It felt so different to be sitting across from their parents this time around. Or at least, it did to Emberlynn. This time, it felt like they were the ones in control of the situation; a stark difference to how powerless she and Xander had felt last time they’d been sitting here in her parents’ living room. It was an odd sort of feeling — one Emberlynn wasn’t quite sure she really enjoyed. But she’d had no choice. They needed to talk with their parents again. And they had to do it in person.

Luckily Lola, whose week in Europe had been spent alone in a hotel room rather than with her son, was not returning to the US until the following afternoon. Emberlynn and Xander had just enough time to see her one last time before she left.

As Emberlynn took another moment to gather her thoughts before speaking, she couldn’t help but notice just how miserable and uncomfortable Gigi looked — perhaps even moreso than Phoenix and Lola did. Part of Emberlynn felt awful for putting her mother in such an awkward position, but she knew that this was something her mother needed to hear too. Despite her innocence in all this, it effected her just as deeply. She had a right to know.

“Thank you for meeting with us.” Emberlynn began slowly and carefully, trying to recall the words she and Xander had been practicing. It gave her the strangest sense of deja vu to be giving her parents almost the same speech her father had given her just a few days ago. “Xander and I would like to start off by apologizing to you, Papa. We shouldn’t have assumed you were lying to us before. It wasn’t right to accuse you like that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Phoenix replied softly. “I know sometimes it’s hard to accept something that –”

“Papa, please.” Emberlynn interjected as kindly as she could. “Just… let us explain, okay?”

He nodded.

“And Lola… I…” She glanced uncertainly toward Xander, who nodded. “I think Xander had something he wanted to say to you too.”

Her boyfriend took a deep breath. “Mom, you were right. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive you for all the lies you’ve told me.”

His mother nodded tearfully. “I understand.” She whispered.

“But I guess I should really say ‘the lies you thought you’d told me’.” Xander continued. “It turns out you’ve been wrong this whole time.”

“What?” Lola asked. Beside her, Phoenix looked equally as confused and concerned. Gigi’s expression was much harder to read.

“Emberlynn and I decided to do our own test… A DNA test, I mean.” He clarified.

Phoenix’s confusion seemed to deepen. “But I didn’t give you a sample or anything. So how…?”

“They do more than just paternity tests, Papa.” Emberlynn explained gently. “We each gave a sample and they compared our DNA. The results are a percentage. What percent of our DNA is the same.”

“It was ZERO.” Xander said, without hesitation. Emberlynn knew that he had been just as eager to finally tell them the news as she was. “Those tests aren’t perfect, but they told us we should have had some kind of percentage as a result, even a small one, if we were really half-siblings. But we didn’t. Because we aren’t.”

Phoenix almost looked like he was going to cry — but not tears of sorrow. Gigi looked much less pleased to hear the news than Emberlynn had been expecting. And Lola simply stared at them, wide-eyed with what appeared to be disbelief.

“We have the paper, if you want to see it.” She offered. “It’s mostly a bunch of numbers and stuff, but it says it right at the bottom — zero percent.”

Their stunned parents still had not spoken, so Xander continued, seemingly hoping to alleviate any uncertainty they may have had. “I know you might not wanna believe us. I get it. Anybody with a printer could print out fake test results and pass ’em off as the real thing… But Ember doesn’t even have a printer at her place.” He explained jokingly.

“Seriously though. It’s the truth. You can even call the lab and talk to them, if you want.” Emberlynn’s tone was much more serious than his had been.

Lola was the first of their parents to finally break their silence. “That’s… That’s not possible.” She sounded almost breathless. “It can’t be.” Lola shook her head before locking eyes with her son. “Honey, Phoenix is your father. I swear to you, he is. There has to be some mistake.”

“It’s not a mistake.” Xander insisted.

“You’re sure?” At last, Phoenix responded aloud as well. He still appeared on the verge of bursting into tears of joy.

“We are.” Emberlynn promised.

“God, I… I’m so sorry. I never meant to put either of you through all that.” He continued. Despite his visible relief, his voice was somber. “Lola just seemed so sure, and I…” He shrugged almost helplessly.

“I am sure!” Lola cut-in before any of the others could reply. She seemed much less composed than she had on the first night Emberlynn had met her. “How could this be possible? I don’t understand…”

For the first time, Gigi spoke. “What don’t you understand? They’re not related. This was all a big mistake. And we should be celebrating that.” Neither her tone of voice nor her facial expression matched the words that passed her lips.

Phoenix nodded in agreement, finally allowing some of his own happiness to shine through. “This is great news!”

Lola, however, did not seem to be backing down. “I’m telling you, it’s wrong!” She insisted. “You’re his father!”

He shook his head. “I can’t be. You heard what they said…”

With a small sigh, Xander chimed back in. “Look, Mom. Why don’t we do that paternity test you guys wanted, just so you can be sure? We’ll even let you be the one to open the results.” He offered. “I’m okay with that if you are, Mr. Rosebrook.”

“No!” To everyone’s surprise, it was Gigi who was the first to reply. “No, that’s… That would be a waste, wouldn’t it? We already know the answer. I don’t see why that’s necessary.”

“Because there has to be something wrong with this test!” Lola replied, her voice full of desperation. “Phoenix, look. When… When you and I were… together…” She glanced almost apologetically toward her son before continuing. “I hadn’t been with anyone else for almost a year. And after you left, there wasn’t anyone else until Jorden. And I already knew I was pregnant when we started dating.”

All the happiness seemed to have vanished from Phoenix’s face yet again. “You’re sure of that?”

She nodded. “You have to be his father. Please, I need you to believe me. There is literally no one else it could be. It’s not possible.”

Emberlynn and Xander exchanged a look. Was Lola telling the truth? It was so hard to be sure, but if she was… Emberlynn struggled to wrap her head around what she was hearing. That doesn’t make any sense.

The brief silence that had fallen over the five of them was broken by Gigi. “That was a long time ago, Lola. Obviously you’re remembering wrong.” There was the hint of something almost like a threat in her voice as she spoke.

Clearly Lola did not appreciate being spoken to in that way. “You think I’m lying?!” She snapped.

“No, I think you’re wrong.”

It was like all three parents had forgotten their children were even in the room. Both Emberlynn and Xander simply sat there and watched the argument take place, transfixed.

“Then why not let us do the paternity test?” Phoenix asked his wife gently. “The kids said they’d do it. Then we can know for sure.”

“We don’t need another test!” Gigi cried back at him. She appeared almost hysterical. “They already did one! And tests don’t lie!”

“I just don’t see how it would hurt…”

“This whole thing is already hurting us enough, isn’t it? Why are the two of you so goddamn determined to keep digging up all this shit from the past?!” His wife threw her arms into the air, “We already got our answer! We all just need to move on! And we don’t need another test!”

“What is your problem?!” Lola glared daggers at Gigi. “Why are you so afraid of that stupid test?!”

“I’m not afraid!” Gigi insisted. Though, if Emberlynn were being honest, the wild look in her mother’s eyes held nothing but pure terror.

“You are!” Lola replied, shaking her head. “But I don’t under–” She stopped speaking, her eyes suddenly going wide. “Oh my God… You didn’t.”

“What?!” The other woman snapped.

“You’re right. Tests don’t lie…” Lola shook her head slowly. “But people do…” She paused for a moment. “Especially terrified kids like us, who make stupid mistakes, wind up pregnant, and have no idea what to do…”

“What the hell are you saying?!”

She sighed. “What I’m saying is, there’s only one reason I can think of that you’d be so afraid.”

“Shut up!” This time, Gigi’s voice was a shriek, and tears had begun leaking from the corners of her eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“But Gigi, I do.”

“Shut up!”

Phoenix ignored his wife’s outbursts, eyeing Lola fearfully. “What are you saying?” He asked her slowly.

Lola bit her lip. Her eyes flicked between Phoenix and Emberlynn for a moment. Her gaze was full of nothing but pity. “I’m saying… Emberlynn and Xander might not be related… But that doesn’t mean you’re not Xander’s father.”

No one spoke for a moment as the weight of Lola’s words finally settled. Even Gigi said nothing. Her previous anger seemed to have been completely eclipsed by something that Emberlynn could not name.

“What the fuck?!” For the first time in minutes, Emberlynn finally spoke. There was no way she could remain silent when she realized what Lola was trying to imply. “What the hell are you saying?!”

None of the older adults even acknowledged her.

“No… That’s not possible.” Phoenix shook his head, addressing Lola once more. “We did a test. You remember, right? It said I was her father. And it’s like Gigi said — tests don’t lie.” He insisted. “I saw the results myself.”

Lola appeared thoughtful for a moment. “Well, were you there when she opened them?”

Phoenix furrowed his brow in thought, clearly struggling to remember. “No… I was never home when the mail came. I always had class.” He replied slowly. “And that day… when I came home… Gigi had already opened them.”

Lola’s look of pity seemed to deepen at his response. “Then how can you be so sure you could trust them?” She asked softly. “You heard Xander, didn’t you? Anyone with a printer could do it…”

Phoenix shook his head. His eyes betrayed him with a small flicker of panic as he spoke. “Gigi, tell her! We took a test. We made sure. We…”

Gigi shook her head as tears began streaming down her cheeks. “There’s no use in trying to hide it anymore.” She whispered. “Phoenix… I’m sorry.” Her voice broke on the final word. “I should have been honest with you from the start. But I didn’t know what else to do…”

“No…” Phoenix’s voice trembled, his eyes growing wide. “She’s mine. The… The test… It said…”

Both baffled and terrified, Emberlynn felt her breath catch in her throat as her mother’s gaze locked with hers. “Emberlynn, please. Forgive me.”

“Mama?”

Gigi practically leapt to her feet. “I’m sorry.”

She fled the room without another word.

“No… No fucking way… Come back here! What the FUCK did you do?!” Phoenix bellowed with such force, Emberlynn wondered whether he would shake the whole house.

He raced out of the room and up the stairs after his wife. Emberlynn could hear his fists pounding on the bedroom door, followed by soft creak and a loud slam.

Then there was nothing but silence.