CHAPTER ELEVEN: FAMILY REUNION

The scenery was familiar and Alex had some good memories, but she associated it for the most part with the worst period of her life. She was extremely nervous walking up the steps of what used to be her old childhood home. In the two days since the phone call, she had been very jittery and both Jackie and Jake had called her out on it, not knowing the reason.

But Alex didn't tell them. How could she? Few people knew of her past and that included the captain at their precinct as well as Barry and she kept it that way. The more people knew of what happened...the more she would be pitied. And she hated pity.

Anxiety seemed to flood in her as she scanned the very streets she had once played on. Memories played at the back of her mind like a broken record, repeating over and over again. There was one memory that was constant and that was the day of her abandonment.

Alex shook her head, trying to remove all the nerves she felt. "You can do this," she mumbled under her breath. "You're Supernova. You can do this. Be brave."

She walked up the familiar steps, her gait confident. Straightening herself, she pressed the bell. That brought about another round of memories. Alex could hear footsteps, like someone was coming to open the door. She couldn't recognize who they were though. She released the breath she didn't realise she was holding and steeled her nerves. The door opened.

"Hello, m-" Alex faltered in her greeting. Because her mom hadn't opened the door. It was a boy, a teenager who was probably fifteen or sixteen, hunched over his phone. When he looked up to meet her eyes, Alex froze. He looked strangely similar to herself, with similar eyes and the same nose structure.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. Judging by his stare, Alex guessed that he was trying to understand why she looked so much like him. "Who are you?"

"I...uh..." Alex paused, unable to find the words. Her heart was slowly making its way to her stomach as her nerves spiked once more. Did she have a brother she didn't know about? This wasn't real. This couldn't be real, could it?

"Andrew, go back to your room," That was her mom's voice. Jane Miller-Smith. Her hair was just as blonde as Alex remembered, although she had a feeling it was dyed. She was dressed, well-dressed in fact, almost like she had a business meeting.

(Maybe that was what this was going to be. A business meeting. Nothing more. Way to further break her heart)

"Alright," The boy, Andrew replied, giving Alex another once-over before he turned away, walking up the familiar stairs that would lead to the rooms above. She clenched her fists tightly, afraid that she would accidentally break something.

Alex kept her face neutral, meeting her mom's eyes with the same stare she had while walking onto crime scenes. It was the only way she could deal with whatever this was going to be. Her mom looked unnerved at that. "Come on in," she said, stepping a little aside.

Alex stepped in, hands in her jacket pockets. She had promised herself she wouldn't stare at anything but she couldn't help but look at everything. Some things were just like she remembered, yet others were different, more new. But she remembered everything. "Where's-"

"In the living room," Her mom hurriedly interrupted. "We've both been waiting for you."

Alex offered a quick nod of acknowledgement before she walked in a direction she remembered all too well (and hated herself for it). The living room was just as fancy as she remembered. It looked like it came straight out of a magazine cover. The couch had been changed from what she remembered. It was a cream colored fabric, with leaves embroidered so delicately that it looked like they had just fallen there in autumn.

The curtains were a freakish white, with circular patterns drawn in black thread. A mere glance to the right revealed the big flatscreen, with two bookshelves kept right next to it. Above the TV was a mantle with family pictures with the boy who had opened the door.

Her father was Michael Smith, a lawyer if she remembered correctly. He sat on one of the smaller chairs, designed to look similar to the couch. When he saw her entering, he immediately got up, his expression morphing into relief. "Alexandra! You're here."

"Hello Dad," Alex said curtly, ignoring his attempt at a handshake. She sat on the big couch, keeping her face as well as her voice neutral. "Let's get down to it, shall we? I have work to get to after this." (Liar. You took a day off from work.)

Her mom and dad exchanged looks before her mom sat down on another one of the smaller chairs. There was silence for a few moments; starting a conversation was hard especially with the person you so easily abandoned. And for what reasons? That you didn't have enough money. That you were too young. That they didn't want a kid. Bullshit. The same bullshit reasons that ended up worsening most of her childhood, culminating into her being raised by her amazing uncle.

But, the way Alex's parents had just left her at her uncle's house...it left her with issues, lots of abandonment issues; those issues had permeated through her life and they were why she could never carry out a serious relationship with anyone. She hated being abandoned. Anyone would.

"I'm not sure how I am supposed to say this, but are you safe?" Jane spoke first. At Alex's strange look, she hurriedly added. "I meant, after the invasion."

"I am a CSI. I've seen some pretty terrible cases, mom. Some invasion isn't going to shake me," Alex replied coolly, crossing her arms.

"Good," Michael said. "That's good. It's good that you're safe."

Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm sure that's not what you called me here for, is it? What do you want to say to me that's so important that you had to get in touch with me after sixteen years of no contact?"

Her parents' expression fell and she wasn't ashamed to admit the slight delight she felt. "One more thing," She added, her tone becoming a little harsh. "Is Andrew my brother? Do I have a brother that you two didn't bother to tell me about? Does he know about me?"

"Ever since the invasion, we've been contemplating this," Jane started to speak. Alex sensed there was going to be a long explanation here. "When we heard about the kidnappings in Brooklyn and then the invasion and the big fight with all the heroes, we immediately thought of you. Both Michael and I had a long talk about you. About everything that happened."

"Especially about the way we had treated you," Michael added in a sullen voice. "That night made us think of everything we had done to you. Andrew played a part too. We were cleaning the house when he found an old photo of you from when you were in preschool. He asked who you were and we thought it was time to tell him about his older sister. The entire truth."

"And what did he say?" Alex asked, swallowing back the nerves that had risen up in her stomach.

"He strongly berated us," Jane said, a sad smile on his face. "He was angry at us for keeping you a secret. It was harsh, but much needed. He's a good boy, our Andrew and seeing him defend you so profoundly and without question made us realise what idiots we were, all those years ago."

"What do you want, Mom, Dad?" Alex said, dropping her arms to her side. "Reconciliation? After all that happened, after you just left me; do you really think that is possible between us?"

"We can try to," Michael started to say but she interrupted him immediately.

"Try?" She scoffed harshly, suddenly feeling angry. "You could have tried years ago. You could have come back for me. You could have tried when Uncle Seb died.You could have tried when I had the accident at the Rose Center. You had chances all the time and you had the contact number of the house. You could have tried before!"

Alex took in a deep breath before continuing. "After you just left me...you don't have any idea how that affected me. My parents just leaving me...that gave miles worth of abandonment issues. I've not been able to keep a single serious relationship in my life because I'm afraid that they'll leave me too. Just like you did. Made me feel like no one wants me and it's all your goddamn fault!"

She blinked as she suddenly felt wetness form at the corner of her eyes. She was not going to cry. Not in front of her parents.

"Alexandra," Jane said regretfully. "We're sorry."

"Yes, we are," Michael also sounded the same. "We truly are."

Maybe they were stating the truth. Maybe they did regret it. But the time for apologies had long gone and why would Alex even bother with them? Not with them. But maybe with Andrew. She'd always wanted a sibling after all, even when she was young.

"Like I said, your apologies are fifteen years too late," Alex said, standing up from her couch. She kept her tone neutral and business like. "I won't bother with you or coming here to see you. The only reason I'm even thinking of coming back here is because of Andrew. I'll come back for him...for my brother."

"Alright, okay," Jane said, knowing that she didn't have any other choice. It was her fault; it was her mistake.

"I would say it was good to see you both, but it wasn't. So bye," Alex declared with the fakest smile she could muster.

She walked out of the living room swiftly, clenching her hands into fists. Some criminal was getting badly beaten up tonight. She was almost out of the door, but paused when she saw Andrew sitting on the stairs. Judging by the look on his face, he had heard the conversation.

"So I guess you're my sister," Andrew simply stated. "Guess I should say hi."

"Hey," Alex said, offering him a real smile. "I'm Alexandra. But you already know that, don't you?"

He nodded, standing up from the stairs. He was wearing a Green Lantern t-shirt and inspite of the situation, Alex snorted softly.

"That's a nice t-shirt," She said. "Do you like him?"

"Yeah, I like him," Andrew replied. "He's a good hero."

"I like him too, so I guess we have that in common," Alex said, smiling. 'But I like him more than you'll ever know or understand...'

"I guess we do," Andrew said. After a moment, he added, "I know things are a little awkward between you and our parents, but will you come here again?"

"Yeah, maybe," Alex said. "Can I have your phone for a sec?"

"Okay," He immediately said. He took out his phone and handed it to her after opening it. Alex felt surprised at that. Not many teenage boys were that willing to give someone their phone. But then again, not many teenage boys learnt that they had an older sister that their parents kept a secret. She quickly put in her contact details in her phone, handing it back to him.

"I've put in my number on your phone. Get in touch with me if you ever wanna talk or anything, or if there's an emergency and you need me. I'll be there in a flash," Alex said, holding out her right hand. 'Sorry I stole your stupid joke, Barry.'

Andrew shook her hand and she immediately felt a strange sense of familiarity in the way he did. "Sounds cool. See you around, Alex."

"You too, Andrew."

(Maybe things would be okay now.)

Introducing

Colin Ford as Andrew Smith

Well, that was certainly a heavy chapter to write. To sum up in a few sentences, Alex's parents left her at her uncle's house because they felt like they weren't ready for a kid, didn't want one and at the time, didn't have the money to raise one. And Alex hates them for it. And now that she's learnt she has a brother, she's gonna hate them even more.

Although, I can tell you that Andrew is going to be a cool dude. I've already got a couple of scenes between him and Alex written and their dynamic is gonna be amazing. There's gonna be a lot more of this dysfunctional family in the next part, I can promise you. There's just three chapters left till we get to part/act two of this story which involves the movie, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis and I'm hella excited for that.

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!