The Second To Die

Tale Of Two Sisters: Chapter 13

Arriving at Hayden's house, I parked my borrowed car in her drive, sighing to myself. It was a bit strange her mom wanted me over to talk, but, I couldn't judge. Some moms were like that, Hayden was lucky to have a mother like that. Though, what had surprised me was her mother, she was very young, especially considering Hayden's age. I tried not to dwell on it, however. Many people got pregnant at a young age.

Sliding out of the car, I made my way up to the front door, knocking lightly. The sound of rushed footsteps sounded down the stairs within the house. Taking a step back, I smiled as a red faced Hayden peeked opened the door, showing herself in a body length, black unicorn onesie.

"Oh my gosh, Vex, I wasn't expecting you so soon." She said, a light smile on her face. "Uh, you can totally come in- I mean..." She trailed off, chuckling nervously. Shaking my head, I laughed.

"Love the outfit Hayden." She blushed, looking down at the sparkly grey toes.

"Yeah, it's pretty sweet." She joked. "Listen, I'm going to go change. My mom is in the kitchen finishing up dinner. Just, make yourself at home, alright?" Smiling, I nodded.

"Will do, Captain Emocorn." Hayden rolled her eyes, giving me the finger before racing up the stairs to change. Stepping into the small house, I took a deep breath, smelling something very familiar.

"Alfredo. It's alfredo. I hope you don't mind." Turning towards the kitchen, I saw Hayden's mom standing in the archway, a small smile on her face. "It's Hayden and I's favorite meal and-"

"Mine too." I exclaimed excitedly. "Ms." I began. I had never actually learned her name.

"Noel. You can call me Noel. Do you want to come help me finish?" She asked. I smiled, I hadn't helped someone cook since- well, never mind that. Shutting the door, I slipped my shoes off before following Noel into the kitchen. There, a pot of water was boiling with noodles while, beside it, a large saucepan was slowly cooking the delicious sauce.

"There's not much left to do-" She began. "But I figured you could help me combine everything here in a second when the cooking is done." And, that's exactly what I did.

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"Wow, Noel. This is amazing! Dear god, it tastes so similar to my mother's recipe. Except, there's a small hint of-" Noel smiled across the table.

"Cinnamon." She whispered. I nodded, taking another fork full of the delicious Alfredo.

"Exactly. I never would have thought." I chuckled. Hayden laughed beside me.

"Thank my three year old self. I had accidentally knocked cinnamon into the sauce while she was cooking. Now, we can't live without it." Noel snickered.

"Yes, at least one good thing came out of you being three." She teased. Hayden rolled her eyes, looking over to me.

"According to her, I was a trouble child from the start. Though, in my opinion, I think I was just too much personality for her at the time." Laughing, I watched as Noel reached over, pinching one of Hayden's checks.

"You're grandmother used to say the same thing." Hayden froze, looking at Noel. For a second, Noel's smile faltered.

"What?" I asked. "Did something happen to her?" Hayden shook her head, sitting back in her chair.

"No, it's nothing." I watched as Noel touched Hayden's hand gently before taking it in her own, squeezing it softly. Noel's eyes met Hayden's and, Hayden shook her head ever so gently.

"What?" I asked again, a bit skeptical. Something was up.

"Now is not the time, mom." Hayden whispered.

"Not the time for what?" I asked. I was getting heavily annoyed. What were they hiding.

"Listen, Vex, there's something you need to hear. It's going to be hard to wrap your head around, and it's going to make me sound crazy but, I need you to understand." As Noel spoke, I carefully sat my fork down, feeling my appetite fleeing.

"What is it?" Something was off, as I asked, Hayden looked away from me, giving her mom a small shake of her head.

"I'm sorry Hayden, but it's time." With a heavy sigh, Noel closed her eyes, speaking carefully. "Did your mother ever tell you about her and Troy's relationship?" Noel asked, opening her eyes once more. I gasped, pushing myself away from the table.

"How do you know about my mother?" Glancing at Hayden, I saw her eyes quickly drop to the floor, unable to hold mine. "What does this have to do with anything? Why am I here?" I was so close to leaving but, from how sad Hayden looked, I didn't think I could. Hayden was my friend, maybe her mom was nuts but, I couldn't just leave Hayden.

"Listen Vex-" I held up my hand.

"No, no bullshit, no lies, no tragic backstories. How. Do. You. Know. My. Mother." I demanded. Noel sat back in her chair, tears forming in her eyes. With a heavy sigh, she began to explain.

"33 years ago, I was born to Troy James and Amber Wilson. Both of them were 16 at the time. They were in love, deeply so. They somehow managed to stay together as I grew up. When I was about 12, they took a break, I don't know why, but they did. As the years went by, Henry, my uncle, began to take an interest in our mother but, she was not over my father yet. When I was 15, she married Henry, much to the distaste of our grandmother. 32 and was settling down with her ex's brother. However, at 17, I found that she had rekindled her relationship with our father, becoming pregnant." Noel sniffled quietly, tears falling down her face.

"Henry was heartbroken, but he loved her too much to let her go. The child she carried, he adopted, making it his own. He then gave Amber a choice. Leave me and Troy for him and you, or never see either of you again. She chose to leave me and dad, but, she never stopped seeing me. When I turned 18, we always visited, always spoke. She taught me how to survive without dad, how to get by on my own and, how to take care of Hayden." Noel smiled over at Hayden....my niece.

"Why did I never meet you?" I asked softly. Noel looked down at the table.

"I didn't want to meet you." She said. "I blamed you for her leaving us. I blamed you for a lot more." She said gently. I stared down at the table, letting my brain flow through all the information that had just been presented. How could I trust her? I could I- Standing from the table, I took a deep breath, trying not to have a panic attack.

"I need to leave." Pushing away, I turned, heading for the front door.

"Vex, wait." Noel said, I simply shook my head.

"No." I said. "I need time. This is too much." I didn't hear another word from her as I bolted out the door. I needed to see Noah.

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