After Micah let the cat out of the bag, I then proceeded to drag him by the ear into the hallway.

Meanwhile, Micah pled for mercy.

"Uncle! Uncle!" He cried.

I released my grip and folded my arms. "How long have you known?" I asked, tapping my foot angrily. Micah bit his lip before replying.

"Ever since you told me your last name was van Eeden." He adds, "I didn't know I had a sister until then, actually. I mean, van Eeden isn't the most common name in the world, right?" He chuckles, sticking his hands in his pockets.

I flashed back to two weeks earlier when I could've sworn I saw Micah's hand move, almost like he was typing something...

And then, everything else came rushing back. The twins asking about Micah's last name, Sera and Sakura practically telling me Micah was my brother.

I wanted to curl up in a ball and hope I would just disappear. How could I be so stupid? Micah always seemed to want to spend every waking moment with me. Maybe after he finally found his baby sister he wanted to form the bond he never had the chance to make.

"I'm still not quite sure..." Micah mumbles. "Who were your parents?" He asks me, looking me dead in the eye.

As I looked back at him, I started to see a bit of Mom. Just a little bit. The big, brown doe eyes, the thin, pink lips...

I blink. I let out a breath and answered, "Kaplan and Elinore van Eeden,"

Micah smiled a little. But it was a sad smile. "So Momma is dead,"

I pressed my lips together, choking on my suppressed tears.

Then Micah's face breaks into that classic grin. "But I'm not alone."

He gets me into a choke hold, playfully giving me a noogie. I laugh, trying to break his grip.

"STAWP!" I commanded.

Micah cackles evilly at my contempt.

"I haven't spent 17 years of my life without a family for you to chicken out!" He continues to noogie me until he suddenly stops.

I looked over to see what caused Micah to stop. Sera stood there, her eyes brimming with tears. "I thought I was your family,"

"Sera," Micah starts. Sera shook her head. "Sera, I didn't mean it,"

"This is such a stupid thing to cry over," She mumbles. "Why am I crying anyway?" She asks, rubbing her eyes. "I should be happy for you. And I am. But," She pauses, sniffling. "You told me. When you were first learning to talk, I remember your first word. 'Family.' And then you pointed at me."

She chuckles, smiling tearfully. "Actually, it came out more like, 'Famiwy.'"

Micah has let me go. He walks over to Sera. "Sera, please," He begs.

"'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'. I taught you that, remember? We were both 12 years old. Matron Klein told us blood was thicker than water."

"Not the best thing to tell a bunch of orphans," Micah jests.

Sera laughs, shaking her head. "No, it wasn't. But I told you she was wrong. The bonds we made with our sorrows, our blood, sweat, and tears couldn't be broken with mere water." She licks her lips. "Please tell me you at least remember that."

"Of course I remember!" Micah says with a chuckle. "How could I forget? You were so angry at Matron Klein. And you know how you are when you're angry. You pour out your very soul into your words, and they're beautiful."

"This is such a stupid thing to cry over," Sera repeats. "I'm such an idiot,"

Micah took Sera by the shoulders. "Sera," It was a question, but it was phrased like a command. "Look at me." Sera looks up at him, pressing her lips together. "You're not an idiot. You're human. The most human human being I've ever known."

Sera smiles a little. "Maybe you're just a bit jealous," Sera nods, chuckling.

"Yeah, I guess I am." She replies.

"Well, guess what? That makes you even more human." Micah offers a small smile. "I'm sorry for what I said. I was just so excited to have a little sister, I just got caught up. Well, Sera, you are, were, and always will be my big sister."

Sera smiles. Micah cups her face in his hands, wiping away her tears. "It's been forever since I've seen you smile. You should make a habit of it. You don't look as grumpy all the time." Sera chuckles.

"Come here, Azzi." Micah beckons, gesturing with a wave of his hand. I stood up and walked over to them.

Micah locks up both in a chokehold, giving us both noogies. "The van Eeden Noogie!" Micah jests, noogieing us harder.

I heard this quote once. It was in one of my secret books. It might've been a quote inside a quote. I wasn't sure. But the quote was all I could think of as I was caught in the van Eeden Noogie.

"This is my family. I found it all on my own. It may be little and broken. But still good. Yeah. Still good."