Chapter 34

Amanda Pov.
-There are many other things that you don't know. Dad says in a serious tone, and I'm not sure I want to hear it anymore.
But I'm curious to know.
-What other things? I ask him carefully, then my eyes run to my mother who doesn't make a sound but keeps snapping her fingers that I'm afraid she's going to break them.
What is wrong with her?
-I found out who your biological father is. Dad says and I turn my attention to him.
-How?
- Your mother told me everything.
-Who is?
-A certain Russell Denver.
When that bastard's name came out of my father's mouth, I felt the life drain from me.
-I don't believe something like this... I say with a trembling voice and I look at my mother who looks at me with pain in her eyes. Mom, tell me it's not true.
-I am sorry. She says and I run my hands over my face.
-All that time when I was together with Josh, you knew he was my brother and you didn't tell me anything?
I want to be strong, but the tears running down my cheeks tell me how weak I am.
-I am sorry.
- I kissed him, mother. I say and a feeling of nausea takes over me.
- Please, Amanda, forgive me. You are not blood brothers so you have nothing to worry about.
-Mom, I don't care. Theoretically, he is my brother. How could you… How could you not tell me anything?
- I'm so sorry... She says with tears in her eyes, but I feel that my nerves are on fire.
-Stop apologizing, dammit, and say why did you do something like this to me?
Dad motioned for me to calm down but at this moment I can't anymore. I trusted her.
- Does Ron know about this? I keep asking.
- No, and please don't tell him. Said my mother, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
-Why?
-He will never let you see me again.
Is that her big problem? The fact that she withheld such important information from me should be her problem.
It disgusts me to think that I kissed my brother.
-We're all on edge, especially me, but I think it's possible to talk like adults, right? Dad intervenes between me and mom, and I shift my attention to the carpet admiring the geometric shapes on it.
-Amanda. Dad continued, this time in a stern tone seeing that I was ignoring him.
-Yes? Are there other secrets I don't know about that I should know about?
Dad gives mom a fleeting look full of disgust and then takes my palm between his hands. He always made this gesture when I was little and wanted to explain something important to me. That's why my stomach clenches painfully in fear of what he might say next.
-You have been through so much and God is my witness that I don't want to hurt you anymore, but there is something essential in this whole story. Your brother was involved in all the terror you went through.
-Who?! Josh? He wasn't there with me. I say frowning.
-It's not about Josh, it's about Ghost.
I pull my hand out of my father's hands suddenly as if he's burning me and I look at them both in disgust.
-Ghost is my brother? How the hell?
-Your mother and Russell were classmates in high school for a year. Your mother got pregnant with Ghost, but she couldn't raise the baby because of her parents, so after she gave birth, Russell took the baby and they moved here to New York.
- Oh God... I say and I feel dizzy.
I can't stay in the same house with these people anymore. At least I can't stay in the same house with my mother anymore. I get up from the corner and go to my room without saying a word.
I pull the suitcase out from under the bed and start filling it with clothes quickly, then I grab all my college books and put them in the bag.
-Please do not leave. Let me explain everything to you in luxurious detail. Mom says from the doorway, but I don't say a word until I finish packing the essentials.
-You have lost the right to listen to you. I say and walk past her dragging my luggage behind me. Dad made the right decision by leaving us. I don't want to live under the same roof with you anymore either.
Dad wants to say something but the look I give him silences him.
-Amanda, please...
My mother wants to take my hand, but I take a step back quickly.
-Do not touch me. Do not look for me. Do not call me. I tell her between my teeth. Are you afraid Ron won't let me see you anymore? Don't worry, because it's my choice to never see you again.
My mom starts crying, but it doesn't hurt me anymore.
- Take care of yourself, father. Call me whenever you want. I tell him and give him a short hug before leaving the house.
It's only when I get outside and head to Ron's auto shop with my luggage that I realize the seriousness of what I've found out. Denver is my biological father. Josh is my half brother. Ghost is my brother one hundred percent. Ghost, the one who humiliated me for a week.
Halfway through, I stop and burst into tears. A few people look at me in passing like I'm crazy, but I don't care. My life, the one I knew, turned out to be one big, big lie.
When I calm down a bit, I continue on my way to Ron's. He is the only person I can rely on right now. I need a person who is always honest with me no matter what, and it turned out that only he is like that.
How am I going to be able to explain everything I've learned to him without making me want to throw up from the memories?