From Hate Flourishes Love (Editing)

Second First Kiss

🅚🅐🅘

"I want to meet him ..." I announce excitedly, to my parents.

I have a big brother, I can't believe it. I remember I'd literally scream at them to get me a sibling for a whole year when I was ten, but they couldn't afford another child.

"Kai," my mother smiles thinly. "He doesn't want us to contact him."

I pale at her response. Of course, he wouldn't want to have any contact with them. They left their eldest son with some aunt and uncle in the middle of nowhere Connecticut, and kept him a secret for twenty-one years.

"Why'd you give him away?" I ask them.

"He was a preemie and spent the first month of his life relying on a ventilator to breathe. And we were just so terrified that the doctors wouldn't give a baby born to Black, undocumented parents the same urgency as the white babies," my dad hangs his head, answering. "So, to give our baby a fighting chance we made the hard choice to put your aunt and uncle as his parents on his birth certificate. And when we had to return home in Martinique, we left him behind to have the better life in America."

I really try to understand their reason, but I can't help but think they made the wrong call giving my brother away.

"You made the wrong choice," I tell them. "You should have fought harder to keep our family together. And what's even worse is that you guys didn't once try to get him back when you come back to the US."

"Kai!" my mom yells, jumping out of the couch. "We've lived every single day of the last twenty-one years of our lives guilt-ridden about giving up our son. Don't you dare make a mom and dad feel anymore guilty about the choice they had to make."

"You should feel more guilty," I stand angrily, trying to make my point louder, but my legs wobble and fail to keep me upright as the room flickers and goes dark.

Waking up to the bite of the cold floor against my back, I see my father looming above me, lifting my legs in the air.

"He woke up," he whispers.

They help get me on my feet, and my mom tips a bottle to my lips, letting me take a sip of water

"Are you okay?" Mom presses her warm had against my cheek.

"Yes," I answer shortly.

"Son," my dad whispers, "we'll talk about this family matter when you've recovered properly."

"Ok," I mumble.

"I draw you a cup of tea," my mom scurries into the kitchen.

"Sit ..."  my dad leads me to the couch as the apartment doors flies off its hinges.

"Kai," Zander rushes inside. "What happened?"

I open my mouth to answer, but only a yelp escapes me as he lifts me into his arms.

"I'm taking you to see Dr. Chen," Zander turns, almost knocking his father-in-law to the floor as he carries me bridal style out the door.

"Zander," I flush. "I don't need to see Dr. Chen. I got a bit faint ... that's all."

"No," he shakes his head. "I won't feel better until she gives you a check-up."

I blush, accepting that I won't be able to convince him.