Invisible

Chapter 24

Our refreshments were served, none of the two of us dared to speak first. Seems like, my throat would stay dry for a while even though my saliva and the iced tea would keep on running over it.

I peaked through my eyelashes to see Athena. She wasn't looking at me, too. Her eyes were glued to her phone, while her free hand grasps the glass of her own drink. The two of us remained like this for a little while, just before Athena finally thought it was time for her to start her speaking.

"I'm sorry if meeting you is really a hard time for Me." she said. "I just really don't like making friends, and more specially now, since you're father is also connected to my life."

The mention of my father really poked the attention in me. I don't hate my father, no matter what his reason was for leaving me and my mother when I was just two and my mother was so young to raise me alone and without her husband. "How did my father become connected to you?"

"This isn't about me, Nicole." she said flatly, her cheeks gaining a little colour of bright red, "It's about you and Nicolas."

I was jealous that she knows my father's whole name. Every day, I just keep on telling my self that my name was taken from my father's. But a few years later, I was slowly getting my father at the back of my mind, getting forgotten. Getting ignored.

I just meekly nodded to her; my mind was racking and telling me to just forget everything and just run away, get back to my room and live normally again, no curiosity about my father building up in the pit of my stomach. But this has started and as I said, there's no turning back.

"Okay, tell me everything you know." I told her, not making eye contact.

"First of all, I don't want to surprise you at the end, so I guess to tell you about me would be a little more sufficient for the two of us." she said, her eyes not faltering once it gotten a connection to me. "Nicole, as much as I hate the fact that we don't blend along, and I know you won't be happy about this too, I'm sorry to say... but we're half sisters."

My eyes didn't fail to show how astonished I was. "What the hell are you talking about? My mother never had any affairs ever!" I all but hissed at her. It's not that I don't like her to be a part of the family, but hey, she said half sisters. That means, it's her father and my mother that hooked up.

Her face was surprisingly still and calm, something that I never thought that Athena can do coz ever since I have met her, all I saw through her was her dark side and her boastful side. "I hope you do notice that you are way younger than me, Nicole. I'm older for almost two years."

"So? What are you trying to imply with the two years of my pre-existence?"

"Your mother was in a relationship with my father before the two of us were born," she said, "My auntie was a witness of their love, and surprisingly, I was the result of it," she carried on, "Two years after, our mom went to a different place to continue her studying coz she was known as someone with a big dream. She left me with my father and my auntie as she did so."

"But when she went to that place, she met your father, Nicolas," she told me and I remained silenced. "They were attracted to each other," her face darkened a little. "After those, I was stuck with my dad in hope that she would come back home sooner coz I missed her." She said. "But she never did. And that's when we found out that she already married your father, right after her graduation went off and she got a good career."

"It was hard to believe that someone as modest as her would do that to us. I know I was just a mistake, since they took notice of their hormones when they made me. But my father never made me feel that way," she told me, few tears threatening to brim down from her eyes. "So is, well... mom." I tried my best not to cringe when she called my mom, mom.

"But how come I never get to know you?" I asked her. "How come mom didn't introduce me to you or something like that?"

"I don't know, Nicole," she shook her head lightly. "But I'm not done yet."

"Okay, carry on," I urged her.

"Our mother then realized that she wasn't over with dad before, so she ended up having a little messed up mind." She told me, and I tried my hardest to ignore my anger when I heard her tell me that my mother married my father then realised that she still loved Athena's father. It came to me like, your mother was a little stupid for marrying Nicolas then ending up realizing that she still loves my father. "She tried to get back to him, to us, but my father was so hurt and in pain that time and he didn't want her back."

"She was crushed at the mere fact that my father was capable of like, dumping her," she told me as her story carried on. My guts were smashed up inside of my body and a familiar taste of bile was on my tongue, disgusting me. A feel of anger built in me. It wasn't for Athena, not even for either of our fathers. It was for my mother. All my life, I thought that my father is to be forgotten because he tried to ignore us. Then suddenly I would know that my mother was the one who left him. "Then she went to Canada and took you with her. Nicolas ended up being alone in this country, but then he tried to follow you and your mom to Canada."

My eyes widened and I was sure that if I keep doing that, my eyes would fall off of my sockets and would roll on the floors of the café. "He followed the two of us in Canada?"

"He did." She said. "I know it's unbelievable that he did, but he really did." She said again. "Oh, and if everything is so messed up to you, I want to let you know that everything I'm telling you is true," she said, rummaging through her bag and taking out an envelope. "These are photographs from before; I hope that would help you out,"

I took the envelope and opened it, only to see an average thickness of ream. It was a ream made by the photographs. I took it out and looked at each of them, observing them. Most of them were photos of my mother and a guy that fairly looked like Athena. That's when I noticed that we had the same hair and eyes. I got that from my mother, so I bet she got it from her too. I can't believe that the girl I hate was my half sister. But I can't also believe that selfies were already known before.

"I hate to bug this out, but I really have to go." She told me. I nodded, still not in the world coz I feel like I'm carrying the planet on my shoulders. Athena left and I was alone in the table. That's when I noticed that I was like pushing my tears off and was trying not to cry. Since I was not with anyone right now, I bet tearing a little while won't hurt.

But the a little while wasn't really exact. I've been crying my eyes out and I feel like my body was complete jelly. I fished out my phone with my tear-wet hands and tried to dial Darren. He picked up faster.

"Hello, Nicole? What's wrong?" he asked, but the voice doesn't sound like Darren. But I tried to ignore it. "Hello?"

"I need... I need you to pick me up... um, here in a, a local café. Please..." I said through hiccups from my cry. "Please, I want to go home now..."

"Where are you again? I would go all the way." He said in the other line. "Come on, tell me where you are. I promise I would be there on time."

"In a local café, just a few streets away from my house." I told him again, "I don't think I can drive, I don't want to end up in the hospital so I think picking me up would be a little more convenient for my life."

"Okay, okay," he said in the other line, few shifting from the opposite place were to be heard, "I'll be on my way," he said, "Please don't do anything stupid, Nicole. I'll be there before you know it, I promise."

"Thanks," I told him and took the phone away from my ear.

I looked at the phone and saw that it has moistened against my ear. Just wonderful.

I looked at the logs and nearly cursed at myself of why I didn't double check my dial. I didn't call Darren for him to pick me up in where I am right now. But I don't think this is going to be complicated. It was just a call.

I dialled JK.