Page 38 of Kept in the Dark

The older woman appeared and when Genevieve saw Trey at the door, her face lit up and she smiled ear to ear. It was apparent they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, which made Hailey a little sad.

“Trey, what a pleasant surprise!” Genevieve greeted him with a kiss on the cheek as if she was his own mother. She waved for him to come inside. “Sit at the table and I’ll make coffee.”

Genevieve then looked at Hailey and raised a brow, eager to hear the juicy story of the possible rekindling of their relationship.

When Trey moved out of the doorway, Genevieve saw Sara standing behind him. Genevieve stilled. Sara awkwardly played with her hair, unsure if she would be welcomed with open arms.

Genevieve slowly walked to Sara and cupped her face, studying every detail. And then Genevieve cried and embraced the woman she had once taken care of as a little girl.

Sara stiffened. At that moment, Hailey realized her sister hadn’t been hugged in the last thirteen years. Not even Hailey had hugged her yet.

Genevieve then traced the scar on Sara’s neck. “What happened?”

Sara shrugged. “It’s a long story, but I’m okay.”

She held Sara at arm's length. “I’m so sorry, Sara.”

Sara tried to hide the tears, but when Genevieve pulled her close again, Sara let out a sob and cried into the woman’s neck.

Hailey nearly cried herself. She glanced at Trey who nodded her toward the kitchen. She followed him, giving Sara and Genevieve some privacy.

Hailey went to find Trinity as Trey helped himself to the coffee and brewed a fresh pot. Though Trinity didn’t need to know the details of what Hailey was doing, she needed to know her aunt was innocent; especially because she was about to meet Sara.

Hailey gently knocked on Cecilia’s bedroom door. She heard giggles as the doorknob turned. Cecilia answered the door but Trinity, sitting on the bed, said, “Mom, what are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you, but I also need to talk to you.” Hailey looked at Cecilia. “Can I have a minute with Trinity?”

The girl nodded, her dark curls bouncing, and left Hailey and Trinity alone.

Hailey sat on the bed with Trinity, facing her. The two teens must have been doing each other’s makeup, Trinity sporting a red lip and blush much too bright. Hailey inwardly chuckled, remembering when she and Sara used to do the same.

“What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you about my sister.”

Trinity raised a brow. “Okay?”

“Since you were born, I’ve made her out to be this awful person. I was selfish to do that. And I was wrong about her guilt, too. She didn’t kill my mother. And the friend I mentioned the other day said he would help us.”

Trinity threw up her arms, her eyes wide, as she said, “Are you serious right now? You come back to this place and now all of a sudden you think she’s innocent?” She rolled her eyes. “You were right, this town does make you crazy.”

Hailey narrowed her eyes. “First of all: lose the attitude, Trinity Rae. Second of all: This has nothing to do with being back in town.”

Trinity let out a huff, annoyed that her mother reprimanded her.

Hailey couldn’t blame her daughter for feeling jaded about Sara. After all, Hailey hadn’t painted her sister in the kindest light over the years.

Hailey sighed. “Look, I’ve always tried to do what I thought was best, but your Aunt Sara-”

“She’s not my aunt,” Trinity spat out and crossed her arms.

Hailey let out a deep breath, trying to gain patience with her teenager. She ignored the comment. “Your Aunt Sara and I have a really complicated relationship. We had our issues growing up and I let those things dictate the way I talked about her to you.”

“But Mom, she killed your mother. Her mother. She doesn’t exactly sound like a nice person.”

“I thought she killed my mother. I was wrong, Trinity. And that breaks my heart.”

“Well, you must have been pretty convinced since you let her rot for all those years.” Trinity quipped.

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