My mother always said I had a mischievous smile, and I wondered why when she s
aid it, she sounded sad. Angry at times. I can see now it’s because that smile came from my father. He has the same devilish spark to him. I can picture them as teenagers, both young and attractive. Falling in love with each other. But then I remind myself they were in Jameson surrounded by the Elites, and I can only hope my mother’s experience wasn’t anything like mine.
There is nothing to be salvaged between my father and I. Knowing what I know now, I would have been fine never meeting him. And now that I see firsthand what having him around brings, I am eager to put him back out of my life. But while I’m here, I think I might as well try and get some answers.
“What happened with you and my mother?” I ask him suddenly in desperation. “Tell me everything. I deserve to know after everything you’ve put me through.”
He takes a seat with an exasperated sigh, running his hand across the top of his hair. I study his hesitance, but finally his lips part as he braces himself. “We went out west after the Elites took everything from us,” he explains. “Lala started a bakery and you were born, while I worked trying to rebuild my fortune. But then I found out your mother was cheating on me. I did things I’m not proud of. I flew into a rage. I beat her. That’s when she took you and left.”
“My mother would never do something like that,” I defend.
“She didn’t cheat on you,” Emmett blurts suddenly, shocking both of us. “That was my father and his friends. They set her up. They weren’t going to stop coming after you because of all the money you squandered.” His head hangs sheepishly in fear of my father’s reaction. The words spilled out faster than he meant, sounding too accusatory.
I see the dots connecting in my father’s eyes, but any regret is quickly shrugged away. “She went back to her maiden name, Lopez, after that,” my father finishes, looking as if he’s fighting away the new information.
“So it turns out you laid your hands on my mother for no reason, forcing her to leave,” I gaff at the whole idea. “The Elites strike again. Stopping at nothing to destroy anyone who crosses them, even if children’s lives are destroyed in the process. Though I can’t really say we were so bad off without you around. Brendan is ten times more honorable than I think you could ever be.”
“Yes…Brendan. Your stepfather,” he concedes with a knowing nod. “I looked into him when he and your mother got engaged. He is a good man. That’s why I never intervened.”
“You’ve got some nerve,” I shriek. “So you’ve been keeping tabs on us this whole time!? And what do you mean…that’s why you didn’t intervene!? What makes you think you’d ever have any right to try and influence her life after everything? And my life too.”
“She belonged to me before anybody else!” he roars back in a sudden show of emotion. More than he’s shown this entire time, even after having just killed a man. “I promised to take care of her.”
Funny, I think. Girls really do go for men just like their fathers. Apparently even if they don’t know their fathers. I could imagine Emmett saying the exact same bit about me belonging to him. He has several times. Always pointing out that I am his.
“So, you were taking care of her when you beat her?” I square up to him, too pissed to back down, even though he towers above me in height.
“I don’t expect you to understand any of it,” he resigns, turning to calm himself. “I loved your mother. I was furious when I thought she had betrayed me and been with another man. And it was right after everything that happened with the Jamesons and Whitworths. I was humiliated. Desperate.”
“I wonder if your family and their friends were pleased with themselves, Emmett,” I channel my anger back to him. “They had already ran my father out of town. He was completely broke. You’d think they could have just let him be. But no…you just had to come and put one last nail in his coffin.”
I am angry about it, but I’m glad in a way that things happened as they did. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if my father had stuck around. I want to say as much, but I can see he is already reeling from Emmett’s confession about their responsibility in breaking up my parents’ marriage.
“I’m going to give you two a moment alone,” Emmett responds, his eyes hopeful and desperate.
“I don’t have anything else to say to you,” I bark as he exits the room.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you don’t leave without seeing me again,” he states calmly before turning to shut the door.
It almost makes me want to crawl out of the window just to prove him wrong, but I’m left alone with my father who is coldly staring off into the corner.
“So…do you have anything else to say for yourself?” I sneer, crossing my arms expectantly.
“I can leave you alone now, if that’s what you want,” he offers sympathetically. I can’t tell if the softness of his voice is out of respect, or just a manipulation tactic. “I can walk away from all of this now that Thomas Jameson and the rest of them will be going away.”
“And what about Emmett?” I ask, my voice wavering. “What makes you trust him so much more than the rest? How do you know he won’t come after you for revenge?”
“I could tell Emmett was scared shitless of his father from the moment I first met him,” he explains. “His father would have dangled the company over his head for the rest of his life, threatening to snatch everything away any time he didn’t comply with his whims. Thomas would have made his son do terrible things. Turned him into a monster just like his dad. Emmett could see it coming and wanted no part of it. Now he’ll walk away with his father’s fortune. Free to call the shots without the Elites pushing him around.”
I roll his explanation around in my mind, wanting it to be true. But I don’t know who I can trust. “How do you know he’s not already just as fucked up as Thomas Jameson?” I propose. “He sure has put me through hell. Something I’d think my own father would take issue with.”
“Things are different around here,” he answers flippantly. “You’re dealing with generations of ruthless entitlement. Emmett is salvageable though. I can tell you that much.” He stands and begins to button his coat.
I study his movements in confusion. “You’re leaving!?” I belt out unexpectedly. Moments ago, I was praying for him to just go. Now I’m offended that he would just walk off. “You’re just going to leave things like this? What about me? What do I do?”
“You and Emmett will tell the police you ditched school and came back to the house to fool around and found Thomas Jameson dead. I’ll take care of the rest. After that, you’re free to go.”
Free. I don’t even know what that word means to me anymore. Now that it’s so close, it’s almost frightening.