If anything in my life could have been described as awkward, it was those first few hours I was alone with my mother. After two years, I was finally getting some answers, but not ones I liked or even wanted to admit were true.

I had a half-brother, someone I had no idea existed for the last two years. A brother who's father I had never met. A man that had secretly gotten my mother pregnant while she was still pretending to be with my father for my sake. 

How much did my dad know about?

Mom and I sat in silence for a long while after Brayden left. She didn't show me to a room, and I didn't ask. The dog didn't move. Kyle kept playing with his blocks for a little bit before going to his mother. She picked him up and played with him affectionately, kissing his head and nuzzling his face, bouncing him on her leg - all things I remembered her doing with me. Seeing her now doing all of this with another child was strange. 

"Do you want to hold your brother?" she suddenly asked me.

My eyes went wide. I'd never held a child before. Still, I nodded. She got up and sat him on my lap. He looked up at me and stuck his thumb in his mouth. His expression was curious, as if he was trying to figure out who I was. "Hi Kyle," I said dumbly. How did you even talk with kids? "I'm your big sister." I took the hand that wasn't in his mouth and shook it. His brow furrowed and he tried to climb off my lap. Terrified he was going to fall and get hurt, I grabbed him around his waist and hugged him to me. "You can get him now," I told Mom, who had been watching the exchange with a weird look on her face.

She took him back and finally looked over at my things. "Is that all of it?" she asked, concerned.

"That's all I brought with me," I said defensively. Which was everything I owned minus a few little trinkets. I even had my corsage from prom in there. It was securely tucked away, though. She just didn't need to know that. I never had money for things, so how could I have more than that? I didn't even own a suitcase - I only had that one thanks to Brayden. 

Wait - did I ever thank him for getting that suitcase? I don't think I did. That night everything went wrong for me and ended up being a complete mess. Most of my interaction with him was a blur. I didn't know what was said, but I had a feeling it wasn't all nice. Being grilled by the police for hours never made anyone happy.

"Well, try to make yourself at home here," Mom said. "I think you're going to like Wen. He's kind and has been wanting to meet you since we fell in love. I couldn't introduce you back then, but I'm glad you're finally getting the chance now."

I wasn't sure how I felt about everything, but I gave her a smile. "I'll do my best. Where's my room? I want to put my things away."

"Oh, it's this way." She stood and slung Kyle onto her hip. I grabbed my suitcase and followed her deeper into the house. We went down a hallway and she opened a door about halfway down "You can stay in here." She walked into the room and flicked on the light. The room was yellow with a fluffy comforter on the bed and lots of decorative pillows I knew I would just throw on the floor. "There's a lot of closet space, but we're low on hangers. Just let me know if you need more than what's in here. I'll just run and get some tomorrow."

"That should be fine," I said when she opened the door to the closet. There were about five hangers in there, and I only owned three dresses and not enough dress shirts to worry about hanging any of them up. 

Mom gave me a sad look before walking back out into the hallway. "This is the bathroom here." I followed her out in time to see her walk into another room next to mine. "You can find everything you need in here. Towels are on the rack, extra tissue is under the sink, along with some feminine hygiene products. You never know when someone will need them, so I keep these as extras." The room was deep blue and decorated in an ocean theme. Everything was a creature or showed pictures of them. I wasn't sure I like it. "If you need anything else, let us know. I'm afraid I don't have any extra toothbrushes or anything like that, so we can go to the store if you need that kind of stuff."

I shook my head. "I'm covered. I think I've got everything I need for now. Thank you." I still had a toothbrush from home, and all my toiletries. I even had the three makeup items I'd used only a handful of times. Why I tossed them in that night, I don't know. I just did. 

We walked in silence back to the living room and sat where we'd been before. I'd known things would probably be awkward, probably downright weird, and that was if she didn't kick me out, but I never thought it would be like this. We had so much to say, a giant elephant taking up all the good air around us, but neither of us knew how to address it. At leas I didn't. She didn't seem to know or want to, and I didn't blame her. She probably felt bad about leaving her daughter with her abuser. 

The moment I thought those words tears welled up. Why did my mind conjure up things at bad times? I didn't want Mom to see me cry. "I'm going to the bathroom," I said, standing abruptly. "I'll be right back." I hurried out of the room, not waiting for her to respond. The moment I was in private, the tears flowed freer than they had in a while. So much had built up and was just choosing now to come out. I was sure Mom could hear me through the locked door. 

That didn't stop the quiet sobs and sniffles, though. Everything felt like it was finally hitting me at once. I was alone here, in an unfamiliar place with people I didn't truly know and Brayden was heading back to the one place I've always called home. 

As the evening wore on, the feeling of being lonely and out of place intensified. Mom acted like she didn't hear me having a breakdown when I finally came out of the bathroom. After some time, Wendall came home and was shocked at my presence. There was a whispered conference in the kitchen that sounded strangely like an argument. Eventually, Wendall came out and went to his home office, skipping any and all introductions. I didn't even get a good look at him other than noticing he was tall and lean, though slightly soft around the middle, with graying brown hair. 

Dinner time came, and we gathered around the table. Forks scraped plates, which sounded loud in the silence that cloaked us. After we ate, I excused myself to my room. Hiding from them seemed like a better choice than being somewhere I didn't belong. 

I unpacked everything into the dresser in the room, sat out things that I would be using in the mornings, and flopped on the bed. It was comfortable despite all the pillows decorating it. I took out Dad's phone and checked it. Nothing new that mattered to me. Some of his gambling friends letting him know about places to go, but that was it. Oh, and that woman. I deleted her out of the phone and got rid of her message thread. 

Someone knocked on my door. "Jenny?" came a male voice through the door. "Um, your mom and I want to know if you'd like to join us for some cinnamon rolls. Freshly baked."

My nose twitched. I'd been smelling cinnamon for a while. That explained it. "Sure," I called back as I got off the bed. I stopped by the mirror and ran my fingers through my hair quickly before opening the door. Wendall still stood there, looking at me with curiosity.

"I'm sorry for not properly meeting you earlier," he said, shuffling his feet. "I'm Wendall." He held out a hand to shake. 

I took it and repressed a shudder. "Nice to meet you," I said with the best smile I could muster. Something about him was already rubbing me the wrong way. Between the clammy hand gripping mine and the sharp eyes that seemed to be lingering on the curves that they shouldn't have been and the small smirk that didn't even remotely touch his eyes, my instincts told me to not trust what was in front of me. 

We walked into the living room and the scent got even stronger. It had been so long since I had even given any thought to being able to eat a cinnamon roll that I couldn't remember whether or not I liked them. "Have a seat," Wendall said when we reached the living room. He took a seat on one of the chairs. I sat opposite him on the sofa. Mom came in the room a minute later carrying a plate of iced cinnamon rolls. "Looks good, babe," he complimented, sliding forward and taking a napkin off the stack she sat on the coffee table. He took one of the rolls and placed it on his napkin.

Our eyes met as he began slowly licking the frosting from his finger. I pretended to not think anything of it as I dropped my gaze. Mom handed me a roll on a napkin and I took it. "Thank you," I said. Normally, one was supposed to unwind the roll, but I didn't want to stay in the room with that man, so I bit into it. Hot cinnamon sugar coated my tongue and I couldn't help the small moan that escaped. 

Mom giggled. "I think she likes it, Wen." She glanced at me, proud of herself. 

"I think so," he said jovially. His eyes rested on my fingers that I was licking off. Something in his eyes made me drop my hand. 

After two rolls, I figured I had pigged out enough. "I think I'm going to go back to my room," I said, crumbling the napkin in my hand. 

"Nonsense," Mom said, waving a hand at me. "Why not stay and we can play a game or something like that? We have some board games."

I glanced at the bookshelf off to the side of the room and the games stacked on the shelves. I'd never really played any of them before, so I shook my head. "Thanks, but I'm really no good at that sort of thing. Cards either. I'm more of a reader and video gamer." 

Mom deflated a little. "Oh. Well, I'm sure we can get a system for you to play on eventually. We're not too bad off, you know. We do live pretty comfortably."

I smiled at her. "I'm sure. You don't have to do that for me, though. I plan on finding my own place and all that."

"What about college?" she asked. "I know you must have graduated by now."

I smiled down at my lap. "A week or so ago," I responded. It felt like it had only been a couple of days, but I was on the road with Brayden for nearly a week, so I knew it couldn't have been. "Dad pulled me out during my sophomore year, saying that I didn't need to go to school when I was better suited to working. Mr. Milton, though, he got me reenrolled in school and helped me hide that I was going until I graduated. He even made sure I went to prom."

"Who did you go with?"

"Brayden." I smiled a little at the memory. It had been a really good night up until that call. 

"Do you have any pictures?"

I shook my head. "I don't, but the Miltons probably do. She was taking so many that it felt almost like a photoshoot." I smiled a little more and looked up. Mom was silently crying, her face a mix of pride and pain.

"Do you think she could send me some of those?"

I nodded. "I'll have Brayden ask her about it."

"Thank you. Oh, my little girl is all grown up. Have you applied to any colleges? There's some good ones here in Colorado."

I shrugged. "I don't really care if I go or not. It's never been a priority."

"Tomorrow, we're going to look at colleges," she said in a definitive tone that I recognized from when I was a kid. "It's not too late to get you in somewhere."

"I would like to look for some places to apply to as well," I mentioned. "I need to get a job so I can get a place."

"Honey, you know you're always welcome to stay with me," Mom said, reaching across the table. I met her hand and grasped it, giving her a squeeze. My eyes went to Wendall as she spoke. His gaze met mine and sent a shiver down my spine. Oblivious, Mom kept talking. "You're always my baby girl. I'd never turn you away. My home is your home."

Wendall's eyes contradicted her words. Another shiver went down my spine as I ripped my gaze away and smiled at Mom. "I know. Thank you for taking me in."