When Stars Align || G. Lafayette

Chapter 6

"I am your sister."

I released my fists, paralyzed by shock.

How could she be my sister?

I blinked hard, suppressing tears that were pooling up in the corner of my eye. I knew in that moment, if nothing else, I could read on her face that she was telling the truth. I hated her for it.

And another question arose in my mind.

How could she not tell me?

I stared at her, still processing my shock.

I had family left.

"My sister... ?" I took her biting her lip and looking at the floor as confirmation enough; I could see as she was failing to hold back her own tears.

And then it dawned on me.

"The French trader."

I'd heard stories from my mother of a French trader coming from the mainland. Stories of her falling in love with him. To me, the man was no more than a fairytale.

"Mon père," she voiced my thoughts as I backed away from her and crumpled onto the bed behind me. Her voice was shaking; her entire body was shaking. I couldn't bring myself to care. I was trembling under the weight of her words, drawing in shaky breaths in an attempt to stay calm. I tried to push down all the anger I was harboring, but I had never been good at that.

"You're my fucking sister." I silently let the tears fall, glistening as a stream of the sunset cast a glow upon my face. They ran hot as blood, reducing my face to a puffy mess.

I bit my bottom lip, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to process the myriad of emotions that began to hit me all at once, ensnaring my senses and filling my head with a greater anger than I knew I harbored; it was a whirlwind, theiving everything I knew to be true and scattering it across that cabin floor. And finally, I snapped.

"How could you?" I whispered. I stared at my lap, my eyes narrowing to slits as I heard her draw in a shaky breath.

"How could you be the last family I've got and not even care enough to tell me?" My voice rose in a swift crescendo as I raised my head to face her, everything I was feeling pushing the words at her with the force of ten thousand men.

She only stared at the ground, looking as though she was struggling to keep tears in her eyes that were beginning to redden.

"I am sorry. I am so s-sorry."

I scoffed.

"Sorry isn't going to do anything here. Sorry doesn't change the fact that I had to find out about this from Laurens rooting through your book."

"It also does not change the fact zat I tried to tell you, Alex. I really did."

"Oh yeah, and what happened? Did a pack of wild horses come running through?"

She turned bright red.

"No, I just-" she bit her lip, "It was yesterday, when you started talking about... something else."

"Ah, yes! The other thing you kept from us: your relationship with Lafayette."

"We are not in a relationship!" she yelled, and Laf went redder than her as he stood behind her.

"You know what Alex? I could 'ave told you to your face if you 'ad not gone through my private fucking journal. We would not even be in this situation."

I looked into her eyes and saw anger beginning to stir within her.

"And we also wouldn't be in this situation if your father hadn't had an illegitimate child," I snapped.