She slowly turned around, and I looked at her face.
“You have skin like your grandmother and great-grandmother… beautiful smooth chocolate skin.”
I could hear my mother’s words echoing through my head. The woman that sat before me didn’t share skin like my own. Her complexion matched both Kora and Menace’s skin color.
She stared at us with a big toothless smile, clapping her hands together while tossing her head back. Her hair was pulled back in four large braids with barrettes on them. In her lap, she held a brownskin baby doll.
She continued clapping her hands then flapped them while yelling “yay.” I mean, she was yelling it continuously and I was becoming overstimulated, but I was also so confused.
“Mentally, she’s four. She was involved in a ski accident when mom was seventeen.” Menace explained and walked over to grab a device that was hooked behind her chair. “She can communicate with this... she knows words, but she doesn’t really communicate that much.”
“Why isn’t she darkskin?”
“Zoya, what are you talking about?” Kora questioned.
“Mom said that I had skin like my grandmother and great-grandmother.” I explained, staring at the woman that was supposed to be my grandmother.”
“My baby.” She pointed at me; her hand hung like she no longer had the strength to hold it up.
I didn’t miss the look both Kora and Menace gave each other. “She thinks I’m mom.”
“My baby!” This time, she said it more aggressive than the first. “My babyyyyyyy!” she continued to holler, as she started to hit herself, and was working herself up.
The nurse came over and tried to soothe her; however, she was upset. She was staring me right in the eyes screaming about a baby.
My chest was tight as I backed away, giving the nurse room to calm her down. Nothing she tried worked, and she became even more worked up. As long as she had a clear line of vision on me, she wouldn’t stop screaming.
Kora grabbed my hand and brought me out the sunroom so they could calm her down. I stood there stuck.
Not knowing what was going on, and even more lost than I was before. “What the fuck aren’t you both saying?”
“Let’s go back to my hotel, Zoy.” Kora grabbed my hand, and I snatched it back, staring between her and Menace.
“Bean,” he spoke lowly.
“Tell me, please… why bring me here to leave me in the dark. Let me know things… I can be strong and hold them like you both do.” I was pleading with them to tell me the truth.
Wanting to know what everyone else knew.
Kora stepped forward. “Anything he says, you automatically hate him. I’m gonna say it, and if you hate me, I’ll live. All he has done is tried to protect you… us.”
“By lying and keeping things from us?”
“By not telling you the woman in that room is your actual mother. Constance was your sister, not your mother. You are a product of rape, Zoya. Dawn was raped by a member of staff, and she was in a Catholic facility before this one, they refused abortion.”
Menace moved closer to me. “Bean, I wanted to tel?—”
I stood there. The room felt like it was moving because I knew I didn’t just hear what the fuck came out my sister’s mouth.
If what she was saying was true, she wasn’t even my sister.
It made her my niece, who was older than me.
My stomach turned and I felt the sausage croissant I had for breakfast tickle the back of my throat.
“Fuck, she about to throw up.” Menace held his breath, which killed me because I hadn’t done anything yet.
He hesitantly grabbed my hand and rushed me down towards the bathrooms while Kora followed behind us. Pushing the woman’s bathroom open, I ran into the stall and emptied everything out my stomach.
