Chapter 23
Corrine
The light in the room feels like a personal attack against me. Why didn’t I close the blinds before I went to bed? I groan, finally opening my eyes, and immediately freeze. This isn’t my room.
Then the night before floods over me, and I feel both elated and a little sick to my stomach. I look over at Xavier, snoring lightly next to me on his back, one hand is on his chest, and the other is somewhere underneath the sheets. I can’t help it, and I peek under the sheets to see where it lands. As usual, he’s sporting a huge morning erection and his hand is on his cock. I smirk, glad to see some things haven’t changed, and grab my panties from the floor. I tiptoe to the bathroom, navigating the articles of clothing strewn around the room. Must have been one hell of a night, I think. I’m a little sad it’s cloudy, thanks to the shots and lord knows what else I drank.
I quietly close the bathroom door and flip on the light, seeing myself for the first time this morning. I look, for lack of a better term, ravaged. I need a shower.
I open the cabinet under the sink to grab a clean towel, thankful I’ve slept here and showered here many times. Xavier normally keeps his bathroom tidy, once explaining to me that ‘it’s his least favorite room to fuck in, so why make it special?’ I shove the cleaning product basket to the side, trying to reach one of my girly towels from the back of the cabinet. Then I notice a picture frame tucked behind some other stuff. I wonder if he knows this is down here?
I pull out the frame and see a picture of who I assume is Xavier’s mom and dad. Two people smile into the camera, with a picturesque backdrop behind them. I’m admiring the ocean behind them when familiarity tugs at me. I look closer at the people in the photo, wondering why I am suddenly feeling triggered.
The smiling woman in the picture is someone I’ve seen before. And the man, I know I’ve seen his crooked smile somewhere else. But where? I’ve been in the city for years, so maybe I met them at one of my gallery exhibits. But this picture looks dated and has obviously been under the sink for a long time.
Then it hits me, and the nausea I felt a moment ago comes rushing back. These people were in the photo album at my parent’s house. But who are they? And why does Xavier have a picture of the same strangers I saw in the album? I stand shakily, now too distracted to shower, and go back to Xavier’s bedroom.
He’s still soundly sleeping, but I sit next to him on the bed and brush my hand over his chest. He doesn’t stir. So I whisper next to his ear, “Butterfly?”
He jumps slightly with the intrusion and groans, opening his eyes to me. Surprise floods his features, and then he seems to remember our festivities last night.
“Hi,” he says. Then he touches my bare leg. “It feels early,” he groggily states.
“Xavier? Who is this?”
“Huh?” He’s already closed his eyes again.
“This picture.” I nudge him with my hand. “I found this picture under your bathroom sink. Who are these people?”
He opens his eyes and grabs the picture frame from me, barely glancing at it before he says, “That’s my mom and dad. Penny and David.”
He’s already rolling away from me and I try to piece together the thoughts in my head. My parents knew Xavier’s parents. Not only that, but they thought these two people were in a committed relationship with a third person, another man.
That’s it. I shove Xavier again. “I need you to take me to my place.”
“What?” he asks, now turning toward me incredulously. “Why?”
“Xavier, I think our parents know each other. And I think there’s something else.. “
“Don’t be weird,” he says. “So our parents somehow knew each other. That’s ok right?”
“It’s not that. I,” I hesitate, worried about how to say this. “I think that maybe your dad is not your actual dad.”
He sits up now, finally taking me seriously. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that Riley and I found a photo album at my parent’s house the other weekend. We saw this woman,” I point to the picture. “Your mom. And she was in a relationship with this man. But she was also in a relationship with another man, too. All three of them were together. My parents said it was kind of odd sometimes and they didn’t really know why the three of them broke off from their group of friends.”
“Okay….” He is partly asking, but also confused. “My mom and dad were having a threesome?”
“No. Xavier, I think your dad’s name is Eric. Eric Lockhart.”
He jolts up. “Corrine, what the fuck are you saying? Are there meds you forgot to take?”
Okay, rude. I continue anyway, “Look Riley and I saw this picture with Ethan Lockhart and his brother Eric Lockhart. At the time we were fucking shell-shocked because, well because why the fuck were my parents hanging out with psychotic men like Ethan Lockhart? And how does this connect to Nate’s attempts to kidnap Riley and all the shit he was doing for Lockhart?”
I’m rambling a mile a minute now, trying to connect dots in my hazy head. “I’m saying I think your mom had a baby out of this throuple relationship and your dad is Eric Lockhart.”
“Get dressed,” he says, looking ill himself. “We’re getting that photo album.”
I nod, feeling guilty that I have to share this crazy news with him. And doubting the assumptions I’ve just said aloud to him. What if I have it all wrong?
The drive to my place is silent until Xavier’s phone rings, his Bluetooth picking it up and making it obnoxiously loud in the car. He looks at the screen on the dash, and I do, too. It’s Sebastian.
“Hey,” Xavier says after swiping on the call.
“How is everything going?” Sebastian asks. “Riley wanted me to check in, I think Corrine’s phone is dead.”
Shit. I meant to charge that last night. “Hi,” I say out loud, knowing the car’s microphone will pick up my voice. “I’m fine, tell her sorry it’s dead.”
“Hey man,” Xavier says, his hand reaching over to me for a second. “I think maybe you and Riley want to come to my place.”
“Are you going to be preparing a brunch for us Xavier?” Sebastian asks, clearly amusing himself.
“Nah man,” Xavier huffs. “I think there’s something we all need to look at.”