"Excuse me?"
I step toward him, putting my hands on the sides of his arms, pulling him toward me so I can explain. "I think we should go to San Francisco to visit your aunt. It's only a couple hours out of our way, and you've been wanting to get back in touch with her for a little while now."
"Haven, I—"
"I really don't want to overstep or force you to do anything you're uncomfortable with," I explain, realizing how forceful my suggestion came out. "I was just thinking it's the perfect opportunity to see your family... if you want to, of course."
Sin looks at me carefully, letting me cling to him excitedly as he processes my request.
"You want to come with me to San Francisco? To meet my aunt?" he asks, his eyes clouded with uncertainty.
I know how big of a deal this would be to him, and I suddenly feel stupid for inserting myself in the situation. However, I still think it's a great opportunity to visit her in person if he wants to reconnect.
"Well, I mean, I could just go as moral support. I totally understand if you just want to see her by yourself," I assure him. "Like I said, I really don't want to overstep. But I was just thinking that you've been making comments about your father and your aunt, and how much you wish you knew about him. If this isn't something you want, then that's completely fine. We're just so close to San Francisco, I thought it would be an easy way to see your aunt in person, if you wanted."
He continues sharing my gaze, looking over my face with that same expression of uncertainty. Finally, he nods.
"Okay."
My eyebrows raise in surprise. "Okay? Really?"
"Let's go to San Francisco," he agrees, and I break into a huge, beaming smile. He adds, "You're right. There is a lot I still want to know, and it's better to talk in person, I think."
I lean forward to embrace him, happy that my suggestion wasn't pushing boundaries or too pushy for Sin.
"Are you sure?" I ask when I pull away. "Because it was just an idea. I don't want to pressure you into—"
"I'm sure," he assures me. "Don't worry about me, Ave. I think it'll be good."
"It will be," I agree, snaking my arms behind his neck and feeling content in his arms.
A couple hours later, we're nearing San Francisco, and Sin finally calls Bella.
He doesn't seem nervous, or at least shows no signs of nerves, but he's put off the phone call until now, which indicates he's a bit unsure of what's to come.
He takes a deep breath while the phone rings, and I watch his expression change when the line connects.
The phone is not on speaker, but I can still hear the other voice quite clearly.
When Bella picks up, Sin says, "Hey, Bella. It's Sin Black."
"Sin? Yes, oh wow! It's been so long. How are you?" a pleasant female voice asks.
"I'm good, thanks. How are you?" Sin asks, his voice perfectly calm and even, despite the anxiety radiating off of him.
"I'm great, hun. How have you been? You're in, what, your senior year of school now, right? Gosh, you're getting so old. I was actually just thinking about calling you a few days ago," Bella rambles, clearly surprised at Sin's call.
"Yeah, I know it's been a while," he admits. "I, um, was actually calling because I'm headed to San Francisco right now. I was wondering if we could come and visit."
Bella is silent for a short moment before gathering herself and saying, "You're on your way right now? And you.. want to visit?" Sin doesn't say anything, but Bella seems to still be processing. Finally, she says, "Absolutely, Sin. I'd love if you came to visit. Do you still have the address?"
"No, could you send it to me?" he asks, relief in his voice.
"Yes, of course. How long do you think it will be before you get here?" she asks.
Sin guesses, "Maybe twenty or thirty minutes?"
Bella seems surprised that we're so close, but sounds pleased regardless. Sin hangs up, and I wait until he puts his phone in the console between us and lets out a sigh before reaching over and grabbing his hand.
"Nervous?" I ask him.
"Only a lot."
I laugh a little, and squeeze his hand. "I'm proud of you for doing this. This is huge, Sin."
Sin smiles at me, seeming a little more at ease as he takes the San Francisco exit. "Thanks for doing it with me. I probably wouldn't have gone through with this if you weren't here."
"You do not need to thank me, Sin," I tell him. "I just know how important my family is to me, and I would hate to see you miss out on having that. At the very least, you deserve to know about yours."
When we reach Bella's house, Sin parks his car in the long driveway and I turn to him before he turns off the car.
"Do you want me to come in with you?" I ask. "Because I totally, completely understand if you want to do this on your own."
Sin looks at me as if that's a ridiculous idea. "What? No, you've got to come in with me. There's no way I'm going in there without you, Haven."
I smile and nod, following him out of the car and up to the front door. There are a couple of other cars in the driveway, but I don't think too much of it until the door opens, and several voices carry through.
A very pretty, but tough-looking Latina woman stands in front of us, the top half of her black hair clipped away from her tired yet kind face. She's wearing a pretty white top and jeans, and a red apron hangs over the outfit.
"Sinclair!" she says excitedly, holding out her arms to embrace him. "I am so, so happy you're here! It's been too long."
"Hey, Bella," he greets her, letting her hug him. "It's good to see you."
When they step back from each other, Bella turns toward me. She seems a bit surprised at my presence, but not upset.
"Bella, this is my girlfriend Haven Walker. Haven, this is Bella Vasquez."
I try not to hyperventilate when the word "girlfriend" comes out of Sin's mouth. It feels a bit weird, given my history, but at the same time, exciting and lovely to hear coming from my favorite person.
"It's lovely to meet you, Haven," she says, and I smile back at her.
"Thanks, It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Vasquez."
"Call me Bella, hun. I'm only twenty-seven," she informs me as we follow her inside.
The loud voices get even louder when we step inside the quaint house, and she leads us to a sitting room with a small group of people there.
I first see a woman with icy blonde hair and ragged clothes sitting on the floor with a young girl, about Destiny's age. The girl has dark brown, nearly black, hair and green eyes.
Along with the blonde woman and the little girl, a bored-looking man and what seems to be his identical twin are standing behind them against the wall of the sitting room. They're both wearing gray suits and have matching gray mustaches.
"Sorry about all the commotion," Bella tells us as we follow her into the room. "I just have some friends visiting. Please, have a seat!"
The room is filled with tension, despite Bella's friendly attitude. The blonde woman on the floor gives Bella a subtle glare, and the two men continue to wear their bored expressions.
"I am so glad you called," Bella says as she sits next to us. "It's been so long. You look so grown up! How have you been?"
"I've been alright," Sin says vaguely, then glances over at me. "I'm much better than when I talked to you last."
Bella's face fills with sympathy, giving Sin a caring smile. "That's so great. I really was sad to hear about your mother's passing. I know Ruby and I didn't always get along, but she was such a passionate, caring woman, and I know you really loved her."
Sin shifts in his seat at that, surely because the topic of his mother is never an easy one for him. "Thanks. She was," he agrees.
"Well, what brought on this spontaneous visit?" Bella asks with a bright, beaming smile. "Or is there an agenda to this meeting?"
"No agenda. We were just talking about family and holidays and everything, and Haven mentioned that we were near San Francisco, so we decided to visit."
"Well, I'm so glad you did," Bella insists, then turns to me. "And I'm glad I got to meet you, Haven. Any woman who can steal Sinclair's heart is a force to be reckoned with, and I admire that." I smile, a light laugh managing to come out despite my slight nerves.
I only now realize that I'm meeting Sin's only family. This is his entire family, right here in front of me. Bella and her daughter. And he wanted me to meet them. The weight of that settles on me as I try to muster up a response.
"And anyone who shares genes with him immediately has points in my book," I reply. "Thank you for having us, and... Sorry, are you cooking?"
I sniff the air and smell the scent of burning food.
"Oh my god, yes!" Bella shouts as she stands up and rushes away to the kitchen.
I chuckle, watching her run away before turning back to look at Sin.
"She seems really nice," I say, inciting a nod from him.
"Yeah, she is. It's just a little weird being here, without my mom, you know?" he says. "But I think it's going good so far. I feel bad for interrupting their party or whatever."
"Should we go introduce ourselves?" I ask him, glancing over at the foursome on the other side of the room. "It seems a little rude not to."
He shrugs, looking over at them. "That's Bella's daughter, Lucy. I guess we can go say hi."
We stand up off the sofa and stroll over to them.
"Hi," I say first, feeling incredibly awkward and out of place but doing my best to be friendly. "I'm Haven, and this is Sin."
The blonde lady looks surprised at my introduction, but simply returns it. "Avery Costello. How do you know Bella?"
"She's my aunt," Sin says. "Her brother, Antonio, was my father."
"You're kidding!" Avery says, her eyes shimmering at the mention of Sin's father. "I knew Toño had a son, but I never got to meet you! Oh, I'm so glad to finally see you in person! You look so much like him."
Sin shifts his weight to his left foot, probably feeling a little uncomfortable at the comparison to his father.
"How did you know my father?"
"He and I dated for a very long time. Four years, maybe?" she informs us. "I, um, fell off the wagon after he died, and that's when they took Lucy from me." She looks wistfully at the young girl in front of her, busying herself with an iPad. "I'm clean now and get visiting rights, but she's best here with Bella."
Sin and I are silent for a long moment while Avery turns back to Lucy, pushing her hair away from her face.
"Did you say..." I start, trailing off as I try to understand what Avery is insinuating.
Luckily, Sin manages to say it first.
"Lucy is your daughter? Yours and my father's?"
Avery looks up at us, surprised at our surprise. She looks between Sin, me, and Lucy slowly before answering. "You... didn't know," she realizes.
"Bella told me Lucy was her daughter," Sin says calmly, despite the confusion and anger I know he's got to be feeling.
"Oh," Avery says, nodding. "I suppose she would. She raises her, ever since Toño died. She's much better off here, with her own bedroom and money for school field trips... She's more of a mother than I'll ever be."
Avery looks sadly at her daughter, who has yet to say anything as she stares at her iPad. I now notice she's had headphones on this whole time, completely unaware of this conversation, or which she's the star.
"Lucy is my father's?" Sin says with disbelief, his voice quiet and careful as he deliberates.
That would make Lucy his sister, I realize. Sin has a sister.
"Sin... I'm sorry you had to find out this way," Bella's voice rings through the room. Our heads turn to the doorway, where she's standing there, still in her apron.
"Are you?" Sin asks, his voice hard and unforgiving. I can sense the tension in his shoulders, and his hands are clamped into tight fists.
Bella sighs, looking away then back at him. "Come into the kitchen, please, and let me explain."
She steps aside, waiting for Sin to move toward her. He contemplates it for a moment, then strides over toward his aunt.
He stops just before he gets to the doorway and turns around. "Haven?"
I look at him expectantly, raising my eyebrows as I wait for him to say something else.
"Are you coming?"
His words throw me off at first. He wants me to go with him to hear Bella's explanation? I stand still for just a moment longer, shocked by his suggestion, before walking over to him and following him into the kitchen.
"Do you guys want coffee or anything?" Bella asks. She looks like she feels really awkward, and I'm assuming she feels guilty as well.
"I want you to explain to me why you never told me I had a half-sister!" Sin demands, starting to lose his cool.
I lean forward and put a hand on his back, trying to calm him down a little. I think it helps, and he sinks back into a normal, less tense stance.
"I wanted to tell you, Sin, but Antonio had just died, and I didn't know what to do! I was still getting used to him being gone, and Lucy being my responsibility, and I panicked," Bella says, gesturing wildly with her arms as she explains herself.
"You've had years since then to figure out a way to tell me," he points out, crossing his arms.
Bella looks ashamed and hides in her long black hair, crossing her arms as well.
"I wanted to. I really did. It's just..." she trails off, looking at the floor before continuing. "Your mother and I did not get along. I'm sure you remember. Everything was already so tense that I didn't think throwing in the fact that you had a sister would help anything."
Sin takes a minute to process all of this, and I jump in with a question.
"What about Lucy? Does she know Sin is her brother?" I ask her, my hand still on Sin's back.
"She knows she has a brother. Toño told her that a lot before he died, but she doesn't know that Sinclair is her brother," Bella explains.
"And her mother is an addict?" Sin asks. "That's why she lives with you?"
Bella nods.
"When Avery started doing that shit again, I knew I had to get Lucy out of there. She's been clean a year or two now, but everyone agrees, Lucy stays with me."
Sin sighs, then turns to look at me. He doesn't look at Bella until after the next words come out his mouth, "So he left my mom and I eighteen years ago... to start a new family."
My heart breaks for him when I hear that, and I bite my lip to keep from getting emotional.
Bella looks as though she might cry, but meets Sin's gaze.
"It took him a couple years to get his act together," she starts. "When he did... I don't think he ever forgave himself for running out on you. And I don't think Ruby did, either. He and Avery met in some sort of AA meeting, I think, and it gave him a fresh start."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Sin says, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. "A fresh start? What about my mother? She had to work three jobs and raise me by herself! She didn't get a chance to start fresh. He took that from her."
I know he feels like his father screwed over his mother, and that'll always be his priority, but I know he's still hurting too. Growing up without a father must have been hard, and I know what Sin has been through since his parents died. He might be wishing for his own chance to start fresh.
Sin is practically seething as he shouts, and Bella looks like she's on the verge of tears.
I have no clue what I'm doing, but I pull Sin back before thinking it through. He turns to look at me, his expression still angry, but a little confused as well.
I'm not sure what I hope to accomplish by pulling him away from Bella, but I can tell he needs to take a breather. He's so tense I worry he might lose his temper.
I stare at him stupidly, open-mouthed and hopeful that anything helpful would come out. But my mind draws a blank at first, my eyes doing all the talking.
Somehow—as he always does—Sin understands without me saying anything. He takes a deep breathe, calming himself down a little.
"It's okay," I say. I feel like that's the only thing I can say right now. I put my hand on his arm, squeezing with support, but don't say anything else.
Once Sin is calm, he turns back to Bella and apologizes. "Sorry, Aunt Bella. I know what he did wasn't your fault."
"I know I screwed up, Sin," Bella says. "I should never have kept this from you. I'm sorry. But honestly... Lucy's an amazing girl. She's so bright and kind and curious. And... I bet she would love to meet her brother, if you'd like."
Sin looks through his lashes at his aunt, a dark look still in his eyes, but his demeanor much less intimidating than before.
He stays silent, and I jump in to try and help.
"Do you think we could, uh, have a minute?" I ask Bella. She looks between the two of us, then nods.
"Sure. Avery's visit is almost over, anyways. I'll be in the den."
Bella leaves Sin and I in the kitchen, and I turn to examine how he's feeling.
"Thank you," he says, letting out a breath I didn't even realize he was holding.
I smile, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. "Are you okay? That was a lot."
Sin laughs dryly. "Yeah, it was. I just can't believe it. The past ten years, I had a sister, and I had no clue."
"I know. It's pretty wild," I agree. "And it's a lot to take in, I'm sure."
Sin smiles at me as I stroke his arm, doing my best to soothe him. He cracks an amused smile and says, "I'm fine, Sunshine. I promise. But I'm glad you're here."
I smile back, wrapping my arms around his neck as his go to my waist. "I'm glad I'm here, too."
"So... what do you think?" he asks me, looking at me intently. The glow of the kitchen light warms his face with a golden yellow tint, and I look up at the breathtaking sight as I wait for him to say more. "Should we go meet my sister?"