Confusion marred her features before her brows cinched together, and she shook her head. She’d heard her, but her comprehension was shot in that moment as she forked some mac and cheese and stuffed her mouth. It’s not like it wasn’t plausible, Giselle just didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with the news in that moment.
“Right, Auntie. And where is this hidden child?”
“She’s over at Maisie’s place,” Remi responded. “She’s always known about you, but I told her to go over there until I was able to tell you.”
“Are you fucking serious right now?” Giselle sneered, dropping her fork against her plate and pushing her chair away from the table to stand.
“First of all, watch your mouth. Secondly, yes. I’m serious. Her name is Gem, and she’s seventeen years old.”
“And why the hell am I just now hearing about her? Did Mommy know?”
“Grace knew, yes. Gem’s mother, Daphne, she took her away when she was a baby and kept her from not only Greg but the rest of the family. Some sort of punishment for him not picking her over your mama. Now, she took off and left the poor girl all by herself while she chases behind some man,” Remi vented.“I’m too old for all this shit. Damn your father for leaving me with the clean-up.”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Giselle took a breath and ended up laughing to herself. It was all she could do to keep from completely spazzing out. In the last two weeks, she’d lost both parents, her home, and any semblance of her normal life. Now, there she was, in this bullshit ass town, and her auntie was really blowing her with this information dump.
“I just... I can’t believe this.” Giselle tossed a hand up. “What am I supposed to do with that?”
“Well, she isyoursister,” Remi emphasized.
Twenty-six years. She’d been an only child. The apple of her father’s eye, and now everything seemed like a lie. Not only was she burdened with this side baby, but she had no way to confront her father for keeping it from her all this time.
“No, she’s his bastard child.” Giselle scoffed, shaking her head. “I can’t believe this shit.”
“Now you wait one damn minute!” Remi held up a perfectly manicured finger to silence her with her neatly arched brows drawing together contemptuously. “That is still your father, and that is his child, whether your little spoiled ass likes it or not!”
“Why the fuck should I care about respecting a dead man who had no problem lying to me most of my life, Auntie? Hmm? Give me one good reason why I should accept this girl?”
“Because she is your blood,” she answered simply.
For Remi, it was always that easy. She never agreed with her brother’s choices, but Gregory was ambitious and driven if nothing else. In the end, she wound up proud of him and his accomplishments because she knew how many pieces of himself he had to sacrifice to make that happen. He never forgot about her. Remi practically raised Gregory since their parents were both working two jobs to provide for their family.
She wasn’t just his sister, she was his protector, the person who cooked his meals and washed his clothes, and made sure he had a hot meal before and after school. Although he didn’t come home often, he allowed her to have a relationship with Giselle because he couldn’t deprive her of the strong woman his sister was.
“Now… I know you wasn’t raised here, and your mama and daddy compensated you with money instead of time, but around these parts, family means everything. Whether you like ’em or not! That little girl needs us right now, and she got some attitude on her, too, but she’s young and can change. What about you, Giselle?”
“What about me what?” she clapped back. “You’re not about to compare me and this girl just because we share the same sperm donor.”
Shutting her eyes tight, Remi took a deep breath. She had to remind herself repeatedly that she loved her brother. If not for him, she didn’t know how much of her niece she could tolerate. Giselle had always been a breath of fresh air, but there was no denying she was arrogant and entitled. It was when she was fighting the little girl around the corner for calling her names or talking smack about Lou or Maisie that she was reminded that she did have some spunk. She’d spent most of her life being reserved like her mother, Grace, taught her.
Remi eventually found a way to love Grace and see what Greg saw in her, but that took a lot of time, patience, and miscommunication. She realized over the years that there was far more to Grace than met the eye. Her brother had a mouthpiece from the day he learned to talk. He knew how to sweet talk himself both in and out of some shit. Grace didn’t take his shit or bend to his every demand like most women would. Gregory loved the challenge of being with her, and that’s what Remi was reminded of when she saw them together.
“Listen here, little girl… because make no mistake, that is exactly what you sound like right now. You are not the only one who lost someone in this scenario, and I’m not just talking about this girl. I’m talking about me. That was my brother, and while he was not in the least bit perfect, at the end of the day, he was who he was. Now… this girl didn’t ask to be here. She spent her entire life knowing you existed and that her father chose you over her?—”
“That’s not?”
“I don’t care what it is… this is how she sees it,” Remi pointed out.
“And what about how I see it?” Giselle shot back, arms tucked across her chest. “Or does that matter?”
“For the first time in your life, the sun does not rise and set on your ass, Giselle,” Remi voiced, annoyance lacing her words as she rolled her eyes at Giselle’s dramatics. “Look at everything that’s happened in the last few weeks and tell me that you can’t at least try to be there for her.”
“This is really blowing me right now,” she grumbled, rubbing her temples on each side with two fingers.
“How about you stop thinking about you for like two seconds?” Remi suggested, holding up two fingers. “You are the oldest, the supposedly more mature one, yet here you are, acting your shoe size.”
“I can’t even be here right now.” Giselle threw her hands up.
Mind spiraling, heart racing, she sensed the walls closing in on her. Her breath hitched in her chest. She gripped the back of her chair, and Maisie reached for her wrist. Her lost gaze drifted to her cousin, and she slipped her a set of keys.
