The Truths That We Hide

𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧

He had two sisters, Alexandra and Evelyn. They all had always been close and it seemed like their relationship got even stronger when he moved out after turning eighteen.

Now he saw his sisters less but it made every meeting more important because it was hard to know when all three of them had time to meet again.

His sisters were very different despite their only one year age gap. Alex was what many could describe as a bad girl. At eighteen, she didn't hesitate to break the rules and got often into trouble because of it, just like her big brother at that age.

Her younger sister, on the other hand, was the total opposite of her. Evelyn was a good girl with great grades and a kind heart. She was that kind of girl who everyone trusted and wanted to be with just because she always managed to make people smile.

Today Chris wished to have both of them with him. It was a bit hard and strange to go to meetings all around the world but to do it alone made him feel lonely sometimes. Besides, there was no one else he wanted to experience the world but Alex and Eve.

He knew very well that it was part of the job as an author but he wasn't used to not seeing his family and friends for a long time. He was a pretty simple man who preferred to stay home instead of going from one city to another all the time, especially alone.

Luckily there weren't only negative things. He absolutely adored his fans and it was amazing to meet them in different places. He still wasn't used to people saying that they loved his books, even less that people actually liked him as a person.

Right now Chris was in New York. He could have been adventurous and driven from Colorado there, wasting a whole day in the car, but few hours in an airplane sounded more comfortable.

He had a meeting there about his newest book that was in the progress to get published soon if nothing bad happened. Just like in other books, the genre was a thriller.

His writing started as a hobby. It was a way to deal with feelings and understand them. There was a time when he was so messed up in his head that he had to start writing a diary because one of the adults at school had actually recommended to try it to help with the stress.

At first, it was about the boring things that happened, like school, chilling and playing with friends, girls, and parties. No one cared about that, not that anyone read it. It was for himself and no one else.

The more he wrote, the more personal and deeper the things turned and the more it helped him to understand his life. Seeing everything clearly written in front of him helped him to realize things that he wouldn't even think twice in his head. And now, years later he earned his food by writing and creating fictional stories for strangers to read.

Now Chris was on his way to the coffee shop where he could finish the story on his laptop while enjoying coffee. Luckily this wasn't his first time in New York so he didn't have a risk of getting lost like other tourists. This coffee shop was one of his favorites and it was near his hotel which made it even better.

He was answering a text while walking so he didn't notice a person walking straight into him. Less than second his chest felt like it was burning and some food seemed to be on his clothes. Both of them cursed out loud which made Chris look up to see a man who he blamed for what happened.

There stood a man who looked to be about twenty-five years old, take or leave couple of years. He had brown hair and was probably a few inches taller than him which was an achievement itself.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry! Here, let's go to the bathroom," the man said and started to walk towards the bathroom, holding Chris by the wrist so he couldn't leave. The unknown man started to help with the first-degree burn while Chris just stood there, trying to figure out when did he lost his shirt.

The stranger kept apologizing every time Chris let out a yell of pain but he didn't get any kind of answer. The situation was too weird and awkward and he didn't know what to do. The stranger seemed to notice that.

"I'm sorry if this is weird. I have a little sister and a nephew and I'm always worried about them. So it's kinda natural instinct to help people when they need it especially since I do it for a living," the man said quickly while forcing a smile.

He finally took a few steps back and wasn't so close anymore. He talked a lot and didn't really give Chris time to answer. But it was alright. The man seemed to be one of those people who couldn't handle silence and had to fill it with pointless small talk.

Chris didn't know what to say because he couldn't care less about the stranger's sister or nephew but surely he understood the protectiveness of the loved ones since he was the same with his family.

Five minutes later they were almost out of the door when he decided to ask if he could buy something for the man. He knew that it was half his fault because he was chatting with the phone instead of looking in front of him.

"Well, my sister and nephew would get sad if they don't get their donuts," the man laughed. Again with the sister and nephew! Whatever, Chris could only nod and try to look interested.

"Shit, they are here! We were too slow!" the man laughed. Chris only raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. Without a word, he went to buy three donuts. After paying, he went back to the man and two other people who he guessed to be the sister and nephew.

The woman looked a bit younger than the man so he guessed she was around his age. She had long curly red hair, a heart-shaped face, freckles on her cheeks and around her nose and beautiful green eyes. She was quite tall for a woman, only about five inches shorter than Chris who was used to being with short women.

He frowned when he sensed something familiar about her but decided to act against it. He was probably imagining everything.

The boy holding her hand didn't look a day older than five and even a blind person could see that they were related. Probably his mother, he thought sadly. His jealousy was stupid, he didn't know anything about the woman except that she was beautiful and that she possibly had a son.

He gave the donuts to the man who was still nameless to Chris and was now ready to leave, not caring about the man or his family. They were nothing but strangers to him and he was sure that he wouldn't even remember them an hour later.

"Is it my?" the little boy next to the red-haired woman asked. There was a large smile on his childish face which made him look like he had never had a donut before.

"Mine. It's 'is it mine', not my," she corrected.

"Stop being such a teacher, Bree!" the man laughed.

"Can't change who I am." While listening to the two adults talking, something clicked in his head. That's when he looked closer at the woman and paid attention even to the smallest details.

That's when he realized where the familiarity came from and couldn't help but be shocked when a certain name came on his mind.

Bree. Bree. Bree. Bree.

That name, that face, that red hair. For some reason, he felt his heart going crazy and breathing was becoming harder as he continued watching the young woman. Could it really be her?

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Name's Brett Collins, that's my sister Bree and her son Quentin," the man explained but Chris couldn't focus on that.

In front of him was Bree, his high school enemy who disappeared five years ago during the senior year and who he hadn't seen or heard of since that day. That's something he definitely didn't expect to happen when he woke up in the hotel.