Finding Home (The Affair Series Book 3)

Embarrassed

It had been two weeks since Stef found out her Aunt Fran and Debbie were very much alive and since she had been home. What she would do she just wasn't sure yet as she tried to slowly get back into her life along with Lena's help. The transition proved to be challenging so far but she was doing well and had returned to work full time.

As she went about her days images of her Aunt Fran and Debbie continued to replay in her mind over and over for she had forgotten what they looked like, especially her aunt. Over the years her face had become one big blur and the one picture she did have of her Sharon found it and tore it up.

"What is this girl?! What is this?!" Sharon yelled at the little blonde snatching the photo of her aunt from her. She found it under her pillow in the motel for the little girl had forgotten to move it. Normally she carried it around her pocket folded up which was why it was crinkled and filled with many creases. "You better answer me girl! What is this! A picture of your dear old aunty! I told you forget her! She don't want you!"

"That's not true. She loves me!"

"She don't love you! No one loves you! Only person who can deal with you is me and I ain't got no choice! So you forget her you just better and I don't want to hear nothing about her no more!" She said ripping up the photo in a million pieces as she made her way out the room.

"No mama! No that's all I have. Please no! Please!" Stef cried as Sharon threw out the pieces in the motel dumpster shoving passed the girl.

"You don't tell me no! I'm your mama! Me! You hear me little girl! You little ungrateful shit and I'm not tellin you again. She didn't want you! Her and her little colored girl didn't want you!! "Grabbing little Stef by her shirt she pulled the girl into the hotel room where Stef ran in the bathroom crying her eyes out. How would she ever remember now what her Aunt Fran looked like. How?

It was heartbreaking as she remembered that day like it was yesterday and when she was taken from her aunt. It really had been one of the worst days as time went on she couldn't remember how she smelled,how she spoke, what she sounded like and how she treated her. What Stef didn't realize or failed to realize was she treated her children the exact same way. Even when she was at her worst she never behaved as poorly as Sharon. At least she hoped but that was far from how Callie felt.

Each day that passed Stef carried the letter around reading it over and over and soaking in Aunt Fran's words so much that she knew the letter by heart. Thing was she lived so close and it was ironic how they both ended up in California a mere 40 miles from each other. How easy it would be to just call her, to text her or to just show up. She couldn't, she needed time even if Lena suggested to just maybe email her for Fran had made the first move not wanting to overwhelm her niece. Much like what Stef did when she wrote Frankie a letter and the blonde couldn't help but wonder if Fran would show up.

However, it wasn't that easy which yes Lena understood for Stef couldn't help but wonder what she looked like now and how she feel around her. The cop just knew that as a kid she tried so hard to push her out of her mind once she found out from Sharon her aunt was dead.  She tried so hard to forget her, she tried so hard not to remember her, and she tried so hard just to be angry with her. It had been easier to be angry with her for it prevented her from feeling sad. But she had been sad. She had been sad for years, for decades and never got over it. Ever for she never really grieved over losing her aunt and always wondered why she never found her before she passed. She had promised, she promised to try to adopt her but what happened? Stef didn't know but what she did know was that Aunt Fran would be disappointed in her. How she did everything she taught her not to from smoking to drinking and doing drugs. Stef had promised, she had promised so hard to her that she would never touch any of those things and that she would always control her temper and work hard in school. None of that happened and it was another reason she was holding off on contacting her. How could she tell her she just got out of rehab because she couldn't handle life and had fucked up so much. How? How could she tell her she never made much of herself and had broken the hearts of two women and her children. How?