Public Service Announcement (Austin Carlile FanFic)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Someone knocked on my door and I shook my head. "Go away, Austin."

"It's not Austin." Mel said, opening the door and peeking in.

I was relived to see Mel. I knew she'd help me feel better. "Oh. Hey."

She came in and sat down next to me. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged and sighed. "Why didn't she tell me?" I started crying. "Why didn't any of you tell me?"

Mel sighed and took my hands. "Mom made us promise not to."

"I always knew I didn't belong in this family." I said.

Mel shook her head. "Liz you belong in this family."

I scoffed. "No! I don't! My entire family withheld one of the biggest secrets from me. Mom always treated me like a burden. I wish I wouldn't have been put up for adoption. I probably would've been better off with my real family.." I said, not really meaning it.

Mel stood up and took a deep breath. "Liz.. I have to tell you something. But you need to promise you won't hate me."

I wiped my eyes. "What?"

She took a deep breath. "You wouldn't have been better off with your birth mother. She was young and scared."

I looked at her. "You knew her?"

She turned to me. Her makeup was running down her face. "Yes. It was me."

I frowned. "What? Your my mother?"

She nodded. "I got pregnant when I was 14, Liz." She started crying again. "Abortion wasn't an option. But I was 14. I couldn't raise a baby." She wiped her eyes and came back over to me, sitting down and putting her hand on my leg. "A few days before I found out I was pregnant, Mom announced she was pregnant with Deni. So when I told her I was pregnant she said that I would have to either leave and never come back or give you to her." She put her hand on my cheek. "Lizzy I never wanted to give you up. I tried leaving and being on my own. I lived in a shelter for 2 months before Dad came and got me. I knew I couldn't survive on my own, and I knew my baby wouldn't survive either." She stood up and paced around the room. "Mom came up with this plan to adopt you. She would tell everyone that there was an expected twin and we would hide my pregnancy from the world."

I shook my head. "And you all lied to me." I whispered.

Mel nodded. "Yes. Mom and I went into labor the same say, so it worked to her advantage." She started crying again. "I didn't even get to hold you.." She whispered. "They took you right from me to her."

I sat there. I think I was actually in shock. Mel was my mother. I looked at her. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

She came over and took my hands, kneeling down in front of me. "I wanted to." She said. "When things were so bad here I wanted to tell you so badly and take you far away from here. But Mom threatened me. She told me you'd hate me."

I sighed and it felt like my chest was caving in. "I don't hate you."

She wrapped her arms around me. "I always hated mom for the way she treated us. And for her drinking and driving dad away. I wanted to run away but I couldn't leave you." She pulled away and looked at me. "She was so manipulative, Liz. After you were born she sent me away because she was afraid you'd bond with me instead of her. I never saw your face until you 8 months old." Her eyes filled with tears again. "Do you know how hard it was to watch my baby grow up and call the wretched bitch mom?"

I was crying now too. Mel was in such pain. I tried to smile. "I always looked at you as a mother figure, Mel." I took her hands. "I was always closer to you than I was with her."

She smiled and hugged me. "I'm so sorry it had to come out this way." She sat on the bed next to me. "So you're adopting?"

I smiled for real and nodded. "Yes. From France. His name is Louis." I pulled his picture from my pocket and showed her. "Isn't he beautiful?"

She smiled. "He is."

I looked at her, studying her face. It was quiet for awhile. I didn't know where to go from here.

She sighed and patted my hand. "I don't expect you to call me Mom. I'm still just your big sister." She looked at me. "But I want you to know how much I love you."

I nodded. "I love you too."