We finally made it to the house I was going to spend the next small portion of my life in. I unbuckled the belt from the seat and took a hesitant step out the car. "Deep breaths..." trying to soothe my shaking heart as my feet hit the pavement, making my way to the trunk to grab my suitcase. The house wasn't the most attractive sight. The fences had pieces of wood missing, and the paint was worn. The grass in the front yard was probably the most pleasant sighting on the property. It was lively, with little yellow and red flowers roaming all around. The porch was missing a stair, but there was a swing in the corner, and the house looked crazy haunted. Now that i'm looking, I've seen that swing before... from where though? The closer I got, the more my heart sank. It was a palm wood porch swing. There was entwined flower petals in the metal, with little cartoon drawings on the front of the wood. My fingers were trailing along it like it's known this piece of furniture for ages until it stopped at an engraving. My heart stopped and my chest felt like the wind knocked the breathing out of it, the carving in the wood burning at my fingertips now. Even the handwriting feels familiar. Everything inside of me went dark and hollow. Someone's hand softly grabbed my shoulder and I couldn't bring myself out of the hypnosis I was in.

"That was your mother and I's favorite spot to gaze at the stars..." Evony spoke quietly. "She wrote that when we were around your age, before she went off with that idiot. That was our last night having an unbreakable bond."

"You kept it?" My voice quivered.

"Of course, I did. Clarity, I wasn't as involved as either of us would have liked, but I never stopped loving her. She was my world."

I scoffed to myself. Her world, what nerve did she have? There were no Christmas cards, no birthday cards, hell... she never even called my mother for a split-second conversation! If she meant so much to her, why was she so distant?

I shoved her hand off my shoulder and took a deep breath, taking one last glance at a part of my mother's childhood. "She was your world? So much for that. You abandoned your own twin when her own world was crashing and burning. And when she died, where were you?"

"Clarity I couldn't make it-"

"Of course not! You never could! You couldn't make it to her own child's birth, you couldn't make it to her house greeting, you couldn't make it to her birthdays, you couldn't find the time to call her, and you couldn't fucking make it to her funeral!" My hands were shaking, rage boiling up inside of me with every atom I had, my voice getting louder and quivering the more I spoke. "You never found the time for her, and when her daughter was alone and scared and without a mother, you still couldn't show up for her. You sure do treat the people you love like shit!"

Evony stayed quiet, the only noise you could hear was the water in the creek behind the house rushing in all directions, even the birds were quiet. She shoved her hands in her pocket and just stared at me with what looked like guilt in her eyes. Guilt... it's a little late for that Aunt Evony.

"You know, my mom never could catch a break. She never was lucky in her life, but the only thing she did luck in was leaving a shit sister who couldn't care for anyone but herself. And I'm glad you weren't around, because you would of turn me into scum like you."

After the heated conversation with my aunt, I ran off. I didn't know where I was going, but any place was better than there. The cheek she has to call my mother her everything. It just fueled everything inside of me and I wanted to hurt her like she hurt my mom... I was going to. But I couldn't. As much as she didn't care, my mother loved her. She would always write to her and leave her voicemails. She'd ask the people from church how she was doing, if her life was well. She might be dead, but I can't bear to damage the things she held dear. Even if they damaged her. I don't know how long I was walking but I made it to some plaza on a backroad. There weren't many houses around, just a bunch of dirt and pole lines. Can't believe anyone would want to live here... it's so bland. There was a small pub on the corner called Orien. Not many cars parked around there... maybe it's empty, I thought to myself. It was obviously open, the door was. I let myself in and walked up to the bar and took a seat. There was an older man putting bottles into the empty cubbies on the wall. He had salt and pepper hair and was a plumply old man. I doubt he could do any damage.

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"Excuse me sir?"

He turnt around to look at me, stopping dead in his tracks. It was like he was seeing a ghost, and dropped the box he was holding. Glass shattered everywhere and he immediately started apologizing and picking up the pieces. I walked over and started to help him pick up the mess.

"I'm sorry for spooking you. You looked like your past just walked through the door. Do I know you?" I questioned him.

"No, no. You didn't scare me, I'm a old klutz, if you couldn't tell already" He gave a hearty laugh. Oddly enough, it made me feel safer.

"But you do know me, I spent my whole life studying people, so where do I know you from?" I pushed the question again.

He stopped picking up the pieces and wiped his hands on his pants leg for a few seconds before speaking again. "We don't know each other dear. But I did know your mother, and you look just like her."

I quickly look up from the floor to him. "You knew my mother? That can't be true. Maybe you're thinking of-"

"Of Evony. I know. I raised those girls like they were my own. Allow me to introduce myself, My name is Adam Whicks, I was your mothers godfather."

Adam Whicks? I never heard of this guy a day in my life. But the thing that yearned me to ask was way more important to me than who he was. "How do I look like my mother? Aren't they twins?" I know, smart-ass question. But nobody ever recognized me as her daughter before, it felt nice.

He smiled, seeming to grasp my humor. "Ah yes, but I could easily tell them apart." He reached his hands toward me, but not touching me as to be careful. "May I?"

As much as my brain should be screaming danger, everything felt calm, and so I nodded. He pointed his index finger to above my left eyebrow. "That mark you have there? It's the same as your mothers. Evony doesn't have that. And that there?" He pointed to my hand next and started laughing. "Oh, that is your mothers touch. Her knuckles popped out just as much as yours do, always ready for a fight."

It was nice he noticed the little details nobody else could nor would. Everyone was always so fascinated with her beauty; nobody would look past anything further. I wonder why she never spoke of him before. Or why he wasn't around... if he cared so much. He's just like Evony, isn't he?

He noticed the grim look on my face as he spoke again. "Before you think I abandoned your mother, that's not the case."

"Then where were you?"

"Your mother had her... issues. I tried helping her as much as I could, but she moved so far away with your dad, I couldn't reach her enough. She was with child and married, I couldn't save her from everything she got herself into, she had to learn for yourself."

"But couldn't you have visited?"

"I wanted to; believe me I did. But she wanted me to stay away. She made me promise."

"Promise? Why?"

"I've been asking myself the same question the day she left."

And he left it at that and threw the glass shards into a bin to carry it outside. He went behind the counter and grabbed a card with his number and handed it over to me. "Here. If you ever need me, I'm here. Okay?"

Taking it and shoving it in my pocket, I nodded. "Well, I do need a job if you can help me with that... been trapped in a building my whole life, it'll be weird not to have anything to do."

He smiled and scratched the back of his head. "I think we can work something out."