His Best Friend

Chapter 36- What?

2 days later, Hunter and I pulled up in front of the Lafayette hospital. It wasn't until we walked into the main lobby, that I realized I was terrified of what my parents were about to tell us. Hunter must have been able to see that in my face, cause he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. As soon as we got through the doorway of my dad's room, I saw my mom standing next to his bed with Layla and a police officer was standing nearby.

"Mom? What's going on?"
"Ryleigh. I'm glad you're here, but I thought you were coming alone."
"Hunter's my husband. And we don't keep secrets from each other, anything you have to tell me, you can tell him."
"Alright, well, there's a secret we've been keeping from you your whole life. And before I tell you, you know we've always loved you and your sister. I hope you've always felt that too."

"Yeah, mom, but now you're scaring me. I assume this secret has something to do with why the police are here."
"Yes, but they are only here for protection. None of our family has done anything wrong." Hunter and I sat down while she started her story, "See, we actually adopted you and Layla when she was 3 and you were 2."
"What?" I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped.

"It was a closed adoption so we only communicated with the agency that organized everything. We only recently discovered who your birth parents were. And yes, you and Layla are really sisters. Alabama's Department of Child and Family Services had you both removed from them when you were only 6 months old. From what the police have told us, a year earlier when your birth mother discovered she was pregnant with you, Ryleigh, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, your father, was arrested."
"Arrested? What for?"

"Unfortunately, he was arrested for murder."
"My biological father was a murderer?! What you said he was arrested, was he convicted?"
"Eventually, yeah, you were born 4 months before the trial. He was held in jail for 2 months, while the prosecution finalized its' case against him. So, only 2 months into proceedings, when enough of your family's dirty secrets had come out and everyone realized that your birth mother was going to stand by his side no matter what he'd done, you and Layla were removed from their home. From there, you were placed in a privately run orphanage until Layla turned 2 and you were 1."

"Is my birthday actually on September 14th? Or was that part of relocating?"
"You were really born on the 14th, 5 days after Hunter. Nothing that we told you was a lie. The only thing we didn't tell you was that you were both adopted, we didn't know anymore about your birth parents than you did until a couple days ago."

We were both still in shock as we left the hospital later that day. As we climbed into our Land Rover SUV, I thought aloud,
"I'm not sure what I thought they were going to tell us, but that wasn't it. It does concern me though."
"What exactly concerns you?"
"Just knowing who my birth parents are, and that when you're on tour, we'll all be in the spotlight. But I'm thinking more of Emmy and Easton there."

"What if I told you that Warner decided that we should end the tour with show we just did in here in Nashville? If you're that worried, I'd be just fine with putting a hold on touring for now."
"Are you sure? I know how much you love it."
"I do, but I care more about my family. And if you feel more comfortable, that's what I want too."