Sarah grabs Nonna’s arm. “He can’t see her,” she hisses.
Nonna nods and steps forward. “You need to leave,” she tells me sternly. “Hattie and Henri are out in the garden. I won’t have you upsetting my grandchildren.”
I stare at her. “Upsetting your grandchildren?”I repeat, incredulously. “Are you kidding me? I’m your grandchild! Your firstborn fucking granddaughter!”
Her face pinches with fury. “You need to leave.”
“That’s it? You don’t want to ask how I am? What I’m doing with my life? Whether I’m dating, or married, or I have kids? You don’t give a fuck?”
“Do not talk to me like that.”
I shake my head, tears popping into my eyes. In the garden, I hear the creak of trampoline springs, and two little faces bounce up from behind a hedge. I see two shocks of bright red hair.
Hattie and Henri. I havesiblings. God, I wouldkillto get to know those kids. But apparently, I’m deemed too shameful to even be seen by them. “I don’t understand why,” I whisper. “Why are they good enough for you, and I’m not?”
Nonna takes a deep breath through her nose. “Perhaps,” she says icily, “you should consider whywe couldn’t keep you. Because I can assure you, we damn well tried to love you.” Her eyes glint nastily. “You were an insufferable child.”
I stagger back a step. I feel like I’ve been kicked in the chest.
“And now you’ve come here,” she continues, “swearing, and shouting, disrupting our family with your own selfishness. You clearly haven’t grown up at all.”
“Stop,” I whisper. “Please, just—”
The front door opens again. “What’s going on out here?” A male voice calls. Sarah and Nonna both freeze as an attractive blonde guy steps out of the house. His eyes widen when he sees my tear-stained cheeks. “Wow, hey, are you okay?” He glances across at Sarah, who’s still quietly crying. “Babe!” He wraps an arm around her, dismayed. “Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” He looks between us all. “What’s going on?”
Nonna sniffs. “Nothing is going on,” she says crisply. “Bethany here was justleaving.”
“Bethany...” He squints at me. “Damn, babe, she looksjust like youwhen we first met. Woah. Are you guys cousins, or something?”
My mouth falls open. “She didn’t tell you about me?”
He looks confused. “Tell me what, love?” Sarah’s sobs get louder, and he strokes her hair back. “Hey, it’s okay.”
A wrinkled hand closes around my arm like a vice. “You’re leaving,” Nonna spits, dragging me back across the drive. “Now.”
“But—”
“I don’t knowwhatyou were shooting for when you came here,” she growls. She must be over seventy now, but her grip is iron-clad as she tugs me along.
“I don’t want anything!” I protest. “I just needed—” My shoes slip on the pebbly drive, and I stumble. She yanks me upright, shoving me towards my cheap, second-hand car. I slam into the door, my palms stinging from the force. I’m shaking all over. I can’t believe this is happening. I can hear raised voices coming from further up in the drive.
“Why didn’t she tell him about me?” I demand. “He’s herhusband.Am I really that much of an embarrassment, she can’t even admit to her husband that I exist?!”
Nonna huffs. “Carl is soft. If he knew his kids had a half-sister, he would’ve tried to contact you.”
“And that would be so bad, would it?! It would be so awful for me to have one person who actually wants me around?! It would beso awfulfor me to get to know my own bloodysiblings?”
“They’re not your siblings!”
“They’re more related to me than they are to you!”
Her jaw tightens. “Look.” She squares up to me, looking me straight in the eye. “My daughter made a mistake having you. She was fifteen. Do you really think she should be punished for the rest of her life for a stupid teenage mistake?”
“I’m not a punishment,” I choke. “I’m aperson.”
She shakes her head. “Look at this place! She’s finally moving forward in life. She’s working on her degree. She has a good job. She found a well-off husband who worships the ground she walks on. She has two beautiful, intelligent,well-behavedchildren. She wouldn’t have been able to have any of this, if she’d kept you. And shedeservesa good life, Bethany. She deserves all of this.” Her nostrils flare. “I won’t have you ruining it for her. If I see you around here again, I will call the police.”
I yank my arm away. Heat is flushing my face. I can’t stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. “Don’t worry about that,” I snap, pulling open the car door. “You won’t ever see me again.”