Since the Beginning

Secrets Revealed

I stare in utter belief. "I- I have a sister? An older sister?" I say slowly. She nods. Woah. "Why-why didn't you tell me before?" I ask quietly. "Well- she wanted us to keep it a secret first. She was afraid of what you'd think about her. Talking back to her parents and then leaving for good." My mom says pointing the words at Aquila. She looks away. "But we forgave her. And we decided to follow her wish so we won't cause anymore trouble and arguments between us all." Dad adds. I nod.

We ride on in silence. I lean my head on Gabe's shoulder and he puts his arm around me. "Sorry." He whispers. "I was afraid to say anything. She is my older sister." I nod again. I don't feel like talking. As I close my eyes, the little memory comes back. A girl yelling at her mom and a woman coming in to bring her away. I open my eyes and look at Aquila. Her brown hair is like my mom's. Her blue eyes are like all of our's. She does have a mixture of mom and dad. Gabe and I have our dad's black hair. But I guess she is our sister. Who else would be in my memory?

The driver turns to the right and we're on a road leading to a- woah. A beautiful house. When I say beautiful and big, I don't mean those old mansions with posts and stuff in the front like the white house. No offense. I mean, the modern style. A 3 floor house, really wide, and a big lawn as a front yard and backyard.

"Nice digs, sis." Gabe says whistling. She laughs. She shrugs. "You'll be staying here. With me." She says looking at all of us but lingering her look on me. I look back at her house. A butler is waiting at the doorstep. She has one of those waterfall things in front. I'm not good at descriptions, but I'll do my best. Just imagine your dream house. Anyway, we walk up the stairs and the door opens. Aquila takes the lead. We walk down the hallway and when we step into the living room, the wall is all glass. Overlooking Paris. "What a breath taking view." My mom says holding her hands up to her mouth as she breathes in and out. Aquila smiles. "Yes, well. I do love the view, so why not have glass walls? Her living room has the theme white and brown. To match her house's color. "Jeff here, will take your luggage to your rooms while I give you a tour." She says. We follow.

(Check the picture) We turn left, and we enter the kitchen. Beside the kitchen is her dining room. Beautiful. We go back through the living room, see the garage, then go up the stairs. The second floor is all rooms. One master bedroom for her, and 5 guest rooms. One for me, one for my parents, one for Gabe, and two extras. I open the door to my room and take a quick breath in. My room has a french window and a window seat. My bed is on the right side of the wall, a desk opposite of it. The closet and bathroom are also on the left side. "How is it?" She asks. I turn around and see her looking at me. "Just fine, Aquila. Thank you." I say smiling. "Call me Grace." She says motioning for us to follow her to the steps that lead to the third floor.

On the third floor, there's a studio, game room, library and exercise room. "I record my songs here, since I'm also a singer. The game room is for fun times with friends on weekends. Wii, Xbox and such. The exercise room on the other hand, is used when I can't go jogging outside. I don't think I need to explain the library." She explains. The game room has a 70 inch tv. "I also use the game room for movie night." She adds. The exercise room has a treadmill, a bike thing, those big ball things and a trampoline. Nice.

"Well, that's it. I don't like having big, extravagant houses filled with so much. I just take it simple." She says. "Come on. I think we'd better have an explanation for Stella. Let's have some coffee and snacks in the living room." We all agree and head down to the living room. She also has a 50 inch tv there but we just sit down and eat.

"Let me start this story." Grace starts. "I was 6. Gabe was 3 and you were 1. Still very young, huh? Well, every month, Aunt Hilly would come visit. She's a business woman and she travels all around the world. I always look forward to her stories and souvenirs. One day, she asked us to go with her to Paris. I agreed but mom and dad wouldn't allow it. I got really mad. And when I get mad, it doesn't wash over easily. So I got a temper tantrum. Finally, after arguing, Aunt Hilly promised to take good care of me. Mom and dad hated to see me go, but I didn't care. I packed up and left. When I turned 13, I finally saw how hard it must've been for them. I became an actress at 8. I was having fun. Until I realized it was hard. I called and said sorry. We were working on a tv show so I couldn't go home. I asked how my 2 younger siblings were and they said you were good. I asked them not to tell you because first of all, I was afraid of what you'd think of me as an older sister. What a bad example I have been. And, I didn't really want this to turn out like a movie. I wanted to introduce myself at the right time so there wouldn't be anymore fights. " she stops. I stare. "That's it?" I ask crossing my arms. "Please, don't get mad." She says. "Mhmm. Sure. I'm not mad, I'm hurt. Thanks for keeping a secret from me for nearly 18 YEARS! I've always wanted an older sister. Turns out I had one. Who was too selfish
to think about me!" I say quietly but with tone. She stares at her hands. I get up and walk to my new room. I slam the door and jump onto my bed and wet the pillow with tears.