Evangeline (Unedited)

35

H E A T E D
(Persistent depression is a joy! I'm sorry for not updating in a century. Hoping to get back into it over the next few weeks. I'm not fully sure how I feel about this chapter, but I hope to rewrite (not change plot at all) once I finish the story (if I ever do...), so it's alright. Happy reading if you're still here!)

Alessandro sits across from me. The sun shines down on both of us, but I wasn't focused on the heat emitting from it or the slight sheen of sweat sticking to my forehead. I fidget with the bracelet on my wrist, shifting awkwardly in the uncomfortable silence. The back of my hair sticks to my neck. I had taken down and replaced my braid over and over again, waiting for him to gather his thoughts enough to speak.

"I..." He starts, but trails off.

It was an interesting sight. I've never known Sandro to not know what to say. To cut himself off, question his words. It scared me a little, because if Alessandro didn't know what to say, then maybe nobody did.

"Evie... before I begin, I need you to understand something." He murmurs quietly, shooting glances at me. "Motives, maybe. No... intentions. Firstly, that there is nobody to blame for how things have panned out except for me. My little brothers may be aware of it now, but I was long before them. Second, this is... difficult to explain. Bear with me. Please." He massages his head and then sighs, looking at me with an almost sad look. "We just got you back. I just got you back. I can't lose you again. I won't—which is why all of this is so, so important. I... love you, Evie. And I wish with my entire being that I could have brought you home under better circumstances, that I couldn't provided you with a better life—a better family—than I have, that El... Elio..." He cuts himself off to close his eyes, as if choking down tears. "That Elio were here too. I need you to understand that, if nothing else."

"I do." I hug myself. "And I... want to love you too. I just..."

He doesn't speak, just wraps an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me to his side once. Alessandro wasn't the most affectionate person, but he was apologetic. He was accountable. He was scared, and he knew that I was too.

"I will tell you everything in due time, Evie. You deserve to hear everything, no matter how hard it is for me to speak it into existence. You deserve the entirety of the world and beyond." He begins, his voice serious and genuine. "When you arrived to the cottage, I made a decision that I regret now. It was well-intended, but even I can see that it has only made things more difficult. I told you that we were half siblings—that we only shared a father—in hopes that you wouldn't feel completely displaced. But I wasn't truthful, and in hindsight, it was an... idiotic and a choice made in vain. You are our full sister by blood. Your mother and father are Nicolina and Richaud Angelos. They were together for 17 years."

"Our father was Italian, my mother was French." He chuckled. I nod and bite my lip, looking away from him.

"Your mother?"

He pauses, and my gaze hesitantly looks to him again, but he hasn't looked away. He nods once more.

"Yes, my mother, and the boys' mother."

"But... not me or Elio?" I clarify, eyebrows furrowed. He opens his mouth but closes it, and he has to clear his throat.

"You and..." He takes a shaky breath. "We have the same dad, different mothers. The woman who raised you was your birth mother, Evie."

I stare at him. What was I supposed to say? It wasn't okay. It didn't feel okay. And I still didn't understand why he did, or what it changed, or anything. I sputter, my mouth opening and closing, my lips begging for my words to catch up and speak.