Chapter 24
I’m shaking, barely able to hold the phone in my hand.
He’s lying. Brock is not my father. I hate him. And he’s a horrible person. He might even be a murderer!
“No,” I say. “It’s not true.”
The phone is silent.
“Dad, say something! Tell me it’s not true!”
He doesn’t, and when I look at the phone, I see he’s gone. He hung up.
I call right back, but it goes straight to a message telling me the caller is unavailable. I call again and again and keep getting that same message. He’s not going to pick up. He’s done with me.
Because he’s not my real father.
How is that possible? My mom wouldn’t have lied to me.
There’s no way she would do that. Why would she tell me I’m Devon’s kid if I’m really Brock’s kid?
And why would she be with Brock? He’s not her type at all, not that Devon is either, but Brock?
Not in a million years would I put them together.
Plus, he was married back then. Married to Miranda, Braden and Trystan’s mom.
Miranda would’ve been pregnant with Braden.
There’s no way my mom would have sex with a married man who had a child on the way. It would never happen.
I’m out of bed, pacing the floor, feeling like I’m about to throw up. I go to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face over and over, but it doesn’t help. I get in the shower, which helps for a minute, but then I think about Brock being my dad, and the sick feeling returns.
After drying off, I put on shorts and a t-shirt and go outside, hoping the cool air will make me feel better.
It doesn’t. The only thing that’ll make me feel better is seeing Jackson, and he isn’t talking to me.
But if he really cares about me like I thought he did, he’ll be there for me, despite what happened.
Ignoring the cameras watching me, I go down the stairs to the beach. As I’m walking, I hear a ding on my phone. It’s a text from Jackson.
On my way to see you. Can you sneak down to the beach?
Already on it, I text back.
When I look up, I see someone coming toward me.
“Rumor?” I hear Jackson yell.
I run to him, sand kicking up everywhere. I’m angry he didn’t believe me about Kristen, but right now all I care about is being with him again. I need him now more than ever.
“Rumor.” He pulls me into his arms, lifting me off the ground. “I’m a fucking idiot. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“For what?”
He sets me down. “For not believing you. I can’t explain what you saw with Kristen and her dad, but I know you’d never make that up.”
“I wouldn’t. I would never even think to do that. Jackson, we need to talk about something else,” I say, breathless from running so fast. “My dad.”
“What about him?”
“He called me.” I take a breath. “Just now. He said he’s left town and wouldn’t tell me where he’s going. He said this was our last phone call. He was ditching his phone and—”
“Wait, stop.” Jackson grips my shoulders. “Slow down. Your dad called but he wouldn’t tell you where he was?”
“No,” I say, tears sliding down my face. “He doesn’t want me to know. He doesn’t want to see me or talk to me ever again.” I sniffle and wipe my eyes.
“I don’t understand. Why would he say that?”
I look up at Jackson. “Because he’s not really my dad.”
Jackson stares back at me, and from the look on his face, I think he already knows.
“Brock,” we both say at the same time.
“How’d you know?” I ask.
“I didn’t. But honestly, I never saw any resemblance between you and Devon.
I just assumed you looked more like your mom.
But the other day when I was flipping through channels I saw Brock on one of his old TV shows and I instantly saw the resemblance.
It would make sense if Devon was his real brother but if Devon was really adopted, like you said, then . . .”
“Then it’s true. Brock is my dad. But if it’s true, it means my mom lied to me. It means she’s not who I thought she was.” I sniffle. “It means I didn’t really know her.”
“That’s not what it means.” Jackson pulls me into his chest, holding me tight. “Your mom had a reason for not telling you. You may not know what that reason is but I’m sure she only did it because she thought it was best for you.”
“Lying to me is what’s best for me? Making me believe someone else is my dad? An alcoholic drug addict who never came to see me? I would’ve been better off if she told me my dad was just some random guy.”
Jackson lets me go and takes my hand. “Let’s go back to my place. We can’t stay out here.”
“Brock’s still awake. He might notice I’m gone.”
“Yeah? So?” Jackson smiles. “You know his secret. You can use it to blackmail him into letting you do stuff.”
“My dad said I’m not supposed to tell anyone.”
“Why would you listen to him? Did he threaten you if you told?”
“No. I just . . .” I look at Jackson. “You really think I should tell Brock I know?”
“Not yet. I think you should wait until you need to. He obviously didn’t want you — or anyone else — to know this, which means this is your ticket to get whatever you want from him. Money. Your freedom. Maybe you could stop going to Twisted Pine.”
“Except then I wouldn’t be able to spy on Braden and his friends.” I sigh. “I don’t know what to do. I need to think about it.”
He tugs on my hand. “Let’s go.”
When we’re back at his house, I curl up on his couch, grab the blanket that’s on it, and cover myself because I’m freezing. His house isn’t cold, but knowing Brock is my dad, and my mom is a liar, sent a chill through me that won’t go away.
“The worst part of this,” I say, “is finding out my mom lied to me.”
Jackson sits beside me. “Come here.” I move over and snuggle into his arms. “From what you’ve told me about your mom, she loved you more than anything, which tells me she wouldn’t do this unless she was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
“Brock’s fame, and all that comes with it.
He was a huge star back then. When you get that kind of fame, you can’t even leave your house without cameras following you around.
If people found out about you back then, cameras would’ve been following you and your mom around New York.
Your mom wouldn’t have wanted that, would she? ”
“No, she would’ve hated that. She was an introvert. She didn’t even like going out. She expressed herself through her art. She said that’s how she communicated with people.”
“So maybe that’s the reason. She didn’t want you being part of Brock’s world.”
“But it was also Devon’s world. He wasn’t a big star when I was born, but he could’ve been later. What if his career took off and he ended up being a bigger celebrity than Brock? People knew I was Devon’s daughter, so the fame excuse doesn’t really hold up.”
Jackson and I sit quietly as I think about this.
I’m still upset, but no longer feel sick or like I can’t breathe.
Instead, I feel safe. Calm. Even a little sleepy, despite being wired just an hour ago.
Being in Jackson’s arms, feeling the warmth of his body against mine, feeling him hold me — it makes everything better.
It’s proof that I love him. I’m afraid to admit that because I loved Axl and he broke my heart. I love Jackson even more than Axl, so I’m terrified of how much it’ll hurt if things end between us. But my heart’s already made the decision, and my mind can’t change it.
“Brock was married, right?” Jackson says. “When you were born?”
“Yeah. To Miranda. She was pregnant with Braden. He’s a couple months older than me.”
“Then maybe that’s it. Maybe Brock forced your mom not to tell you because he didn’t want anyone finding out.”
“Celebrities cheat all the time. Why would anyone care?”
“Because back then he had an image to protect. He was playing a minister with a wife and six kids.”
“That was a TV show, not real life.”
“When you’re on a show that big, people think the character is the person.
It happens to celebrities all the time. In the movies my dad directs, the actors that play villains get hate mail.
People think they’re like that in real life.
So yeah, if people thought Brock was a wholesome family man and then found out he cheated on his pregnant wife, he would’ve been fired.
The show would’ve ended and it would’ve taken Brock years to get back on TV, or it could’ve ended his career entirely. ”
“My mom wouldn’t have listened to him. She wouldn’t let Brock tell her what to do.”
“She would if he threatened her. Or you.”
I turn to face him. “You think he did?”
“If he was worried about keeping his job, then yeah. Brock would do anything to protect his celebrity status.”
I look out the windows at the dark sky. “All this time he knew. But he wouldn’t tell me.
It’s all making sense now. Why I’m here.
Why he insisted on taking me in instead of letting me live with his brother.
Insisting I go to private school.” I pause.
“It’s almost like he was giving me clues.
Either that or he just slipped and said stuff he didn’t mean to say. ”
“Like what?”
“When we first met, I told him I wanted to go to public school and he said celebrities send their kids to private school, like it wasn’t even up for debate.
I told him he wasn’t my dad so it shouldn’t matter.
I didn’t think anything about it at the time but now I think he said it because in his head, he thinks of me as his daughter.
Then the other day, he signed the paperwork for Driver’s Ed and signed on the parent line.
It’s almost like he was trying to tell me the truth. ”
“I doubt it. I think it’s like you said and he sees you as a daughter and unconsciously does stuff a dad would do or say without even thinking about it.”
“How would he have threatened my mom? What do you think he did?”
“I don’t know. And if you asked, he wouldn’t tell you.”
“What about Devon? Would he know?”
“Probably. I’m sure Brock threatened Devon too. How else would he convince him to go along with this?”