Claiming Family by Desi Lin

Author:Desi Lin [Lin, Desi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Covey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2020-01-31T06:00:00+00:00

Twelve

As I stood on the porch of Michael’s house, I wanted to throw up. Dad’s house, I meant. Using the word, even in my head, still caused me some trouble. After I knocked, the door swung open, and Kelly smiled wide as her gaze took in my torn black stockings, leather shorts, and sheer purple shirt over a black tank.

“Come in, sweetie.” She stepped aside to let me in.

Following her into the living room, I racked my brain for something to say but came up blank. Michael rose from the couch as we entered and crossed the room to envelop me in his arms. I kept the hug short, stepping back after only a couple seconds. As I sank into one of the chairs, I noticed a leather photo album on the coffee table. Kelly followed my stare.

“I didn’t know your mother.” She reached for the album, turning it over in her hands. “I only moved here a couple years ago. Michael found this hiding away on a shelf and was introducing us.” She held it out to me.

Hopefully, she couldn’t see how my hands trembled as I took it from her. Her eyes met mine over the album. I don’t know what I thought I would see there, but I didn’t expect the sympathy or compassion. She laid a hand against my cheek for the merest moment, then sat in the other chair.

The idea of seeing my mom for the first time sent my stomach spinning, and I was grateful she realized how difficult this moment might be for me. Michael sank to the couch, patted the cushion next to him.

“Why don’t you come over here, and I’ll show you Cali.”

Silently, I shifted to the couch and handed over the album once I sat next to him. He opened it, flipping the pages too quickly for me to get a real sense of anyone present in them.

“Your mom was a real spitfire.” He spoke absently as he searched the album pages. “We both lived too far out to be bused daily into Illustratio, so during the week, we lived in the Ignis dorm. Basically, we grew up together. Can’t count the number of times the two of us, and Hugh—a terra—ended up at the nurse during training. Ah! Here it is!”

The page he stopped on held only one picture. The rest of the page was decorated with confetti, stickers, and balloons. “The three amigos take on the world!” was written in gold ink above the picture with a date underneath.

In the picture, two guys stood with their arms around a girl, all three smiling broadly into the camera. They appeared young, not much older than me. The guy on the left was a young Michael. The one on the right possessed short blond hair, spiked up, and twinkling blue eyes. He held himself with a confidence bordering on arrogance.

As handsome as the young men were, the woman between them held me captive. Flame red hair fell in gentle waves around a delicate face.

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