Chapter 9: A little late for that, don't you think grandpa?

I hate being blindfolded. The famous surprise started by Arden and continuing with my brother implied me being blindfolded. After we got out of the library, Connor closed my eyes with a cloth and we headed to a 'special' place as he quoted. I swear if this surprise was like the ones when I was younger, I was going to strangle him with my bare hands. "Connor, where are we going?" I asked just to annoy him.

"It's a surprise. You know, you could read the dictionary once in a while." he said. Yup, he was still the same. We had the same sarcastic character and when those crashed, the fight started.

"Well then, tell me, how is that Arden helped you." I ordered, this time curious. Connor and Arden had a, how should I say it, they practically hated each other. You see, remember when I told you that Arden played tricks on me when we were kids? Well, when I was young, I was a spoiled brat. I always cried and told Connor when Arden tricked me. Connor, being seven years older than me, yelled at Arden. Years passed and Arden hated Connor's guts. Eventually, Connor returned the feeling. Eh, the males in my life.

"That's a long story, but he still hates me and I still hate him. No one makes fun of my baby sister." He said. I couldn't see his face, but by the tone of his voice, I could tell that he still held a grudge.

"One, I'm not a baby and two, I have plenty of time." I scowled. I hated when the others called me a baby. I was seventeen years old for god's sake.

"One, you're still my baby sister and two, we arrived." he shot back and I stuck my tongue at him. I heard him mutter "silly" and then I smacked his arm, or so I thought. I hit the steering wheel.

"Oww." I winced. Ten seconds later, not that I counted, I was on Connor's shoulder, hitting his back and calling him all the fruits and superheroes I could find. He just chuckled and continued to walk. Then he finally stopped and out me carefully on the ground, which I guessed it was grass. Where were we?

"You can take off your blindfold." he said and I quickly took off the black cloth from my eyes. I gasped, nope the noise I made was inhuman. In front of me were my mom and dad. I never came to see them. Never. I couldn't.

"Connor, I-I can't." I stood up and tried to run away. A lump on my throat formed and I wanted to throw up. Why did he bring me here? Connor grabbed my hand and held me in place, begging me with his eyes to stay, but I shook my head. I couldn't handle it. I broke free from his grip and ran away from him, from my parents. A pang of hurt hit me, but I did my best to ignore it. I was used to it anyways.

My parents died ten years ago. I was only seven years old, Clara was twelve and Connor was fourteen. They died in a car accident, at least that's what the police told us. Connor didn't tell me about them until it passed two weeks since their death. I didn't go to their funeral because I didn't know, but even if I did, I wouldn't anyways, because I could not handle it. I still couldn't. I had never gone to their graves, this was the first time. I couldn't accept their death.

We lived with my uncle until Connor turned eighteen. After Connor finished high school, he found a job, which I didn't know what was. He bought a small house for the three of us with the help of uncle Anthony. Connor didn't want his help at first, but our uncle convinced him and so we moved to our new house, which was only twenty minutes away from my uncle's and in the same neighbourhood as Jennifer's and Arden's house.

Clara did go to college though. There she met Oliver and you know the rest. Before Connor left us, Jennifer's family moved here in Manhattan. I was left alone for some time, living on my own. My sister came to visit often, along with Oliver, but I missed Connor and my parents. When I was little, my parents were everything to me, especially my dad. I was a daddy's girl, while Connor and Clara were mommy's. I loved mom too, but with my dad was different.

He was like an idol for me. He used to be a good looking man. I know it's creepy to say that, but if he wasn't my dad, I would fall in love with him. He was a great person, that's why he was a firefighter. He had saved so many lives during his work and I was so proud. I wasn't the only one though. Mom looked at him with love and admiration every time he came home from work. He loved to spoil me and my childhood was great.

My mom though was a beautiful woman. She had blonde hair (which Clara inherited whil I have my dad's brown ones), gorgeous blue eyes and an angelic smile. I envied her beauty. When I was six, I wanted to be like her, but fate chose my sister, not me. If you look at Clara and at the pictures of my mom, they are like two drops of water.

"McKanzie!" a voice called after me. I hadn't realized that I had stopped running and was staying in front of a tree, just staring at it. Who called me? The voice was familiar, but I couldn't put a name on it.

I turned around and a woman was in front of me. I'd seen her before, even talked to her, but I couldn't remember where. What was she doing here anyways? "Yeah." I answered, not wanting to sound rude.

"I'm Elena, your aunt. Sharon was my sister." she said and I gasped. I didn't know my mom's family because they didn't approve of my dad. My maternal grandfather had even disowned my mom as his daughter. They were filthy rich, while my dad was a simple firefighter.

"Oh." was all I could say. What did she want? To say she was sorry? Well, she had nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't her fault that they died.

"Someone wants to meet you." She said carefully. "Can you come with me please?" she had a pleading tone on her voice. Who could possibly want to see me? Unless...

***

I still couldn't believe I hadcagreed. Curse you Connor! It was his fault for bringing me here and convincing me to see my 'grandfather'. Apparently, my maternal grandfather was in the verge of death and he wanted to meet his nephews. A little too late for that, don't you think grandpa?

To say his house was big, would be an understatement. It was endless, bigger than a normal mansion. I didn't understand why it was so big though. It wasn't like tons of people lived here. I bet that my aunt Elena was the only one who lived here that was related to him.

I followed her and Connor throughout the house. I had to admit that the house was wonderful. Chandeliers were in every hallway and in the living room. The walls were a cream colour and the floor was all white, like a hospitals. Strange. Anyways, after we climbed two pairs of stairs, aunt Elena took a left turn and we were at a long hallway. I guess here was the grandfather's room.

I was nervous to meet him though. I knew no one of my maternal side. Aunt Elena came sometimes to visit us when my mom was alive but I vaguely remember her since I was only six or seven at the time. But except her, I didn't know anyone else. My mom told me that she had a younger brother but never talked to me about him. It was pretty hard for her to be disowned by her own father.

The sound of a door opening snapped me out of my train of thoughts. I was really tired, but I had to do this, for my mother. Even though she was disowned, she always talked highly about him. I knew she and my dad would want me to do this. I felt it deep in my heart. Aunt Elena and Connor entered there first. Hesitantly, I walked some small steps inside the room and looked around it. The walls had the same colour as the entire house, the same with the floor too. What was different in this room, was the light. While the entire house was well shined, this room had no light at all. I mean, it had artificial light, but not sunlight. The curtains were closed, not letting the sunlight enter inside the room. I glanced at the part of the room I hadn't seen yet. There was he, my grandfather, lying probably on his last bed, with tons of wires and IV-s connected to him. His skin was wrinkled and paler than a normal's person. I almost, the key word being almost, felt sorry for him. He truly was sick, but that didn't make him less guilty for the pain he caused to my mother, his own daughter. His mouth was slightly parted, a mask of oxygen was in there, allowing him to breathe. His eyes were the same as my mom's, a deep blue. I looked intently at them, they had pain, regret and joy. Why was he happy? He never wanted to know us in the first place. Why all of a sudden was he excited to know us? I couldn't stop these thoughts from creeping on my mind. He had caused so much pain to my mom.

"I can't do this." I muttered under my breath, but I was sure that every one in that room heard it. I shook my head and walked out of the room. I ran through the hallway and then entered in the first room I found.

Fortunately, it was empty, but cold. It seemed like no one had been there for years. What surprised me was that it was different from the rest of the house. The walls were a bright yellow, in fact mostly of the furniture was this colour, my mom's favourite one. That meant... it was her room. I was at my mom's room.

The windows were closed and I lost no time, but I went and opened them. The sight outside made me gasp. It was wonderful. I could see the sunset from here. The sun was already fading from the horizont. I entered inside the room again and. The bed was queen-sized and perfectly made. The nightstand was covered in dust, as well as the small table. A single picture stood at the nightstand.

There was she, surrounded by her family. There was another girl, which I assumed was aunt Elena at her teenage years. Also, there was a ten year-old boy. His eyes weren't blue like my mom's, they were more like gray. He had a widened grin on his face and was squished between my mom and aunt Elena. But they weren't the only ones in this picture. There were two other people, my maternal grandparents. My grandmother was a beautiful woman, with black hair in a perfect bun. She had a warm aura around her, but something was off. Her smile looked forced and she seemed tired. And there was he, my grandfather. He was a perfect man, with broad shoulders, strong jaw and a piercing look. He didn't smile for the camera. His lips were a little twitched, but not to a smile. He obviously didn't want to take the picture.

I left the framed photo on the stand and went to sit on her bed, which was surprisingly soft. I was so tired and exhausted and so I let the sleep get to me. I would deal with this later.

Little did I know what would happen.

***

Hello from Albania!

This chapter was more about McKanzie's past and family.

This chapter is dedicated to Charlie_45 because she's just amazing. I suggest you check out her book Just Me. You won't regret it.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

Love y'all

Jenny