Back Better Than Before

[13] Family Pictures

Couple of minutes later...

The tension in the kitchen was unsettling. Anyone walking into the kitchen would have felt the tension as soon as they walked in. Adrianna also felt it when she walked into the kitchen. The two siblings were quiet as they worked. "Do you need any help?" Adrianna asked after a few awkward moments. Both Stephen and Caroline jumped at the sound of her voice. They clearly didn't hear her walk in.

"No, we are almost done." Caroline said turning around to smile at Adrianna. At least she was back to normal. Adrianna thought. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Stephen. He hadn't given her a glance since he came home.

"Okay." Adrianna said. She took some dishes from the cupboard and went to set the table. Might as well make herself useful since Stephen and Caroline were cooking. It only took a couple of minutes before breakfast was served. Stephen sat at the head of the table with Caroline on his left side and Adrianna on his right side. The only noises were the spoons and forks clattering and chewing. Adrianna wished to ask why everyone was being so different but years of being yelled at caused her to stay quiet.

Caroline suddenly cleared her throat and looked meaningfully at Stephen. Stephen took a long sip of water before speaking. "Adrianna, I have to tell you something." Adrianna subconsciously noted that he was nervous. "A few days ago, you said you would like to find your... biological parents. Well, I found out who they are." He said the two sentences slowly, as if he was unsure about saying them.

Adrianna sat still processing the news in her mind. Both Stephen and Caroline watched her carefully. "Oh." She said. She bit her lip as she thought of what to say. The parents thing was last on her list. She had thought it would take a while to find her parents but it only took a couple of days. Now, she wasn't sure on how to react. "Well, who are they?" That seemed like an important question. Then again, so was the question if they were alive. Maybe both her parents had some sort of life-threatening disease and that was the reason why they left her with the Montclairs. That was a plausible reason.

Stephen and Caroline seemed pleased with her question. Perhaps they were thinking that Adrianna would have reacted differently, in a less pleasant way. Caroline started to explain what they knew. "Adrianna, you are the daughter of... Xavier and Maria Hernandez!" She seemed happy about the fact. Adrianna had heard about Xavier and Maria Hernandez. They were a rich family due to Xavier's business. His business made more than the Montclairs and could easily take over the Montclairs business. As far as Adrianna remembered from reading newspaper articles, they never had a problem where they might have to leave their daughter on the doorsteps of the Montclairs.

Caroline, unknown to Adrianna's inner turmoil, was rambling about the Hernandez. "Maria and Xavier are super nice despite being rich. They both work hard. I can actually see the resemblance between you and Maria."

"And Adrian." Stephen pointed out. Adrian Hernandez was Maria and Xavier's son, the one that got to stay with them while Adrianna suffered at the Montclairs.

"But Maria and Adrianna are gorgeous, not him." Caroline was saying to Stephen.

"So you are saying he's ugly?"

Caroline hesitated for a slight second, so slight that no one would have noticed if they weren't paying attention... or dense like Stephen was. "Yes. But you wouldn't side with me because he's your best friend." Adrianna stared at Caroline in shock. Stephen and Adrian Hernandez were best friends. That's how he found out about her parents so quickly. Or did he already know that Adrianna was related to them? That was a possible reason why he saved her at the park that day.

"I don't lie. I know Adrian isn't ugly." Stephen was saying.

"Adrianna, what do you think? Is Adrian ugly?" Caroline diverted her attention to her.

Adrianna bit her lip. "I never saw any of the Hernandez." She said after a while. That was true. Whenever Michael and Eleanor would allow her to go one of the parties, the Hernandez were never there. Now, Adrianna wondered if they knew she would be there and did not wish to go or the Montclairs knew that she was Xavier Hernandez's daughter and purposely hid her.

Caroline and Stephen stared at her in shock. "Hold on, I'll get my laptop." Caroline said getting up from her seat and rushing to the room she stayed in whenever she visited Stephen. She came back minutes later. Adrianna and Stephen had migrated to the living room by then. They both sat on the opposite sides of the couch with what seemed like miles of space in between them. The atmosphere was awkward with both Adrianna and Stephen not knowing what to say. Luckily, Caroline did not have the same problem. She flopped down in between them and opened the photos on her laptop. She then proceeded to show Adrianna pictures of their vacation with the Montclairs. Caroline was right. Maria Hernandez looked like an older version of Adrianna. Adrian Hernandez also shared the same hair color as Maria although his eyes looked more like Xavier's. Adrianna looked at the pictures, seeing their happy family without her. 

***

Hi guys! So here's the new update. Sorry it took me time again. Hope you guys enjoy!

Please tell me what you guys think of the story so far. Too slow? Too fast? Boring?

Thank you to all the people who read, voted, commented, and added BBTB to their reading lists.

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