Chapter Sixteen
Susan didn’t like waking up alone in someone else’s hotel room. Last night’s revelations lingered in her head and heart. She’d wanted to know what lay under the surface for Andrew, but she never expected so much pain.
As he’d talked, looking like the words caused him agony, she wanted to do something—anything—to stop his hurting. A hug and a pat on the back hardly seemed appropriate.
But when he talked about Lucas, pride and adoration shone through the grief.
If she was curious before, she was enthralled now. Would he close off this morning, now he’d slept away reliving the past? She’d find out if she had any idea where he was.
Her gaze fell on a scribbled note. Stepped out. Back soon. That didn’t give her much to go on. The chime that woke her, a text from Mercy, helped her draw a couple of conclusions but didn’t give her any answers.
Do you need a ride? Mercy said.
Susan wasn’t going to bother asking how her sister knew. It seemed as though Andrew’s definition of Mercy doesn’t find out was different than Susan’s. Something told her this meant no more glimpses of the real Andrew. The realization gnawed at her.
She nearly replied to Mercy with a no, but the night before left her with uneasy questions about their family, and this seemed as good a time as any to see if she could get answers. She sent back a simple, Yes please. I’ll be in the lobby.
She was hurt Andrew left without a word. He did have to see his sister. Maybe she slept through him trying to wake her up. She didn’t think that was the case. Apparently a night of sleep was all it took, for his mask to fall back into place.
When Mercy’s familiar Honda pulled up outside the hotel, Susan stashed most of her pondering for later and hopped into the passenger seat. So… what was the best way to ask, Was Dad really an asshole to you, or is your best friend exaggerating?
Mercy navigated the car to the main road. “Are you going home? And are you all right”
“My car’s at the office. Your office. And my pride’s a little wounded.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
What did Andrew tell her? “My car? Not really. And there’s nothing else to talk about, either.”
Mercy frowned. “That good, huh?”
“You’re going to have to tell me what you expect me to say, because my night was full of surprises, but I suppose none of them are news to you.” Susan sighed and slouched in her seat.
Mercy handed over her phone. “I got these. That’s all I know.”
Susan frowned as she scrolled through a conversation with Andrew. Her gut clenched at his clipped notes and the innuendo behind them. She dropped the device back in its cradle. “It went like this—I threw myself at a guy who feels like he owes you his life, and he said no, and then we talked so long, I managed to forget how humiliated I was. And don’t you dare smirk.”
“I’m not.” Mercy adopted a straight face again.
“You should have more faith in him. He’s been a perfect gentleman.” Well, not completely. But he definitely wasn’t trying anything like that with Susan any time soon.
Instead of pointing her car down the main highway, toward the R&T offices, Mercy pulled into a coffee shop drive through. It was early, so there was no line. She ordered them drinks with extra espresso, then parked at the edge of the lot. She took a long swallow of coffee before she faced Susan. “I don’t know what you talked about, but I owe him as much as he owes me. He doesn’t like to admit it. But I also know what he’s capable of, and I would cut him out of my life completely, before you had to go through that.”
That didn’t sound right. “Like what?”
“Andrew doesn’t do things like exclusive relationships.”
Since when was Mercy such a drama queen? Susan tried to sip her coffee, but it scalded her tongue. She set it in the cup holder. “I’m not dating him. Or sleeping with him—thanks to him, not me. We were hanging out. Why did you leave home when you were eighteen?”
Mercy choked on her drink, and coughed several times before finding her voice. “I wanted to see the world, and life here was oppressive.”
“The real reason. Not the bullshit story you tell people, to sound cool.”
“God damn. He talks too much.” Mercy leaned her head back against the rest and focused on the roof of the car. “Dad kicked me out. Told me he never wanted to see me again. And that I wasn’t supposed to talk to you. He didn’t need me filling your head with worthless bullshit. His words, by the way, not mine.”
Susan didn’t know what kind of answer she expected, but the reality chewed an empty pit behind her ribs. Their father wasn’t callous like that. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Because Dad adores you. I missed everything about here when I left, and it took me ages to get over the fact that I couldn’t talk to the family. Why would I take that from you?”