The Unknown Tomlinson

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The concert had ended a few hours ago. Right now, I was sitting at the dining room table in Jay's house having dinner. The girls and Mark weren't there. Jay said Mark took the girls to visit their grandparents.

Once again, she had prepared a wonderful dinner. There was a plate of steak, a bowl of broccoli, a basket of steaming rolls, a bowl of chips, and, of course, a pitcher of iced tea.

Jay was sitting at the head of the table, and Louis and I were sitting on either side of her. Dinner was relatively quiet. I would try to make conversation, but it never really worked. I knew something was up with the two of them. I could feel it.

Finally, I spoke up. "What is going on? Why are you two acting so strange?" I complained.

Louis let out a deep sigh, and Jay set her silverware down.

"Are you going to tell her, mum?" asked Louis.

Jay nodded. "Yes, but not here. Follow me please," she said.

Louis stood up as I remained seated. He approached me and offered his hand. I accepted, and he lead me into the living room to where Jay was. She was seated on one couch with her hands folded in her lap. Louis sat beside his mum as I took a seat on the couch next to them.

I looked at them confused. Louis was rubbing his mum's back as if she was in pain. Not physical pain, but mental pain. I caught a glimpse of Jay's blue eyes to find that they had tears starting to form in them. Okay, now this is serious.

"Um...could someone please tell me what's going on?" I asked.

Jay gave me a small smile. "Oh, sweetie. There is so much that you don't know about yourself. If you would like to have answers, all you have to do is ask me," she said.

"I don't understand, Jay. What are you talking about?"

She let out a shaky deep breath before looking at me again. "I'm your mother," she simply said.

I let out a sarcastic chuckle. "No, you're not. My mother died in a car accident seven years ago," I said.

Jay shook her head. "No, honey. I mean I'm your mother. The one who gave birth to you."

At that moment, my heart stopped and leaped into my throat. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. There's no way Jay is my birth mother.

"No, you're not. You can't be. It's not possible," I said.

I looked over at Louis. He had his head bowed as he avoided eye contact with me.

Jay cleared her throat. "Yes, it is Ellie. I'm your mother, and Louis is your brother. I can prove it," she explained.

"Alright, then. Prove it," I tested.

Jay got up from her seat next to Louis and walked over to a shelf of photos. She picked up a picture frame and came back over to me. She took a seat next to me and handed me the frame.

It was the picture of Jay's niece. The photo of the baby I pointed out last time I was here.

"What does a photo of your niece prove?" I asked.

"Because it's not my niece. It's you. That picture was taken the day after you were born. It's the only photograph I have of you. I kept it because I wanted to remember you," she explained.

"That doesn't prove anything," I said. I handed her the picture, and she set it beside her.

"I know that when you were a baby you had asthma. I know that you have a small birth mark on the left side of your belly button. And I know that when you were born you had brown eyes not blue," she explained.