Lost Time

19: Strange

Lia's POV:

My heart plummeted. I felt like I couldn't feel anything. This had to be a mistake, I must have misheard him.

"You're my what?" I asked, raising my voice slightly.

"We're your parents," he repeated.

Yes, I had heard him correctly the first time. Now I just needed to comprehend what he said the second time.

"No, you're not," I said, laughing. "Is this some kind of sick joke?" I continued, still laughing.

"No, Lia, it's not," Adele said seriously.

"You can't be? I have a mother-" I stopped myself and rephrased, "Had... a mother. And a father. You can't be my parents," I said, looking at both of them.

"Well, we are, Lia. I know this might seem strange to you rig-"

"Strange? Oh, yes, this is so very strange to me. Adele is telling me she's my mother, and a random guy I met at a concert is telling me he's my father. Yes, this is all very strange to me, but it seems as if strange is the new normal, right?" I said sarcastically, my voice rising.

"Lia, please let us explain-" Adele tried to say.

"Oh, yes, please. Explain to me how you both are my parents if I already have a pair of those," I said, removing my hand from Adele's grip.

I could see her heart break as I pulled away, and for a moment, I felt kind of bad.

"We've been looking for you for years, and there was not a single day that has gone by where you weren't on our minds," Adele said, her voice weak.

I scoffed, "What do you mean you've been looking for me for years? If you really were looking for me, so eagerly, you would've known I was right under your noses, in London. But see, this exactly proves my point that you guys aren't my parents," I said, anger seething in my voice.

"Baby, please, let us expl-" Adele tried to grab my hand again, but I jerked away.

"Oh, don't baby me. I'm not yours; I'm Alison Adkins' baby, no one else's."

"But-" Tears were streaming down Adele's face.

"Please leave," I said quietly.

"Baby-" Adele continued to try to convince me to listen, but I was fed up.

"Leave now!" I shouted.

Adele looked shocked as I raised my voice at her. Suddenly, she completely broke down, and Simon held her in his arms. Just as they were about to leave the room, Adele turned around.

"We'll be back, and I promise we'll explain everything to you," she said. I just scoffed at what she said, and she turned around and left.

The audacity! For them to tell me they are my parents, when I know for a fact that my mother is Alison Adkins. What were they thinking? Even if they were my parents, how could I trust them? They might have found out that my mother died recently and that I have no one looking after me, and now they want to use that to their advantage.

If they really were looking for me, 'for years,' they did a really bad job of trying to find me. We've lived in the same city for years now, so if they really were my parents, they would've found me years ago. But this proves my point that they aren't my parents.

I don't know why I'm being so sensitive about this. It might be because I miss my mother so much. My emotions are all over the place.

I'm sure many people would wish for Adele to be their mother. Heck, I'm sure once upon a time when I was younger, I also wished for her to be my mother. But right now, in this very moment, all I know is that Alison Adkins is my mother.

My only question is, why would they say they are my parents if they're not? Why would they want to choose me to be their child? It all seemed so strange to me. I needed answers, but I just chased away the people who could provide them for me.

As I calmed down and slowly started to drift into a peaceful sleep, a memory appeared in my mind.

"Believe everything that is in those letters and do everything that is in the other one," I remembered my mother telling me on her deathbed. My eyes widened as I came to a realisation.

THE LETTER!