he's your cousin," she said bluntly and quietly.
Brooke's eyes grew huge and she sat down on the couch with a thud. "His father is my uncle?" she asked softly.
Rachel just nodded without saying anything, waiting for her daughters response. Brooke rose slowly from her spot on the cushioned object and slowly walked upstairs.
"Brooke!"
She just turned to stare at her mother and Rachel grew quiet.

"I can not believe that you said that to her!" Melena snapped at Gordo later that night.
"Well I'm sorry but I'm looking at my daughter since the first time I saw her!! Yeah some things might just slip out!" he exclaimed in defense.
"She didn't know she was adopted!!" Melena exploded and Gordo grew quiet.
"She didn't?"
"Oh that's great, now you start thinking. Welcome to the game Gordon," she shot him a dirty look before walking into the living room to see Matt there just lying on the sofa.
"She really doesn't know?"
"Nope. And it's not my place to tell her," Matt sighed. "It can't go on though. She's dating my son who's her cousin. That can't be healthy."
"What's she like?" Gordo asked quietly.
"What?" Matt looked up at him as he sat in the chair beside him.
"What is she like?"
Matt sighed again and gave the man a look. "Gordo you can't do that to her. You didn't want her. You can't just pop back up in her life sixteen years later and think that you're going to have a relationship with her. You gave her up because you didn't want to deal with her."
"I was so young…"
"Yeah. So was I," Matt pointed out. "In case you've forgotten we had Adam shortly after Lizzie died."
"Maybe this was a bad idea to come here tonight…"
"Things would have been fine if you didn't open your mouth," Melena said she came into the room and leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "And frankly, I wouldn't blame her at all if she didn't give two shits about you Gordo. You gave her up for adoption. She has a family and if she wants to get to know her real one, me and Matt are here for that."
"I'm her father Melena, you can't just expect me to be ok with you two taking my place…"
"You can't just expect us to be ok with you giving up my sisters daughter because you didn't want her and then thinking you can just waltz right back in when she's older do you?" Matt said quietly, not looking at Gordo.
"Matt," he said hoarsely.
The younger man leaned his head up to look at Gordo who was staring at him.
"You…mean that," Gordo said more as a statement than as a question as he looked into Matt's eyes.
"You didn't want her then, you don't get her now," he said quietly. "Lizzie was my sister and I watch out for her. Since she's dead now, I get to watch out for her daughter, my niece."
"Wow…Matt," Gordo said softly but the young man wouldn't meet his eyes. He had never seen Matt McGuire like this in all the years that he's known them and it was definitely a surprise.
"I think you know the way out," Melena said softly casting a look at Gordo.
He nodded his head slowly and started to make the silent journey out of their house.

Brooke raised her head from her pillow a few hours later as the sound of little pebbles hitting glass caught her attention. She went over to it and opened it to see Adam in the tree across from her window with a smile on his face.
"Hey, can I come in to play?" he asked jokingly as Brooke sighed and walked away, letting him enter her room.
"So what was all that tonight huh?" he asked as he sat down on her bed with her.
She just stared at him. "You like me right?"
"What?"
"You like me right?"
"Uhh…yeah. That's kind of I'm going out with you," he said giving her a weird look.
"Well how much do you like me?"
"Brooke…what's going on?"
"Just answer my question."
He sighed. "Babe, I've liked you since I first saw you at the party where you were fighting with your friend. Then I got to see your beautiful personality…" he pushed her blonde hair away from her face. "You know that I like you a lot. Now what's going on?"
She just looked at him silently for a minute, sadness behind her eyes. "We can't see each other anymore," she said quietly.
"What? Why? Did your mother say something again?? Because to be honest, I'll go against that Brooke. Nothing is going to keep me from seeing you…" he grabbed her hand as she started crying. "Brooke…"
"You know how that guy tonight said that he knew my other mother and then just randomly dropped the subject?"
"Yeah but I don't know what-"
"I'm adopted Adam," she said cutting him off.
"Woah…did you just find this out tonight?"
She nodded. "I came home and pestered my mother until she told me."
"I'm sorry babe but I still don't see what this has to do with us seeing each other…"
"My real mother…not the one downstairs…well she died."
"Ok…"
"Just like how your aunt died."
"My aunt drowned years ago. What are you getting at…"
"Do you see a weird resemblance to me and your aunt at all?"
"Uhh…haven't looked?" he answered looking thoroughly confused.
"Your aunt is my real mother. The one that Gordo knew all those years ago that he went to school with…"
Adams eyes went huge and almost fell off the bed. "What?! No…no way. My dad would have said something by now!"
"Not if I didn't know I was adopted," Brooke pointed out.
"Oh my God…" he sat there staring at her for a minute before he shook his head to release his daze.
"So that makes us…cousins?" he whispered and she shook her head.
"And that's why we can't be together," she said softly still crying.
He just looked away, breathing hard, trying to sort all this out in his head.
"I'm sorry…"
"Brooke it's not your fault!" he cried as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "We just have to figure out…what the fuck to do now that's all…"
"Brooke!" a knock sounded at the door before it was opened to reveal her mother standing there. "Adam-"
"It's ok Rachel. We know," he said sadly and she nodded as she took in the scene of her daughter crying and him holding her tightly looking downtrodden himself.
"I'm sorry," she said softly as she turned to go.
"Yeah…me too," he replied.