“You need help?”
“Austin, I’ve been taking showers for twenty-seven years now. I think I got it.”
A full-bodied laugh filled the room as he struggled to contain it. “I meant to talk to your mom.”
When I clenched my teeth, he took that as a no. My mom was going to be giving me a straightjacket for Christmas after this convo. A sinking feeling settled at the possibility they might not be my real family. I loved Maizy and my mom with all the fire in me. I’d die to protect them. When my dad left, I was around as much as possible to make sure my mom didn’t succumb to depression. We joined art classes, went shopping, and I spent a lot of time watching Maizy so she didn’t overwhelm my mom, who wasn’t exactly in her prime for motherhood.
I was the glue in my family.
***
I’d been stalling the conversation ever since arriving at my mom’s house. She sensed a serious talk coming and plopped Maizy in front of the TV with one of her favorite fairy princess movies. That was one little girl who had her heart set on marrying a prince.
The coffee burned against my upper lip and I blew off the steam, pensively watching my mother across the table.
She smiled and touched her hoop earring. “I remember when you made that cup. You were so proud of it and I thought it was the most hideous thing ever created.”
I snorted and admired my mug. It was a regular coffee cup, but we’d painted them ourselves. In kindergarten, my obsession with dragons began. While Maizy adores fairy tales and happy endings, I used to want to slay dragons. So, my half-assed attempt at painting a dragon on the mug ended up being the family joke for years. It curved around the mug and looked like a green anaconda with spider legs, throwing up mustard. I’d never seen a dragon, so in my defense, I wasn’t sure how many legs they had.
Apparently, seventeen was too many.
“Mom, I have something serious to ask you and I want the truth. I’m not even sure where to begin.”
“You know you can ask me anything,” she said in the way all moms do when they have no idea you’re about to drop the mother lode of bombs on them.
Maizy giggled in the other room and I scratched my neck nervously. “Am I adopted?”
“Now why would you ask a silly thing like that?” she said, rising from the table and turning on the faucet. She rinsed out her mug, then wiped it dry with a paper towel. “Would you like some pie with your coffee? I think I’m more in the mood for iced tea—it’s too hot today for coffee.”
“Mom, turn off the water and sit down. I don’t want pie or anything else.”
That’s when I knew Austin had told me the truth. Maybe not about being a Shifter, but now it was clear my life had been manufactured from a lie.
“I’m not going to get mad about it. I just want to know who I am and where I came from. You’ll always be my family, Mom. Please, don’t lie to me. Not now, not after everything we’ve been through.”
When she turned around, tears stained her cheeks. “I never wanted you to know. You were our baby and my little girl.”
I covered my eyes before she made me cry. I needed to keep my head straight. “Mom, please sit down.”
She quietly sniffed and took a seat, avoiding eye contact. I reached across the table and held her hand. “You’re my mom. You’ll always be my mom and nothing will change that. I promise. I just… I can’t believe this is true. How did I not know? I always thought I kind of looked like Dad, but…”
“Lexi, we never wanted you to grow up feeling separate from us—different. I was afraid that’s how kids felt in your situation, so we decided not to tell you.”
“What exactly was my situation? It’s not like you couldn’t have your own children. Why was I adopted?”
She pulled her hand away and laced her fingers together. “You weren’t.”
Just then, Maizy came bounding into the room. “Mommy! Can I please have some cookies?” She lifted her shoulder and tilted her head to the side in that innocent way kids do to turn on the charm. Few could say no to her adorable dimples.
“Just one, sweetheart. It’s almost dinner.”
Mazie skipped over to the bright yellow jar by the sink and pulled out a small chocolate-chip cookie. Seconds later, she went flying into the living room wearing her pink skirt and white shirt with all the sparkles. She was in princess mode.