Chapter Twenty-One #2
Ginger is hysterical now. “James, you’re hurting him. Stop. I did trip. I really did. Please, stop. Listen to me. I tripped over the dog.”
“And broke your arm?” he says.
“Well, that was a car accident.”
James growls. “What about the fucking marks on your neck? That wasn’t a dog or a car accident.”
He turns back to me, “If you put your hands on her neck, I will rip your throat out of your body...”
“It wasn’t him. James, stop. Please listen to me. “
His eyes flash back to her.
“I was in a little incident with a man at a bar...”
“Brooklyn...”
“Ok. It wasn’t little. Kip saved me, James. The other guy was arrested. You can check with the local police if you want, but Kip didn’t hurt me. I promise. Please. You have to let him go.”
James looks from her to me and back again.
“He never hurt you?”
“Never.”
He pulls back just a little.
“Is he forcing you to be here?”
“No.” She’s shaking her head.
He inches slightly further back. I can breathe again.
“Did he help you run away?”
“No. No, James, I just met him.”
“You just met him?” he roars and leans toward me again. I wince.
“Yes, and that’s none of your damn business. Get off him.” She’s pulling his arm again.
James takes a step back. His gaze is going from her to me and back again.
“Brooklyn?” I say. I’m still trying to get my head around this. I’m staring at her. Pleading.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“You didn’t know?” the President asks.
“No.”
No one says a word until we hear another car pull up. A pile of people unloads and rushes our direction.
“What’s happening?”
“Is she okay?”
“What did we miss?”
“She’s fine. What took you so long?” The President calls.
“I’m in a car with two pregnant women. That’s what took me so long. They had to pee like sixteen times.” I recognize this voice as Will Sterling.
Four women and two men rush over to Brooklyn and crowd around her.
“I thought you said she was okay,” one of them says.
“What happened to your face?” one of the pregnant ones asks.
“Oh my god and your arm?” the other pregnant one adds.
Brooklyn waves her arms in the air.
“Stop. Stop. I’m fine. Really. Minor car accident. Little fall.” She continues waving her hand around dismissing the idea that anything bad has happened to her.
“Oh my god, I love your hair,” one of the girls says.
“I’m thinking about keeping it this way,” she answers.
“You should,” one of the angry brothers says.
“Did you do it yourself?” one of the girls asks.
“I did.”
“It’s really good.”
“The bangs look great,” another one of the angry brothers says.
I’m just staring at all of them without saying a word. Everyone knows the Sterling siblings. They are the most famous people in America. I just never thought I'd have them on my patio. I’d definitely never thought they’d try to murder me.
“Kip?”
Everyone stops talking and turns to look at Will. He steps toward me. “Kip Anderson?”
“Hey Will,” I say, stepping forward. I catch Brooklyn’s face out of the corner of my eye. She’s completely confused. They all are.
“You know each other?” James asks.
Will gives me a big hug. “It’s so good to see you, man. What has it been? Five years?”
“I think so,” I answer, hugging him back.
“Wait, how do you know each other?” Brooklyn asks.
“We went to school together,” Will says. “I’ve told you about him.”
“No, you haven’t.” Brooklyn’s arms are crossed over her chest. “I think I would have remembered.”
“Yeah. I know we’ve talked about it. He’s an author.”
She just scrunches up her face in confusion.
“He writes under the name Elliott Wells.”
Every jaw drops a little when they hear Will say this, but Brooklyn looks the most shocked.
“Elliott Wells?” She’s staring right at me. Her eyes convey so much hurt, and I feel a wave of guilt wash over me.
I nod.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she whispers.
“Why didn’t you tell me...Brooklyn?” I reply.
“Oh, you didn’t know?” Will asks as he looks back and forth between us. “Either of you?”
“No,” I respond.
“No,” she says.
“I’m surprised you didn’t recognize her,” Will says. I just shrug. Now that I know, I’m surprised I didn’t recognize her either.
“The hair makes a big difference,” one of the pregnant women says.
“It really does,” the other pregnant one agrees.
“I guess we should do some formal introductions,” the President says, holding out his hand. “I’m James Sterling. My wife is around here somewhere.”
I take his hand.
“Sorry about earlier.” He clears his throat. “Oh, here’s Elizabeth.”
The First Lady steps forward and holds out her hand. “Nice to meet you. Lovely place you have.”
“Kip Anderson.” I take her hand and shake it. “Thank you.”
“We’ve been trying to get you to the White House for ages. You turned down the Kennedy Center honors last year.” The President is shaking his head. He’s not a man I want to disappoint.
“It’s been nice to be off the grid for a few years,” I respond.
“I can imagine.” The President says as he studies my face.
“Is this your place?” Will asks.
“It was my parents, but I live here now.”
“It’s really stunning.” He pulls one of the pregnant women forward. “Kip, this is my wife, Olivia.”
I read about their wedding in the newspaper last year. She’s in the House of Representatives, and he’s a Senator.
“When are you due?” I ask.
“Not soon enough,” she laughs and rubs her stomach. “But not until a little before Thanksgiving.”
“This is Zadie,” Will says, pointing to another pregnant woman. She extends her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” I shake her hand and then she says, “I’m due right after Thanksgiving. This is my fiancé, Ethan.”
Brooklyn sighs. “Let’s speed this up.”
She starts to point. “The ones trying to attack you were Eli, Declan, and Keene.”
They wave.
“Sorry man about our entrance,” Declan says.
“I get it.” I shrug, and I do. I nearly murdered the guy who attacked Brooklyn. If I were her brothers, I would have done the same.
“And Juno is over there.” Brooklyn points again. Juno waves, and I wave back.
“Why are you here, Brooklyn?” Will asks.
She sighs. Is she going to tell them? I’m dying to hear what she’s going to say.
“Brooklyn...” It’s a warning from the President.
She rolls her eyes. “Fine.”
Her body slumps a little and she looks down. “I was looking for my mom.”
Everyone falls completely silent.
Zadie steps toward Brooklyn and puts her hand on her shoulder. “Your mom is dead.”
Brooklyn just shakes her head. “She’s not.”
Everyone looks around in confusion.
“She isn’t.” It’s the President this time. Brooklyn’s eyes jerk up.
“You knew?”
“I only knew she was alive, but I don’t know where she is.”
Brooklyn just stares at him for a moment. “What the hell, James? How long have you known?”
She steps closer to him. “How long?”
“A couple of years.”
“A couple of years,” she yells and moves closer. A Secret Service agent steps between them.
“Really?” She throws her hands in the air. “Do you really think I’m going to hurt him?”
James waves the agent away.
“I would have come with you,” Declan says.
“I know. I wanted to do this alone.” She’s still glaring at the President. Neither of them is flinching.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Zadie says.
She looks down at the ground again. “I thought you’d be upset. Like you weren’t enough. Looking for her felt like betraying all of you.” Her voice is so soft we can barely hear her.
Declan sighs and then steps forward and hugs her.
“We’d never think that,” Will says.
“There’s room in this family for more people,” Zadie says, rubbing her arm.
Brooklyn nods and steps back. She’s still glaring at the President.
“James, is there anything else you want to tell me?” she says.
“Why don’t we talk about this inside?” he says. It’s not really a question.
Brooklyn blinks a few times and then shrugs. “Fine.”
She starts to walk toward the door, and then she does something that surprises the hell out of everyone. She grabs my hand and leads me inside with them.