Searching for my Identity

Chapter 52 Making decisions

Thanks a lot for your support and loyality. It means so much to me und a big thank you to my amazing editor @amys99999. You're doing such a good Job.

Gracie looked out of the hotel window, lost in thought. She watched the nightly traffic hustle and bustle on Vienna's streets. She still could not quite believe that she had met her sister Norah today. She laid her forehead against the window, closed her eyes for a moment, and tried to sort out the chaos in her mind.  She was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear the soft knocking at her door. 

"Gracie, honey? I know this evening was exhausting for you, but Dad and I still want to talk to you in the living room. We want to tell you why we never said anything about your sister," Rory cleared her throat, walked towards her daughter, and then stopped behind her. "Please, Grace," she pleaded with her daughter as she laid her hand on the 12-year-old teenager's shoulders. 

Very slowly, Grace turned to her mother and looked at her with a heartbreaking look. 
Her blue eyes had lost all their brightness. "Mom, I'm scared. I’m afriad can't trust you and Dad anymore," Grace said in a low voice and lowered her eyes. 

"Oh, Gracie honey, I can imagine how much it hurts that you didn't know about Norah. Dad and I are well aware that it was wrong not to tell you from the beginning that you had a sister. But we only wanted to protect you from the emotional pain.” Rory paused to regain her composure. “Come on, Grace. Please give us a chance to explain to you and Nathalie what happened back then.  I don’t expect you to ever agree with our decision, but maybe you will understand better why we did what we did if we talk.  We know we were wrong in some ways, honey.  Please talk to us.”

"Alright, you convinced me, Mom," Grace gave in, but only because she wanted to know why her parents hadn't said a word about Norah for so long. 

Relieved, Rory stood up. "Well, then let's go. Nathalie, Dad, and a hot pot of coffee and tea, and of course, your favorite danishes from Grandpa Luke are waiting for us in the living room."  

Despite her outward demeanor, Grace could be quite stubborn and isolate herself from the outside world when she wasn't feeling well. She reminded Rory a lot of herself when she was in Grace age. Grace was so much like her, and therefore, she could understand that her daughter was scared and didn't know what would happen now.
Rory wasn't in the same predicament as Grace right now when she was 12 years old, but she could remember how much it hurt her that her parents had never been able to get back together and that her dad came into their lives and after a few months; he left them heartbroken. Years later, she understood that it was better that her parents didn't find their way back to each other. 

And if Rory was honest with herself, Luke was much better fitting for her mother than her father. Even though she loved her father, he was very supportive, and their father-daughter relationship was continually getting better after the tragedy of losing Norah. 

"Mom? Are you okay? Did I do something wrong, Mom?" she brought Grace's insecure voice out of her thoughts. 

"No, honey, please don't worry. I'm fine." She took a deep breath, took her daughter's hand, and together they went into the living room where Nat and Logan were already waiting for them. 

"Hey Gracie, my evening star, I'm really glad your mom convinced you to hear us out,” said Logan with a slight smile on his lips. 

"Yeah, dad.." she just nodded, took a seat on the opposite couch next to her older sister Nathalie. 
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Norah was sitting with Liam in her bedroom. Both pondered their thoughts and wondered what the future would bring. "I'm so happy that you are here with me, Liam. But still, so many questions remain unsolved. I don't know if I can leave Vienna behind me. All of my friends are here and I go to school here. After all, I grew up here for 14 years.  It’s all I know. And I'm so worried that I might lose my adoptive parents and Sophie. I know they have made mistakes, but after all, they're my family.  I keep asking myself what I should do if I don't fit into my parents' and siblings' world? I mean, they don't really know me that well with my strengths and weaknesses!" she started questioning and was getting a little bit restless again. 

For too long, she had held back these questions, which confused her mind. In her naivety, she thought she could stay in Vienna to finish school, or at least finish this semester here. Her biological parents would do anything to take her to America. She knew this and still wondered if she could live with herself by giving up her old life to start a new one in the States. Just the thought of having to leave Vienna drove her almost crazy. But there was also a little bit of curiosity about her new home in Hartford, Connecticut. She closed her eyes for a moment and laid her head on Liam's shoulder. 

Liam looked at his girlfriend, who was deeply immersed in her thoughts. He could hardly believe that Emma, aka Norah, was his best friend, Nathalie's twin sister. Of course, Liam noticed some similarities between his girlfriend and Nathalie. But it never occurred to him that his girlfriend could be related to Nathalie. Why would it?  The idea was just so crazy.  To find out it was actually true was even crazier!

And still, he wondered why he hadn't noticed before that Norah looked just like Nat with red hair. Maybe he didn't want to admit it either. But it had to be the worst for Norah. A few days ago, her world was still okay, and from one minute to the other, everything changed. 

"Sweetie, I know that everything is falling apart for you now and that it's difficult to understand the whole situation. That's why I'm really glad that you're talking to me about it, and I can't imagine how hard this must be. But I'm sure you'll never lose Max and Katie. They'll love you, and maybe they will move to Hartford too. You'll never know what the future brings, Norah." he tried to his best to comfort her. 

"How do you know that, Liam? Mom has her job at the Vienna Chronicle, and dad worked so hard for such a long time to be the head of the cancer research department. I don't think that they're giving up their jobs because of me. I mean..oh Liam; I'm a mess.." she said and couldn't hold back her tears anymore although she had sworn to herself that she wouldn't cry. The last days were like a rollercoaster for her. Norah was surprised that she hadn't run away from home. She had always been pretty good at running away from problems. Nevertheless, she wanted to show strength towards herself and her parents. 

"Hey..hey Norah, I know you heard that quite often the last few days, but you'll get through it. I promise you that. Hey, how about we order some Chinese food and set up a movie night or maybe binge-watching "The Good Wife" or "Gossip Girl." It's up to you I won't let you down, no matter what happens. You won't get rid of me, Norah.." Liam said in a caring voice smiling at her lovely and gave her a soft kiss on the temple.