CHAPTER FORTY
FAMILY
REBECCA CALL:
Tiffany had eventually come round after fainting because of me. I felt awfully bad for that but what else was I meant to do? I feel it's better to confront situations head on. No pussy footing around has always been one of my motto's! Her friend Sue had excused herself as had my sister and Embry. I hadn't got used to saying "my brother" just yet! It was time for a heart to heart with my real mother. There were a lot of tears and there were a lot of hugs. My Mom told me the truth about my conception. It was shocking to say the least. My poor Mom hadn't had the best of times in her life. I didn't blame her for giving me up for adoption. I really don't know what I would have done in that situation myself. Maybe my positive outlook was due to the wonderful family I was placed with. Mike and Angie Constantine were the best parents a girl could ask for. They were kind and caring. They were always honest and loving. They were full of fun and a joy to be around. I loved them both to distraction and I always would. But I still wanted to know where I came from. I needed to know.
When Katherine had come along when I was four years old I was overjoyed to have a little sister to play with. That was when Mike and Angie sat me down and explained how I was adopted. I had asked to see photographs of when Angie was pregnant with me, after I saw Mike taking pictures of her developing bump. Obviously there were no photos so my adoptive parents decided it was time to tell me the truth. They had explained it in such a lovely way to me that I had never felt unloved or unwanted, not once. They told me my Mom hadn't been well and her condition meant it was impossible for her to look after a child. Obviously the authorities had to tell the Constantine's about my mother's bi polar disorder just in case it was hereditary. Thankfully, so far I had shown no signs of developing it. I loved my adoptive parents and Katherine ( or Kat as I liked to call her) as if they were my own flesh and blood. Which in my eyes they were as they were the ones who loved me, who stuck by me, who brought me up to be the person I am today. I also had some kind of love for this woman who gave birth to me. How could I not? I could see parts of me in her, as she sat next to me on the sofa telling me about my other siblings. Seems I had another brother too. He was my father's son. Sam Uley Jnr. Nice to have two half brothers as well as a sister. I hoped to meet Sam one day soon. Just because his father had been a terrible person didn't mean his son was did it?
My Mom explained that Sam and Embry were quite different. Sam was hot headed and impulsive. Embry was shy and kind. Tiffany reached into a drawer and pulled out a box of photographs. "I have a recent one of the boys here somewhere" she said as she flicked through the box. I smiled as she handed me one. Then I gasped aloud as I recognised the boy next to Embry! This was the crazy guy I had pulled from the ocean last night when I'd been out for a walk to clear my head. I recognised his cropped dark hair and black eyes. Eyes that I now realised were so like mine. He had been floundering just a little way out when I happened to walk past deep in thought. All I saw was an arm coming out of the waves. My eyesight was very sharp, blame the wolf genes. I was an excellent swimmer so I didn't hesitate about jumping into the cold dark water to save this stranger. Now it turns out he was my half brother! I had left him on the sand when he'd insisted upon it. I wasn't one to intrude on other people's problems so I left him to it. Before you go thinking I am cruel and heartless, I did wait for awhile out of sight to make sure he was fine. That's when another guy had found him and took him away. I had phased and ran through the unfamiliar woods, trying to calm my mind in preparation for meeting my mother today. Now I was here, staring at a photograph of my two handsome half brothers.
Tiffany and I talked some more and I promised I would visit again the next day. She tried to persuade me to stay with her but I still wasn't ready for that and assured her my Motel was fine. I also promised I would bring Katherine to meet her tomorrow too. So all in all our first meeting had gone well, although Tiffany had cried a lot, something I wasn't so comfortable with. Mainly because I simply didn't know what to do in those situations. I wasn't over emotional nor sentimental myself so when other's were I found it difficult. Still, I hoped she didn't find me cold or unfeeling. There was one thing I was dying to ask her but I just hadn't found the right words yet. I had to know before I left. So I plucked up the courage and turned to my real Mom, "Tiffany, before I go can you please answer a question for me?" I said with a smile. She took my hand with a smile and nodded, "Of course Rebecca".
I took a deep breath and blurted out my enquiry quickly before I changed my mind. "Do I get my shape shifting side from you or my father?" I asked with trepidation. There was no answer though, just silence
My real Mom had fainted again.