Our Way - Part 7

Printer-friendly version
*7*
Lexi
***

This week has been weird, really weird in fact. Aunt Éleonora has been shot and she might never walk again, I met the despicable man that is my father, I crossed the ocean and of course I met the catalyst for all of this: my sister Alex. It was strange meeting her the way I did. Walking in the park in the early morning, thinking about perhaps going to help at the homeless centre where I spent a few months before meeting my aunties and then stumbling upon someone who looked like me in miniature! I couldn’t help but wanting to protect her since the moment I met her, she reminded me of Rose my adopted little sister who died with my adopted parents last year.

Rose was two years younger than me and she was so full of life, always active, always talking and always trying to make me do new things. She was lovely but back then I used to think she was annoying. *sob* I didn’t really appreciate her. She was the best little sister in the world and I didn’t give her the love she deserved. I also didn’t give enough love to my papa and my maman, I guess than knowing that you are adopted can stop you from giving love to others… I miss them... Auntie Nora and Auntie Robin are great but I don’t have with them the 14 years of love I shared with my old family… I can’t help but hate the man who decided to just ram into their car while I was away in summer camp. That man ruined the happiness that I had, the happiness that I had started being comfortable with since being told that I was adopted.

The six months in foster care that followed their deaths really shook me up and really changed me. I was beaten every day by the girls there, they were so jealous of me that they couldn’t help but wanting to ruin me. My foster parents didn’t care about my physical abuse, so I just ran out one day and I didn’t come back. I lived in homeless centres all winter and all spring, in summer I was saved by Auntie Nora but I had already changed. I lost about 15 pounds and I didn’t want to trust people anymore. Nora and Robin got to me, but it was hard, really hard, for them, not for me I was numb back then, numb to everything, numb to everyone.

The summer of therapy that I had this year, helped, but this past week has put such a toll on me... I would have probably fallen back into my depression if there wasn’t someone that I wanted to protect. Alex needs me, or at least I want her to need me. Even though Nora told me that she’s technically my older twin sister ,being born a few minutes before me, I can’t help but wanting to protect her. I don’t want to lose her, I don’t want to lose Auntie Nora, I don’t want to lose my family again, not after just having met them.

Alex his fragile, very fragile, she has been acting cynical these last two days and she has not been crying like the days before, but she’s upset, really upset the nightmares she has been having each time she has gone to sleep have been proof of that. I don’t want to upset her by being too close to her, but I might want to try to do the same activities as her, I will act as a bodyguard if any bullies show up.

I checked my cellphone 2 am. God it’s late, I have to wake up in four hours and I haven’t been able to stop thinking since our meeting with the cheerleaders at dinner. I hope its jet lag and not insomnia again. I will need sleep to deal with whatever life decides to throw at me.

Alex
***

Yesterday was something else entirely, I didn’t expect to find out that Misha was a girl. Nor did I expect to have so much fun with her at our welcoming party after dinner. She might have been a terrible person as a boy, but damn if she wasn’t a nice girl. Girl, am I one of those? I mean I have spent the last 5 days living as one and honestly I think I am quite comfortable as one. That’s a good thing, because I wouldn’t want to move to another accommodation, without my sister, in December, if Auntie Nora and Auntie Robin aren’t able to move here before the end of the year.

I really appreciate the attention given by Lexi even if she really mothers me. I guess than being as small as I am, I remind her of her lost little sister. She talked about her old family in the hospital but she didn’t want to give me much details. A year isn’t that long, so she must still be suffering … I guess I’m not the only broken person in my new family…

***

Morning was brutal to say the least. At seven everyone was to be out of the dorms and in direction to school but Lexi and I really had problems with jet lag so we arrived quite late at school. Now we are waiting for the principal in his office and I really hope he isn’t going to be upset, because I wouldn’t want the first impression he as of us to be negative.

The door opened and a man in his early fifty’s came in, he looked similar to aunt robin but he had blond hair unlike her dark black hair.

The man looked at us and smiling started talking at us. “Hi, soon to be granddaughters, is everything well? Have you had trouble sleeping? ”

Well that explained how Aunt Robin got us in such a prestigious school at such a fast speed, her father was the principal of our school! Talk about a surprise!

Lexi talked for me. “Granddaughters?”

“Yes, granddaughters. Didn’t Robbie tell you, you were going to my school? ”

I answered. “She just told us that you were the only one that could take us at such short notice. I didn’t expect the reason to be that we are becoming family. ”

“Girls, we already are family. Your existence has allowed me talk to Robin for the first time in years! That is enough for me to consider you family. I upset her a few years ago when I said that she was an egoist for not wanting to marry a man to continue our family. Dumb comment I know, but I was dumb back then and I hadn’t really accepted her liking girls. What I said upset her so much that she ran away with your aunt as soon as they both got their doctorates. I didn’t see her for three years… and time made me realize that my daughter could still continue our family line even if she married a woman and that her liking girls really wasn't something I should meddle in. I wanted to talk to her but she never answered my calls. When Robbie called me to tell about your situation, I was upset about what happened to you and yet relieved that she wasn’t going to ignore me all her life. ”

Well, that was an interesting story. I wasn’t the only one who had a bad coming out story in my new family. Aunt Nora being shot at least had positive impacts for someone…

I started talking “ Mr. the principal…” I was interrupted.

“Grandpa, call me like that, we are family after all. I have been lacking a family for the last three years so I don’t really give a damn if anyone says that the way you address me or the way I address you is too informal. ”

“Well, grandpa we have talked with Aunt Robin about moving here… ” I was interrupted again.

“You have? How wonderful! What did she say? ”

Our grandpa didn’t really act his age or like his post required to…

I restarted talking before I lost myself into my thoughts “We might move here if Aunt Nora wants to… but we will have to wait until Aunt Nora is ready to be moved.”

“Have they found a house?”

“Not yet, we just started talking about this yesterday… ”

“Well next time Robbie calls, convince her to talk to me I might have an idea about where she might want to live… Oh and dear granddaughters have you thought about which club you might want to join? Due to your late arrival we had to impose you a schedule but you have the chance to join any club in our community, our clubs being communal you might make friends in other schools.”

I talked. “Is there a writing club or a literature club?”

Grandpa was surprised by my question and his expression changed from his goofy one to a more serious one. “Yes, there is a club that corresponds to what you search, but I wouldn’t recommend it…There's been some very serious rumours about them.”

***
up
138 users have voted.
If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos! Click the "Thumbs Up!" button above to leave a Kudos

Comments

NOW!

Christina H's picture

Well you have me really hooked and I simply can't wait to find out what the rumours are about the writing and literary club.

Christina