A single bullet // M.C ✔️

72

"Why the hell am I so nervous?" I muttered, drying my clammy hands on my dress. It was hard to pick out a meeting the parents dress. I just settled for a lacy-style black dress and my Converse, with an oversized jacket on my arms; it might even be Michael's.

"You're meeting your parents," was all Calum muttered before knocking on the green-painted door. I had been informed on the way here that the safest place was actually their home. The front garden was littered with yellow and blue flowers and beautifully shaped bushes (Calum had briefly mentioned how much his, our, mom loves gardening).

It felt like forever before a small woman swung the door open, looking like Calum. Her short hair was dark, nearly black, and her skin was just as tanned as mine and his. Her hands delicately gripped the door handle before a smile formed on her lips, looking over Calum.

"Cal," she cheered, pulling him into a tight hug. Making a small smile mirror on my lips, I rocked slightly with my hands linked behind my back.

"Mom," he whined, pulling away and glancing at me. "This is Nicky," he stated, pointing a single finger at me before letting it drop. I watched as her face fell slightly as she scanned me.

"Nicky?"

"Nicola. I just prefer to go by Nicky," it never felt right hearing Nicola come from anyone's mouth, not even my parents, and now it made sense. The only people meant to call me Nicola are the people who gave me that name... and that's this woman in front of me.

"Sorry," the smile was back on her face after she realised she was just staring at me as if soaking me in. "We didn't realise you would also come over, dear. Calum never told us about a girlfriend,"

"Ew, no, I'm just a friend..." I quickly shot out, waving my hands around. The word friend left acid on my tongue. I'm just his sister. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but it's clear this woman doesn't know who I am yet. Calum never told her who was coming over.

I sent mental daggers towards Calum as he was just standing to the side with his arms crossed, avoiding my eyes. He fucking knows. The reason I was here was to meet and get to know my parents, but they don't even know who I am. Granted, I wasn't expecting banners and confetti, but a little shock and a hug as they engulfed me in warmth.

Snapping back to reality, Calum was now hugging her tightly before walking through the door, leaving me awkwardly standing there.

"Come in, sweetie," she smiled, making me nod and walk by her. "I'm Sharon. I'm sure Calum never mentioned that," she laughed softly.

"Of course, he didn't," I joked back, rolling my eyes, not fully taking in how she was looking at me, confused and aware. "Adam currently isn't here," she informed us, making Calum spin around.

"He's Dad,"Calum simply said.

"He's your Dad, Calum," Sharon spoke firmly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, Mom," he muttered.

"Who are you?" Sharon was now looking over at me. "How did you find us?"

"I'm Nicky," I repeated to the concerned woman.

"No, who exactly are you?"

"I'm your daughter," I ripped the bandage off and just told her, why did I think that was a good idea?

"No, my daughter is Mali, and I have a son called Calum," her expression hardened. "Although I did have a daughter that was taken off me by someone in a gang. Mm, maybe you know them," she spat, her mood completely changing.

"Mom?" Calum finally spoke, stepping close to me and placing his hand gently on my arm. "What are you on about?"

A steaming cup of coffee was perched in my hands, and I looked at the aging woman, Calum next to my figure. After Sharon's mini outburst, she realised I knew nothing about what she was on about, so she decided to tell me the story of why I was given up.

"We didn't want to give you up, Nicola,"

"Nicky," I instantly corrected. It still didn't feel right, the name leaving her lips.

"Although I do want to know how you met Calum. The last I knew, you were living in London with your new family, and it was a closed adoption as they requested." She carried on blanking out what I said. I loathed how she was making it seem like my 'parents' were the bad guys in all this. They aren't the ones involved with gang shit and have a child who's a leader of it.

"They moved here for work. I came with," I gave her the short story, hating how this is a complete one-eighty to what I wanted and expected.

"Mom..." Calum had tried, resulting in a hand being put up to get him to be quiet.

"Did they ever tell you what work?"

"Their normal jobs. What the fuck is this?"

"Thank you, Calum, for bringing her here, but you may go. We want nothing to do with her." My heart shattered into a million pieces at that. I didn't expect them to, but to have some form of relationship with them since I see my brother a lot.

"Mom, that's messed up."

"No, Calum, what's messed up is having a child ripped out of my arms moments after birth and forced to sign adoption papers. Your dad didn't want a third child. He wanted me to abort, but we were too far into the pregnancy as I never told him what he wished for," she started rambling, letting the truth come out into the otherwise quiet air.

My hands were itching to shake as I soaked in every negative word about my birth story leaving her mouth. I preferred the made-up one from Amelia.

"I was on drugs when I signed as he was threatening to leave me. I didn't know what kind of family you were going into, Nicola. I promise. If I did, I would have fought more to keep you, but I was exhausted from fighting him."

"Mom... you never told me that," Calum seethed, facing her now. "You never said you were afraid of Dad, and he was threatening you."

"You would have killed him, Calum," she spat out, her emotions all high. I shouldn't have come, not here. This was too much for her and for me. "I couldn't have you have his blood on your hands. He had to have been killed by the gang, and he would have if the leader weren't so accepting of him."

"Who's the leader?" Calum whispered.

"I think she knows, and you've met him as well. Well, his dead corpse, I believe." Sharon stood up, waving us off as Calum went to speak again. "I'm not having this conversation, Calum, with her here," the word " her" must have tasted like venom on her tongue.

"My adoptive dad?" There was no way she was claiming my sweet dad was a leader of a gang.

"Excuse me, who is this gang?" If she was saying that Adam sold and gave me up to my parents, I at least wanted to know which gang she was claiming he was a part of.

"Unbroken."

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