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Taraji's POV
The young woman, apparently named Tempest, held my gaze as I silently stared at her. Her eyes were sad, but they glimmered with hope. Hope that I might hear her out and accept her as the person that she's claiming to be. I don't want her to be my sister. It will mean that everything I thought I've ever known was a lie. I can't even go to my dad for the true story because he's dead, so I have to talk to my mom and trust this stranger's word. I stayed close to the door just in case I needed to make a quick getaway from whatever emotions this young woman would pull out of me.
Taraji: So you're Tempest? And you think you're my sister?
Tempest: Yes, I am. And I know that I'm your sister.
Taraji: How old are you?
Tempest: 28.
That would make her 25 years younger than me. I was 26 when I got pregnant and left home for California. I would have noticed if my mom was pregnant, but at the same time I had a lot going on in my life. I was getting ready to graduate from Howard, and I was going through a really rough patch with Marcell's father. Unless her mother is not my mother. That would mean that my dad cheated on my mom, but that can't be possible. My dad would have never cheated on my mom and hurt our family like that. My father was a lot of things, but he wasn't a cheater and he wasn't a liar. So who is this woman and how does she think she's my sister?
Taraji: How did you end up here in the hospital?
Tempest: My boyfriend beat me up and burned my house down. I was knocked unconscious when the fire started, but my neighbor saw the flames and called the fire department.
Taraji: I'm sorry that happened to you. I know what it's like to be abused by the man who's supposed to love and protect you. Where is he now?
I was keeping my guard up, but I could still sympathize with her. She's a baby compared to me. It kills me that plenty more young women are going to go through some of the same things I went through, and I can't save any of them. I couldn't even save myself. However, I'm not going to let go of my mistrust for this woman just because she's hurting. Hell, I'm hurting, too.
Tempest: In jail, where I hope he stays.
Taraji: You didn't have anybody else that you could call? You don't even know me.
Tempest: I want to know you, Taraji. I've reached out to you hundreds of times over the years. I've dm'd you, but you never responded. I don't blame you for not responding, but still, I tried to get in contact with you and let you know who I am. I've always wanted to meet you, and the naive part of myself thought that maybe we could be close like real sisters one day.
