17 Last Times

⤹33❁ Impossible

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I stare at the document, stupefied. Correct. Ambrose was correct. I was never their only child. My heart races a hundred miles per second. I can't stifle the trembling of my chin and the tears pooling over the brims of my eyes. I pass the copy of the birth certificate to Nathan. His jaw tenses in sympathy.

"I'm sorry," I say, my voice turns flint. "Clearly, you were right." I bravely hold Ambrose's stare, scrambling to control my upcoming fit of crying. "Where is she now? My sister?" These words come out harder than I wanted them to.

He shakes his head. "I don't think speaking to her now will make any difference."

"Why not?" Confusion takes over me once more.

He wets his lips with his tongue, thinking briefly. "I can give you the names of her adoptive parents. They'll be able to explain everything to you."

My forehead creases. "But–"

He cuts me off. "Here." He takes out another note and slides it gently into my hand, simultaneously retreating the birth certificate. "Please understand that I am not angry with you. Your parents however. . . They got what they deserved." Having said that, he starts to walk away.

Nathan casts a quick glance towards me and noticing my face, or rather the sheer shock influenced by those words, he doesn't waste a single second. He grabs Ambrose by his arm, making him spin around, and then punches him right in the face. "Fucking asshole," he growls, throwing him onto the floor.

Ambrose spits out some blood and without saying another word, collects himself to a standing position. Then, having wiped his mouth and nose, he looks Nathan in the eye. "You can punch me as much as you want. I will never take those words back."

"Leave it," I order Nathan, well aware of his growing urge to throw another punch.

"Be gone," Nathan tells him, tense and alert, even after Ambrose has left. "What an absolute arse. If I were him. . ." He continues, but I don't listen.

I'm too focused on the note that Ambrose has just given me. The note that just a second ago was still folded in my hand, but it's no more. Now I'm staring at their names, the adoptive parents of my biological sister, and I think I'm about to faint.

"Davina?" Nathan asks concerned. "Are you alright?"

I swallow hard and shake my head. My face feels like it's on fire, my limbs are weak and shaky, my heart race is way too fast. It seems like I'm sweating, but the sweat is cold. I think I'm becoming sick too.

"What is it?" he asks. "What's written on that note?"

I clutch my hand to my stomach and rest my back against one of the walls. I grope slowly to one side, striving to find the door to my dorm, which Nathan opens for me without hesitation.

I stumble inside, pleased to see that Rayna's gone out. I drop the weight of my body on the bed and stare blankly ahead. A moment later, my stomach gives in and the nausea takes over. I dart towards the bathroom, throwing up all the food we had this evening, careful not to drop the note into the toilet by an accident.

When I'm done, I can sense Nathan's presence right behind me.

"They lied to me," I say in a brittle voice, beginning to cry. "How could they lie to me about something so important!?"

Nathan tries his best at comforting me. "I'm really sorry, babe. I wish they'd told you, but look at the bright side of it. You can speak to her adoptive parents, and then maybe you can speak to her."

My fit of crying stops immediately. "I can't," I say coldly. "And I never will."

"But why?"

Instead of explaining it to him, I pass him the note that Ambrose gave me. "Look at their names. Then think back to the birth certificate."

Nathan studies the note, then his eyes slide to one side in a brief ponder. Not even a minute later, he's looking back at me in horror. "No. This can't be. . ." His voice is a whisper.

"Yes, Nathan," I say, affirmative. "It's true. Beverly Hamilton was my biological sister."

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