I started to shake. I can’t cope with this.
“Normally we wouldn’t be telling you this, but we need you to help us now. Did u know if your mom was hiding from anyone? Do you know if someone was looking for her?”
I shook my head, but then I remembered something. “My mom told me we weren’t safe. That my dad had to leave so they couldn’t find us, but she never said who.”
I could see the officer jotting down everything I said.
“Ok Evelyn now we searched your house and it seems your mother had loads of different false documents. Passports, birth certificates, were all falsified and that only happens if we put someone into hiding,” I looked at him in disbelief. this couldn’t be true. “And we’ve inspected these documents and have concluded your family has been hiding for a long time and whoever did the documents had to of been someone on the force, but we have your birth certificates” He said looking through a folder. Certificates? “Now you mentioned your father, did she tell you his name by any chance?” Where was he going with this? Did they know where he was?
“Yes, she said his name is Theo.”
I saw a brief glimpse of sorrow in his eyes.
“These are the birth certificates.” He said handing me two old pieces of paper. I read the top one.
This is to Certify that
Evelyn Terratellus
Weighing: 6 lbs. 7oz. was born
On the: 21st day of June at 19.36pm
To Felicity Terratellus and Theo Terratellus
In the Year of 2000
“I’ve never seen my birth certificate before. My last name is different” I said. He smiled at me then I looked down at the other paper.
This is to Certify that
Aiden Terratellus
Weighing: 6 lbs. 9oz. was born
On the: 21st day of June at 19.28pm
To Felicity Terratellus and Theo Terratellus
In the Year of 2000
My body started to shake. I looked again at this piece of paper that turned my whole world upside down.
“I have a brother?” I asked but he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“Yes, Evelyn a twin brother, but I’m afraid your father went missing 12 years ago.”
I felt sick. I ran out the room to the toilet and threw up. How could this be happening to me? After a few minutes Caitlin’s mom knocked to see if I was ok, but I didn’t know what to say. I washed my mouth out and unlocked the door.
“Can you go on?” She asked me kindly.
“Yeah I need to know.” I told her as I walked back into the living room and sat down. “And my brother, where is he?” I asked.
“Well unfortunately back then they assumed the birth certificate they found was real. His name was Aiden Tellus and his birthdays in April not June, so they didn’t connect. They kept the file open in case something came up. Your last names are very unique, so the connection was made. Aiden was fostered into Sarah and Pete Andrews care when he was 5, then adopted a year later by the same family. We have already contacted the family, and they will be breaking the news to Aiden in the morning–”
Adopted? Did my mother know? Did she just leave him out there on his own?
“–At this time, we don’t know why your mother was targeted. It is very similar to your father’s disappearance, so we suspect it’s the same organisation. We are arranging for you to stay here for tonight and social services will be in contact with you by tomorrow to arrange your future care.” He stood up and looked down at me. “Thank you for your help. We are going to do all we can to find her.” Then he patted me on the shoulder and they left.
Caitlin came in and took me up to her room. We laid down on her double bed while I cried. She just laid there with me and waited.
“I have a brother.” I managed to choke out.
She sat up and looked at me. “You have a brother? How is that possible?”
“Not only that, he’s my twin.” I said then laughed.
Caitlin looked at me like I was crazy. “You’re laughing? Well where has he been all this time?”
She looked as puzzled as I felt. “He was living with my dad until he went missing and then he was adopted.” I sighed.
“Wow that’s a lot to take in.”
“I can’t deal with it now. I’m so tired. I need to sleep.”
“Ok night Evelyn.” Then she turned around and was snoring within 5 minutes.
I couldn’t sleep so easily. Not when I knew what was coming next, my heaven and hell. I closed my eyes and waited for the flames to take me, but when they never came I was relieved and sad at the same time. I wanted to see him again. I needed to feel that love right now. My whole world is falling apart around me.
For the first time in years I didn’t dream of fire. I only dreamt of my mom and my home. I dreamt of me at 7 years old, sitting together cuddling on the couch watching Beauty and the Beast. I could always feel her love washing over me and I missed those times. I’d do anything to have them back. I tried to think back to any time she may have mentioned anything about a brother, but she never did. I did have a dream once though, well I thought it was a dream, but it might have been a memory of being with a boy my age when I was about four, but it was too hazy. I lifted myself off the bed and looked for Caitlin, but she was gone. I picked up my backpack and opened it and looked for my cell phone. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to try. I got my mom’s cell phone number up and it dialled. I just watched as it kept cutting off. I tried five more times begging to hear her voice, but then I gave up and threw the phone back into the bag. When I turned around Mrs Montgomery had poked her head around the door.
“Sweetie social services are here to talk with you. I said you’d be ten minutes but take your time they can wait.”
I smiled and nodded. I needed to find my voice before going down stairs. I quickly brushed my hair, and when I looked in the mirror I didn’t recognise myself. The pale skin on my face was puffy and my eyes were bloodshot. The green in them was shining brighter than they have before. I put it down to the amount of crying I had done, I couldn’t remember a time I’d cried so much. I splashed cold water on my face hoping to lessen the redness. I didn’t want to face anyone looking like this, but it wasn’t working. I walked back out and got changed. All I found was what I had brought for New Orleans. A pair of light blue jeans and a thin grey top with a hood.
I had just finished getting dressed when there was a knock on the door. When I opened it, Eli was standing on the other side. I could see he was upset for me.
“Hey Evelyn, can I come in?” He asked.
I opened the door to let him in, but I left it open and stayed in the door way. Eli was always very nice to me. He was 2 years older than Caitlin so we kind of grew up together. He always looked after us at school and I’ve always looked up to him. Caitlin told me a year ago she thought he fancied me and was worried we’d run off together and leave her behind, but she knew I wasn’t interested in boys the same way she was. She was right though. I knew Eli had feelings for me, so I had to be careful around him.
“Evelyn I’m so sorry about your mom. I wish I could help you.”
“Thank you but there’s nothing anyone can do” I said looking down at my feet.
Then I felt him up close to me and when I lifted my head he wrapped his hands around my shoulders and pulled me into him. I know he was trying to comfort me, but it was doing the opposite, so I pushed him away.
“I’m sorry I didn’t know what else to do.” He said sadly.
“It’s OK Eli, I just can’t deal with it still” I could see he wanted to do it again, so I turned around. “Well I better get downstairs.”
I started the descent down the stairs and walked down into the living room. A short red-haired lady was waiting for me.
“Evelyn hi I’m Jackie Lane from social services. How are you feeling today?” She said as she looked at the circles under my eyes.
“What do you think?” I snapped, but I felt bad. This is
n’t me. I just didn’t know how much longer I could take all this shit.
“Your right I’m sorry. I know it’s a hard time for you, but we have some news. The police have contacted us saying we can take you home to collect your belongings, so we’ll do that err a little later” she stammered. Oh god more news was coming. “We have contacted your brother’s parents. Well I mean his adopted parents and we have agreed that it would be best if you went to live with them.”
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“We believe that the best thing for you is to be with a family member and Sarah and Pete are very nice people. They have fostered a lot of children over the years and they have a room available for you. Now I understand how you must be feeling, but we are still unsure as to whether you’ll be targeted. Aiden hasn’t had any problems, so it will be safer for you there.” I stared at her blankly as she continued. “We have arranged a flight for you to Louisiana, and they will be waiting for you at the airport. We will send a chaperone with you to make sure you get there ok.” She waited for me to answer.
I think I was in shock and then it dawned on me.
“I’m moving to Louisiana? What about my home, my school, my friends? I can’t move to Louisiana. What if my mom comes back? This isn’t happening I’m dreaming.” I held my head in my hands. I wanted to rip my hair out. I had to wake myself up.
“I’m sorry Evelyn this isn’t a dream. We need to go pack your stuff now. I’ll be waiting in the car outside when you’re ready.” She said.
Ready? I’ll never be ready. I looked up at Caitlin and she was as devastated as I was. She came over and held onto me.
“It’ll only be a year and you’ll be able to move back OK Evelyn. I promise we will be together again.” Caitlin said kissing my head.
We must have looked like something out of a bad romance where the lovers are torn apart. Caitlin’s mom came in then and said we had to hurry. I said goodbye to all of them not knowing if I’d see them again, but Caitlin offered to come home with me. I was so relieved that I wouldn’t have to do this alone.
When we pulled up outside I saw my mom’s car sitting in the drive way, we were only together in there yesterday. I looked up and saw the crime tape had been cut, so there was a way in, but the front door was still broken in half. When we entered the house, it looked like it had a bomb dropped on it. I climbed over the rubble to get to the fire place.
“They’re all gone.” I whispered.
“What’s gone?” Caitlin asked.
“Every photo of me is gone.” I choked.
Caitlin was walking towards where a picture of me used to hang. There was a different picture hanging there. It was a picture of my mom and another woman sitting on the couch laughing. “Who is that?”.
“I have no idea.”
I looked around and most of the pictures were missing; only now there were a few that I hadn’t seen before either with my mom, or mom with that other woman. I was starting to understand. Maybe she was trying to protect me. It didn’t even look like I existed. I went to my mom’s bedroom and saw the photo album laying face first on the floor. When I picked it up I saw that all my baby photos were still there up until I was about one or two. The other photos were missing, but I knew she used to hide important stuff in the air vent behind her bed. I pulled the bed away from the wall, and when I pulled the vent out I could see all our photos. I pulled everything out and packed it into a suitcase. Obviously, my mom didn’t want anyone to find these, so I wasn’t leaving anything behind. Caitlin watched me curiously as I came out of her room and went over to mine. Even my room looked different as though there was no sign I was even here. The only things left were my clothes, which had been pulled from the closet and flung on the floor. All my drawers had been pulled out and were all over the place. I picked them up and started packing them. I looked out of the window where I could see the social worker sitting in her car. When I looked down my stomach turned. My ghost orchid was still on the windowsill, but now it was shrivelled and brown, it was dead.
Aiden
As I walked through the door I could hear everybody talking in the kitchen. It was like they were arguing in whispers. As I entered the kitchen Sarah jumped down my throat.
“Where have you been?”
I looked at all their worried faces, but it wasn’t because I wasn’t home. I could feel a bomb about to drop.
“Sorry Sarah I went for a run in the woods. I didn’t think you would be up so early on a Sunday.” I held my hands up in defence.
“It’s 10 o’clock dude.” Jake interrupted.
Oh, wow I didn’t think I’d been out for that long, but still something was wrong. I looked at Sarah. then to Pete. He was shuffling in his seat.
“Here come sit down we need to speak to you.” He said. He then turned to Jake. “Would you mind be giving us some time with Aiden?”
“Sure, dad no worries.” Jake responded giving me a sad smile as he left.
I took a seat next to Pete while Sarah sat in the seat in front of me. She spoke softly. “We had a phone called today from social services in Los Angeles–”
Oh god what now.
“-They have a young girl in their care. Her name is Evelyn and they believe she is your twin sister.”
All the hair on my body was standing on end. I was excited and shocked at the same time. I always thought I must have family somewhere, but never thought I had siblings.
“I have a sister?”
“Well this is where it’s complicated Aiden. She doesn’t know anything about you or your father and she’s been living with her mother, well and possibly your mother, all this time. They have two birth certificates. One was yours and one is hers born on the same day to the same parents–”
She was starting to choke up
“–It seems both your mother and father were in hiding from someone and…”
That’s where Pete took over. “I’m afraid your mother, her mother was abducted yesterday. The police believe that it’s unlikely her mom will be found.”
I couldn’t stop the tears that fell from my eyes and splashed onto the table. All this time I had a mother out there and a sister. I tried to speak but I couldn’t find words to say.
Then Sarah started again “so from the looks of it she has no home anymore and has no other family except for you, and we’ve decided that she should come live with us. She must be feeling distraught at the moment. I guess we feel you both need each other. She should be arriving later this evening and we’ve set up the connecting bedroom next to yours. I know you don’t like anyone being in that room as the door doesn’t lock, but I don’t want her feeling isolated.”
Sarah kept talking but I zoned out.
My mind was racing. All this time I had a family and now that family is broken. Did my mother know what happened to us? Why would they keep us apart? But I was glad got my mind off the girl from my dream. I was somebody’s brother, and I wanted to be the best brother I could be. I was sad to hear about our mother, but I didn’t know anything about her, which made it easier for me. I remember how awful it felt when my dad was taken, and I was just a kid. I think being that young I adapted easier into a new life. I don’t think I could do it now.
“Aiden hello?” Sarah was waving her hand in my face.
“Sorry what?” I asked.
“Were going to the airport to collect her. You can come, or you can stay here.”
“I think I’ll stay here.”
“Are you sure? Jake is insisting on coming.” She gave me an ‘oh god’ look when she said it.
“No, I’d rather stay here.” I felt sorry for her having to meet Jake after the day she’s had.
After they left, I paced through the house for about an hour. I walked into the room joined to mine, it looked sterile. Sarah always had the foster children in the bedroom downstairs as they knew I needed my space. I walked back to my room and opened my closet. I pulled out a box at the back and opened it and found a small white rabbi
t teddy. It was mine when I was young. I had brought it here with me. I hadn’t seen it in years, but now thinking of Evelyn I hoped it could help her adjust so I brought it back into her room and put it on her bed. I smiled to myself. ‘Her bed.’ Then I thought maybe I should put something of dads in there. I didn’t want to overwhelm her, so I wouldn’t tell her where it came from. Walking back to my room I headed for the window where I had two ghost orchards. I picked the nicest one and put it in her window. Dad use to grow them at home. The place was full of them. He said it reminds him of happier times. I was only able to bring two with me. Maybe I knew back then that one was for her.
As I walked back to my room I felt the tightening in my stomach again, maybe I was just getting sick. I sat on my bed, but it didn’t go away. It felt like I was being pulled again. I looked out the window to see if anyone was there, no one except Pete’s car driving up the road. The closer he got the more intense the feeling got and when he pulled into the drive I could see a brunette sitting in the back. I pulled myself away from the window and went to the bathroom and locked the door. I knew who she was, but I didn’t want to see her. The same girl that excited me. The first girl I’ve ever been attracted to and she was possible my sister. I could hear Sarah open the front door and as they came in a wave of pleasure ran through my body I tried to stop it. I held my head in my hands and wait for the arousal to stop.
Chapter 5
Evelyn
I wanted to kill her…
The chaperone they sent with me on the plane wouldn’t stop talking for the whole flight and kept tapping my arm every so often. I think I politely asked her five times to stop tapping me and she would apologise but do it again ten minutes later. The three-hour flight felt like an eternity. I thought back to when I had to say goodbye to everyone. The social worker said I had time to say my goodbyes properly, so she brought Caitlin and I back to her house. Caitlin gave me lots of photos of us. I had loads but she wanted to make sure I wouldn’t forget her. How could I when she was like my sister. She even gave me one of her slutty dresses in case I decided I liked men and she wasn’t there to take me shopping. I didn’t know what I was going to do without her.
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