Redress (gxg)

Chapter 24 "Past"

No matter how much I stopped myself from fidgeting, it seemed like it wasn't enough as I stared back at Lauren who was sitting across me in my living room. Since she settled herself on the sofa, she hadn't said a word, and instead just looked at me sternly which was making me uncomfortable. 

Driving back here in my apartment, I didn't really feel that anxious, and I was ready to tell her everything, but the moment I stood face to face with her, the courage I felt earlier had quickly alleviated, replaced with twice the nerves, stopping me from opening my mouth. I didn't normally feel like this, but what I was going to tell her, and the fact that I was gonna tell it all to Lauren was something I wasn't looking forward to.

"We can start the conversation any time now Alex," she suddenly spoke up with a hint of irritation on her voice.

"Yeah, I'm sorry..." I mumbled weakly.

"Let's just start slow okay?...Just so you know, I'm trying hard to stop myself from asking questions. I just want you to tell me on your own, rather than answering me Alex."

I nodded, "Okay Lauren..."

"Just the things you wanna tell me," she mumbled softly, which somehow helped calm my nerves. 

Taking a deep breath to regain my composure, I then spoke up, "Before we get to the difficult part, you should know something about me Lauren..." I trailed off as I looked at her carefully, "I'm not who you think I am," I added slowly, and hearing my last sentence, she eventually frowned, returning my gaze with a curious one.

"What do you mean?"

"My real name is...Alexandra King, and I'm...Amelia Coldwell's daughter," I confessed, and as the words left my mouth, her jaw instantly dropped in shocked.

"You're...Amelia's daughter? How? Does that mean you're Cliff's daughter too, and Ethan's sister?" she questioned.

I shook my head, "No, thank God I'm not Cliff's daughter or Ethan's sister..." I said, rolling my eyes at the idea, "I'm just Amelia's daughter...sadly."

"But how? Why did you act like you aren't her daughter? And why use a different name?" she bombarded, and I momentarily pursed my lips as the anxiousness was replaced by mild anger, thinking back about what started it all. 

"It's because of Cliff Coldwell...And Amelia, she wasn't supposed to know who I was, but she was clever to figure it out."

She shook her head as her forehead creased, "Okay, this is a lot to take in, but I wanna know...what did Cliff do to you?" she asked, sounding a bit desperate. I knew she was starting to get all worked up, and I was somehow impressed at how she was handling it.

I licked my lower lip, feeling like it had gone suddenly dry, just thinking about the thing I was gonna say. "Cliff...he killed my father," I mumbled, and I immediately felt like crying from recalling the memory. 

"W-What?" she breathed as she stared at me with a shocked expression.

"The night of my twelfth birthday, after the party...dad, Amelia, and I, we went to one of our rest houses to spend the night...I recalled that time, dad finally gave me a puppy, as a birthday present," I said, slightly chuckling at the memory, "and I was so happy, I played with him 'til past my bedtime, in my room...until...until, I heard shouts and thumps in the living room..." I paused as I wiped the tear I didn't know had escaped.

"Alex..." she called with tears gleaming in her eyes. She stood up and walked to the sofa, taking a seat beside me. She then held my arm as she looked at me with sincerity, "You don't have to tell me the whole story Alex..."