“I’ll be fine. Just take the kids a little farther into the backyard so they don’t hear any yelling if any.”

“You’ve got this Len. Keep calm. Be level headed and get everything you’ve ever wanted to say off your chest.”

“Alright Len. Get over here.” Micheal called out.

“I’m right outside. If it gets too much just come outside.” Jay said giving Lennox a pat on the back before walking outside, closing the screen door behind him.

Lennox sighed and took a seat besides Micheal across from their parents leaving Tarren to sit in a seat all by herself.

“Just like old times.” Tarren said as she said as she sat down. “You both always say next to each other.”

“Only when you didn’t want me sitting beside you at the dinner table. Or in the car. Or at the beach. Public in general.” Lennox shrugged.

“Lennox, she’s pregnant.” 

“And? If you want an honest conversation so we’ll never have to do this again then this is what it’s going to be otherwise I can just leave and this will be the last time you ever see my daughter. Did you hear me? My daughter. Or did you seem to forget I was pregnant? You definitely didn’t protect me like you’re protecting her now.”

“You weren’t exactly the easiest to deal with.” Mr. Vaughn spoke. “You never listened to anything we said.”

“Mostly because no one ever listened to what I was saying. It was always “you need to this so Tarren reputation isn’t ruined.” Or “why can’t you be more like Tarren.” Or “when Tarren was your age.” Forcing me into orchestra when I said several times I didn’t want too.” 

“Lennox-” Mr. Vaughn spoke before his wife cut him off.

“How ungrateful can you be? You grew to love the cello and viola. And you had plenty of friends because of it.”

“I hate the cello and the viola. You do. I’m surprised you didn’t make me learn how to play the harp to play at your fancy dinners with families of my so called friends that not only were going to clubs, smoking, and sleeping around, thew me under the bus as soon as I got pregnant, destroying any chance of me proving myself innocent.”

“So your ‘friends’ were the ones that said you slept around and didn’t know who your child’s father was? Why didn’t you say anything?” Micheal asked, shocked to find out it was Lennox’s own friends that caused such a big mess.

“No one would believe me if I told them and mom was so far up Tarren’s because she miscarried.”

“That’s not true and you know it.” 

“Do I Tarren? Because I remember being shut down multiple times. ‘Can’t you do anything useful besides ruin my life?’ Remember that? You said that to me the day I found out I was having a girl. Why? Because you were supposed to have a girl.”

“I wish you had been a boy, then we wouldn’t have had to deal with this.” Tarren said casually as she rubbed her stomach.

“But I wasn’t. And you’ve hated me ever since you found out.”

“Do you hear yourself? You don’t even make sense. Tarren was more excited than anyone to have a little sister.”

“Am I lying Tarren?” Lennox asked to prove her mother wrong.

“You’ve never been more right.” Tarren gave a small smile.

“Tarren?” Mrs. Vaughn whispered in shock.

“Everything was fine. Just the four of us and then you came along. And suddenly I was on the back burner. Everyone was so excited. My room turned into your nursery. As you grew I had to share my room with you, I felt like your babysitter. Because that’s what I was. It felt like I was born to serve you. To make you look better. You took my shine and as you grew everything you did seemed to be perfect and nothing I did was right. It was only fitting that the tables turned and you got to feel what I did, but even feeling what I felt you still managed to outshine me. Claps to teen pregnancy.”

“Tarren that’s out of line.” Michael spoke harshly about to defend Lennox when their mother spoke up.

“You were never on the back burner Tarren. You were just as important as Michael and Lennox.”

“Just as important my . You love playing favorites when it’s convenient, don’t you?”

“I’ve never played favorites.”

“We wouldn’t be here right now if we grew up equal. For me it would always be different. I was the only boy.”

“But for me and Tarren it felt like we always had to one up each other. The difference is that I stopped feeling the need to be better than Tarren because I’m not Tarren. I’ll never be Tarren. All I wanted was a sister to be my friend and parents that listened.”

“We did listen.”

“Yeah dad you listened. But mom was the one with the control issues. I guess that’s where Tarren gets it from.”

“I don’t have control issues.” 

“Ohhh so is that why you’re having a baby by your ex husband who placed your safety above anything else.”

“Who are you to judge her?”

“Judge her? Mom I’m stating facts. Countless times guk vented to me so he could feel heard because he knows that I know what it’s like to not be heard in this family. Countless times he would tell me how you were so adamant on having a biological kid instead of adopting.”

“I’ve always wanted a kid of my own and you know it.”

“And that’s why you were so upset when you miscarried while I had a healthy pregnancy, yeah I got. But you don’t think guk wanted a kid of his own? You don’t even have a will made up incase something happens to you.”

“Yeah because you have everything planned out.” Tarren rolled her eyes.

“As a matter of fact I do. My will Incase something happens to me and Jay. Donghae and Destynee become her guardians. Her saving for college if she chooses was started years ago, back when I couldn’t see her regularly. I’ve recorded almost everyday I didn’t have her and wrote them memories that I did have with her. No matter what phi will know that I loved her, did everything for her. Phi will always know she can come to me. Everyday I pray that she lives a better life than I did. If she was to tell me at the age of 17 she’s pregnant I would wrap my arms around her and tell her everything is going to be okay. Because I would never let my daughter feel the same way I did. Feeling like a stranger. The odd one out. Doing anything for attention so that someone, anyone could see that I just needed a friend and a mother’s love.”

“Lennox, I always loved you.” 

“Did you? I don’t know how many times I have to repeat that you did not show or for me to feel. But I know Tarren felt it. Why else would Tarren feel jealous of me? Feel like my babysitter? You had the daughter you always wanted. Prayed for. Hoped for. You had birth a spitting image of yourself while Tarren would never look like you.”

“Lennox…” Mrs. Vaughn whispered. “Please stop.” She said as she looked at Tarren who was wide eyed.

“Why?” Lennox smirked. “She’ll never have you eyes or dads. She’ll never have your smiles. She’ll never hear that something resembles you at a younger age. 

“Lennox maybe you should stop.” Micheal spoke, looking at Tarren’s pained face.

“She’ll never have our blood.” Lennox said coldly.

“You never thought I’d find out she’s adopted did you?”

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if this looks weird, it's a phone update. I wrote this when I should have been sleeping since work called me in and now I'll have to work a double. Tomorrow is also my birthday and I figured this would be a nice present for you all. I didn't think anything else would help this chapter so it's pretty short but let me know what you think, did you think that Tarren was adopted? Does that change the way you think of her? 
Anyway I'll see you all next chapter 😘