Page 174 of Nocere

"You are my sister," I told her, and it made her smile again.

Juni didn't skip a beat in continuing the conversation, and her comfort level far-exceeded mine. "It's good you have each other. I have a sister at home, but she's my parents' biological daughter."

"Do you think it's true?" I asked Sam once I was able to breathe without panicking.

"I'm not sure, honey. But it would be reckless if I didn't advise you to consider it." Sam kept her arm around me and we returned our attention to Juni. She offered me a kind smile which only tangled me further in disbelief.

"Am I awake?" I asked, and she nodded.

"That's how I felt when I got the letter. I'm sorry to have made you so upset, Rose." She leaned forward, her palms wrapped around the water bottle as if attempting to find a place to store nervous energy.

"Do you believe her?" I asked, dabbing at my cheeks with my sleeve as Sam stroked my hair.

"I don't have a reason not to…"

"Well, I do. And I don't want to think you're my sister until we have proof," I said, in a bout of courage to explain myself. "Because if it's not true, it'll hurt you if you're happy about it too soon."

"Carly is a really bad person…" offered Alex, glancing between us.

"Oh." Juni's gaze fell to the table, then flickered between me and Alex. "I thought she was in for drugs… Most people who use aren't bad people, but sick."

I couldn't tolerate much of this conversation and leaned my head against Sam's shoulder, falling into the quiet of my inner dialogue. My thoughts assaulted me, and I wondered how my mother could possibly manipulate this woman to think she was my sister. She knew she would be ordered to stay away from me, and somehow, she found someone with similar physical features to get to me. My mother wasn't just sick as Juni implied. She was manipulative, cold, and uncaring for my entire life. I was a throwaway to her, and so was Juniper, except through her rose-hued perception, she couldn't see that right now. It brought a stroke of sadness to my devastated insides.

The front door opened and Rebecca hurried in, dropping her purse on the end table as her eyes searched the room for me. As soon as I saw her, tears streamed my cheeks again and I hopped out of my seat, rushing her as soon as she approached.

"My goodness, sweet girl. What's happened?" She hugged me to her, her hand cupping the back of my head.

My lips wouldn't move and I found myself hiding my face against her shoulder while I cried. She rubbed my back, and I let her lead the situation for the time being. Sam stood to join us, her hand on the small of my back.

"We've had a difficult morning," she said, her voice soft. I wasn't sure if they shared any other exchange while I kept my eyes closed.

"All right, Rosie. Let's go take a rest and you can catch me up on everything." Rebecca didn't give me a chance to answer or protest as she led me out of the living room area to the bedroom. She closed the door, and Sam didn't follow for the time being. "Okay, come here." She urged me to sit, and cupped my face in her hands while I sobbed. "Breathe in slow," she coached, doing as she said so I would follow. "Then out."

"I'm late for work," I croaked. "I didn't call."

"I took care of it. Lie down for me," she said, urging me into the pillows while she sat at my hip. I obliged, and she pulled the letter out that Sam must've given her. "This is from your mother?"

"She wrote that to Juniper and told her I was her sister. I don't believe her. She lies about everything, Bex. Everything. She's manipulating Juniper, too." I covered my face with my hands and attempted to slow down my breathing again.

Rebecca remained quiet for a moment, her hand flat on my stomach until I looked at her again. She wore a soft, but sad smile as she set the letter aside. I searched her expression, and her lack of surprise had me wondering…

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I sniffled and snatched a tissue from the nightstand.

"This story itself, Rosie, is true." She gave my side a pat as she leaned a little bit closer. "Carly always said she gave birth to another baby, but the baby was taken away from her. The only reason I know is because of the dozens of CPS reports."

"You knew about this?" I leaned up on my elbows as anxiety turned to anger. "And you didn't tell me?"

"Rosie, I knew nothing for certain. There was no record of adoption. No record of pregnancy or prenatal care. Only reports indicating there was a second child somewhere, but it was questioned a lot. It was a decade later when I found out. You were fifteen and just slowly starting to settle into a life of safety. I didn't want to disrupt you with information that may or may not be true," she explained, her voice as calm and reasonable as always.

I nodded, dropping back into the pillows when I thought about what she said. "So how does my mother know it's Juniper?"

"It doesn't sound like she did know. Juniper found your mother herself, according to this." She held up the letter again and I nodded. "I'm sorry, Rosie. I know I've kept this piece of the story from you, but I wasn't certain. We're still not certain."

"I want a DNA test." I sniffled and dabbed at my nose. "I don't want to have any feelings until then."

"Okay." She rubbed my arm then asked, "If she's not your sister, how will you feel?"

"I'll hate my mother even more for hurting another person. Juniper seems nice. She's a social worker and she helps kids." My bottom lip trembled and I gnawed on it for a moment. "She must think I'm a blubbering idiot."

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