#13 :: Who Killed Me?

17.

Zack

"Wait. What? Sariyah is my sister? Mum? This isn't funny."

"Do you see me laughing? And her name is Zariyah! Rose changed it because she said it would be too obvious."

"You told me my twin died!"

"I had to! I couldn't risk you or Sariyah knowing the truth! But Rose had already told her and I witnessed the hatred she had for me in her eyes and knew it was only a matter of time! So I'm telling you the truth! This is all of it! No more lies!"

"This doesn't make sense! How is she my twin? Our birthdays are three months apart!"

"Technically it's not. We just changed her birthday so you lot couldn't ask questions."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"So...Wait, if he isn't my dad, then who is?"

"I've only ever CONSENSUALLY slept with two men. Dwight and Sanchez. So if Dwight isn't your father then..."

"LIAR!! You said it was a one night stand." Rose croaked.

"Oh shut up Rose. I told you that because Sanchez begged me not to tell the truth. I was already the black sheep and I loved him so I did as he asked. Under the condition that whenever it's time, to tell the truth, he stands by my side and supports me. Which by the way...he's failing miserably."

"You had another man pretend to be my dad instead and let me call my real dad my uncle?!" I said with so much anger.

"Baby please... don't be mad let me explain properly."

"NO MUM! NO!! I'm done with you. I'm done with all of this! You're all liars and I can't trust you. I'm going to pack and get out of here."

"Son...Zack baby wait!!"

"NO!! Don't you get it? I don't want to speak to you. You're DEAD to me!" I said before walking off.

I couldn't believe my mum was carrying this secret around for years! My cousin is my sister. My uncle is my dad. There was no way I could forgive my mum for this. I meant what I said, that woman was dead to me.

***

Sariyah

When Rose told me she wasn't my mother but actually my Aunty and that Jazmine was my mother; I hoped it was a sick joke she was making. Because how do you keep one child and give away the other? She didn't even give me away to strangers, she gave me away to her damn sister!

As much as I wanted to believe it was a sick joke it made so much sense. Over the years when Rose and I would argue she would say some really hurtful things and I always wondered how could a mother say that to their child. But I wasn't really her daughter so that's why she treated me that way. She hated when I would always talk about Jazmine and how she was a better mum to Zack than she was to me.

The more I thought about it I don't know how I didn't realise it before. Zack had just stormed off and the room was silent. Jazmine poured another glass of champagne. Her drunken state becoming more and more noticeable.

"He...he will get over it. You all will. Trust me... the truth had to come out. It just had to!" She said.

"The truth? Oh okay. Well here's this for the truth...I HATE YOU!" I said to Jazmine.

"Oh, ZaZa... I'm sorry. I really am. But, but it was for the best. I couldn't raise two kids. Rose couldn't have children - all the wrong in the world she had done; made her barren, so I did the right thing. Kept you close by so I could still have you in my life."

"The...THE RIGHT THING? The right thing would have been for you to keep me! What made Zack better than me? Why him?"

Silence. She went to pour another glass and I grabbed the bottle and threw it shattering it into a thousand pieces.

"ANSWER ME!!"

"Nothing! Nothing okay! He was just born first. So I said he's mine. Look, I have always loved you, haven't I showed you that I love you?" She said trying to cup my face.

"Get off me!! You're full of shit!"

"ZARIYAH!!"

"SA-RIYAH!!"

"But your real name..."

"Is SARIYAH!! You have no right to call me anything else! You gave up that right when you gave me away. Everything you have ever said to me has been a lie. My whole life has been a lie. Two mothers and none of them really loved me. I HATE you. Just like Zack you're DEAD to me too!" I said before running off.

I cried so hard. I can't describe what it feels like to find out your mother isn't your mother. This whole family is nothing but liars. I was so glad that I was eighteen; because I'm of age to do as I please and the first thing I was doing once back in London was moving out. Didn't know where I was going but I refused to stay with any of them.

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