You Are Mine Little Sister (by Syra Tucker) novel Chapter 133

Fortunately, I was able to catch the train. Hours later, I stood at her doorstep, staring at the chipped paint on her door.

My knuckles hovered before I finally knocked.

The door creaked open, and there she was. A middle-aged woman with brow, poured into a pair of tight jeans and a bubblegum-pink top that clung like it wanted to be twenty years younger.

She accessed me from head to toe. "Zerali?"

I ticked a nod.

The door creaked as she pushed it wider and stepped aside.

"Do come in."

Her place was moderately nice. Not too much, but comfortable.

I stared at her and imagined her working with my parents. How lucky she got to spend some time with them.

"Juice?" she asked, already turning toward a small wine cart in the corner.

"I'm fine. Thanks."

She poured for herself, then crossed back and folded into the chair opposite, ankle over knee.

"Lilith Stone," she nodded. "I didn't get to meet you, but girl, your name was all over that house. Your mother wouldn't stop shouting about it. She was utterly disturbed, it led to a lot of issues sometimes."

The words slid under my ribs in a way that hurt too much. My mother had yearned for me. She wanted to find me.

"What was she like?"

"Your mother?" She scoffed gently. "An angel, baby. Kind to me, kind to everybody. Sweet as sugar and twice as steady. She'd have been a hell of a loving mother."

"They didn't... have any other child, did they?"

"Nah." She took a sip, gaze tipping toward the window. "One time, I overheard something that made me believe ma'am Gretchen had trouble conceiving."

My heart dropped like an elevator cut loose. So, not only did she lose me, but she also couldn't have more children?

I stared at the rug, fighting the thin burn behind my eyes. I was tired of crying.

"The woman that gave me your contact," I sniffed. "She mentioned you thought my parents were killed. What makes you say that?"

Valentina's countenance fell. She set her glass on the side table.

"Nobody believed me twelve years ago. I don't know if you will now."

"Of course, I will. That's the reason I'm here."

She took a deep breath, stalled, then let it out slow. "A woman used to live with them. Name was Ginny. She was your mother's sister. Ginny, she...had been like the second woman in the marriage. She was having an affair with your dad. I mean, I caught them multiple times."

A small gasp slipped out of me.

"But... I think your mum did know. She knew yet seemed to do nothing about it."

My pulse stuttered as Valentina disappeared into the back room. She returned with a stack of old prints and sifted until she found one. The paper looked faded.

"This is it." She passed it to me.

I never should've taken it.

I never should've come here at all.

Losing my parents was painful, but maybe I should've just let it be.

The photo smelled like dust and lemon cleaner. One look and the floor tilted. My heartbeat went small and fast. My fingers shook so hard the photograph quivered.

"No..." It came out wrong, warped, like I was underwater. I shook my head. "No."

The picture slipped from my hand.

"Girl, are you okay?"

I dragged my eyes to Valentina's. Her face doubled in my vision, then steadied.

I shook my head, not able to tell if it was an answer to her question or me refusing to accept the boy in the picture.

He might appear younger in it, but I could find those grey eyes in a crowd without trying. I'd recognize that face even when I was blindfolded.

Still, I wanted to deny it. The universe couldn't be this cruel to me. The boy in the photograph couldn't be Void.