That voice—
My brain fucking short-circuits when I realize that’s mydad.
My bag slips off my shoulder and falls to the floor as I rush to stand and run out of the kitchen. There’s the sound of another hit and a strangled groan as I bolt down the hallway toward the front of the house. I turn the corner and then—
“Did you really think I’d let you ruin another one of my sons’ lives?!”
The words stop me cold.
The world tilts.
Another son.
While I hear the words just fine, they take too long to make sense. The gears in my brain are spinning, but they’re having a difficult time latching their teeth to move the right parts that would let me understand the meaning of what I just heard.
Another.
Son.
My dad has Isaac pinned to the wall, his fists bunched in Isaac’s shirt, knuckles white. They scowl at each other like they’ve been fighting for years instead of just seconds. There’s blood dripping from the corner of Isaac’s mouth, and he appears just as thrown off by what my dad said. Thrown off, but not in utter shock like I am, a shock that’s threatening to shut down my entire central nervous system.
“Is that what this is?” he snarls in my dad’s face as he shoves him back. “You were just usingthisson to finally prove whatever it is you think I did to Dylan?”
The glare that Isaac throws at me feels like a knife stabbed right into my chest.
“Using him?You’re the one using him!”
All I can do is watch as my dad pushes Isaac back into the wall hard enough to have a gust of air punched from his lungs. It feels like it’s a physical, tangible thing, reaching me clear across the entryway, hitting me square in the chest. It’s enough to finally thaw some of the ice in my veins and jumpstart my brain.
“Stop it!”
My voice cracks, but it’s enough to get their attention. Their heads snap in my direction, both out of breath, both still fuming.
“I want to know what the hell is going on.” I narrow my eyes as they bounce between them because I’m not sure which one is keeping the most secrets. My voice is a little steadier now, even if my insides are shaking. “Right now. One of you start fucking talking.”
My dad takes a step back away from Isaac and runs a hand through his disheveled hair. It’s so strange seeing him like this when he’s always so put together. His eyes find mine, and I can see the guilt swimming inside them.
“Dylan is your half brother.”
All the air leaves my lungs.
My face falls, my brows drawing together so tight it hurts.
“You didn’t know?” Isaac asks.
All I can do is shake my head.
His shoulders drop, his gaze lowers.
I look back at my dad, feeling as though my body’s vibrating with all the unanswered questions jumbling into a tangled mess. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? That seems like something I fucking deserved to know.”
“I’m sorry,” he says with more sincerity than I’ve ever heard from him. The fact that he’s not scolding me for my language shows just how truly guilty he feels. “I was with Dylan’s motheryears before your mom, and there were…certain circumstances surrounding our relationship that doomed it from the start. When she became pregnant with Dylan, we agreed to keep it between us. I helped her out financially, but I was never involved in either of their lives. Dylan never knew either.No oneknew but me, at least until two minutes ago. I just…” He shakes his head, more deep lines in his face than I’ve ever noticed before. “This secret’s been eating me alive ever since he left. After nearly three decades of keeping it, I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
I blink at him, my head spinning.
I have a fucking brother.
And he’s the same Dylan who disappeared.
