"rosa, what- i'm sorry, what do you mean jodie isn't who i think she is?"
"jodie's your aunt." rosa revealed, pursing her lips together.
it was as if a cat got her tongue, paige did not know what to say or how to feel. her heart was beating out of her chest, her mouth became dry and her eyes were filling with tears.
"your dad left me once he found out. i was forced to give you up for adoption because i, myself and my family could not afford to raise a baby."
paige's breath hitched as her eyes widened in sheer shock.
rosa's turning 34...so she had me when she was 17? and then she just gave me up?
through her blurred vision, she sees rosa looking at her worriedly, "are you okay? i'm sorry, i probably should've brought it up in a better way."
paige only scoffed, "better way? i basically lived a lie my whole life. and for what? she's also abandoned me."
"i'm sorry. i...i know i'll never be able to make it up to you." rosa knew her voice was going to break sooner than later, "could you give me a chance?"
"i don't know, can i?" paige stares at the ground, "i'm sorry- it's all so sudden. i'm being so rude."
"i've tried to be in your life as much as i could. at first, what we had was...fine. but then things started to get worse and worse between you and jodie, i kinda just drew a blank and didn't know what the hell to do. now, i finally got my head on straight. confronted her and told her about my decision. you're my daughter, i want you in my life more than just seeing each other on birthdays and sometimes on holidays."
"i'm gonna need some time to process all this." paige swallows thickly, "i'm really sorry, i know you were hoping for a good answer, but i-"
"paige, don't apologise. i'm the one who's supposed to be sorry. i should've stepped up sooner."
paige disagreed, "you did what you thought was best for me. and it was, till the recent years because i came out and got stuck with a chronic illness."
"i know you're supposed to be having a fun day with your friends and maya, so i'll let you get back to that. we'll talk another time, okay?"
"can i ask you a question?"
"sure."
"did you name me?"
"i did, actually. not 'paige', but i did. i chose a first name and middle name for you. even bought you your first outfit for coming home from the hospital."
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"i'll see you soon, okay mija?"
"okay."
"deep breaths. we're gonna be just fine." rosa reminded then quietly left, "this is a little something i got for you."
paige then went back to her friends, playing a round of mastermind. which actually was the last round before they moved on to a different game.
the whole conversation went a lot calmer than rosa'd expected. she felt incredibly lucky that paige even agreed to stay on and listen to her side of everything.
after another hour, the gang left. maya took this opportunity to talk to paige. "so...big news." paige clears her throat, "rosa wasn't exactly my babysitter."
maya was intrigued, leaning closer. "rosa's my real mom- jodie's the person that adopted me." paige took out all the documents once again, looking at them with shaky hands, "so all those times she babysat me, was really just her being 'allowed' to see me and spend time with me. my whole life was a lie. what the hell just happened? what do- do i call her 'mom'?"
maya could only offer her the biggest hug she could give, unsure of what to say at all. "are you okay?" maya asked after about a minute, "how did you feel the moment she told you, and how do you feel right now?"
"wh-"
"just answer it. i'm going somewhere with this." maya explained.
"i was so shocked. and then angry because i thought she just left me, but then it clicked in my head that she was just out age. it must've so hard for her. now...i'm just...relieved that my mother isn't a monster?"
maya smiled a little as paige looked as if she came to an eventual realisation, "oh."
"can i take a look at those?"
"yeah." paige hands the stack of papers over to the blonde.
"oh, the name she gave you was so pretty." maya gasped softly, "valentina paige. sorry, i shouldn't-"
"no, i actually love it. but i don't know, do i tell her i wanna change it back to that? it's also...weird. people are definitely gonna make fun of me for it."
"if you want to, definitely." maya answered, "i love those names. i also thought you looked nothing like jodie or your 'father'."
"maya!" she gasped, "seriously?!"
"sorry, bun. bad joke."
"i agree. i just ignored that- i looked nothing like any of my 'relatives'. now that i know, i can stop wondering if i was adopted and they just kept it from me."
"see? things turn out pretty alright in the end." maya said, "you're maybe overwhelmed from the look on your face. but one step at a time- jodie and everyone else related to her is gone from your life now. focus your energy on yourself- doing what makes you happy...y'know? stuff like that."
"you always know what to do." paige chuckles, "thank you, maya."
"glad i could help, bunny." maya caressed her knuckles comfortingly, "i'm glad it was rather good news."
"it is." paige heaves a sigh.
maya's eyes landed on the white paper bag on the desk, "hey, what's that?" paige went to get it and peeked inside, "oh, my god. she got me a phone?"
"ooh."
paige finds a note at the bottom on the bag. she reads off it, "tried to contact you recently but your number was disconnected. so thought it'd be nice for you to get an upgrade. i also got you a new number and data plan. sim card's already installed, just charge the phone. enjoy. see you soon, maybe."
"go on. just check it out." maya encouraged, "then give me a call or something so i can add this new number to my contacts and into the group chat."
paige giggled, "kay, i should probably charge it since it's not doing anything when i try to power it up."
"wow, life is weird..." maya mumbles to herself as she observes paige walking over to plug in her phone. 'this is a big piece of news...so why am i feeling so chill about it? was it because it just felt right? rosa's never lied to us. right?' paige got upset, that's for sure. and understandable. paige was shocked, and with the raised voice maya(and the rest) heard earlier, it was a given.
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"oh my god, that picture. i shouldn't have used that one, right? it's too...much."
"you look beautiful." maya responded wholeheartedly, "i took that photo."
"yes, you did." paige grinned, "i love it. i look...good but it's not how i usually dress."
"i know, but...it's your choice after all. you can change the profile picture whenever you want to whatever you want."
"no, i'm gonna stick with it. i like it, so i'm gonna use it."
"okay, bun." maya wraps an arm around her once paige sat down, "so, what're we doing for the rest of the night?"
"well, i can't believe we don't have homework."
"we finished it in study hall 'cause of you."
"and do we have to worry about the homework now?"
"no," maya stifles a laugh. "what's so funny?"
"nothing." maya could not hide her smile, "your face makes me smile."
"aw." she mocks. "oh my god, i'm serious." maya feigns being offended. paige on the other hand attempts to act nonchalant but was about to burst out laughing. "ha ha." maya poked her jokingly, "i've been thinking- what should i address you as? like- do you still want me to call you 'paige'?"
"maya, do i look like an 'valentina' to you? i dunno. no, right?"
"why...?"
"i like the name, i really do. it has a great meaning. but it's definitely going to take me awhile to get used to it."
"that's true. i mean, 'paige' is your name- that's what you've been called for as long as you can remember. at least jodie kept that part."
"the gang's going to be so confused." maya smiled cheekily. "ohh, do not call me either of those names in school yet, maya." paige was petrified, "please. but...it could be fun. god, i'm boring."
"hey! you're not boring." maya sulked jokingly, "you're not." paige doesn't say a word back, but maya says, "i gotta pee. i'll be right back."
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
after that text, she puts her phone back down on the desk carefully. it was about an hour later before she got a reply from the detective.
paige could've sworn her heart skipped a beat. she was so nervous now, knowing that she and rosa were related.
"already read?" paige clutches onto the device tightly, "oh, god help me. oh, she's typing. i better reply and not just leave her hanging."
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"have such a good time, paige." maya gives her a hug before she left the house, "cool mom."
"see you later." the brunette smiles softly, then laughed when she heard maya tease. paige was light on her feet as she makes her way to the first floor- admittedly, she was excited to spend some time with rosa despite being nervous. once she made it out the front doors of the apartment building, her eyes landed on the curly haired woman. she was wearing her favourite leather jacket. and the rest of her outfit was in all black as she would be wearing literally everyday.
"hi." paige greeted. "hey." rosa smiled just ever so slightly. "you have a car?"
"no, not yet. just a motorcycle, i borrowed this one from amy for the night."
"oh," paige shrugs, about to climb into the backseat when rosa asked if she would like to sit in the front with her instead. "you sure?"
"yeah." rosa arched a brow, almost breaking into another smile, "it's up to you, though."
"i'll sit up front." paige decided, "where are we going?"
"well, i was going to let you decide. fast food restaurant, a diner or we could go to a cafe. i know a couple pretty good places." rosa replied, starting the car back up, "okay, but first...do you have any allergies?"
"just peanuts."
"alright, got it."
"you can choose where we're going. i'm really indecisive."
that statement seemed to have amused the detective, "okay, then. i have an idea."
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
UNEDITED. published: friday, 10 june 2022