Secrets
by;michimichiro
Chapter 8
The silence in the living room was heavy. It wasn't a peaceful quiet, but a suffocating stillness that pressed down on me like a physical weight. I sat there, my eyes fixed on the window, watching the rain hit the glass hard. The storm outside matched the one inside me.
Eli hadn't come home yet. I had been waiting for hours, holding the phone tightly, hoping she would call. Every time it made a sound, my heart jumped but then sank when I saw it was just another unwanted call.
I was a mess. My mind was full of mixed-up feelings—anger, hurt, and fear. I felt lost, like a boat in a storm with no idea where to go.
It all started with Margot. Earlier that day, she had told me something that changed everything. Her voice had been shaky, filled with sadness and uncertainty. "Zia," she had said softly, "I have something important to tell you."
My heart had skipped a beat. Margot wasn't one to be dramatic. She was usually calm and always knew what to say. But her voice, the way it shook, had sent a chill through me.
"What is it?" I had asked, my voice shaking a bit.
"I found something," she had said quickly. "Something that changes everything."
She went on to explain her research into our family's past. She had been looking through old family records, trying to fill in the missing pieces of our history. And then she found them—the records that had been hidden away for years, the ones that showed the truth about our family.
"You and Eli are sisters," Margot had said.
Those words hit me hard. It felt like the ground under my feet had disappeared. The world I had built with Eli, the one I thought was strong and sure, had fallen apart in an instant.
I had always known there were secrets in our family. There were whispers about things in the past that no one talked about. But I never thought it would be something like this.
I tried to make sense of it all, but my mind was a jumbled mess. How could the woman I loved—the one I had spent years building a life with—be my sister? The thought made me feel sick.
I looked at my phone again, seeing my tear-stained face on the dark screen. I wanted to call Eli to tell her what I had learned, to hear what she thought, and to see if she felt as confused and hurt as I did. But I couldn't bring myself to do it.
The thought of hearing her voice, which usually made me feel warm and happy, now scared me. It was like her voice had become something strange and frightening.
I needed time. Time to think, to sort through all the feelings that were threatening to take over. It's time to figure out what this means for us and our future.
Then I heard Eli's car pulling into the driveway. My heart started beating fast. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but my hands were shaking.
She walked in, looking worried. "Zia? You're here. Why didn't you answer my calls?" she asked, her voice full of concern.
I couldn't look at her. "I didn't even notice you called," I said quietly. "I was just... thinking."
Eli looked at me closely, seeming suspicious. She sat down next to me, and I could feel the tension between us.
"Z, is something wrong?" she asked gently, looking towards the window.
"No, nothing's wrong. Just thinking," I said, but my voice gave away how upset I was.
"Are you thinking about what Margot told you?" Eli asked suddenly.
I looked up quickly, surprised. "Margot told you?" I asked, my voice shaking.
