The Heart Of Their Puzzle

Chapter 49

"Please, monkey."

"No." I said, turning away from him, my arms crossed and a pout about to show.

"Don't be mad." He pleaded softly. "It doesn't matter. We still share a great bond, without knowing we are cousins."

"I deserved to know, Axel." I said, my voice raising a bit.

We were both standing in the living room. He had just came down after talking to Elonzo.

Now this trucker thinks he can talk to me normally. He entered the room like, "How you doing, monkey?"

Witch, I'm trucking being kept in the dark just because you old people think you have the right to decide what to tell me and when. What do you think?

"I know." He sighed.

"You do?" I asked, crossing my arms and giving him a disbelieving look. "Because if you did, you would've told me."

"Monkey.." I cut him off.

"That's Evelina for you." I stated coldly, my anger rising at my coach, now my cousin. He looked hurt which I ignored. He's gonna be a lot more hurt if he manages to annoy me more.

"Okay. Just listen to me. I wanted to tell you."

"Then you should have told me." I yelled at him. "You should have told me we were related. You should have told mom, you were her nephew. But no. Instead you get involved in my life, without telling me you're my brother."

"I was scared, okay?" He blew up, yelling. "I was scared your mom will not let me meet you again, if she found out."

"What?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

He crouched down before me, when I went to sit on the couch.
"I had seen Aunt Everly's pictures in the old family album. I recognised her when you invited me to meet her. I didn't tell her because I knew about what happened. I knew she was living away from her husband. Then I found out, she had her daughter with her. We never knew she had a daughter. I just didn't want you to be taken away. We had bonded instantly. Above that, I found out we're related. First cousins."

I just stared at him, with my eyes wide.

"I didn't want you to hate me." He muttered, before looking at me. "I'm sorry."

"Fine." I said, crossing my arms and leaning back against the couch, looking away. My eyes were filled with tears.

"Huh?" He said, making me look at him again.

"I said fine." I said, pouting.

"Oh." He said, before looking into my teary eyes. "So, I can call you monkey then?"

"That's your only concern?" I asked, resisting the urge to laugh.

"Yeah?" He said, in a duh tone.

I rolled my eyes.
"You're an idiot, Axel."

"Thanks, Monkey." He said, smiling sarcastically.

"But I'm not meeting your Dad and Grandpa. Or your uncle." I huffed.

I could still imagine Mom being sad, because it was just us on Christmas. Her Dad or brothers never reached out. That was before Max and I became friends. After that, Max's family always used to spend time with us.

"That's your choice." He shrugged, with an understanding look on his face.

"How many are you guys?" I asked, fearing there are going to be too many of them. Please let there be some cousins younger than me.