“My birth mother.”
“She doesn’t want to be found. Your birth mother was a vessel, like I once was, like you’ll be if it is determined you’re the chosen one. I can’t speak on why they separated the three of you, you’d have to take that up with the adoption agency, but I can say that because you arrived here on your own accord, you are more likely than Stella to be the one chosen.”
“Wendy is . . . we’re triplets?”
“Yes.”
Adam set a hand on my shoulder and I glanced up at him, eyes wide. I’d spent twenty years of my life dealing with loneliness and feeling misunderstood and all along I had two other people I could have shared that with. Anger burned in my throat, unshed tears threatened. The moment seemed to be closing in on me, threatening to swallow me whole. I anticipated fainting. I waited for it to come. Waited for my knees to grow weak and my vision to fill with tiny black dots.
“Focus on breathing.” Adam stood between Marie and me, setting both hands on my shoulders and holding my gaze. “Breathe.”
I nodded and did as he instructed. When I knew I would be fine, I reached up and placed my hands on his forearms. “Thank you.”
He didn’t say anything, but he smiled with his eyes and that was more than enough. He stepped back beside me again and we both faced Marie, who had gone back to cleaning the pews.
“St. Nicolas’ Orphanage.” Sister Marie lowered her voice and looked around. “That’s where you came from. Now, go on now, that’s the only information I have and they’re due to come back any minute.”
“What happened to Wendy? Was she really kidnapped?” I asked as Adam grabbed my hand and tugged me in the direction of the door.
“That’s what they say.”
“What do you say happened?”
“I don’t say anything at all, child.” Sister Marie smiled. “It’s better that way around here.”
Adam ushered me out of the church just in time to see the mob of monks and nuns headed in our direction. I followed him around the building, deeper into the woods, until we reached a fence. I was about to tell him we had to turn around when he reached for it and pulled an opening.
“Get in.”
I did and he followed. We walked in the direction of the house as the sun set behind us.
“We’re really not allowed to be in the church?” I asked.
“It’s banned.”
“What would happen if they caught us there?”
“They’d probably kick us out of The Swords.” He glanced over at me. “Take their money back and all that.”
“Why though? It’s a church.”
“It’s their church.” He pulled out his phone and started typing.
When he finished, he showed me the screen. St. Nicolas’ Orphanage shut down in 2000. I grabbed the phone and continued reading as we walked. St. Nicolas’ shuts down after controversies surrounded the adoption practices. The article named people who had tried to get their adoption papers and were turned away, parents who tried to find out the truth for their children and were shut down.
“I think I’m still in shock about Wendy.” I handed the phone back to Adam.
“It’s a lot to take in. You just found out you had one twin, and now you find out you have two.”
“And she’s a nun, which would mean she was probably raised in the convent, raised by our mother.” I looked up at him. “I spent so much of my time wishing for that and now that I know this I don’t know what to do with it. Why did she keep her and not me? Or Stella?”
My heart sank as I asked the question. I wanted to find out the truth because I was tired of feeling unwanted, not because I wanted my feelings to be amplified. When we got back to the house, using a side door I’d never seen, and upstairs, I let Adam walk me to my room, but stopped as we reached the door.
“I’m sorry. I need space.”
His expression gave nothing away, but his eyes were no longer smiling and I knew I’d hurt him. I set my hand on his.
“Just for a little while. I’ll meet you in our spot later.” I smiled.
“I’ll be there playing some Chopin for you.”
“I’m sure I’ll love it.” I licked my lips, unsure of what to do next.
We hadn’t said goodbye to each other . . . ever. The few times we’d been apart, one of us had just left while the other was sleeping. This was uncharted territory and oddly enough, even though I needed space, I craved him more. He set his forearm on the door, over my head, leaning in.
“I can come in for a few minutes,” he whispered against my lips.
“Only a few.” I moved forward and kissed him.