Creation & Destruction [3] | Jasper Hale

-14-

  "You know," Kinsley began, leaning against the door frame of her front door, her face nothing but stern and full of disgust, "I cannot believe it took you three damn, hellish months to come here again. Do you realize all the pain we've been in?" There, she stood to her full height which barely stretched over five feet. 

  "You're supposed to be my older sister - my best friend - turns out you're only a fool."

  In front of her, trembling with emotion as she stared at her younger sister was Joanna. Her hair was pulled up into a loose bun, her body covered by a black, long sleeve shirt and a jean skirt that, of course, Alice gifted her with. 

  But she wasn't dressing up, no, this was a decision she made on her own. For the first time since she entered her second life, Joanna was stepping into the world of mortals. Beforehand, she put on her grey contacts to hide the fact that her eyes shimmered a topaz color now.

  It was a long, painful three months. Callie called a few times every week, curious about the latest updates of her daughter, her boyfriend, and her grandson. But, she was terrified to ever see him again. Joanna didn't know if she could be understanding or hurt by her mother's choices.

  Yet, Kinsley was different. She was furious at her older sibling. Not only did she hide her pregnancy from her, which Joanna still hates herself for, but she didn't inform them that she supposedly lost the baby. 

  "Kins," Joanna began, her whimsical voice causing Kinsley to keep her eyes away, "You will never understand what I went through, but what I did was hurtful, I know. Hate me. Be disgusted with me. I will always love you no matter what-"

  "Do you even care?!" She seethes at her, leaning forward and allowing her eyes to light up in flames full of rage. "You decide to not tell me you're pregnant and then, after barely talking for me for months, you decide: 'Oh, better not tell them I had the baby-'"

   "Will you stop?!" Joanna hisses back, voice rising so strongly that Kinsley freezes in the spot. She doesn't move. Joanna takes this as her time to continue, "You will never k-know what I went through. I hate myself for what I did Kins, but you don't understand." Lies. "You are seventeen. You are not a mother and will not understand anything."

  At that moment, Kinsley looks more embarrassed than irritated. 

  "I get that you're upset with me, but do not think I didn't talk to you for the hell of it." She stops, takes a moment to breathe and lets out her voice. "I-I couldn't even talk to Jasper, Alice, all of them. I was a mess because of this."

  When Joanna takes a moment to breathe again, the other sister cuts in. "You're right. But it still hurts."

  "I get that," Joanna admits with all truth because she knows the hardships of sadness. "And I'm here, if you're accepting, to fix things. Get to know your... nephew. I tell him all the time about his aunt, about how she dreams to be a math teacher. Ethan wants to meet you and to see his grandma-"

  "What is he like?" She cuts in, curious.

  With a smile, Joanna pulls out her phone to show a photo of her bundle of joy. "Gorgeous, healthy, and loves, and I mean loves, reading."

  "He's so young, though," Kinsley comments, furrowing her eyebrows because last time she checked, Ethan was an infant. Technically, by age he was, but by looks, he resembled more of a four-year-old.

  The immortal frowns at her words. "Uh, we read to him."

  Her sister, after giving a blank stare, nods, and steps aside. "Just come on in. Therefore misses you." And as Joanna stepped inside, she heard her whisper, "And I do, too."