The Lie I Lived

"Why did you even come?" Hailey recoiled, glancing around to make sure no one saw her in such company. "How many times have I asked you not to?"

The girl told everyone she lived with her grandparents and that her parents were in the military, which was why no one ever saw them.

"Oh, sweetie, your dad and I were just heading to the post office to pick up our social security checks. We're going to the mall this weekend; we'll buy you whatever you'd like."

Hailey's mother was an elderly, very thin woman. Her father looked a bit better, but age was clearly taking its toll. They never skimped on their daughter, buying her the best of everything and indulging her every whim.

By the time Hailey was born, they were already old, at least in her eyes.

"It's just so gross, being that old and... doing that," Hailey once complained to her friend.

Only Amy knew that Grace and Bill weren't Hailey's grandparents, but her actual parents.

"You're so lucky your parents are young," Hailey sighed. "You can hang out, go to cafes, hit the movies. I'm embarrassed to even be seen on the street with mine. As if having acne wasn't enough, I got stuck with fossils for parents."

In reality, Hailey was quite pretty, and her parents didn't actually look that bad.

"Where did you get that? That skirt is gorgeous!" Amy asked. "Can I try it on? I need to ask my mom for one like it."

"My mom bought it for me. I think they call it a bodycon style."

Hailey pulled off her leggings and started tugging on the black mini-skirt. Out of the corner of her eye, Amy spotted large scars on Hailey's hip.

"Damn it, you can see the scar," Hailey cursed. "Thanks a lot, Mom. Now I can't even wear the skirt."

"Don't overthink it, you can barely see it," her friend consoled her.

The scar was indeed large and deep, faded white with time, but still noticeable.

"You're taller than me, so if you get a size up, it'll be perfect. But what does your mom have to do with it? Where did the scar come from anyway?"

"I was a toddler. A dog attacked me, and my mother wasn't watching."

On Monday, Hailey didn't show up for school. It wasn't until evening that she finally bothered to call her friend and asked to meet up.

"Why are you skipping? Trying to drop out?" Amy pressed.

"School is the last thing on my mind. I found something out. Come on, let's go have a smoke, I'll tell you everything."

"You smoke?"

"I just want to try it. I swiped one from a neighbor."

"Look, I'm not smoking. My parents are home; they'll kill me if they smell it."

"Fine, then I will. Remember when we were studying history, all those old noble families? Remember the Winthrops?"

"Yeah, I remember. So what?"

"The thing is, I'm not a Miller. I'm a Winthrop! Like, old-money lineage!"

"Have you been drinking?"

"I didn't believe it at first either. My mom and I were redecorating, we moved the wardrobe, and there was a pile of old papers behind it. Mom said she'd go through them later. I put them aside, but then I looked—there were old photos and adoption papers. I'm adopted, can you believe it?"

"That sounds crazy. Maybe it's just some old paperwork from something else."

"Hardly. I threw a total fit, and Mom told Dad he had to tell me everything before she walked out. And he told me... he said my real mother was young, only fifteen. Can you imagine? My parents were young! Anyway, it turns out they just took me from her and moved away. I'm going to find her!"

"Whoa, stop. Where are you going? You're acting insane. What about school? Do you even have an address? How are you going to go alone?"

"Dad gave me the address. I have money, and it's not even that far. Just an hour's drive. My poor mother... they basically stole me from her."

"Hailey, don't do this. Stay. They love you."

Amy couldn't change her friend's mind. The next morning, Amy's mother woke her up, saying Hailey's mother had come over, frantic because her daughter was missing. Amy told her mother everything she had learned the night before. Suddenly, there was a heavy thud in the hallway. Hailey's mother had fainted.

***

"Mom, is Mrs. Miller going to be okay? Hailey is such an idiot..."

"The doctors say it's just a nervous breakdown. She'll be fine."

That evening, there was a knock on Amy's window. Hailey was standing in the yard.

"Mom, I'll be right back!" Amy yelled as she ran outside.

"Where have you been?"

"Hailey's here."

"Well, tell her to come in."

Hailey was standing there in tears, sobbing.

"Don't cry like that, it was just a nervous breakdown. She'll get better," Amy hurried to comfort her friend.

"What are you talking about?"

"Come inside, Hailey. My mom wants you to come in."

"Wait, who had a nervous breakdown?"

"Your mom, Grace. Didn't you know?"

"I need to get to the hospital right now!"

Amy's mother appeared at the door. "Both of you, inside. Now. We'll go see her tomorrow morning, but it's too late tonight. You need to sleep."

They sat down for tea, and Hailey began her story.

That morning, before dawn, she had slipped out of the house, bought a bus ticket, and left. Hailey was certain that even if her biological mother had moved, someone would remember her and give her a new address.

Finding the house hadn't been hard—a dilapidated, crumbling apartment building. A woman walked out, and Hailey decided to approach her.

"Good morning. Do you happen to know if a Daria Winthrop used to live here?"

"She still lives here," the woman snapped. "Drinking and breeding. You from Social Services?"

"No, you don't understand. She's quite young. She has a daughter, Hailey."

"She's got plenty of daughters," the woman cursed. "Go on in, since you're here."

She knocked on a grimy window. "Daria, get up! Someone's here for you. Social Services."

Behind the weathered window with a cracked pane, there was a rustling sound. A woman appeared at the door—young, but completely wasted. A red, bloated face, the stench of stale beer, and unsteady movements instantly masked any youth she had left.

"Whadda you want?"

"I'm looking for Daria Winthrop. I must have the wrong place."

"Well, that's me. So you ain't from the state? My oldest daughter, huh? Look at that, you do look like me. What do you want? I ain't taking you in. I don't need the trouble. The foster system was supposed to give you an apartment; go live there."

"I just wanted to see my mother..."

"You seen me? Feel better? Look at how they dress you kids in the system. Real jewelry, too. Maybe you can share?" The woman stepped forward, her breath reeking.

"Daria!" a man's voice yelled from inside. "Where are you? The kid's screaming!"

"I'm coming! Hey, what was your name again?"

"Hailey," the girl said quietly.

Suddenly, a flood of memories hit her.

Cold, hunger, and filth marked her first years. A man had thrown her out into the yard in the freezing cold. The doghouse should be warm. The dog barking and lunging, biting, tearing—it hurt. The dog was rarely fed, but that day, it had found something.

Hailey finally understood where her nightmares came from. Her mind had let her forget that day, but now she was forced to remember everything.

"I didn't even have a name."

"I didn't have time for you, you get it? I meant to go register you, but I never made it."

"Right," Hailey sneered. "A bottle was more important than your daughter. Do you even know who my father is?"

"Don't you go calling me names! I've been with one man my whole life. We got love! Wait... you aren't a foster kid. You're well-kept. I hate girls like you. I grew up in an orphanage myself. A janitor found me under a bridge; his name was Joseph. They named me Daria, and they were gonna give me the last name 'Bridge,' but they settled on Winthrop. He was the only one who ever visited me, and then he died."

Hailey remained silent.

"I loved you. Truly, I did. It was all Mike, my husband. He said we had to hide you. I was underage; they would've taken you. I wasn't even drinking back then. I should've run, but I was a fool. I was too scared to leave Mike. He was the only one who loved me besides the old man."

"Where are the other children?"

"He put them all in the system. He only let me keep one girl."

"I have to go."

"What'd you come for, then?"

"Nothing. Goodbye."

***

"Mrs. Stevens, what am I going to do now?" Hailey looked at Amy's mother and cried. "My parents will never forgive me. I'm so ungrateful. I was so stupid."

"Hailey, your father told me how you came to them. They had wanted children for a long time, but it never happened. One day, he was walking home from work and saw a dog in a yard tearing apart what he thought was a doll. Then he realized it wasn't a doll at all; it was a baby."

"The animal hadn't been fed. Your father rushed in and shielded you with his own body until help arrived. His arm is covered in scars from it. They will forgive you, because they love you."

"But my genetics are so bad..."

"Don't be silly. Who a person becomes doesn't just depend on genetics."

***

Her mother and father forgave Hailey. From then on, she was never ashamed to walk with them, and she told her entire class the truth. The only thing she wanted now was for her parents to live as long as possible.

Hailey couldn't find her other siblings—they had all been adopted out—but she did manage to ensure that child protective services removed the youngest girl from that toxic home. Her parents weren't allowed to adopt the girl because of their age, but they helped find a wonderful couple who adopted little Natalie.

Hailey made sure never to disappoint her parents again and remained best friends with Amy for the rest of her life.

They went to college together, got married, and their children became friends.

Her parents have long since passed away, but Hailey never forgets them—unlike her biological mother, whom she swore never to think of again.

After all, why dig up the past?