Charlotte couldn’t handle the woes anymore and finally decided to tell her the truth. She turned her Talia’s face to look at her. “My precious granddaughter, please listen to what I have to say.” She wiped her nose on her sleeve with a sad smile. “I wanted to keep this a secret from you so you wouldn’t feel unhappy. Although, I should tell you the truth now. They’re your stepmother and stepsister, not your real family.”
Talia’s blood ran cold, and her mind raced. She shook her head and rubbed her temple. The news was unbelievable. She cleared her ears to be sure she didn’t have hearing problems.
She inquired one more time. “What did you say, Grandma? Can you repeat once more?”
“They’re not your blood family.” Charlotte explained in a slow tone. “Your mom was my daughter, and she died in a car accident when you were just six years old.”
Stuttering through teary eyes, Talia inquired with fear. “Then, what… What about my dad? Is he not related to me either?”
“Do you mean Dylan? My poor granddaughter, please don’t say that!” Charlotte sighed in a heated breath. “He’s your real father. I don’t know about him now, but he always loved you. The presence of those two have poisoned him.”
“Are you sure, Grandma?”
“Yes! The only reason I stay with this family is because I still have you. Talia, you remind me so much of my beloved daughter because you look exactly like your mom in appearance. So, please don’t feel sad because I can’t help you. And that breaks my heart.”
Warmth enveloped in her heart; Talia figured out the truth of her heritage. No wonder the love between Abigail and her was so different, like Heaven and Hell, because they weren’t blood-related at all!
And she must have been an awful woman. Why her father would have chosen her made no sense, but at least it was not the woman who birthed her which treated her so.
There was some solace in that.
Calming down her sniffles and blowing her snot, Talia wiped away her tears. She picked up the broom and swept the floor. Talia headed out to the closest to grab the mop, but she heard the ring of the phone that instant. While looking around, her grandma already went outside to the small greenhouse to water the plants.
She went to pick up the phone. “Hello, who’s this?”
“Hello! Talia, is that you?” JD answered from the other side. “Do you still remember me?”
Talia gawked at the phone as she swirled around to check her surroundings. “Yes, I still recognize your voice. How did you get my number, JD?”
“I apologize. I hope you don’t think that I sound like a creep,” he sighed in a desperate tone. “I tried to find you this morning on campus, but I found out that your school group already left the university. I happened to pick up your black binder from last night. Your transcript was in the folder, so I happened to know your home phone. Do you think we can talk for a few minutes?”
Talia stared at the clock in the living room. Due to the tension in the house several minutes ago, she paused before she mumbled. “I’m doing my chores now. Can you call me back later at 10 PM?”
“If I finish my job earlier, then I’ll try to reach you at that time,” JD answered after several moments too. “If not, then I’ll look for a time to drop off your binder. Okay?”
“Kay!” Talia giggled as her heart burst in happiness. “I’ll be waiting for your call. Take care.”
JD chuckled. “See you later.”
Hanging up the phone on the receiver, Talia had more motivation to do her chores as she zoomed back and forth in the house. The sad memory of the abuse from her family evaporated on the spot. A wide grin appeared on her face as she washed the dishes while humming with a song.
Charlotte entered the house a few moments later and noticed the difference in her granddaughter. “What’s wrong? You look so happy. Anything happening?”
“Nothing!” Talia giggled. “I’m just glad to be home.”
Awe… Would he really call me? I couldn't wait until we could communicate again.
6
Um… I’m getting scared of getting caught… I should be strong… JD said he was going to call me… I should go wait for him before the phone rings in the next five minutes though… I could do this small task!
She peeked at her alarm clock until the time showed 9:50 PM before she removed her blanket and tiptoed toward the kitchen. Knowing her way around the house, she avoided making any ruckus in order not to wake anyone. She sat on the sofa as she glanced at the receiver while the fear and pain in her heart increased every second.
Talia held her breath as the clock ticked past every minute while she stared at the phone receiver in the kitchen, causing her heart to thump with excitement. Recalling her appointment time with JD, she dashed around the house to help her grandma finish dinner for the night. She never expected to be this enthusiastic about a phone call from a guy.
Anticipating not to miss the timing, Talia paid no mind to her family that had come home from the store after two hours with several bags of accessories littering the front doorway. Her grandma and her set up the table before everyone sat down to eat dinner.
Talia tried her hardest to avoid the mocking tone of Abigail, who kept showing off her beautiful new clothes, makeup kits, and jewelry. After eating dinner, Talia washed the dishes before she completed her Biology and English assignments. She then took a shower and feigned going to sleep at 9:15 PM in order not to let her family know about her involvement with her new friend.
Talia waited for ten more minutes as the phone never beeped at all. The drowsiness started to creep in her body, causing her eyes to droop as she leaned against the sofa. She rubbed her eyes and tried her hardest to shake off the sleepiness within her body.
Has JD changed his mind? Why didn't he call me yet? The time was 10:30 PM now. I didn't expect a phone call would ever take this long.
With no choice but to accept her tiredness, she stood up and began to tiptoe back to her bedroom. She gave up for the night and decided to head back to bed. JD must be playing a joke on her. She hadn't taken more than a few steps before the phone rang. Dashing back in a hurry, she picked up the receiver.
“Hello… Who are you?” Talia gasped as she whispered through the phone. “Is this… this… JD?”
He chuckled. “You must have been waiting long since you recognized me before I spoke a single word. I apologized for calling so late because I just came back from work and finished my shower,” He sighed from the other side. “I wonder why you didn’t let me call you earlier around 2 or 3 PM. We could have talked for a few hours.”
“I wanted to… But my mom… wouldn’t like that I… talked with you… at that time… since I’m still… busy doing chores…” Talia muttered, swirling around the room to look for any people. “Can we talk for a bit now though? Or is it too late?”
JD noticed the hesitation in her voice and tried to calm her down. “We can talk for the next fifteen minutes. I don’t want you to be late for school tomorrow. So, have you studied the driver’s education booklet that I gave you yesterday? How about I help you set up an appointment online for you to go take your permit test?”