I stood outside the hospital in silence, in a state of shock from what I'd just found out. How many more secrets did my family have that I was yet to discover?
I needed Ethan, I wanted to curl up in his arms and to hear him tell me that everything was okay. These last few months had made me realise just how much I missed him being in my life. He was the love of my life.
I glanced up as I saw Caleb walk over to me.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Never better." I snapped.
"Sorry." I quickly added when I realised that I was being harsh.
He smiled and nodded.
"Your Dad has gone home." he told me.
"Without even saying goodbye?" I frowned.
"He thought you might need some time to process things." he explained.
"I don't think I'll ever get my head around it." I admitted.
"You will, it's just the initial shock of it." he stated.
"Maybe we should go home." he suggested.
"What about Georgia?" I asked.
"I'm sure she'll be okay for a little while, we can come back in the morning." he pointed out.
I nodded as I realised that he was right.
"I'll just go and say goodbye to her." I said quietly.
He nodded as I turned and walked away.
Caleb's POV
I watched her as she walked away and back into the neonatal ward. I hated seeing her upset. It was bad enough what had happened to her Mum but now she had more to deal with. On top of missing Ethan. It was obvious that she missed him terribly, she didn't have to say anything, I just knew.
I hated myself for the fact that I was secretly pleased that Ethan wasn't around. I liked having her to myself. As much as I tried to fight my feelings for her, I just couldn't deny them.
I snapped out of my thoughts as she came back out.
Emma's POV
I glanced at Caleb as he stood up and followed me.
"I've been thinking." I said quietly.
"About what?" he asked me.
"I should tell Stuart, it's best that he hears it from me." I told him.
"Yeah I guess so." he muttered.
"Why don't you text him and invite him over?" he suggested.
"Good idea." I smiled.
I quickly took out my phone and texted Stuart.
"I'll drive." Caleb said.
"Cool, he says he'll pop around in an hour or so." I told him.
"Great." he sighed.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
An hour or so later Stuart finally arrived. The moment that I'd been dreading was finally here. What scared me most was that I had no idea how he'd take the news.
He watched me closely as I handed him a mug of tea.
"So what do you want to talk to me about?" he asked.
"I bumped into Dad at the funeral." I started.
"He was there?!" he spluttered.
I nodded.
"He wants to be in our lives." I told him.
"Why is he suddenly so interested?" he frowned.
I quickly explained what my father had told us about why we were in care.
He shook his head in frustration, I could see that he was getting angry. I was slightly afraid of him, he had a violent past and I knew that he could turn unexpectedly.
"There's more." I said quietly.
He raised his eyebrow and waited for me to continue.
"We have an older sister." I whispered.
"What?!" he muttered.
"She was born before Mum and Dad were married so she was adopted." I explained.
"I am so sick of the secrets in this family!" he shouted.
I stayed quiet, as I watched him closely, unsure what he was going to do next.
"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T MUM TELL ME!" he exclaimed.
"I don't know, maybe she didn't want to talk about it." I sighed.
"THAT'S NOT AN EXCUSE, IVE HAD ENOUGH!" he shouted.
I jumped as he stood up and began to pace.
"Stuart you need to calm down." I said gently as I stood up too.
He glared at me and grabbed me by the shoulders. I winced slightly as my back hit into the wall. I watched him closely as I waited for him to make a move. He'd always had a temper and I knew that right now he was seeing red.
"What's going on, I heard shouting?" I heard Caleb ask from the hallway.
He fell silent instantly as he rounded the corner and saw the situation.
"Stuart, what are you doing?" he asked.
"Stay out of it!" Stuart hissed.
"It's not my fault." I whispered to Stuart.
He took some deep breaths and I could see that he was slowly calming down.
"You need to move away from her." Caleb said sternly.
I shook my head at Caleb and hoped that he took the hint to stay quiet. Stuart was calming down and I didn't want anything to happen to cause the situation to flare up again.
"I'm sorry." Stuart whispered as he let go of me, grabbed his jacket and quickly left the house, slamming the front door behind himself.
I sagged against the wall in relief.
"You okay?" Caleb asked me.
"Yeah, I think I need an early night." I whispered as I quickly left the room and ran upstairs.
I quickly climbed into bed and curled up under the covers. I looked down at my hands and realised they were shaking. I shouldn't be afraid of my own brother, but I couldn't help it.
I glanced at Caleb as he climbed in beside me and pulled me into his arms. I was too exhausted to resist him.
"I'm here for you babe." he whispered.
I sighed in contentment and snuggled against his collarbone.
"I love you Cal." I whispered as I pecked his chest.
I closed my eyes and instantly fell asleep.
