"Daddy's Girl"

Chapter 9, Part 1

Raeanne watched as Grayson and Eva drove away, after the hugging and crying fest had ended. A smile pasted to her face, she closed the door and locked it. Her mother walked up behind her, laying a hand on her shoulder and offering a cup of hot chocolate. "Thank you." she whispered, before taking a seat in the now darkened living room. Her father had gone up to his study before Gray had left, so they were alone. Her heart feeling lighter than ever she sat staring at her mother in the silence of the room.

"I can't believe you waited this long to tell me, baby." said her mother, sitting on the chair beside her's and laying a hand on Rae's.

"It wasn't something I was proud of, Mama." she replied, feeling all of ten years old again.

"No, but you can tell me anything. You know that, Raeanne."

"I never felt that way, about the bad things. I may as well confess as long as we're confessing." she whispered into the dark, her heart feeling tight again as she let the secret she held closest to her heart.

Her mother turned so fast her cocoa lapped at the edges of her world's greatest mom mug. "What do you mean, Rae Rae?"

"I mean..I've always felt less than Lizzy. She was always smarter, prettier, well behaved, your golden child. She was an on-earth angel, my sister was. She had a good job, a loving husband, a beautiful baby on the way. Even dead I can't compare to her." she looked away from her mother now as she set her cocoa on the end table to dry the coming tears.

With one hand, her mother grabbed her hand and turned her toward her. "You listen here Raeanne. Those may have been the things you've been feeling, but their definitely far from the truth, baby. You are just as special, beautiful, smart, and behaved as your sister ever was. You have a successful art career, and your work is so beautiful. You've always been a free spirit, and sometimes that has gotten you into trouble, yes. But that doesn't mean your father and I are any less proud of you, or love you any less." her mother said it with such a confidence, that it sounded as if the truth had poured out of her mother's mouth.

Tears were spilling everywhere, from her mother's eyes from her own, so many that it made her laugh. "Look at me, I'm a mess!" she exclaimed, wiping at her eyes.

Her mother chuckled, "I know, you should have warned me that tonight would be a cry-fest. I would have stocked up on tissues."

She wrapped her arms around her mom, "I love you mama."

"I love you too,baby. No more secrets, okay?" she asked, pulling away to look Rae in the eyes.

Nodding, Rae wiped her eyes and stared into her mother's. "No more secrets."

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