Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Alex
Five minutes later, we’re gathered around the kitchen table. Mom’s topping off her wine glass from a half-empty bottle, and Dad’s nursing another cup of coffee. Tyler looks bored and Grant won’t meet my eyes.
“Thanks for agreeing to sit in on this,” I begin, my voice rougher than I intend. I’m at the head of the table, flanked by Mom and Mallory. “I have a few things I need to tell you, but I think I’ll start with the biggest—why I’ve stayed away for so long. Why I’ve been ashamed to face you.”
“Oh, Alex.” Mom clasps my hand, her voice breaking. “What are you talking about?”
I look down the table at Dad. His expression is grim, but he nods.
It’s time.
My throat is as dry as sandpaper. “Six years ago, my senior year of college, I went to a party with my girlfriend, Deidre. We’d both been drinking, but I was wasted—celebrating passing my fall midterms. When it was time to leave, she drove.
We’d taken her car anyway, since I’d planned to party.
And even though part of me knew she wasn’t safe to drive, I was too drunk to stop her.
” My mouth twists into a grimace. “The fact is, she got behind the wheel, and she never should have.”
My chest squeezes so tight I can barely breath. Every instinct tells me to shut up, but I force the words out.
Dad’s voice cuts in, strong and steady. “It’s okay, Alex. You’re right. Telling them is long past due. Go on.”
Mom jerks her gaze to him. “Bob, you knew?”
Dad gives a slow nod. The guilt slices deeper. I should have thought about how coming clean would drag him into this too. Will Mom resent him for keeping my secret? Will this blow up my family the same way I blew up everything else? Maybe I really am a narcissist who ruins everything he touches.
But Dad must see the panic on my face, because he says firmly, “It’s okay, Alex. Secrets fester inside us, and this one is eating you alive. It’s time we both let it go.”
I suck in a shaky breath. Everything is spinning out of control. I already lost Finley—what if this costs me my family too?
Mom pats my hand, her voice fierce. “Alex, there’s nothing you can say that will make me stop loving you.” I turn to look at her, and her eyes are fierce. “Nothing.”
I turn to my brothers. Tyler smirks. “Don’t look at me, man. Moms are required to love their kids unconditionally. Brothers on the other hand…” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, but his grin softens the jab. He’s giving me an out, a lifeline.
Grant though—Grant won’t even look at me. His silence burns more than any insult.
“Go on, Alex,” Mallory urges, her eyes kind. “We’ll still love you. Just say it.”
I draw in a jagged breath. Time to jump off the cliff.
“What happened in the car is blurry. I was half-passed out, but I remember Deidre swerving over the center line—then the impact.”
Mom’s whole body goes rigid beside me, her hand crushing mine.
“When I came to, the airbags had blown. Deidre was screaming. It took me a second to understand what happened—we’d hit a minivan. Head-on.” My throat burns. “I forced my door open and stumbled onto the road. That’s when I saw it—the wreckage.”
“Was Deidre okay?” Mallory asks.
I nod. “Mostly. A broken leg and a few stitches in her cheek and her hand. All things considered, she was lucky.”
Tyler leans forward. “What about the passengers in the other car?”
I hold his gaze. “There was only one passenger—a married father with three kids. He was unconscious with blood streaming down his face. Thank God, I had the sense to call 911, because we were the only cars on the road. But while I was talking to the dispatcher, smoke started coming out from under his hood. Within seconds there were flames.”
Mom and Mallory gasp. My brothers sit frozen. Dad gives me a soft, steady look, urging me on.
“I screamed at Deidre to get out of the car. She managed to stumble away, but the other guy was still passed out. I tried to open his door, but it was crushed. So, I circled around to the passenger side, opened the door, and crawled inside. When he wouldn’t wake up, I unbuckled his seat belt, then dragged him over the passenger seat, onto the pavement, away from the fire. ”
Mom presses a hand to her mouth. “Oh, Alex! You could have been killed!”
“I was fine.” But I wasn’t. I’m still not.
Sometimes I can still smell the acrid smoke.
I still hear Deidre’s screams. Still see my hands slick with his blood.
It replays like a broken record at three in the morning, or in the middle of a business meeting, or when I’m driving down the road.
The only way I’ve learned to cope is shove it down so deep I can pretend it never happened.
But burying it didn’t just kill the guilt. It smothered everything else too.
Grant finally looks up, his face unreadable. “What happened to the man?”
“He lived. He spent weeks in the hospital and even longer in rehab.” My voice splinters. “He’d broken his back in the accident and when I dragged him out…” I inhale sharply. “He’s paralyzed from the waist down.”
Mom and Mallory gasp. Dad just keeps his warm eyes on mine. “And what did the hospital staff tell you?” he asks gently. “That if you hadn’t pulled him out, he would have died. By the time emergency services arrived, the van was fully engulfed. You saved his life.”
I shake my head, because no matter how many times someone says it, his life should never have been in danger to begin with.
“I send him money every month,” I blurt out, instantly regretting it.
Tyler’s brows shoot up. “Wait—what?”
“They started a fundraiser for him. It was still open when I graduated, so I began donating under another name. I still do, more now that I can afford it. He doesn’t know it’s me. I never want him to.” I swallow. “I’ve never told anyone before. You guys are the first.”
Mom’s eyes shine with tears. “Alex, that’s incredibly thoughtful.”
I shake my head, my voice rough. “No. It’s not thoughtful. It’s penance.”
Grant leans forward, his voice firm. “You weren’t driving, Alex. Deidre was. And yeah, maybe pulling him made the injury worse, but at least he’s alive. His kids still have a dad.”
“Do you know if he’s doing okay?” Mallory asks, her face pale.
I nod. “Yeah, I’ve done some light social media stalking. He’s a software engineer. Still married. His oldest kid’s in high school. The youngest is in middle school.”
“So, he has a full life,” Mom says.
I’ve tried to tell myself that a thousand times, but the weight on my chest hasn’t budged.
“You need therapy,” Tyler says quietly. I blink at him, surprised.
“You lived through a trauma, Alex. You’ve been punishing yourself for years.
You need help.” Then his mouth tilts into a crooked smile.
“And maybe you can work on that narcissism while you’re at it.
Only a narcissist would manage to take credit for paralyzing a guy while saving his life. ”
A half-laugh escapes. “Maybe you’re right.”
“That’s why you’ve stayed away?” Mom asks, her voice breaking. “Because you were ashamed?”
“Yeah.” I rake my hand through my hair. “I don’t know. It’s complicated.” The words feel like gravel in my mouth. “I was scared of what you would think of me if you knew, but maybe…” My voice falters. “Maybe I also thought I didn’t deserve to have you…?” The realization hits me as I’m saying it.
“Therapy,” Tyler says, leaning back with a knowing look. “Trust me.”
I stare at him, stunned. Has Tyler been in therapy? When he talks about trauma, it sounds like he’s speaking from personal experience. When did he suffer through his own trauma? Does he have secrets of his own?
“Bob,” Mom says, turning her gaze to my father. “How did you find out about all of this?”
“Alex called me from the crash site,” Dad says quietly. “After the police and EMS got there. I told him to let me know where they were taking him, and I left and met him there.”
“He was hours away,” Mom says in disbelief. “How did you even get away?”
“Remember when I told you my sister Sylvia was having trouble with her second husband and needed my help?” She nods. “That was then.”
“You were gone for days.”
“Alex had a concussion, so I stayed to make sure he was okay.” He gives me an apologetic smile. “Maybe I didn’t stay long enough.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Mom demands, her voice sharp now.
“The only way Alex would tell me what was going on was if I promised not to tell anyone—especially you. I’ve tried to get him to release me from the promise, but…”
“There’s one thing you can always count on,” I say softly, “and that’s that Dr. Robert King is a man of his word.” Guilt spears through me as I realize how much damage forcing him to keep my secret has caused. “I’m sorry, Dad.”
He nods, his eyes glassy.
Tyler sits back in his chair. “Wow. You really do suck at asking for help, huh?” His tone is light. There’s no malice behind it—just brotherly love.
“Did Deidre get in trouble?” Mallory asks.
“She was charged with DUI and a couple of misdemeanors. She ended up with probation, but we broke up because she tried to claim the crash wasn’t her fault—that it had nothing to do with her .08 blood alcohol level. I couldn’t stomach her lack of guilt when I was drowning in mine, so I ended it.”
Silence hangs heavy for several seconds before I take another breath. “And since we’re on the subject of confessions, I’ve got one more.”
All eyes swing to me.
“There’s no way to ease into this, so I’m just going to come out and say it: Grant, you were right. Finley is the barista at my coffee shop. I hired her to play my girlfriend, so I wouldn’t have to sleep on the sofa bed.”
Chaos detonates. Everyone starts talking at once.
Tyler blows up first. “So, what—her whole orphan act was fake? Tell me she was at least paid extra for the tragic backstory.”
Grant pumps his fist. “I knew it! Pay up, Tyler!”
Mom bursts into tears. “You used that poor, sweet girl—on Christmas, no less. How could you?”
Dad doesn’t say a word. He just stares at me, the disappointment on his face louder than any words could be.
Mallory shoots to her feet and lets out a piercing wolf whistle. Everyone freezes, mid-yell, like kids caught by their teacher.
“Thank you for your attention,” she says matter-of-factly.
I cut straight to Tyler, since he’s the only one questioning Finley’s integrity.
“Her backstory is real. The only thing we faked was the timing—when we told you we started dating after Maybelle got sick last fall.” I hold up my hand to stop Tyler’s imminent protest. “And yes, Maybelle really did have bladder stones.”
Mallory jumps in before anyone else can pile on. “Good. Now that that’s cleared up—what Alex hasn’t said yet is that he’s realized what they have is real. He needs to win her back. And we are going to help him.”
“Say what?” Grant sputters, his eyes wide.
“You heard me. And everyone else saw it, am I right?” She sweeps the table with a pointed glare. “Who liked the Alex we saw with Finley?”
Hands shoot up—everyone except Grant.
He shrugs at the glares. “What? I hardly saw him with her. But…” He makes a face. “I’ll admit, he was pretty defensive of a woman who supposedly isn’t his girlfriend.”
“Exactly.” Mallory grins, triumphant. “We know Finley and her grannies are somewhere in Hollybrook. We just have to find them.”
“And then what?” Tyler asks, skeptical.
Mallory turns to face me. “That part’s up to Alex.”
Tyler and Grant groan, but Mom’s ready to springing into action. When the King family is determined to do something, we make it happen.
Right now, it’s not if we find Finley—it’s when. The terrifying part is what happens if she doesn’t want me.