Hidden Truths

Chapter Treinta y Nueve

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

I felt as though anxiety had seeped inside me, coursing through my veins, as if hitching a ride on my blood cells.

Eli stood beside me rubbing my back, after I choked on the air I was breathing, telling me that it was okay, because he'd be by my side the whole way.

After Jacob's unfortunate announcement, Xavier followed suit, asking me to make myself look presentable as they were arriving in just 10 minutes. As if I looked like a slob the rest of the time? And why the hell was I supposed to make myself look presentable for the two people who should have been there to actually witness all my slobby moments?

Pulling me from my thoughts and coughing fit, the front door creaked open.

"Mama! Papa!"

I watched as Xavier embraced the two strangers before me in a hug. Zara then stepped forward, greeting them both and hugging the woman.

Everyone else, besides Eli, had retreated to their rooms. It was as though the big bad wolf had arrived.

The woman finally stepped forward and stood before me. Her dark black hair contrasted her bright blue eyes. The man followed suit, he sported the same tone of dark hair, but his eyes shone with a tinge of green. Where the woman stood with a gentle smile on her face, the man's stance seemed much more solemn.

"Mi hija?" The woman's voice was as soft as her features.

I didn't speak Spanish, but having watched all seasons of Wizards of Waverly Place with Sky meant I understood that term very well - my daughter.

I went into a panic and immediately responded with, "No, I think you've got the wrong person", before turning around, ready to race away, only to be caught by Eli as he held my arm.

"You've got this princess. It's high time you got an explanation, and running away right now will only delay that," he breathed in my ear, low enough for only me to understand his words, "remember I'm right here if you need me, okay?"

Eli squeezed my hand as he urged me to turn around and face them.

"This house is big enough for us to not need to stand in the foyer and talk, so please, why don't we all go take a seat." The man gestured for us to move towards the living room, his every move exuding authority. It was as if Xavier had just aged by about 25 years.

As we sat down, the man realised he had yet to even introduce himself and his wife to me. As if I was just supposed to know the names of the two people I hadn't even known existed until a few weeks ago.

He introduced himself as Sebastian Rey and his wife, Penelope Trejo. Briefly explaining that 'the Americans' referred to him as Sebastian King, because that was what Rey translated to.

I, however, didn't need any introduction, as apparently the name Mia was what Penelope had chosen for me, before she ever so nicely dropped me off at the orphanage.

"I see you've become familiar with our Elijah," Sebastian spoke as he looked over at Eli who still held my hand in his," I heard you have been taking good care of her."

"Of course, sir." Eli responded, earning a side glance from me.

"Okay, can we cut to the chase please." I exclaimed, surprising even myself as I spoke with the confidence I was lacking inside.

Sebastian let out a chuckle as he looked over to his wife, "she is clearly our daughter."

Well... I had yet to decide on that matter.

Penelope looked over at me, her soft smile returning to her face.

"Mia. Mi hija."

Again. That was yet to be decided.

"Before we begin you have to understand that everything we did was for your own safety."

I scoffed in response, "yes, because leaving your baby in the hands of strangers meant they were so safe."

"What Penelope means to say is," Sebastian continued, ignoring my remark, "we were... we are, surrounded by dangerous people, who are constantly looking for ways to hurt us, and keeping you meant that we were willing to risk you getting hurt. After what happened to your brother," he looked over at Xavier who immediately looked down as if he were ashamed, "we couldn't risk something happening to you too."

I gathered my thoughts before I spoke, not wanting to blurt out the first cuss words I was thinking of.

"I don't understand, why even have another child if you were just going to throw her away?" I asked looking between Sebastian and Penelope.

"Oh, we didn't mean to, honestly. Most of those within the clan always had one baby. It was too much of a risk to have more, and I was due for a doctors appointment to ensure that, the week you were conceived in, but someone..." she glared over at Sebastian who simply had a smirk on his face, before she sighed, "like I said, we honestly didn't mean to. But when it happened, I was overcome with joy, I was. I had really wanted another child after your brother, but circumstances kept getting in the way. When I was pregnant with you, things seemed to have simmered down a little and we thought it may have been safe enough to keep you but..." she stopped, and Sebastian, sensing her hesitation to continue, stepped in.

"But when your mother was 8 months pregnant, Xavier had an... accident, and we realised we had made a grand mistake. Penelope went into labour a week later and we knew then that we had no other choice. All we could do was pray you would find a home safer than ours."

"Why?" I asked.

Penelope and Sebastian looked at each other in momentary confusion, "Did we not just answer that?"

"No. Why was your home so unsafe, what made it so dangerous?" I knew only what I had been told about this so-called clan, but I was ready to learn the whole truth.

"We, uh..." Sebastian began but looked over at Xavier, desperate for a way out of this conversation.

"Mia. I don't think you're ready for that conversation just yet." Xavier added, to Sebastian's delight.

"Really? So, you're just going to wait for me to get taken and hurt again before you reveal another piece of information to me?"

"Wait, what?" Penelope asked, her blue eyes now twice the size they were when she smiled, as she looked over between me and Xavier with a mix between shock and confusion on her face.

"Oh, Xavier didn't do the honour of explaining to you what happened to me? He didn't tell you how I came to know that my family name was Rey? Or what I had to go through because of it?"

I watched as all the blood drained from Penelope's face.

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Authors Note: the photo above is how I envision Mia's mother would look like and Jordi Mollá as her father. Of course if you're imagining it otherwise, that's okay too!

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